Tag: ian humphreys

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A sick kitty, Arvon, podcasting and MA latest

Bobby with cone

Help! I’m just emerging from a fraught couple of weeks. Two weeks ago our cat Bobby suddenly developed a life-threatening condition. He’d only been officially ‘ours’ for less than a fortnight. He’s on the mend now, but I think the shock of it all (including not being insured, plus a week or so of cleaning up after an incontinent cat, lack of sleep, worry etc) took its toll on me! While all this was going on I was on an Arvon-at-Home course. At least I was at home, not away for the week leaving my dear husband on his own with poor Bobs. More about that in a mo. So, a bit of a rundown on what I’ve been up to…

Planet Poetry podcast

This week Peter Kenny and I got our 16th episode of Planet Poetry up and out … yesterday in fact… it would have been Thursday but I hadn’t finished editing it plus had a schoolpals meetup that afternoon then a Needlewriters event in the evening to co-host. This week the interviewee is Helen Ivory – a fine poet and a wonderful guest, fascinating, fun and generous. Do have a listen. Peter and I also chat about what we’ve been reading lately: Tomas Transtromer (me) and Robert Hamberger (Peter), then we get a tiny bit grumpy about this and that, as per usual!

Planet Poetry Ep 16 with Helen Ivory

There’s been so much to learn about podcasting and we’re still very much learning. Something we’re planning to have is an actual website sometime. We’ve got the domain, we’ve got the hosting and we’ve got the know-how. Just a bit more time required. Peter and I are a tad busier than when we started it last October! What we both agree on though is how it has opened us up to so much poetry that’s new to us and so many interesting poets and editors. It’s also super to get the occasional nice feedback, because when we’re recording it we do sometimes wonder if anyone’s going to be listening!

tomas transtromer selected

Arvon-at-home

Re the aforementioned course: this was my first Arvon experience, and despite being held via Zoom, I enjoyed the sessions. The tutors (Carrie Etter and Sasha Dugdale) were the main draw for me, and also the fact that it was focused on putting together a collection. Although it finished a week ago I haven’t had a chance to organise & read though my notes. BUT as soon as I’ve finished this post it’s first on my list. I was a bit worried beforehand that we might be given some general writing exercises, and I wasn’t really there for that. As it happened, Carrie and Sasha had prepared some excellent sessions and what writing exercises there were were relevant and interesting. My fellow students were pretty much all at a similar stage to me (verging on a full collection) or beyond, which I also liked. A first for me was an attempt at a translation of a Marina Tsvetaeva poem from the Russian, which Sasha guided us through. I really enjoyed that. Basically, although I was tired most of the time and probably not quite myself, I came away from the week with plenty of great advice, ideas and motivation.

Poetry & Poetics MA latest

My course at York feels like it happened ages ago now, since there was nothing to do in the Summer term. I submitted my Spring term essay and got the equivalent of a B+, pretty much the same as my Autumn 2020 essay mark. I have to admit although I’ve enjoyed the reading, the research and the essay writing very much, getting my head around the literary theory and adapting my writing style to what’s required has been harder than I expected. In the past I’ve always got good grades in academic work so a B+ is disappointing. I’ve also been reassessing my priorities, given how financially punishing the last 15 months have been. So, although I still have another year to go if I want to complete the MA, I’m hoping to take a leave of absence and review it this time next year. In the meantime, I have a ton of books still to read, detailed reading lists and access to the University resources, so I’m well set up for self-directed study.

dante essay file

Are we all Zoomed out yet?

I don’t know about you but the Zoom tolerance is wearing thin now. In the early days I used to think hard about where I was sitting, or what was my hair like, the lighting etc. Now, unless I’m actually reading, I just schlepp up and hope there are no food bits between my teeth.

I’d like to offer my grateful thanks, though, to the organisers of some of the lovely poetry events that I’ve enjoyed via Zoom over the last few months:

Helen Eastman and all at Live Canon for their Friday lunchtime series, still going strong although I haven’t been able to make the last few…

Jeremy Page, The Frogmore Press and the Sussex Festival of Ideas for the Poetry South East readings…

Jo Clement and guest editor Ian Humphreys at Butcher’s Dog for a wonderful afternoon of readings for the launch of Issue 15…

All at South magazine for their launch event featuring my good friend and excellent poet Miriam Patrick…

Until we meet again!

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Butcher’s Dog launch reading 5th June

One of the (very few) good things to have come from this whole lo****wn is being able to attend launches and readings that would normally be a huge mission to get to. (Although if it’s possible in terms of cost of travel/overnight stays then can be exciting – for example the wonderful trip I had to Liverpool a few years ago for a Coast to Coast to Coast launch).

Coming up at some point will be an online launch party for a forthcoming issue of Lighthouse in which I’m delighted to have a poem, and meanwhile those ever-creative peeps at Butcher’s Dog have done a brilliant poster for their Issue 15 launch event on Saturday 5th June. I’ll be reading in some excellent company – just wish I had a shorter name, then it would have been bigger, tee hee – ! The issue is co-edited by Ian Humphreys, with whom I shared some breakout room angst at a Ty Newydd masterclass week a few years ago. Please do come along, I think it will be a grand afternoon. Tickets available here.

Butchers Dog launch poster
Butchers Dog launch poster including names of readers
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Seven questions for poets #5 – Ian Humphreys

Today’s poet ready for a grilling is Ian Humphreys. I met Ian on the Ty Newydd masterclass we did a couple of years ago. He and I were in a small working group with Lizzie Fincham – which basically meant we holed up in the library, trying to do our homework while comparing notes and reading lines to each other, amongst a lot of nervous swearing and diversionary hilarity. Since then Ian’s made serious progress – he completed an MA in Creative Writing at MMU, and it’s been wonderful to follow his success – most recently winning the Hamish Canham Prize and being selected for The Complete Works III.

1 – What was the last poetry book you read, that you would recommend?

Jutland by Selima Hill. Two books/sequences in one. Akin to a severed doll’s head: innocence and menace combined. Cleverly, the darkness here is more of an itch in the imagination than a telling. The imagery is surreal, playful and shockingly original. A poem can start off beaming with light and lightness, then turn on a pin to become suffocating and sinister. The collection also proves that really short poems can pack a punch.

2  – Philip Larkin and Dannie Abse are both alleged to have said they only wrote one or two decent poems a year. How is it for you?

My definition of ‘decent’ is constantly changing. I consider myself fairly new to poetry so what I thought a successful poem a year ago probably wouldn’t make the cut today. I suppose what I aim for these days is to produce one poem every two or three months I feel would hold its own in a good magazine.

3 – Do you enter poetry competitions?

Yes, not often, maybe three or four times a year. It was early success in a competition that persuaded me to take writing more seriously.

4 – If someone has never read any poetry, where would you suggest they start?

I would encourage them to subscribe to one or two literary magazines to get a feel of what’s happening right now. (And to support our magazines.) My favourite ones lean towards accessible, innovative, quality poetry and include Ambit and Prole (both of which also feature prose), Butcher’s Dog and, of course, The Rialto.

5 – Why is end-rhyme considered a good thing in performance poetry, but rarely found in contemporary magazines?

Heightened musicality and sound texture in performance poetry help keep audiences engaged. End rhymes can really propel a spoken piece forward. With page poetry, using full end rhymes is currently seen as old fashioned, although perhaps it’s starting to make a stuttering comeback. Just one example: Alice Oswald’s opener in her latest collection Falling Awake.

6 – Can you remember the first poem you wrote – what was it about?

I was 13. Prince Charles had acquired a bald patch and it was causing a stir in the press. This seemed daft to me, even at that age, so I wrote a poem about the royal fuss being made. The English teacher read it out in class – I was embarrassed and secretly thrilled. For some reason it took me over three decades to write the next one.

7 – A murmuration of starlings, a murder of crows etc – what would you call a group of poets?

A compulsion of poets.

QUICK PLUG: Since 2008, The Complete Works programme has done important work raising awareness of BAME poets in Britain. Earlier this year, Ian was selected for Complete Works III (ten new fellows are chosen every four years). In 2017, a portfolio of his poems will feature in a Bloodaxe anthology alongside work by TCW3 colleagues.

Previous ‘Seven Questions for Poets’:
#1 – Clare Best
#2 – Jill Abram
#3 – Antony Mair
#4 – Hilda Sheehan

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When the poetry magazines arrive…

Brittle Star 38 cover art

… it’s always exciting, especially of course if you’ve got a poem in it. In the last couple of weeks I’ve been enjoying The Interpreter’s House issue 62, featuring an augmented brace of Telltale Poets (ie 3) and Brittle Star 38.

Both mags are famous for their striking covers, and my first thought when I saw Martin Parker’s design for Brittle Star was ‘Kate Bush!’ Check it out –

Never For Ever cover art

Clearly they are not the same, but it goes to show how many hours I stared at this album cover and how embedded it is in my memory.

The INSIDE of the magazine is of course the thing, and I enjoy the editorial and reviews as well as the poetry. I’m not big on short stories in poetry magazines, although I can be persuaded to read them occasionally. I know it’s common for magazines to do both, but I have a bit of a one-track mind.

Also just through the letterbox is the new Poetry Review (nothing in there by me, but I live in hope – although I haven’t actually submitted there for a while, and you can’t win it if you’re not in it. ) Some nice news though – I was just reading about Ian Humphreys winning the Hamish Canham prize this year (I had a lot of fun working with Ian in our breakout group on the Duffy & Clarke masterclass at Ty Newydd a few years ago. Very nice to see him having such a great 2016) when I saw my poem ‘The houses are coming’ mentioned as being on the shortlist of six for the prize. Huzzah! I need a few confidence-boosters right now and I’ll take that very happily, thanks very much The Poetry Society.