The first two and a half weeks of January have been a bit of a poetry whirl (in the sense of lots of events) and although I’m now happy I’m a bit exhausted, not to mention in need of a reality-check catchup with, er, work stuff. Last week was the excitement of the T S EliotRead more ⟶
Category: Angst
Submissions stats for 2015 – the good, the bad, etc
I know there’s nothing festive about submissions stats, but I haven’t shared any in a while so in case you’re interested here goes… Recent acceptances/ currently forthcoming One poem in Brittle Star, one in Ink, Sweat & Tears and two in Obsessed with Pipework. All due to appear sometime in Spring 2016. Big Love & ThanksRead more ⟶
Aldeburgh Poetry Festival de-brief
And so the inevitable Aldeburgh Poetry Festival blog post. You’ve probably read a post or two on the subject already, or at least seen the Facebook/Twitter storm of “wasn’t it amazing?” sound bites, in-jokes about poets posing as penises – (I know! Too much alliteration) – and jolly pictures of poets sipping pints. (SORRY, amRead more ⟶
On not letting the competitive instinct crush creativity | poetry submissions stats
OK here goes. I know some people will wonder why on earth I admit to all this in public. The reason is this: I’m sure I’m not the only person who gets downhearted about rejections, or who has self-doubts about my abilities as a poet. It’s fine not to show it if you do, and someRead more ⟶
Poetry Book Fair and other shenanigans
Yes, it’s the obligatory ‘look what I bought at the Poetry Book Fair‘ photo – I love looking at other people’s ‘hauls’ to see what I missed. There was so much choice it was overwhelming. My strategy was to start calmly – on my first sweep I just picked up a couple of things at fullRead more ⟶
Poetry Book Fair excitement, plus my poetry gets a leg up
September so often seems like the shortest month – why is that? At the moment it’s also looking like the craziest this year. We have to move out of our house by 23rd, which is little more than a couple of weeks away. And no, we haven’t started packing yet, because we don’t have anyRead more ⟶
The Road Not Taken & FOMO
Just the other day Don Share posted on Twitter a link to a recording of Robert Frost reading ‘The Road Not Taken’. How wonderful to hear it in the poet’s voice. Here it is on YouTube: Matthew Hollis, in his 2011 biography of Edward Thomas, Now All Roads Lead to France, tells of Thomas’s distress atRead more ⟶
The wonder of positive conversation
Yesterday I had an inspirational afternoon with the lovely Catherine Smith on the sunny terrace of Pelham House in Lewes. OK, so I’ve been a bit low this week what with the pending house move & lack of sleep for worrying about it. But I hardly have a bad life! I was reminded how crucialRead more ⟶
Two steps forward one step back (or vice versa)
Last week I was deep in Telltale Press business which is probably why I didn’t post an update here. I’ve also been distracted by the process of ‘moving house’ which I put in inverted commas because I’m not entirely sure whether it’s actually happening, or just something I imagine is happening. Rather like those vividRead more ⟶
An update on submissions, readings etc and a nail-biting aside
My fingernails are looking reasonable at the moment, which is pretty good considering that the house-moving stressometer is probably at its highest right now. A short aside about nailbiting – a bit off-topic and do not read if you are squeamish I can usually tell if I’ve got too much on my mind by theRead more ⟶