It’s always nice to get those ‘congratulations, another blogger is following your blog’ emails from WordPress, and even nicer when you check them out and discover a real gem of a blog you’d not come across before. That’s how I found John Field’s excellent blog Poor Rude Lines – “I’m just another reader, rather like you,Read more ⟶
Category: Serendipity
More new reading material, and some happy happenings
Some classic internet-enabled moments this week. Firstly, my post about having received a free copy of Poetry magazine was picked up by Steven Critelli who alerted Don Share, senior editor of that venerable publication, who promptly lived up to his name and tweeted it … Then one of the other participants going to the TyRead more ⟶
‘Wake’ by Alfred Lehtinen
Love this poem … by Alfred Lehtinen, a Finnish poet who stopped by my blog and whose blog I’m now following.
Unexpected bonus
In the post today came a copy of Poetry magazine, volume 202 number 1 – yes, it’s been going for over a hundred years – gawds! The reason it was an unexpected bonus is because I cannot remember where or when I ordered it. But here it is, and with such a heritage the firstRead more ⟶
Exploring new territory, one poet at a time
I’m a big fan of Dan Blank, founder of We Grow Media. Dan’s mission is to help writers build their online platform, not by blasting out marketing messages from twitter or facebook, but by growing your audience ‘one reader at a time.’ I was thinking of this maxim recently when I was contemplating American poetry.Read more ⟶
Super excited
… to actually make it onto a prizewinners list (The New Writer Poetry Prize 2012). The poem in question was one that had been through eight drafts over several months, and I’d workshopped it with two different groups. The content and form changed considerably as I yo-yo-ed back and forth. I’m quite keen to doRead more ⟶
What Ted said when asked ‘what does it mean’
After my recent musings on answering the ‘what does it mean’ question, I was happy to come across this in the Letters of Ted Hughes: To Lydia Clement and Alison George 29 July 1985 Dear Miss Clement and Miss George Thank you for your letter. If I answered your question it might stop you worrying,Read more ⟶
View from the top
Yesterday I had the pleasure of re-connecting with a former colleague and friend from my Nike days. I recruited Tee Dobinson as a Nike Fitness Athlete in around 1993, one of a team of 6 or so top fitness instructors/presenters to be ambassadors for the brand. We had a lot of fun and a fewRead more ⟶
Dyson vs poets
This morning I enjoyed this response to James Dyson’s dismissal of poetry… Here’s the article in Saturday’s Independent that inspired it. ‘What’s the use of poetry’ seems to be a classic left-brain-dominant response to something it can’t hope to understand. I wish people would give their right brains a little more leeway. (Image credit:Read more ⟶
Where were the ‘Best of British’ poems first published?
Poet friend of mine and soon-to-be-blogger Jo Grigg mentioned she had been reading The Best British Poetry 2012 so I invited her to write about it here. It is Jo’s first guest blog post on Poetgal. The second volume of this British version of a longstanding US anthology has now thundered through my letterbox. Hurrah! ItsRead more ⟶