Upon High Hedges

Upon High Hedges is an evocative collection of poems by Michael Lay accompanied by beautiful photographs of West Cornwall by Sarah Lay. Printed in Cornwall. Size 250 x 200mm, opening to 200 x 500mm. 68 pages.

I think Michael sums up the aim of the book in his Introduction and here is also a little taster of one of his poems ‘A Glimpse of the Sea'.  In July 2011 there was an accompanying exhibition of selected photographs from the book which are also available to buy as limited edition prints - they are some of my personal favourites.  It has been a real pleasure working with Michael putting this book together.

We have had a some great reviews for the book and it's accompanying exhibition in the press. You can view clippings from The Western Morning News and Cornwall Today on the Press page.

Introduction to Upon High Hedges

My mother, Sarah, and I live in St Just, a small town in West Penwith, Cornwall.  We love our home; it is a constant inspiration for both Sarah's photographs and my writing, and this project is an attempt at transforming that inspiration into a book.  Sarah, although not formally trained in photography, has been taking pictures and producing the Evocative Cornwall Calendar and Diary for a number of years. For me, and for numerous others, she has an unerring eye, which captures scenes that effortlessly tell the story of Cornwall.  They are often simple but are always brimming with life.

I am twenty years old and studying Creative Writing and English Literature at Liverpool John Moores University.  In my poems I allow the astonishing beauty of my home to do most of the talking.  The one thing that scared me off poetry in the past was its perceived inaccessibility, so I have aimed to write in a way that is understandable and, I hope, a pleasure to read.

We hope you enjoy our book.

Michael Lay

St Just, Cornwall, July 2011

A Glimpse of the Sea by Michael Lay

Surging waves roll out of the boy's dreams and into

his eyes as he glimpses the shimmering sea, sandwiched

between two hills and shining like molten gold

under the morning sun.