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 ⟶
Category: Blog
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 ⟶
And so to bed (and Bath)
Actually I wish I was still in my bed right now as I’m feeling a tad slug-like after another late night ‘up in town’ as my mum used to say. (It was always ‘up’ to London – even at the station announcers would always say “attention please on the up platform…” – I wonder if oneRead more ⟶
A short post about long poems
Next month, Long Poem Magazine opens its submissions window. So if you have a poem or two more than 75 lines long, now’s your chance. I think I can safely say I won’t be submitting, mainly because I don’t seem to have any long poems in me. I’ve never been anywhere near the magic ’40Read more ⟶
News of readings, launches
Pamphlet launch This evening Telltale Press goes global! Well, it makes its debut in the southwest of England, anyway… Siegfried Baber launches his debut pamphlet, When Love Came To the Cartoon Kid, at Toppings Bookstore in Bath, 8pm this evening. Come on down! Siegfried set the room alight when he read for us recently inRead more ⟶
Coffee House Poetry at the Troubadour
Had a great evening yesterday at the Troubadour as Coffee House Poetry, Anne-Marie Fyfe’s fortnightly poetry readings, got underway for its summer season. It’s a crazy scene – the vibrancy, the quirkiness, the sheer number of people, Cahal Dallat’s virtuosic keyboard skills (yesterday the background medleys included opera classics and a rumbunctious dose of Mozart, all fromRead more ⟶
A poetry Spring clean
I’m finally getting myself back on track after two weeks of Jury Service. There are blogs to attend to, email updates to send, all manner of poetry admin for Telltale Press, Brighton Stanza and Needlewriters and maybe, just maybe some time to do some actual writing and even sending off. Oh and the small matterRead more ⟶
Reading at Pighog Poetry Night in Brighton
Pighog Press has hosted a poetry night at the Redroaster cafe in Brighton for many years. I’ve attended quite a few times and it’s always an eclectic mix of the familiar, the unusual and the colourful (especially in the famous open mic slots). The events are organised and hosted by Michaela Ridgway, herself a talentedRead more ⟶
Can you get a poem out of it?
This is question I’ve been asked (and have asked myself) every since I knew I would be doing jury service these two weeks. Having been given a day off tomorrow (a case finished today) I’ve been thinking about this. It could be an ideal opportunity to observe/experience something new, and comment on it in someRead more ⟶
Reading from memory – the sequel
Well I did it. Yesterday evening at Lauderdale House in Highgate I recited two of my poems from memory. It was actually the perfect set-up – no microphone (which I usually like having, but in this case I was concerned it would prevent me from moving freely), the chairs set out in a semi circle,Read more ⟶