The Seven Seas is a celebration of the sea, and of the seven oceans on earth, in poetry and painting. The land, the seven continents of our planet, usually takes centre stage with its diverse populations of flora and fauna, and humanity - ourselves. But this book gives first place to the water, the element that covers some seventy per cent of the earth's surface, and the life above and within it. The volume is organised to reveal the nature and character of the seven oceans ('the seven seas', as poets have traditionally called them) and the principal ports that link them as one vast waterway. It contains a series of seven voyages which together comprise one extensive and imaginary tour of the world, encircling the globe three times at different latitudes and visiting both the Arctic and Antarctic Oceans at the northern and southern extremes. After a lively Foreword and a learned Introduction, describing the ocean today and its history, the sea-routes and landfalls of the voyage - and also providing a short account of the arts of poetry and painting - the book is arranged in seven chapters representing each of 'the seven seas' in turn, beginning and ending at Greenwich. The imaginary voyage explores the North Atlantic first, followed by the Mediterranean Sea and the Indian Ocean, then the Antarctic, before turning northwards again to tour the South Atlantic, passing through the Panama Canal to reach the South and North Pacific, and finally the Arctic Ocean, the Baltic and North Sea, before returning home. Each port of call is characterised in Sandra Lello's delightful illustrations and thoughtful verses from the pen of John Elinger, who are each experienced travellers and cruise-lecturers.

Portmeirion is one of the wonders of Wales. This colourful Italianate village, established on the Welsh coast by the extraordinary-and eccentric-self-taught architect, Sir Clough Williams-Ellis, demonstrates the force of his belief that beauty is a "strange necessity". That Strange Necessity offers a visual and poetic tribute to his creation, a place of pilgrimage for all who care about the quality of the relationship between the built and natural environment. On a smaller scale, Portmeirion deserves to be set beside cities like Bath, Oxford--even Venice--for its successful harmonisation of form and function.Designed as a series of seven walks across and around the village and radiating out into the wild garden to the west of Portmeirion, this book portrays in paint and verse the buildings, monuments and sights that comprise its strange integrity and strong attraction for all who 'have eyes to see'.The Introduction provides a concise history of Portmeirion--from pre-historic times to the present day--and a short account of the life of its architect, together with an explanation of the design of the seven walks, the choice of sights, and the inspiration that shaped the poems and pictures. Maps make it easy for visitors to follow the walks and find their way around the village and the wilderness beyond.The first sequence of poems and paintings leads the reader (and visitor) down the main street of Portmeirion to the sea, passing the Bristol Colonnade, the Piazza and Telford's Tower before reaching Portmeirion's Hotel at the water's edge. The second moves back up the hill through the Piazza and past the Town Hall, Hercules Statue, and the Bell Tower to the Belvedere. The third walk follows the coastal path from the Cliff House past the Grotto and the Viewpoint to the estuary and the Stone Boat. The fourth and fifth walks follow Portmeirion's 'Coastal Walk' and "Woodland Walk" through the wild garden called Y Gwyllt, past White Horses, the Lighthouse and the Chinese Lake; and the Children's Playground, the Stone Temple and the Dogs' Cemetery. Braver souls may explore the deeper wilderness by following Walk Six and discovering the Beach, the Ghost Garden and the Ferryman's Cottage, before returning to the village and re-ascending the hill on the seventh walk from the Triumphal Arch past Chantry Row to the picturesque Toilets near the Car Park.In words and images That Strange Necessity offers visions of Portmeirion, a place created in the twentieth century by a visionary architect, but which now seems timeless in its beauty, endlessly fascinating, and inspiring to all who visit it.

In 1802 William Wordsworth, the great Romantic poet, gazed over London and claimed "Earth has not anything to show more fair". Two centuries after his famous sonnet "Upon Westminster Bridge", That Mighty Heart offers a visual and poetic tribute to a city that today has even stronger claims to be one of the greatest in the world. Designed in the form of seven walks across and around London, and radiating out in all directions from the heart of the city, this book portrays in paint and verse the buildings, parks and sights, both famous and less well-known, that have shaped its history, and contribute to its continuing fascination. The first sequence of poems and paintings focuses on Westminster, taking the reader (and walker) from Westminster Bridge via the Houses of Parliament to Buckingham Palace. The second follows a route through the Kensington area, including Harrods, the Royal Albert Hall and Kensington Palace. The third takes in the British Museum and Covent Garden. The fourth threads its way through the heart of London, from Piccadilly Circus to The Old Bailey, via Trafalgar Square, the National Gallery and Cleopatra's Needle. The fifth crosses the City of London, finishing at the Tower of London and Tower Bridge. The sixth follows the towpath westwards along the south bank of the Thames: Southwark Cathedral and the Shard, the Globe Theatre and the Festival Hall, the Imperial War Museum and the London Eye. The final sequence takes in memorable outlying sites like Hampton Court, Kew Gardens Highgate Cemetery Canary Wharf, Brick Lane, the EIIR Olympic Park and Greenwich. The Introduction provides a concise description of London today and brief history of this remarkable city. Simple and clear maps make it easy for visitors to follow the walks and find their way around London. In words and images That Mighty Heart evokes a place which has gradually changed over the centuries, and yet remains timeless in its beauty and interest.

English poetry is well-supplied with sonnets (and sonnet-sequences, like Shakespeare's) on the subject of love, but marriage (Shelley's 'the longest journey') has not been so exhaustively treated by the poets - though Meredith's Modern Love is an extended study of an unhappy example. This collection of 144 sonnets by John Elinger is both a sensitive account of his own (unfinished) marriage and a reflective analysis of lifelong partnerships of the past and present. He writes: 'Weddings are worthless: marriage is what counts...' (2) and 'This is the one you've all been waiting for - on sex!...' (34) and 'All marriages must end in death, divorce - or disappointment...' (98). The poems range across a number of topics related to marriage: parenthood, family, friendship, intimacy, divorce and bereavement, and refer from time to time to marriages in literature, operas, and the Old Testament. The verse is accomplished, the analysis of marriage both instructive and entertaining, the compassion and wisdom remarkable. This is a poet who means what he says, and who writes frankly and honestly about a relationship too often taken for granted or hidden by the social convention of marital privacy.

In 1865 the Victorian poet Matthew Arnold rejoiced in the charm of Oxford, 'that sweet City with her dreaming spires'. A century and a half later, That Sweet City offers a visual and poetic tribute to what is still one of the fairest and most enthralling places in the world. Designed in the form of seven walks across and around Oxford, and radiating out into the surrounding countryside, this book evokes the buildings and landscapes, both famous and less well-known, that have witnessed and shaped the city's history. The first sequence of pictures and poems, Seven Sights of Oxford, leads the reader (and walker) from Christ Church Meadow across the High Street to the Radcliffe Camera; thence down Broad Street to St. Giles, the University Parks and Port Meadow. The second, Seven Secret Sights, offers a circular tour of lesser-known landmarks from the Town Hall to Folly Bridge, the Old Railway Bridge and Isis Lock, the re-emergent Radcliffe Campus, Mesopotamia and The Plain. Seven Ages of Oxford, starting with the Saxon Tower of St. Michael's Church in the Cornmarket, and finishing in the University s science area in South Parks Road (via the Castle, Worcester College, Christ Church, the Sheldonian Theatre and the University Museum), provides a short and eclectic history of the city and its ancient University. Other sequences of poems and paintings include Seven Treasures of Oxford (with the Alfred Jewel and the Bodleian Library), Seven Sights around Oxford (with Otmoor, Kelmscott and Blenheim Palace) and Seven Products of Oxford (including marmalade, books and Oxfam). A final walk, Seven Gardens of Oxford, celebrates the diversity of the city s many green spaces. An introduction provides a concise history of Oxford and explains the choice of sights, the structure of the poetry and the inspiration behind the illustrations. Maps make it easy for visitors to follow the walks and find their way around the city. In words and images, That Sweet City evokes a place constantly changing yet timeless in its beauty.