Two rejections this week – firstly, a ruthlessly perky email from Mslexia regarding their poetry comp (subject line “Better luck next time!”) – I suppose it’s good to be told you haven’t won anything, rather than not hearing anything, which is the norm. Nevertheless it felt a bit like failing to hook a plastic duckRead more ⟶
Category: Angst
Anatomy of a rejection
It was a long time coming (4 months) but Under the Radar finally emailed me a standard ‘not this time’ (or possibly ever?) note the other day, which prompted me (of course) to look at the offending poems to see if there’s mileage in sending them out again as is, or whether they merit reviewing.Read more ⟶
I mislaid my poetic mojo in a Ghent hostel
Having been away for four days ‘helping’ with a college trip to Belgium (my husband was the tour leader – his A level students) I’m finding it hard to get back to poetry. I suppose it’s partly because I’m having to catch up with work as well, and not having a proper night’s sleep theRead more ⟶
Unaccustomed as I am
(So sorry about the weird asterisks etc in the following – just that last time I mentioned the B word I got immediately spam-commented and spam-followed by some decidedly un-poetic peeps.) It’s been quite a busy week, easier to do it in reverse order – yesterday and Friday I was in London at the BritMumsRead more ⟶
Getting poetry out there
As I sit down with a cup of tea in my favourite mug (pictured above – just an excuse to feature it, really! I inherited it from my mum, it used to be one of pair but the other got broken, and I’m so attached to this one I dread anything happening to it. It’sRead more ⟶
Poetry writers and poetry readers – a tricky issue
It was a small turnout last night at our Stanza reading group in Brighton – just Miriam, Gary and myself! Of course there are all sorts of reasons why that might have been – the first time it has clashed with a sunny evening, plus there’s been some confusion about the start time and contentRead more ⟶
Submissions: this week’s yays and nays
Oh OK I might as well admit it – there are no new YAYs to report. But issue 62 of ‘Obsessed with Pipework’ arrived, including my poem ‘Calamity’ which just crept in at the back. It’s a bit of a weird one (the poem that is) and I’m grateful that Charles Johnson at ‘Obsessed’ hasRead more ⟶
Notes from a workshop
Last week I was lacking inspiration, part due to work commitments and then a 3-day headache – ugh – so it was a pleasure to once more find myself in the interesting ambience of the Lewes Bus Station building for another workshop with Mimi Khalvati and the group of serious poets I seem to haveRead more ⟶
An acceptance, a talk and workshop news
I haven’t had a poem accepted for a while so it was very nice to hear from Jeremy Page at The Frogmore Papers to say he’d like to take one for issue 82 in the autumn. Hurrah! (I also had some other good news last week but more about that shortly.) And now I’d likeRead more ⟶
Gut feeling
Confession: my poem-a-day pledge has stuttered. I’ve actually been a bit ill, although there’s little evidence for it, and if I worked a 9 – 5 job I would have gone home happy on Friday evening and turned up fine this morning. So a weekend illness hardly seems to qualify. And yet on Saturday nightRead more ⟶