More Patina than Gleam
In her 70th year, Jane Aldous decided to write 70 poems, exploring a fictionalised version of a life she almost lived. This series of poems, based in post war Edinburgh, tell linked love stories, including the story of Linda, fleeing with her 11 year old daughter from England and an abusive relationship. In hiding as a lady’s companion in one of the city’s suburbs, mother and daughter settle into their new life in Elsie’s rackety house, and encounter a variety of characters who will change their lives forever. More Patina than Gleam celebrates outsiders getting by in hard times – the day to day grind of cleaning a house, periods, prejudice, ageing, sexuality and falling in and out of love. The poems are not autobiographical, but Jane Aldous, whose own mother used to say that she could have run away with Jane when she was a baby, has gently torn scraps from her own life to add to the collage.
Jane Aldous
Jane Aldous is an Edinburgh based poet who returned to writing poetry later in life. She has been commended in several competitions and her poems have been widely published in magazines and anthologies. She has had two collections published by Arachne Press, the second of which was a lesbian love story set in 1960s Edinburgh told in 70 poems. She is currently working on a third series of poems which tell a more contemporary and mysterious tale.
