I need a short title for this spreadsheet-thingy. Maybe an acronym… then again maybe not. Anyhoo, if you’re on my mailing list then a few days ago you should have received the latest version of the UK & Irish Poetry Magazines Submissions Windows. If you’re not on the list, you can sign up here andRead more ⟶
Category: Books
Current reading and other news
Current reading … and a parrot Camilla’s Bookshop is open again in Eastbourne after an arson attack, and I can report that the parrot is still alive and greeting you as you enter, and the stacks of books are as tightly packed as ever – in fact even more so! Here’s how the poetry sectionRead more ⟶
A couple of found antique mini-books
As you may know, I’m fond of a mini-book, mini poetry books in particular, and I came across these recently among my memorabilia. They’re two little leather-bound books of poetry, ‘Moments with Shakespeare’ and Gems from Shelley’. They’re both dated 1909, one says it’s from ‘Jack’. One of my parents (I think my Dad) didRead more ⟶
Getting all Elizabethan, new writing and emerging from the gloom
I’m not sure what it’s taken but I’ve started writing again. Not a great outpouring, but something. Maybe it’s been the eclectic reading I’ve been doing. As well as Mary Jean Chan’s Flèche (Faber, 2019), I’ve read my way through Jean Sprackland’s Green Noise (Cape, 2018), and am enjoying dipping in and out of Darling (Bloodaxe, 2007),Read more ⟶
Musings on Mantel, comps deadlines and a lovely Rock Rose
And so it goes on Life has settled into a gentle daily routine, namely breakfast (in the garden most days until this cold snap), desk work, chores or gardening usually in the morning, salad and cheese/crackers or mackerel pate for lunch, then reading, more gardening, a walk or a run, a bit of yoga, a gameRead more ⟶
Abegail Morley’s ‘The Unmapped Woman’
I’ve recently had sight of Abegail Morley’s new collection The Unmapped Woman. To read it is to be drawn into a mystery of dream-like sadness and the minutest, extraordinary detail of the processes around loss and grieving. ‘We all start in water’ begins the poem ‘Expected’, and whether that’s amniotic fluid, rockpools or ‘slippers ofRead more ⟶
Tending seedlings & taking comfort from ‘wee granny’
I hope you’re well in body and spirit. If you’re anything like me you’re trying not to overdose on news and focus instead on Spring! Last week’s Hastings Stanza poetry workshop via Zoom went very well, in fact I was convinced enough to then sign up for a Zoom-hosted writing session with the Sansoms nextRead more ⟶
As the world moves online
Wow, things are changing so quickly it’s hard to believe – for example, how people are getting themselves online – to teach, to meet, to try new things, but mostly I think to keep relationships going with family, friends, customers… when the going gets tough, the tough get tooled-up on tech. This coming week ourRead more ⟶
At least Spring isn’t cancelled
There’s something about the sun coming out that puts a positive spin on everything. I’ve even taken to going for a bit of a jog on the seafront. With gym and swim off the agenda we are still fortunate to be able to get up and run/walk. Thank goodness that’s still allowed. I have aRead more ⟶
New update to the UK poetry mags submissions list. Also Spring coming soon.
Yesterday I sent out the latest update to the magazines subs list, which if you’re on my mailing list you should have received, so let me know if not. There are now 112 journals (print and online) on the spreadsheet – but of course I’m always open to suggestions of more to include. The spreadsheetRead more ⟶