An interesting book came my way from Bloodaxe recently – a book of books, you might call it, or perhaps an anthology of collections. Home Front features four collections (each by a different poet, three of whom were unfamiliar to me) on the theme of war, specifically the experience of wives, lovers and mothers when their lovedRead more ⟶
Author: Robin Houghton
Coffee-House Poetry at the Troubadour
Getting to and from London from the south coast is ten times harder than it used to be these days, as the rail company (which has a monopoly) has been running an unsatisfactory service for the last however many months – actually it could be a year or more. Two-day strikes pop up every three weeks orRead more ⟶
Poetry vs DIY, plus a few upcoming deadlines
It’s easy to lose the rhythm of blogging – I’ve been lacking the motivation lately, partly out of a feeling of ‘what is there really to say that makes a difference?’ And yet, there are always interesting things to say. I’ve recently been admiring Josephine Corcoran’s commitment to blogging every day during November – sometimesRead more ⟶
Charlotte Gann book launch
It’s always a joy to hear poet friend Charlotte giving a reading. There’s a weight to her voice, a rootedness … it’s hard to explain what I mean. There’s no act, no funny stuff. She presents her poems simply, and they just seem to appear in the room – completely in the proper place – like great treesRead more ⟶
Marion Tracy spills the beans
On becoming a poet in Australia, putting images in the wrong order, and John Ashbery’s baskets: in conversation with Marion Tracy. When I asked poet friend Marion Tracy if she’d like to guest on my blog, we both had several ideas of what form it might take. We met, and chatted through it – I’ve known MarionRead more ⟶
Quick update on things
It’s been a tricky month so far for finding the time and inclination to blog, so I thought I’d write a quick update. I have a lovely guest post waiting in the wings, which I’m planning to post up later in the week. So … the last three weeks have been strange to say the least,Read more ⟶
Seven Questions for Poets #10 – Elly Nobbs
My final interviewee in this series is E.E. Nobbs. Elly is a Canadian poet whose book The Invisible Girl won the Doire Press International Chapbook Competition in 2013. I almost feel I’ve met Elly – she’s a bit of a poetry Anglophile given her impressive presence on our UK poetry blogs, at The Poetry School and numerous other places.Read more ⟶
Seven Questions for Poets #9 – Rosemary Badcoe
This is the penultimate post in this ‘Seven Questions’ series, I’ve hope you’ve enjoyed it as much as I have – there have been some really interesting and surprising answers, but also a fair bit of consistency – particularly when it comes to recommendations for non-poetry readers, and reactions to being asked to read atRead more ⟶
Reading of poem ‘Long Haul’
This is from a reading I did in Eastbourne earlier this year and the poem appeared in The Interpreter’s House in June. Apologies for the sound quality and there are a couple of visual glitches – I never have much luck with video! Long Haul from Robin Houghton on Vimeo.
Seven Questions for Poets #8 – Anna Kisby
I first met Anna Kisby at the Brighton Poetry Stanza and was struck by her writing. Sadly for us, she then relocated to the west country. But it’s always a joy to come across her work, and we met again recently at the South Downs Poetry Festival, where she was awarded first prize in theRead more ⟶