The big news this week is that we finally completed our purchase of the new flat, and we’re now wondering what we can afford to do to it in the five weeks before we move in. Within an hour of getting the keys I’d already stripped wallpaper from an entire wall – it came offRead more ⟶
Category: Workshopping
A Bridge (not) Too Far – workshop with Anne-Marie Fyfe
Today I made my first visit to the Troubadour cafe, after thinking about it for a long time – I thought I’d start by going to one of Anne-Marie Fyfe‘s Coffee House Poetry workshops, which always sound enticing. The theme was ‘bridges’, and the first irony of the day was my inability to locate Wandsworth Bridge,Read more ⟶
Launches, readings, online course, a new book … busy autumn
Someone posted recently on Twitter that poetry seemed to be “mostly about reading, writing and waiting”. I know I’ve certainly had that kind of year up until a few weeks ago. I’d have to wait to do one of my ‘stock takes’ to see if I’ve been sending out less work this year than last,Read more ⟶
Swindon Festival of Poetry
Hurray! First of all I managed to snag a place on the Don Share workshop in October in Swindon (before it sold out) and then thanks to a prompt from Josephine Corcoran I’m now booked in from Friday night, so I’ll be able to join in on Saturday also. The Swindon Festival of Poetry, brainchildRead more ⟶
Share crazy | Dickinson poem found | Hot stuff
It’s all been a bit hectic lately, but I thought I’d just check in with updates on a few things. Readings – On Wednesday I’m at the Poetry Cafe with 5 other Brighton-ish based poets, talking on Palmers Green in a Stanza Bonanza. I’m wondering how little clothing I can get away with, given the typicalRead more ⟶
More words of advice from Mimi Khalvati
Having recently been to the last of Mimi Khalvati’s Lewes for workshops for a while, I realised I hadn’t been blogging about them as I used to. It was also time to clean out my ‘workshop notes’ folder, so here are a few more things I’ve jotted down from time to time – I hopeRead more ⟶
Bit of a regroup after a challenging workshop
Ever had a bad day at the poetry workshop coalface? I think I had one yesterday. Here’s what happened and what came from it. Firstly, I made some mistakes. I haven’t been reading or writing much poetry the last few weeks, as I’ve been consumed with work, research and a very different kind of writing. TiredRead more ⟶
Quick writing update
This is probably displacement activity, as I should be working on the book which I have until Easter to write. Yikes! Quick update on a few things. Poetry writing is currently going through a dry patch. I missed out on my Mimi Khalvati fix at the weekend as I was under the weather, but didRead more ⟶
On Heavenly Bodies and feeling empowered
A few interesting things on the go at the moment. ‘Heavenly Bodies’ which I wrote about last week is gathering momentum, and there’s talk on Facebook of having a launch in Preston, or somewhere points North, which will mean I’ll have to miss it, alas. Anyway, at least I’ve written my ‘constellation’ poem, although IRead more ⟶
Mimi Khalvati on editing and what to bin
On Saturday I dropped back in on one of the regular workshops with Mimi Khalvati run by the excellent Lewes Live Lit here in my home town. I was lucky enough to be rewarded with a place in one of these highly popular groups about 18 months ago, and although I’ve been on a breakRead more ⟶