Month: June 2012

Hurrah! The Rialto takes another

Rialto

So excited to have had a poem accepted for The Rialto.

The first poem I had published was in this magazine (Rialto 70, Autumn 2010) and to say that I was ‘gobsmacked’ would be an understatement… only I’m not allowed to use that word in my husband’s presence as he believes it is an affront the English language.

The only trouble is … I wasn’t as proud of that particular poem as some of the stuff I’ve written more recently, plus since then I’ve had this nagging feeling it was a fluke, and I needed dear Michael Mackmin to say ‘YAY’ to another in order to revive that ever-ready to deflate tent that is my confidence.

So – phew! Very happy.

Also forthcoming are 3 poems in Iota, although I’m not sure when it’s coming out. Back in March I got a rejection from Iota, for the same three poems that had previously been accepted by the same. Very strange – eventually I realised it was because I had submitted twice – the first time I included my contact details on the poems and then realised that Iota operates an anonymous selection process. I was advised to re-submit, and it was the second submission that was rejected. 

It’s a good example of how the same poems can be wrong for a publication one week, and right for it the next – presumably down to things like what other poems are in the mix already, where the editor has a gap, etc. Maybe also what they read that morning or had for lunch. Who knows – but it was a good illustration of how you should not give up too easily on a poem just because it gets rejected a few times.

Charleston Festival

Arabiantent

It’s an annual ritual shared with an old schoolfriend. Charleston (Literary) Festival, at the end of May, takes place in the farmhouse once lived in by the ‘Bloomsberries’ – Vanessa Bell, Duncan Grant, Lytton Strachey, John Maynard Keynes et al. Several hundred people are accommodated in a marquee in the garden, with between-sessions visits to the house, the shop, the lovely walled gardens and the tea tent.

This year there was an addition – the ‘Arabian Tent’ – where Faber held a few taster sessions for its writing courses (clearly more money in this than publishing these days). When it wasn’t being used, however, it looked like this – a space where anyone could loll, meditate or have a quiet gossip while draped over a thinly-disguised campbed or (slightly better upholstered) chaise. Lovely to look at though not so wonderfully comfy in reality, especially on the second weekend when it was COLD.

Can’t complain though – on the first weekend we had glorious weather and Caroline and I enjoyed a long boozy picnic on the lawn.

Tent2

Oh – and the actual author readings…well, Charleston never bothers much with poets, although I feel the opportunity is there for them to run a poetry competition on the Bloomsbury theme. I have a lovely little number about Virginia Woolf ready made for it. Except it’s been published already – heh.

The session that stood out for me was Jeanette Winterson, who talked about her memoir ‘Why be happy when you could be normal.’ From the moment she bounced in she had everyone’s attention. Plus, she eschewed the usual format of reading from behind a lectern, or being interviewed in an armchair by another writer. No, Jeanette wore a lapel mic and simply stood and talked, holding everyone’s attention for over an hour. Very difficult to describe in words the atmosphere and the effect she had. This was pure charisma. I got the feeling whatever she might have asked us to do we would have done it. Winterson for PM!

PS the two friends I was with both got their books signed – cleverly leaving those few seconds early in order to get to the front of the queue – just to report that the author in question is MUCH more petite than she seemed on stage. A big presence.

 

Back

I haven’t posted here in a while, I actually took the blog ‘private’ for a few months, after a conversation with Catherine Smith about poets and blogging… she argued strongly for poets retaining a certain mystique and not baring their souls to all and sundry (or their weekly shop, or what they thought of the Jubilee etc).

So, being somewhat underexposed as a poet so far, I thought perhaps I’d go into hiding. But I don’t know. The exhibitionist in me wants out. And I haven’t published anything here terribly revelatory. Plus I’m careful not to post any poems that haven’t already been published. So I’m back. I’m also hard at work nurturing my Blogging for Creatives blog, so that’s got be back my blog mojo. 

Who knows, if I make it interesting rather than completely random, someone may even get some entertainment from it. See you soon!