Pendle Hill is inspiration for Ribble Valley author as she launches first poetry anthology

An author and former traveller has published her first book of poetry.
Author Jenny Palmer has published her first book of poems based on Pendle Hill which is her inspiration as she can see it from her home in the Ribble Valley.Author Jenny Palmer has published her first book of poems based on Pendle Hill which is her inspiration as she can see it from her home in the Ribble Valley.
Author Jenny Palmer has published her first book of poems based on Pendle Hill which is her inspiration as she can see it from her home in the Ribble Valley.

Pendle Poems is inspired by the beautiful, scenic area and the magnificent hill of the same name where Jenny Palmer was born and grew up.

After many years of living away she returned to Lancashire and admitted that Pendle 'cast its spell' and drew her back for good.

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Indeed, Jenny composes her poems looking at Pendle from her house in Twiston in the Ribble Valley which is just yards from the family home where she grew up.

Jenny said: "My window faces Pendle and it is here where I compose my poems. My themes range from friendly visits and spring cleaning, through climate change and technology to love and death, with some humorous touches along the way.

"Quaker Girl’ and The Bulcock Memorial and Mystery Woman are based on the lives of real people who lived locally, while The Riot Act, Minds a-whirring or Traces of the Past have a wider historical and geographical compass."

"Up North, Perspective and Flying Visits grew out of my own personal feelings and experiences."

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Fellow multi-award winning poet Phil Burton who is also the honorary president of Burnley and District Writers' Circle said Jenny's poetry had left him 'chuckling, wiping away a tear and delighted.'

He has also described her short stories as having a Chekhovian quality.

In 2012, Jenny published a childhood memoir ‘Nowhere better than home,’ about growing up at the foot of Pendle Hill and she followed this in 2014 with ‘Whipps, Watsons and Bulcocks: a Pendle family’ which harks back to the time of the Pendle Witches and early Quakers.

‘Pastures New’ a follow-up memoir came out in 2016 and last year she published her first fictional novel to rave reviews.

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Keepsake and Other Stories is an anthology of short stories - some contemporary, others delving into the historical past - set in Lancashire and also London.

Jenny (68) said: “I wrote the stories over a number of years and workshopped them in various writing groups including Clitheroe Writers’ Group.”

Jenny was thrilled when a reviewer on Amazon described the stories as “delightful snippets of life”.

Another wrote: “Something for everyone. A pleasure to read and explore life’s rich tapestry.”

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Jenny said she draws her inspiration from life and tries to turn it into stories which are both “enjoyable and informative”.

Jenny has been described as a 'woman ahead of her time' as she has lived in some of the world’s most dangerous places, always preferring to travel alone.

Living in countries like Bolivia, Mexico and Libya where social unrest, political fragmentation, drug trafficking and human rights violations were all part of everyday life became the norm for former teacher Jenny.

* Jenny will be doing a book signing for Pendle Poems at the Pendle Heritage Centre, Barrowford on Friday, July 12th, from noon to 3pm and an author talk at Clitheroe Library on Saturday, August 10th from 2pm to 3pm.