A Recent Trip to Riga

Here's something you may not know about our editors, Tony Ward and Angela Jarman. They're always travelling! That's right, these two muses are constantly marking the map. Yet, even whilst travelling, they're utterly devoted to their poets - sleeping, eating, and dreaming poetry.

It's true, they want to be omniscient, to catch their poets living, to soak up all their experiences and then to pass them back. I think it's fair to say they would walk miles and miles, and climb to the top of each poet's family tree, to discover all the moments of history and the hundreds of stories that lie behind their authors' poems. That's exactly what makes them such careful, attentive publishers.

Recently, they were invited on tour in Riga, Latvia, where they attended the book launch party for Arc poet, Karlis Verdinš, and his remarkable new book Come to Me. Karlis gave a celebratory reading in the oh-so-quaint Nice Place bookshop, where he read in both English and Latvian. The poet wore a charming navy and cherry-red chequered jacket, which very much reflected his infinitely quirky and original persona.

As Karlis read, the room filled with applause and laughter and the audience seemed to be deeply moved and affected by his words. Let's face it, Verdins is capable of turning us all inside out in one way or another, and that's certainly something we can be grateful for.