I’m sat here with a number of scribbled-on poems around me, trying to decide which one(s) to resume work on and which to re-file for now. They’ve all been workshopped at some point, some of them to the extent that I’ve fallen out of love with them and not looked at them since. But surelyRead more ⟶
Category: Submissions
Audio poem (an experiment)
I was inspired by Mark Hewitt’s performance of ‘expiry tbc‘ the other evening here in Lewes. It was actually a 3-person production featuring Peter Copley on live (and looped) cello, and wonderful lighting effects by Kristina Hjelm. I’d had the privilege of being in Mark’s workshopping group led by Mimi Khalvati earlier in the year,Read more ⟶
Hurrah! Poem finds des res
As a poet friend once said to me, it’s always lovely when a poem finds a home. It’s true – it gives you permission to stop worrying about them, messing with them and trying to make them something they’re not. And if they really luck out then they land up somewhere de-LUXE. Like The Rialto.Read more ⟶
Just a quick ‘yay’ and ‘nay’
How exciting to have a copy of The Frogmore Papers hand-delivered through my door the other day – handy that the publisher lives in the same town as me! (There’s a little poem of mine in it, thank you Jeremy Page for taking it.) Very nice cover art by the way. On the (somewhat) negativeRead more ⟶
A couple of rejections this week – oh well
Two rejections this week – firstly, a ruthlessly perky email from Mslexia regarding their poetry comp (subject line “Better luck next time!”) – I suppose it’s good to be told you haven’t won anything, rather than not hearing anything, which is the norm. Nevertheless it felt a bit like failing to hook a plastic duckRead more ⟶
Anatomy of a rejection
It was a long time coming (4 months) but Under the Radar finally emailed me a standard ‘not this time’ (or possibly ever?) note the other day, which prompted me (of course) to look at the offending poems to see if there’s mileage in sending them out again as is, or whether they merit reviewing.Read more ⟶
Magazine focus: Rattle
I (oh no, starting a blog post again with ‘I’) was just thinking it would be fun to occasionally feature a specific poetry magazine: mention what I like about it, give a flavour of what’s in it, fill you in on their submissions policy etc. I’m currently a tad stressed. First I’m trying to stayRead more ⟶
Unaccustomed as I am
(So sorry about the weird asterisks etc in the following – just that last time I mentioned the B word I got immediately spam-commented and spam-followed by some decidedly un-poetic peeps.) It’s been quite a busy week, easier to do it in reverse order – yesterday and Friday I was in London at the BritMumsRead more ⟶
Where my poetry pocket money has been going
June 3rd and I think I’ve already blown my poetry pocket money for this month. First of all I’ve subscribed to Poetry London which I’ve been meaning to do for ages, and I asked to start with the Spring 13 issue, which has resulted in both Spring and Summer issues arriving within days of eachRead more ⟶
Social media for writers, ‘Orgasm Management’ etc
This is not the blog post I started writing this morning – but that turned into a cod philosophical/ psychological discourse that I eventually decided wasn’t going anywhere. So I’ve saved it for another day when I might be able to better whip my thoughts into a proper shape. Instead, more of straightforward diary entry.Read more ⟶