… Fourth Impression (1965) with a foreword by Leonard Woolf. Hogarth Press! Original dust jacket bearing Vanessa Bell’s design! I found it at Much Ado Books in Alfriston, well worth a visit if you’re ever in the area. It’s housed in a range of quirky buildings set back off the road in its own frontRead more ⟶
Category: Books
Currently reading: Kaminsky, Hickman
Ilya Kaminsky’s Deaf Republic came through the post from the Poetry Book Society, swathed in accolades. Looking at the title my first thought was of Raymond Antrobus’s The Perseverance, also a PBS Choice, but in fact the two books are very different animals. (I’m a bit sad I don’t have The Perseverance to hand asRead more ⟶
Estuary English
It seems as if class and regional differences are very much to the fore at the moment. No surprise there I suppose, nor the increased discussion of accent as a status marker. When I was growing up my mother was at pains to correct her children’s accents so that we didn’t pick up ‘lazy’ habits,Read more ⟶
Recent reading: Janet Sutherland, Poetry magazine
Alongside making updates to the look and feel of this site (and general online spring cleaning) I’ve been enjoying some stimulating reading lately. The January edition of Poetry has yielded up a lot of interesting material, including extracts from ‘A Frank O’Hara Notebook’ by Bill Berkson, which made for rich reading on a train journeyRead more ⟶
What Mary Oliver said about distractions
One of the first books I bought and consumed (once I started thinking it possible I could write the odd semi-decent poem) was Mary Oliver’s A Poetry Handbook, along with Julia Cameron’s The Sound of Paper. Now Mary Oliver has died I suppose it was inevitable there would be a flurry of Oliver-appreciation, and I’veRead more ⟶
City walk, a workshop, Van Halen & Jo Bell’s ‘Kith’
This is the first year in a while that I haven’t been driving up to the Southbank for the T S Eliot Prize readings this evening. I’ll look forward to reading all about it on various blogs. I’m having a catchup day between jaunts. Last week was the first session in Katy Evans-Bush‘s fortnightly small-groupRead more ⟶
Alice Oswald at the BBC
Something different. I answered the Poetry Society’s call for audience members at a recording of BBC Radio 4’s ‘Book Club’. The guest poet being interviewed by James Naughtie was Alice Oswald. I’ve heard the stories about Alice rarely giving interviews or readings, and since the session was to discuss her 2016 collection Falling AwakeRead more ⟶
Kay Syrad, Josephine Corcoran – short reviews
A couple of brief reviews of collections I’ve been reading: Inland – Kay Syrad (Cinnamon, 2018) (£8.99) There’s nothing predictable or familiar in this collection. Just when you feel you’re getting your feet under the table suddenly the table is gone, and the ground beneath, and your feet too. Just two poems in we encounterRead more ⟶
The new ‘How to’ guide is finally done…
Things have been a bit quiet on this blog for the last month, mainly because I’ve been full-on with the new booklet which arrived from the printers today – hurrah! More about that below… a quick zip through other news: Workshops, readings etc Last month I went up to London for a Coffee-House Poetry workshopRead more ⟶
Forward Prizes, Poetry Book Fair – big poetry week
It’s a good thing it’s pouring with rain today as I have every excuse to stay indoors, write, bake bread and plan this week’s garden tasks. I don’t know about my fellow poets but I’m all for a bit of quiet reflective time after the excitement of the Forward Prizes on Tuesday and then FreeRead more ⟶