An Incline Press Chapbook by Claire Robertson-Dwyer

On her hands and knees/ Once a week/ Up a bit, left a bit, round a bit, down

The opening lines of this poem describe the actions of a Yorkshire housewife in the last century. In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, before so many forms of concrete became quite so common, brick built houses for industrial workers tended to have steps and sills made from local stone.  The were kept clean and white (or at least a lighter grey!) by scrubbing them with a 'Donkey Stone'. Made from ground sandstone and bleach with a little cement powder to hold it all together, each stone was about the size of a bar of soap. Feathergill's was one of the most popular of these stones and its trade mark Donkey gave these bars their name.  Claire capture the rhythm as well as the drudgery of this housewife's routine job

216 x 106 mm, [12] p. (unpaginated). Handset in 12 point Granby with Prism for the title, and printed on Hahnemühle paper. 1 line-block illustration repeated and two tipped-in donkey stone wrappers. Sewn into a printed card cover. The edition is of 160 unnumbered copies.

One of an occasional series of Incline Press Chapbooks designed to fit into a Bankers DL envelope.