Oh OK I might as well admit it – there are no new YAYs to report. But issue 62 of ‘Obsessed with Pipework’ arrived, including my poem ‘Calamity’ which just crept in at the back. It’s a bit of a weird one (the poem that is) and I’m grateful that Charles Johnson at ‘Obsessed’ hasRead more ⟶
Category: Submissions
New poem on Ink, Sweat & Tears
Very nice of Helen Ivory to take ‘Left’, for Ink, Sweat & Tears. It’s the closest thing to a love poem I’ve written, I think. Whether it was appreciated as such (by the person it’s about) it’s hard to say! It’s a poem I workshopped at our regular Mimi Khalvati group here in Lewes. I seemRead more ⟶
‘Poem a day’ update, 40 days in
It’s two weeks since my last ‘poem a day’ update, and I must confess I feel like I’ve run out of steam. The last week or so has been particularly dispiriting. But I’ll keep trying up until Easter. I should have 40 poems by now, but I’ve fallen a bit short of that. I supposeRead more ⟶
An acceptance, a talk and workshop news
I haven’t had a poem accepted for a while so it was very nice to hear from Jeremy Page at The Frogmore Papers to say he’d like to take one for issue 82 in the autumn. Hurrah! (I also had some other good news last week but more about that shortly.) And now I’d likeRead more ⟶
Setting myself a new challenge
After a chat with a wonderful poet friend yesterday I had a bit of a lightbulb moment (albeit over a couple of beers, funny that). She told me of another poet who had just had a poem accepted by Poetry Review and was over the moon because she had been trying for ages. TryingRead more ⟶
Submissions, the monstrous poet-ego, etc
Yesterday was one of those days when I felt I should have been working (ie paid work), but instead was faffing about with several poems all of which were nearly there or in the I’m not sure about these but I can’t stare at them any longer and I must just get them out pile.Read more ⟶
January’s off to a great start
Happy New Year! I’m particularly upbeat about 2013 – already there are lots of positive things going on in both work and play (not sure where poetry sits on that spectrum but I’m doing my best to blue the edges, little by little.) On New Year’s Eve I had an email from Helen Ivory toRead more ⟶
My recent poetry unsuccesses
True to my pledge to blog the UNsuccesses as well as the successes, here’s the latest news. Firstly Magma – I’ve submitted there a couple of times previously and on both occasions was rejected pretty quickly. This sets a precendent – you assume that if you don’t hear quickly, that your poem is likely toRead more ⟶
Getting published/entering competitions – tips from the experts
The weather’s terrible, I am a ‘music widow’ today and I feel the urge to reconnect with what makes poetry good, and conversely what’s BAD about the stuff I’ve had rejected lately. Yes, it’s time for some serious reading and some BIG edits! I recently came across Tim Love’s excellent LitRefs Articles blog – andRead more ⟶
