Product Description

This collection of poems draws on many themes that should be familiar to the readers of Catherine Cookson's novels: love, work, class and the beauty of nature. She also shares more personal thoughts, reflections on her own writing, marriage to her beloved Tom and life in the north of England. From the earliest poem included here, written in 1925 when Catherine Cookson was 19 years old, to poems written just before her death in 1998, this anthology spans the gamut of her life and work. The poems are characterized by her down-to-earth common sense and the hard-won philosophy she developed for herself. In "Brushed Nylon" she tackles the subject of a failed relationship while "The Daily Round" takes a look at working life. In more personal moments poems such as "Slow Me Down" talk of her feelings about growing old and 'The Joy of the Country' recalls a holiday in Wales. Catherine Cookson completed an astonishing 104 works in her lifetime. "Just A Saying" is her final work to be published and shows Catherine Cookson at her most intimate and inspirational.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #303852 in Books
• Published on: 2003-10-01
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 128 pages

From the Back Cover
For Catherine Cookson, the themes of love, work, class and the beauty of nature were the foundations on which she built her novels. This, her last collection of poems, offers another perspective on her unique gifts and her extraordinary life.

From the earliest poem included here, written in 1925 when Catherine Cookson was nineteen years old, to poems written just before her death in 1998, this anthology spans the breadth of the century she made her own. The poems are characterized by her down-to-earth common sense and the hard-won philosophy she developed for herself. In 'Brushed Nylon' she tackles the subject of a failed relationship while 'The Daily Round' takes a look at working life. In more personal moments poems such as 'Slow Me Down' talk of her feelings about growing old and 'The Joy of the Country' recalls a holiday in Wales.

Catherine Cookson remains one of the nation's favourite storytellers. She completed an astonishing 104 works in her lifetime, books which continue to bring pleasure to millions of readers. Just A Saying is her final work to be published and shows Catherine Cookson at her most intimate and inspirational.

About the Author
Catherine Cookson:
Catherine Cookson was born in Tyne Dock, the illegitimate daughter of a poverty-stricken woman, Kate, whom she believed to be her older sister. She began work in service but eventually moved south to Hastings, where she met and married Tom Cookson, a local grammar-school master. Although she was originally acclaimed as a regional writer - her novel The Round Tower won the Winifred Holtby Award for the best regional novel of 1968 - her readership quickly spread throughout the world, and her many best-selling novels established her as one of the most popular of contemporary women novelists. After receiving an OBE in 1985, Catherine Cookson was created a Dame of the British Empire in 1993. She was appointed an Honorary Fellow of St Hilda's College, Oxford, in 1997. For many years she lived near Newcastle upon Tyne. She died shortly before her ninety-second birthday, in June 1998.

Customer Reviews

An absolute treasure
Catherine Cookson is terribly underrated in the literary world and has often been described as writing too simply, however, this is her style and charm. Catherine's books are plain talking, 'as it is' type books. 'Just a Saying' is a compilation of Catherine's thoughts and although it could be classed as poetry she asks in one of her poems that you don't call her prattlings poetry! One of the most compelling things about this book is the sheer honesty with which the author writes. Cookson writes the things we all think but wouldn't dare to say, such as why should we try to get on with people just because we are related to them and that our real kin are the people we meet in the street and form bonds with. It is this honesty of self expression that is so refreshing and comforting to those of us who have similar thoughts and beliefs and thought we were evil to think them and never discussed them with anyone. In this book we have a window into the thoughts of the true mind of a real woman, often contemplating on her life, meditating on the world and the relationships people have with each other.

In short, this is an enchanting book of the metaphysical and is a must for all those philosophical. This is a book you will keep and refer back to time and time again.