The Suicide

Product Information

Work hard. I believe hard work and manners will open almost every door. If you are tenacious and polite then you can achieve many things. Perhaps not straight away, but eventually.

Based in the UK, Amy lives in Bath, South West England, and spends her days open-micing and writing new material. Since August 2018 she has performed her poetry at Clifton Literature Festival 2019, The Barbican Theatre in Plymouth and The Wardrobe Theatre in Old Market, Bristol, among other venues and events. Sounds pretty dreamy, doesn’t it? You need to be very tenacious as not everyone will appreciate your work. Obviously you want to appeal to as many people as possible with your writing however you also have to be authentic. I am a very authentic writer, performer and poet. If I am not for you then no problem, but I won’t change. In your introduction, you highlight your faith in God. Does your faith have an impact on your writing, and does your writing impact your faith in God? Thursday 25th August 2022 ( Brixton Nights‘publication day), ‘Amy Tollyfield’s debut novella Brixton Nightsserves up some much needed butch representation’; link to article:Despite the title, this collection is full of hope and humour. Why did you decide to call it The Suicide? Thursday 1st October 2020, ‘Amy Tollyfield: “I always write with the aim of creating a poem which is beautiful, rare and precious”‘; link to interview: You studied Shakespeare, theatre and drama; what impact have they had on your poetry, particularly your rhyming style AMY TOLLYFIELD: I started writing poetry around the age of seven, but my first book of poetry, The Suicide, was published in 2018. When I was either 16 or 17 I had a poem of mine titled One Day I Will Fly to New York published in an edition of English in Education: Research Journal of the National Association for the Teaching of English, which is a literary resource for English teachers across the UK. The title of this poem was later revised to One Day and this poem featured in The Suicide. I plan to write at least one further poetry collection after Toy Soldiers, which I would be honoured if Olympia Publishers would publish for me again, but this will be their decision when the time comes. I would like to try my hand at a novel in due course. My writing grows as I grow and I look forward to where it will take me.

Visit http://www.brixtonnights.com/book-launch now to view the photos and videos from the official launch event for Brixton Nights by Amy Tollyfield at Waterstones Putney in Putney, London on Friday 26th August 2022 It’s going to be a lovely evening of wine, soft drinks and nibbles, and I will present mostly poems from The Suicide, but a couple of new ones I’ve been writing since the book’s release. It’s good to keep things fresh, and I will definitely try to get my work published again, so I want you to hear a couple of new ones, too. I have done performance poetry previously and of course I studied drama and performance so if you make the effort to come to my event then rest assured that I will absolutely make the effort to perform to you and to give you a good evening. http://www.bristol247.com/culture/books/2-amy-tollyfield-i-always-write-with-the-aim-of-creating-a-poem-which-is-beautiful-rare-and-precious To view highlights from Amy’s poetry performances so far, please visit any of the four links below: For interviews and articles in Bristol24/7 and DIVA (online) that relate to Amy and her published works please see belowIn the interests of maximum transparency, please note that at the time of Amy’s interview withDIVA online as above she was not living in Bath and had not lived there for quite some time, contrary to the introduction of the piece

Bristol poet Amy Tollyfield will be performing work from her debut collection, The Suicide, on November 9 at Waterstones, Clifton Bold poetry which speaks to the heart and to the human condition’– Canon Michael Johnson, Acting Dean of Bristol 2019-2020As an individual I often struggle to connect with my true, raw feelings. Sometimes my feelings are so intense that they frighten me a little. I hope the reader can identify within Toy Soldiers the need to connect with their own deepest self and the cathartic release that comes with that process and that pain. Despite being a writer and therefore (supposedly) being someone ‘keen on ideas’, I’m actually a big fan of absolutes. I like things to be definite. To me, throughout my life, in both good and very, very difficult times, God has been a definite. So when God pops up in my poetry, it’s as normal to me as writing about the grass, the sky, or life and death. Any mention of God in my writing is not especially pre-planned. This being said, God of course has a stronger emotional meaning for me than the grass or the sky, and so I absolutely want to thank God and mention God in my introduction. But no, in answer to your question, I’m not sure God does impact my writing hugely. But I’ll let you be the judge! Shakespeare is, of course, pretty top of the list in terms of favourite writers, however you’ll be surprised to hear that I’m not actually a particularly avid reader! As mentioned in The Suicide– one of the few moments I can tell you is definitely autobiographical – I’m happiest in the bath reading a magazine! Lately I’ve been pushing myself to read a bit more, but currently I’m most of the way through a history book and slightly nodding off. I know – it’s awful. I’m just about to get to the chapter on Elizabeth the first, though, so I’m holding out. My inspiration comes from all sorts – life is very exciting and different. There’s lots to draw inspiration from if you look around you. I do love rhyme – it’s enjoyable and it’s easy to swallow. Poetry is to be enjoyed; it shouldn’t be a task to read. Yes, we all love a challenge, and some of my poems will definitely need to be analysed to be enjoyed, but there are just as many in there that you can simply read and ingest smoothly, without having to completely decompartmentalise the whole thing! Shakespeare now is seen as – and I quote –‘high art’, but he wasn’t in his day. Shakespeare wrote for the masses and Shakespeare’s theatre was very accessible in his day. Drama and theatre is for pleasure – let my writing be. Amy Tollyfield’s poetry collection, The Suicide , is out now. For more information, visit olympiapublishers.com/books/the-suicide