Flavours
by Lori Levy & Neil Leadbeater
54 Poems ~ 73 pages
Price: INR 200 ~ US $15.00
Publisher: Cyberwit.net
ISBN: 978-93-6354-031-6
To Order: Amazon.com
ABOUT THE BOOK:
At a cursory reading, Flavours by Neil Leadbeater and Lori Levy suggests that these are poems about food. And so it is. However, since life happens most often at the behest of food, look for more. These poets give readers a “taste” of things held deep within the spirit. I hear their collective voice beckoning, Come and see, come and gather. Sit with us, let us taste of life together.
ADVANCE PRAISE:
The poems in Lori Levy and Neil Leadbeater’s ‘Flavours’ are a veritable feast, with the taste and fragrance of olives from the Middle East and the full-fat cheeses of Gloucestershire. These poems burst with color and rich imagery: “box loads of begonias” and a “slightly smoky scent/ of roasted grain.” Most delightful is the section “The Dialogue Poems” where the two poets respond to each other’s work, brimming with foods and experiences from their own backgrounds, intrigued and fueled by travels and senses. This collection is a feast to savor and devour.
–Carol V. Davis, author of ‘Below Zero’
This triptych collection of poems by two wonderful poets, Lori Levy and Neil Leadbeater, whets the appetite and provides food for thought. Levy explores themes of connection and family tied to the appreciation of cuisines from many cultures while Leadbeater expands the relationship of food beyond family with reference to the wider community, its connection to the land and the people who cultivate it. In the concluding section, both poets write poems that playfully refer back to their respective contributions in the first two parts of the book, achieving a finely choreographed dance incorporating light-hearted banter that wraps the book in love, light and the savoury flavor of beautiful words.
–Laurie Kuntz, author of ‘Shelter in Place’.
ABOUT THE AUTHORS:
Neil Leadbeater is an author, essayist, poet and critic living in Edinburgh, Scotland. His work has been published widely in anthologies and journals both at home and abroad. His latest publications are ‘Flavours’ (co-authored with Lori Levy) and ‘Cycling to the End of the World’ (both published by Cyberwit.net, Allahabad, India, 2025 and 2026). Other publications include ‘Librettos for the Black Madonna’ (White Adder Press, 2011); ‘The Loveliest Vein of Our Lives’ (Poetry Space, 2014); ‘The Fragility of Moths’ (editura pim, Iaşi, Romania, 2014); ‘Sleeve Notes’ (editura pim, Iaşi, Romania, 2016); and an e-book, ‘Grease-banding The Apple Trees’ (Rafaelli Editore, Rimini, Italy, 2015). He is a regular reviewer for journals in the US and the UK and his work has been translated into Chinese, French, Dutch, Nepali, Romanian, Spanish and Swedish.
Lori Levy’s poems have appeared in Rattle, Nimrod, Poet Lore, Passager Journal, ONE ART, and numerous other online and print literary journals and anthologies, as well as in medical humanities journals. Two of her chapbooks were published in 2023: “What Do You Mean When You Say Green? and Other Poems of Color” (Kelsay Books) and “Feet in L.A., But My Womb Lives in Jerusalem, My Breath in Vermont” (Ben Yehuda Press). Her latest book, “Flavours,” is a collaboration with Neil Leadbeater on poems about food (Cyberwit). Levy lives with her husband in Los Angeles near their children and grandchildren.
FROM THE BOOK:
What I Learned From My Niece
by Lori Levy
When asked what her hobbies are,
my 22-two-year-old niece says one is food–
eating it, not cooking it. Good food,
which, for her, means anything from shawarma to
endive salad with fruit and cheese, gnocchi with
pink sauce, purple soup with kubeh and beets.
I love that a hobby can be as simple as
savoring–not riding a bike over rough terrain
or kayaking down a river, like others in my family.
Maybe my hobby is eggplant.
On this visit to Israel, I scan the menu
for anything with eggplant: pasta, sandwiches, salad.
My brother-in-law Hiski
fries eggplants for us because I crave sabich.
I fill pita with chopped salad, hard-boiled eggs,
tahini, amba, and my beloved eggplant,
almost closing my eyes in anticipation
of the first bite.
My niece, Ofri, says another hobby is
sitting on the beach.
I could claim that one, too.
Reclining on a beach chair,
still and silent as a rock,
as the sky turns red over the Medterranean–
pita with eggplant in a picnic basket beside me.
Gathering Windfalls
by Neil Leadbeater
Beady with intent
our resident robin watches
as we forage in the grass.
He knows what we are after.
Shameless in scarlet
he loves the ‘O’ in October–
that big intake of surprise and wonder
that whirls octosyllabic lines
into leaves the colour of ochre.
Soon the whole floor
breeze-blown
with their copper offerings
will turn to burnt umber–
but for now,
caught in his red-hearted banter,
he is almost calling
Braeburns and Pippins
because it’s a good day to chirrup,
to look askance
at our hurried endeavour–
a day when we gather
whatever we can
before the great undressing:
autumn in its lemon light.
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