Please click on the image for a bit of fun! Yes I know, the picture is a bit strange. Then again, perhaps you haven’t really looked at it? Understandable. Poetry books sometimes have interesting cover art, but the poet rarely has much say in it. Thanks to being published by a small press with anRead more ⟶
Author: Robin Houghton
Free Verse, book launch & readings
The book is well and truly launched. A month or so ago at Free Verse, the poetry book fair in London, I was helping out Jeremy Page on the Frogmore Press table while at the same time handing out promotional postcards – a bit cheeky, but Jeremy was OK with it. It was a shameRead more ⟶
At the National Poetry Competition awards night
Yesterday evening Peter Kenny and I stood in the doorway of the wood-panelled hall at the Art Workers’ Guild in London and surveyed the throng: who were all these very tall, young people? I’ve no idea who gets invited to these shebangs, but it was a mystery to me – ten years ago the eventRead more ⟶
New book stuff, and other Spring shenanigans
Just back from a walk along the beach at Pevensey, part of the newly-established ‘England Coastal Path’. Sunny days at this time of year are so precious, aren’t they? Now I’m about to get down to some work, mostly to do with the forthcoming book (ahem! did I mention that before?) which is now putRead more ⟶
Coming soon!
It’s suddenly all happening. The Mayday Diaries from Pindrop Press launches on 1st May (oh yeah!) and the countdown has begun! Negative thoughts: I’m reminded that I should have started thinking about promoting the book ages ago. Probably need help. Positive thoughts: The marketing cap is back on, I’m reviewing my websites and socials andRead more ⟶
Readings, giving myself a talking-to and some early Spring cleaning
Actually January was pretty good overall. Not for the pelargoniums in the garden that have been reduced to a frostbitten mess. But our goldfish Brahms and Liszt have both been spotted alive and well so the cold snaps haven’t done for them yet. Also I’ve been illness-free (write it!) and the collection is coming along.Read more ⟶
New Year, new book and other news
Oof! December was a blur of concerts and all that entailed, then family stuff and various resolutions. Between Christmas and New Year we managed not one but two mini-breaks: the first was a day in London which included an excellent guided walk of Nine Elms & Battersea with Hilaire. The next day we took offRead more ⟶
Finding my tribe again on Bluesky
Like many people I’ve been humming and haaing about moving from Twitter/X to Bluesky. This week it finally seemed to be the right time. So I secured my name, thinking that I’d set the account up properly at a later date. But the interface was so familiar, so similar to Twitter, that I jumped rightRead more ⟶
How the collection is going, and other news
People are asking me about the poetry collection forthcoming from Pindrop Press. Well, it’s a long way off yet. Sharon Black at Pindrop does a marvellous job of publishing and promoting poets, but being an editor as well as a publisher, it’s been a busy time for her. So although The Mayday Diaries is stillRead more ⟶
On National Poetry Day: getting autumnal, Medieval women, currently reading
An blog update for National Poetry Day! To celebrate, not only have I just recorded an interview with the immensely talented Tishani Doshi for Planet Poetry, but this evening I’ll be at Hastings Stanza for some poem sharing and workshopping. All very fitting. Everything’s cranking up now it’s the autumn: the publicity machine for variousRead more ⟶
