I see it’s been ages since I gave an update on submissions and what not. And it’s also been a while since I talked much on this blog about what I’m up to outside of my ‘read a poetry book a day’ challenge. So here goes. Submissions I recently had a poem accepted for aRead more ⟶
Category: Blog
The Reading List, week 2
The weather has been so good lately it’s tempting to go out for a walk (or a pub lunch!) rather than read. But I’m enjoying the discipline – I find last thing at night and first thing in the morning are good times to read. This week I read through five more collections. Hangman’s AcreRead more ⟶
Tennis, 1976-style
Encouraged by Jayne Stanton’s marvellous ‘this is not about poetry’ blog post, I’m going off-piste today. Which is a stupid metaphor really as this is not about skiing, but TENNIS. I enjoy watching a bit of Wimbledon although to be honest I went off it big time during that period when all the women wereRead more ⟶
The Reading List, week 1
In the first week of my ‘read a poetry book a day’ quest I actually managed five books rather than seven, but I think that’s a pretty good start. As promised here’s a very brief roundup of my impressions, and a few notes on how the process is going generally. The books How to PourRead 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 ⟶
Poetry titles, aka the naming game
Earlier this week I had two tasks on the go: firstly to whip my pamphlet into shape before sending it off to the Mslexia comp (well, someone has to win it!) and secondly to have an initial read through of several hundred poems in my ‘guest co-selector’ role for a magazine. It was interesting toRead more ⟶
Parliament by Carol Ann Duffy
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 ⟶
So when is the editing done?
A quiet morning, so I’m taking the time to go through all the hurriedly-filed poems and get organised, as I want to send a few more submissions out – to fill the hole left by those I’ve finally given up on. I knew I’d been hanging onto a few, waiting for the submissions windowsRead more ⟶