Finally, here I am putting my head above the parapet. It’s been a lovely full summer. Not so much for the garden, which suffered from a too-early onset of dry weather, then the nail in the coffin of the hosepipe ban. We did get a modest harvest of cucumbers, courgettes and tomatoes, although quite a few plants failed. But plenty of fun stuff: a big family holiday, long in the planning, an extended visit from stepdaughter over from Australia that really energised me, then most recently a two week holiday a deux in Sicily. I’m a lucky woman in so many ways, I won’t bore you with the detail. Let’s just say I’m back and I have that good feeling that comes with the move into Autumn.
Readings
Eighteen hours after crawling into bed on Tuesday morning, after a day’s driving followed by a flight delay, I was at the Hurstpierpoint Festival taking part in a group poetry reading organised by poet friend Miriam Patrick. Miriam is a very talented poet who gives so much of her time to others. A number of the attendees on Tuesday were members of Miriam’s poetry reading group that she set up in the village. It was a good event – I think the room was full, and we all got a warm reception. Miriam read some engaging poems about work, with themes ranging from artist’s muse Lizzie Siddal to Aquinas’s angels dancing on a pinhead. Wendy Klein was also reading, from her pamphlet ‘Having Her Cake’. The collection tackles the subject of assisted dying, with reference to a close friend who made that choice in California, where the process is not illegal. I found it an intense and moving reading.
Meanwhile, forthcoming readings are just around the corner. Please come along if any of them are near you. (I’m also looking for more reading opps next year, so if there’s a poetry event near you that you think I could ask to read at, please let me know.)
Tuesday 7 October 7.45 – 9.30pm: Ouse Muse, Bedford
Friday 12 December 8pm: Reading Poets Cafe
Writing
I’ve been pondering why I’m so lacking in any impetus to write at the moment. After all, if the sun-drenched historic gorgeousness and energy of Sicily doesn’t inspire me, what the heck will? Actually, those fabulous mosaics at Villa Romana Casale of female bikini-clad athletes are pretty inspirational. But sometimes (usually, for me) it’s a small thing that pops out unexpectedly. Among the pile of publications and catalogues waiting for me to read when I got back was a copy of the new-look Times Literary Supplement, bigger and thicker than before and every two weeks rather than weekly. I had barely got into it when today the latest issue dropped though the letter box. A quick skim for poetry content revealed a poem by Jemma Borg called ‘Before & after the night’. (Apologies if this link takes you to a paywall.) As I read it, I felt little lights going off in my brain accompanied by the kind of ‘wish I’d written that’ feeling that can be inspirational but also saddening. Like Salieri in Amadeus, melting in the face of Mozart’s brilliance and at recognising that he himself will never be more than a reasonably good musician. Thankfully, Jemma’s poem had more of a positive than negative effect on me! So I’ve just ordered a copy of her collection Wilder and a already noodling through a few ideas.
Reviews
I’m not the greatest trumpet-blower as you know, but it would do a disservice to D A Prince and Mat Riches not to link to their wonderful reviews of The Mayday Diaries. Davina’s is on the London Grip website and Mat’s is here on Ink & Sweat & Tears. How lovely to have a book read so closely and with such insight. I’m very thankful for the time and effort both poets made. There’s another fillip for the book coming up later in the year, but more about that, er, later.
Subs windows
One job I have managed to get done this week has been the quarterly spreadsheet update of magazine submissions windows. It seems to be getting more complicated, with more journals stipulating more and more micro-guidelines, the rise of submissions fees (but also, the rise of payment for publication), also more publications making their subs windows even shorter and harder to predict. I’m wondering if the spreadsheet in its current format could be slimmed down and made more relevant. I know, I’ve talked about reviewing it before now. But I think a plan is starting to formulate.