A new poetic book of memories, recollections and personal insights is truly a family affair.

Alison Corlett and father Alfred Looney released ’The Gift of Words’, a joint collection of more than 30 original poems in October.

Among the poems are nostalgic pieces remembering Alfred’s childhood, spent growing up on a farm in the 1940s and 50s, poems inspired by the island’s environment and natural world, a touching tribute to lost family members and some offering their funny and wry takes on local and world events.

Both have written throughout most of their lives, with Alfred passing his own love of poetry onto his daughter and between them they have amassed a considerable amount of original written work between them.

Alison said that they decided it was about time that they combined their efforts and published some of their favourites together.

’Dad and I have been writing poems for years and we keep on saying that we should put them all in a book one day and this year we eventually got around to it, said Alison, who was inspired at a young age to write by her father.

’I think I must have caught the poetry bug of my dad, as I also wrote poems as a child and I remember bringing me children’s poetry books, which inspired me.

’We both collect ideas. We will both jot ideas down and I’ll often think of something and show it to Dad.

’We have always bounced ideas of each other for years and years.’

Alfred said that he has been writing since he was a child, with one of his first poems, a piece about a young Prince Charles, being published in a school magazine.

Many of his poems reflect on his childhood spent growing up on the family farm at Ballacottier, near Cooil.

These include ’the Hurricane Lamp’, about working as a nine-year-old in the pitch-black of a hayloft in mid-winter, and ’Seventy Summers Ago’, about working as a child on the farm alongside his grandfather.

’As I’ve been writing since I was a child, I have quite of few poems built up,’ said Alfred.

’I have files of them all around my house. My daughter sometimes helps me get them on the computer and coordinate them. It’s been a lifelong interest and we just thought we need to do it.’

Both say that they are influenced by the great Manx poets and they have both read at the Guild, performing their own and their favourite TE Brown poems.

’We both think that writing poetry can up lift you,’ said Alison.

’I certainly find it makes me very satisfied and happy to write poetry.’

’A Gift of Words’ is priced £10.99 and available from the Lexicon book shop, Eden Park Garden Centre and online.

by Mike Wade

Twitter:@iomnewspapers