Just grabbing a few minutes on Easter Saturday to write this. There’s only so much gardening you can do before needing a break. So, now I’ve tackled the wayward honeysuckle… Last week, Peter Kenny and I treated ourselves to an informal ‘works do’ by going along to the prize giving for the National Poetry CompetitionRead more ⟶
Category: Competitions
You win some, you lose some…
As a fresh writing impetus I’ve joined Bill Greenwell‘s online poetry workshop this term, a group I’ve been thinking about for a while. Abegail Morley always spoke well of the mentoring she had from Bill, and I have a lot of time for Sharon Black, under whose auspices the workshops are run. Wish me luck!Read more ⟶
National Poetry Day (week of)
So Thursday is National Poetry Day, which I shall be celebrating with my Hastings Stanza group, doing what poets do… agonising over line-breaks, commas and what have you. Before that though, on Wednesday, I’ll be at the Fisherman’s Club for the prize readings of a local competition I was a judge for, on the themeRead more ⟶
Orford Ness
Some years ago now I visited Orford Ness Nature Reserve, a strange and mysterious place on the coast of Suffolk. Strange in the same way as any place with ‘Ness’ in the name, mysterious because of its history as an atomic test site and before that as a place of experimentation in radar and ballistics.Read more ⟶
Happy days
Some lovely poetry stuff recently – firstly the launch of Finished Creatures in Lewes, the first in-person poetry reading I’ve been to for (pretty much) years. Editor Jan Heritage created a warm atmosphere as always and invited contributors to read their own poem plus another one from the magazine. Although Paul Stephenson and Roy MarshallRead more ⟶
On encouraging children’s interest in writing poetry
I recently had a text from one of my stepdaughters who was passing on a question from her five-year-old: “Nana, how are poems made?” Hmm! I tried to think very hard before responding. How to say something encouraging and likely to engage a five-year old, while still being honest? No doubt there are teachers orRead more ⟶
So no fireworks this week then? Hmmm
What a week. That election (can’t bring myself to watch). Another lockdown starts. Planet Poetry Episode 2 coming up. And I’ve just turned 60. Planet Poetry Peter Kenny and I were thrilled and touched by the feedback on our podcast first episode. Episode 2 goes live on Thursday, when I’m interviewing Clare Shaw (yeah, baby!)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 ⟶
A dry month in Purgatory and book launch imminent
Day Four of No-booze-vember and I’m thinking of making an advent calendar to count down the days to when I’m allowed a glass of wine. Last year it all made sense – nothing much happening in November, Christmas to look forward to…I certainly wouldn’t want to do this in January, the most dreary of monthsRead more ⟶
Competition season! Be afraid. Plus the odd launch
Those Darn Comps Love ’em or loath ’em, but some of us just can’t stop ourselves entering. “Is there a competition season?” someone once asked me and I feel as if there is, and it’s now – not sure why except that the National always closes on October 31st, this year a particularly loaded date,Read more ⟶