Yesterday was only the second sunny, (almost) balmy evening of the year, and I found myself (almost) beside the sea, amongst some magical works of art and listening to poetry at Cameron Contemporary Art Gallery in Hove. It was strong reading from Siân Thomas, Stephen Plaice and Rebecca Hurst, and a super atmosphere thanks to the efforts ofRead more ⟶
Author: Robin Houghton
Granta Japan launch
A fascinating evening yesterday in Brighton at New Writing South for the launch of the latest issue of Granta magazine issue 127, Japan, published simultaneously in English and Japanese. Two of the contributors, Yukiko Motoya and Hiromi Kawakami, read extracts of their work in Japanese, and their translators then read the same passages in English.Read more ⟶
Heavenly Bodies, Starry Night
I admit Don McLean’s Vincent was one of my inspirations when it came to writing about a constellation – that and the challenge of writing a poem about stars without the word ‘star’ appearing in it. It’s now part of an anthology of 88 poems (representing all the known/named constellations) and I’m dead chuffed toRead more ⟶
A very Lewes launch: Janet Sutherland & Jeremy Page
Somehow I managed to arrive too late for a seat at the Elephant & Castle yesterday evening (despite having a commute of approximately 30 seconds) but really enjoyed the atmosphere in the packed function room. Poets galore were joined by friends and neighbours for the joint launch of Bone Monkey by Janet Sutherland published byRead more ⟶
Quick Friday update – events, submissions etc
It’s been a thin year so far as regards writing, getting stuff out and accepted by magazines. I do have one excuse, which is that work has taken up a lot more of my time than usual these last 6 months. Not that I’m complaining, as my work and poetry interests continue to converge, slowlyRead more ⟶
‘The Fishermen’s Farewell’ by Robin Robertson
Now that I’m enjoying a brief work hiatus (book submission made yesterday, drum-roll please) I’m hoping to catch up on my reading. This morning I picked up Hill of Doors (Picador), Robin Robertson’s T S Eliot award-nominated collection, and was reminded of how much I enjoyed my first brief meander through when it was givenRead more ⟶
Latest on the book, the pamphlet and more projects
I don’t suppose you’ve noticed, but I’ve been a bit quiet on here the last week or so – not for any reason other than work though. I’ve fully recovered from the mini workshop trauma of a couple of weeks ago (I typed that as one word, workshoptrauma, which made me wonder momentarily if that’sRead more ⟶
On blogging, writing and giving myself time
Yesterday was the first session of a ‘Build your social web presence’ course I’m teaching at New Writing South, and the common question of how does one find the time to blog came up. Fellow bloggers, how would you answer this? Do you set time aside to blog, or just fit it in when youRead more ⟶
Bit of a regroup after a challenging workshop
Ever had a bad day at the poetry workshop coalface? I think I had one yesterday. Here’s what happened and what came from it. Firstly, I made some mistakes. I haven’t been reading or writing much poetry the last few weeks, as I’ve been consumed with work, research and a very different kind of writing. TiredRead more ⟶
National Poetry Competition awards last night
6.30pm on Thursday evening, and I receive an email invitation to the National Poetry Competition and Ted Hughes Award prizegiving evening at the Savile Club in the swanky area of London that is Mayfair, taking place 24 hours later. Quick calculation: do I go? What can I wear? What if no-one speaks to me? CanRead more ⟶