NEW
'I sometimes think my heaven may be a green place,
​with an orchard tree'
Elizabeth Waterhouse

​Trees are all around us, taken for granted, marking the seasons, and forming the backdrop to our daily lives.  Who hasn't got a favourite tree? Who hasn't planted a tree? Climbed a tree? Sat in the shade of a tree? Who hasn't walked happily through a wood? 
 
‘The wonder is that we can see these trees and not wonder more’
Ralph Waldo Emerson
 
Here are poems about trees, woods and orchards that reflect that wonder.  A wonder that we feel and want to share.  If you love trees, this is for you.

Treelines: A collection of poems
Selected by Janie Hextall and Barbara McNaught 
Published: 2018
ISBN: 9780956826534​
Price: PB £10 + P&P

ALSO AVAILABLE
​'A jewel of a poetry collection’ (Oxford Times) 
‘its seductive sparkle’ (Tatler)

While having fun with Washing Lines: A collection of poems, Barbara and Janie discovered they have many other things in common, including an interest in all things precious, semi-precious and sparkly.  This is a book of poems inspired by the seductive sparkle of jewels and jewellery, and the emotions they arouse and represent.

Every culture since time immemorial has understood the importance of jewellery, whether plain or precious, so this book of ‘pearls’ is not only for poetry lovers but also for anyone who has ever treasured a piece of jewellery.

Strings of Pearls: A collection of poems
Selected by Janie Hextall and Barbara McNaught
Published: September 2013
ISBN: 9780956826510
Price: PB £10 + P&P 

REPRINT
‘Possibly one of my favourite books of the whole year’
​Claire Armitstead (The Guardian) on the Radio 2 Arts Programme

When we published Washing Lines in 2011, we found to our delight that we were not the only people in the world who love washing lines and poetry.  

The book sold out quickly, hence this new REVISED EDITION which replaces some poems with new or previously undiscovered work.

‘The most original and entertaining poetry anthology of the year devotedly celebrates washing blowing on the line and the smell of clean linen’ 10 red-hot reads by Sebastian Shakespeare, Tatler

‘The finished product is as satisfying as a clean basket of laundry’ Maggie Hartford, Oxford Times

Washing Lines: A collection of poems
Selected by Janie Hextall and Barbara McNaught 
Published: 2011, reprint October 2015 
ISBN: 9780956826503
Price: PB £10 + P&P

ALSO AVAILABLE
'It is perhaps a more fortunate destiny to have a taste for collecting shells than to be born a millionaire'
Robert Louis Stevenson

The timeless pleasure of beach-walking and beach-combing is reflected in these poems about shells and pebbles, tides and rock pools, flotsam and jetsam. Time spent on a beach, whatever the weather, lifts the spirits. This collection is for everyone who loves to be beside the sea and finds it impossible to come back from the beach with empty pockets.

We both love bowls of pebbles and baskets of shells and have spent many happy hours pottering on beaches, so we hope our book will appeal not only to poetry lovers but to everyone who loves walking along beaches and finding treasure there.

Shorelines: A collection of poems
Selected by Janie Hextall and Barbara McNaught 
Published: October 2015
ISBN: 9780956826527
Price: PB £10 + P&P 

​CONTACT
Lautus Press, Ryton House, Lechlade, Glos GL7 3AR. Telephone: 01367 252286. Email: barbara@ryton-house.co.uk