PJ Harvey to Pen Poetry Book

It was a moment of sheer serendipity: A pair of friends had won tickets to a sold-out PJ Harvey show at Hammerstein Ballroom in New York City, and they had an extra one. They asked, "Would you like to join us?" Of course, I answered yes.
 

PJ Harvey is working on a book of poetry to be released in 2015.
Image via www.dancinglyrics.com

On the unforgettable night of the concert, Harvey filled the cavernous music venue with her larger-than-life stage presence and rafter-rattling vocals. During one song in particular, "Meet Ze Monsta," she carried every single fan in the venue on the same, massive sonic wave that rose higher and higher as she sang, "Big...black...monsoon!" and let out a howl that went straight through you.

Before seeing PJ Harvey in concert that night, I understood that she was a songwriting genius whose songs were weighted with emotional power. But that night I was a witness to the unmistakable creativity of this unique artist, and it was clearer to me than ever before that she is a gifted wordsmith. After completing an impressive succession of amazingly crafted albums, the last being 2011's Let England Shake, Harvey is at last releasing a collection of poetry.

Pitchfork broke the news that Harvey is working on her first collection of poetry, The Hollow of the Hand. A collaboration between Harvey and photographer and filmmaker Seamus Murphy, The Hollow of the Hand will feature words by Harvey and pictures by Murphy. The two amassed inspiration for their collaborative project by traveling the world for three years, from 2011 to 2014, stopping in places such as Kosovo, Afghanistan, and Washington, DC, along the way.

Talking about the project in a press release, Harvey said:

"Gathering information from secondary sources felt too far removed for what I was trying to write about. I wanted to smell the air, feel the soil and meet the people of the countries I was fascinated with. My friend Seamus Murphy and I agreed to grow a project together – I would collect words, he would collect pictures, following our instincts on where we should go."

Bloomsbury Circus, the literary imprint of London-based Bloomsbury Books, is scheduled to release The Hollow of the Hand in October of next year. According to product details about the book from Amazon.com, The Hollow of the Hand will be 224 pages long. The book will be simultaneously released in both hardcover and paperback editions. "A limited number of signed special editions will be also available," reveals the Amazon.com page for the anticipated book.

For more on The Hollow of the Hand, go to THIS LINK and THIS LINK as well.