Month: October 2025

Brian Patten

I too was very sorry to hear Brian Patten had died (I was reminded of this in reading Mat Riches blog post in which he talks about having sent Patten some poems as a youngster and got a kind letter in reply – how lovely! Imagine writing letters. I did once get a kind reply to a fan letter I sent to Philip Schofield. But let’s not go into that!)

The Liverpool Poets loom large in my early days of reading poetry. I never saw Brian Patten read, but I did contact him a couple of years ago hoping he might agree to be interviewed for Planet Poetry, He replied that he wasn’t feeling up to it, but wouldn’t rule it out in the future. Sadly that future has now run out, and I feel the poorer for it.

One of my favourite poems in ‘New Volume’ was the last in the book, Patten’s ‘On Time For Once’, which I share with you here.

On Time for Once by Brian Patten

A novel rises from the ashes… maybe

Just when I was starting to get back into writing poetry, the world of prose starts up again in my brain. First of all I was asked to review a new anthology of short stories by Sussex-based Chalk Circle Writers. Although my first reaction was ‘I don’t write short stories’, lo and behold, I was so taken with this collection and the idea of the short story form, I wonder if this is something I might enjoy.

Then there was a conversation with friend Steph about how her book (a cosy mystery called ‘Death, Deceit and Cake’) was selling really well. She self-published it after a gruelling experience of dealing with potential agents. And the move has certainly paid off. She now has a growing readership eager for the next book in the series. It got me thinking about my historical novel and whether I ought to have another go with that, possibly going down the self-publishing route. I wasn’t quite ready to re-read it, but I did get out the query package I’d written in 2023 – synopsis, first page of the manuscript, query letter – and decided to run it by Chat GBT.

I got as far as pasting in the synopsis. Within seconds, the AI not only summarised the main themes and narrative arc of the book, but the synopsis rewrite it came up with had me choking on my Diet Coke. Holy *@&(#! Is this my book? It sounded like a bloody good read! My next thought being: why did I spend weeks redrafting this synopsis – and sending it off to agents – when it was so far from perfect? And of course, when you talk to Chat it never stops – Would you like me to create a query letter? Would you like me to customise this for a specific genre, women’s fiction, historical etc? Commercial or literary?

I had to walk away at that point and let it all sink in. Of course, I can’t be submitting anything that’s been written by AI, but I’ve certainly got some excellent pointers/critique to help me rework the synopsis. Actually, I think the ‘written by a human’ tag will only gain in value in the future. I’ve had this printed on stickers and am attaching them to copies of my pamphlet Yo-Yo, and maybe I’ll do the same with The Mayday Diaries. This could become a thing!

So the upshot of all this is that I’m planning to revisit the book, the title and all the query documents, research more agents, and try again. I’ll let you know what happens.

Yo-yo: a handmade pamphlet!

This is exciting (well, for me anyway!): the first 25 copies of my second handmade limited edition pamphlet are done and ready to sell! Actually I’ve sold two already!

After the success of Foot Wear in 2017 (meaning, all fifty copies found homes – woop!) Yo-yo is my latest offering. I really enjoy the process of printing, stitching, designing a cover and everything it entails. We’re talking ‘coffee-break’ pamphlet here – 16 pages, nine poems and a few facsimile pages of diary entries and the like. And I’ve bound it with some lovely pink thread! At £5 (plus £1 postage) it’s about the price of a hot matcha latte at Caffe Nero! Get in!

Here’s the blurb:

In which the poet obsesses over Amal Clooney, boiled eggs and ancient Greek ideals of beauty in this pocket-sized kick at the quest for slimness. A lifelong slave to the scales wonders how it got this bad, taking aim at the NHS, Instagram influencers and herself. Illustrated with sad diary entries and bouncing with black humour, this little tale should resonate with anyone who ever went on a diet.

Roll up, roll up – you can buy a signed copy here, and they’re all numbered, so you get a gen-yoo-ine one-off, complete with the odd wonky edge or other charming detail.

To be honest I think I’ll probably sell most of them at readings, such as tomorrow’s Ouse Muse in Bedford where you’ll find me reading from both The Mayday Diaries and Yo-yo. It’s 7.45 for 8 at The Eagle Bookshop, and there’s an open mic too. Would be grand to see you there, please say hello!

Right, off now to go through my set.