Well hello! I am feeling epic. Not because I’ve suddenly won some dough or got a call from Faber. No!
Health update (feel free to skip!)
You may recall my moaning on about my bad back or whatever. It seems to be something else entirely that’s been sapping me of energy and slowly seizing up my joints to the point of what felt like Permanent Old Ladydom, the mystery has I think been solved. It looks like I have a condition with the important-sounding name of Polymyalgia Rheumatica, which nobody is supposed to get before they hit at least 70 apparently. So for various reasons I don’t fit the profile, except that my brother has also had it, and if he hadn’t said ‘your symptoms sound just like mine’, I would never have been diagnosed. So THANK YOU that bro of mine. The key facts for me to take in are 1) no-one knows what causes it (funny how that’s often the case when it’s a condition mostly affecting women) 2) there is no cure and 3) one can only wait for it to go into remission, which takes at least 2 years.
But the good news is that there’s a drug that suppresses the symptoms, and for once in my life I have given in Big Time to Big Pharma. Within hours of taking the magic pills I felt about 20 years younger. I am honestly not exaggerating. I am Lazarus. I can function again, and it feels like I’ve got a second chance at life – more so even than after having cancer. So here I am taking a long-term, systemic drug after always saying I never would. I accept there may be side effects but I will manage them. I’m sleeping right through the night. I’m starting to write again. It’s even kicked me and Nick into a new resolve to eat low-carb and take better care of ourselves. So all good.
Quick submissions summary
Poems currently out, to magazines: 11, competitions: just the Bridport (ha) and two pamphlets. One of the pamphlets was ‘long listed’ by Live Canon.
Three more poems rejected by Shearsman, two pamphlets sunk without trace in competitions.
Three poems accepted by Morphrog, one ‘highly commended’ in the Ver Poets comp.
Recent readings
No full readings lately but I did go to the launch of Magma 74 last week and read my ‘hospitality management’ poem. It was a really good night – great to hear many of the poems read, and a chance to catch up with several poet friends including Jayne Stanton, Alison Brackenbury and Hilaire (who read very calmly from London Undercurrents at only five minutes’ notice!), say hello to others who I know either slightly or met for the first time, such as Maura Dooley, Carole Bromley and Stuart Charlesworth, as well as editors Pauline Sewards and Benedict Newbery (a fellow Live Canon longlistee). The venue in Exmouth Market was fun – with a very high but tiny stage. Here are a few pics, not sure who took the medley of pics that appeared on Twitter:
Here are Benedict and Pauline doing the intros (a bit fuzzy, sorry):
Two days later I took a wee trip to St Albans, just north of London outside the M25, and it was actually a very easy journey by train as there was no need to change in London. I was a bit ashamed I’d never been there before, as I like visiting cathedrals and cathedral cities where there’s often a lovely historic vibe.
I was there for the Ver Poets competition readings, so I got to read my HC poem ‘Next best thing’ and hear all the winning poems, some of which were read by the poets themselves. It was a lovely surprise to see Peter Raynard there, as I hadn’t realised St Albans is actually his manor.
Adjudicator Kathryn Maris gave a really thoughtful and kind introduction. At the end, a cheque was presented to a lady from the OLLIE Foundation, a charity that provides funding for suicide prevention skills training for any individual or community that wants it. I wasn’t aware that proceeds from the competition were given to charity in this way, and was impressed. Personally, I think if this was made more explicit in the promo material it may encourage even more entries.
I don’t have any pics of the event but I’m looking forward to reading The Book of Jobs, Kathryn Maris’s first full collection, a copy of which I picked up while I was there.
Oh and here are a couple of photos I took of the Abbey:
Things kick off this evening at The Troubadour, where Anne-Marie Fyfe has invited me to join the readers in a yellow-themed extravaganza Big Yellow Taxi. I’m planning to read a short ‘poem starting with a first line by Emily Dickinson’ which features some of my favourite things yellow (eg Doris Day’s hair). I’m looking forward to seeing Stephen Bone there too, and I know he’s famous for taking the colour theme very seriously!
In the back end of the month I’ll be reading at Poetry in the House, Shanta Acharya’s regular event at Lauderdale House in Highgate, on Wednesday 22nd April alongside some super poets including Mona Arshi and Richard Skinner.
And big thanks to Michaela Ridgway for inviting me to read at the long-running Pighog Poetry night in Brighton on Thursday 30th April. Pighog Press have been taken over by US publisher Red Hen, but the Brighton poetry nights continue. The Redroaster Cafe is a super venue and the nights are well attended, so it should be great fun.
If you’re able to get to any of the above, please come and say hello!
Welcome to the first of my new series of Regional Focus pieces about the poetry scene around the UK. I suppose I could have called it ‘Down Your Way’ or some other BBC-esque ever-so-slightly patronising title. Or I could have racked my brains for something witty, wacky or non-cliched. But hey.
PS: it’s long – grab a cup of tea and a biscuit.
So. Leicestershire. Where better to start than one of England’s ancient land-locked counties? Let’s get the basics out of the way. Here’s where it is:
For the benefit of my non-British readers, or anyone who’s not sure (I feel a BBC moment coming on here!) it’s pronounced like this:
If you think that’s tricky then in 1087 it was called Laegrecastrescir. Which I’m not going to attempt to pronounce.
(I’ve been alerted to the fact that the above audio file doesn’t work for everyone – apologies if you clicked and nothing happened!)
Wikipedia says the population of the whole county is just under a million, and let me tell you, it’s seething with poetry. I asked a number of Leics poets what was going on up there. They sent back a TON of juicy information.
First of all, a bit about my special correspondents:
Jayne Stanton
Jayne is one of my virtual blogger friends who writes about her poetry life and the local scene on her blog. She’s lived in Leicestershire since 1989. Her pamphlet Beyond the Tune was published by Soundswrite in September 2014. Soundswrite is a women’s poetry workshopping and reading group that also has a small press – so far it has published three anthologies and five pamphlets. As well as attending and running workshops, Jayne is heavily involved in local projects including her most recent role as a commissioned writer for Sole2Soul, a project by University of Leicester’s Centre for New Writing, to attract visitors to Market Harborough Museum’s Faulkner boot and shoe exhibit.
DA (Davina) Prince
I first met Davina at a launch of The Rialto last year, and when we met again at the Poetry Book Fair we talked about many things including the idea of a Regional Focus series on this blog. So I have Davina to thank for the inspiration. Leicestershire-born Davina was a little coy about answering my request to ‘tell us about yourself’, but from her Poetry p f page I glean that she has had three pamphlets and two collections of poetry published, the latest being the super Common Ground from HappenStance (2014).
Roy Marshall
Roy was manning the HappenStance table at the Poetry Book Fair last year when we were introduced – always wonderful to meet poet bloggers face to face, and I’ve been enjoying Roy’s thoughtful and perceptive blog for some time now. Roy lives in a village on the south side of Leicester where he’s been since 1998, although he lived in Leicestershire as a child “so I’m familiar with the greeting ‘Aye up me duck’, although you hear this less nowadays” – shame! Roy is widely published and has a pamphlet Gopagilla (Crystal Clear, 2012) and a full collection The Sun Bathers (Shoestring Press, 2013).
Maria Taylor
Partly raised in Nottinghamshire, Maria admits “It was love that brought me back to the Midlands” – aaw! Now living in Loughborough, she balances bringing up twin 6-year old daughters with ‘poeting’ – her term for travelling around attending events, readings and so forth. Maria’s name came up again and again in my research for this piece – she’s a publisher, reviewer and poetry event promoter as well as a poet and she blogs at Commonplace. Her collection Melanchrini is published by Nine Arches Press (2012) and was shortlisted for the Michael Murphy Memorial Prize.
Charles Lauder Jnr
Charles is a native Texan who, like Maria, was brought to Leicestershire by love – to the village where his wife grew up in fact. Anglophile Charles is fascinated by English history – “like many ex-pats, I now often write about how my adopted culture compares to my native culture.” Charles has run the South Leicestershire Stanza for the last six years, and as well as being widely published he’s also Deputy Editor of The Interpreter’s House.
I ought to add that I didn’t manage to speak to Matt Merritt or Emma Lee, although they were both on my list, but I had so much info from the others that I couldn’t cope with any more! Both Matt and Emma’s names were mentioned by my reporters, and they both write fine blogs.
It’s a Leicester Fiesta – Martin Harvey (image from http://artintodust.blogspot.co.uk/)
Q1: Are there any specific towns/cities with a vibrant poetry scene?
Maria Taylor (MT): The vast majority of events I attend are in Leicester, my closest city. I also attend events in Nottingham too. There’s a lot going on in the bigger cities, but there are also many things occurring in the smaller towns and villages. With the advent of various presses and regular events in the East Midlands, the region really does have a sense of identity on the poetry map.
DA Prince (DAP): I realise that a city/county boundary doesn’t define the area for me: I go to the Nottingham Stanza because it’s a group that reads full-length collections, and also because I hear what’s happening in Nottingham. I think we would all see ourselves as more Midlands than just ‘Leicester’ – and poets in Nottingham say they envy the range of activity in Leicester while those of us in Leicester look with longing at the range in Nottingham. The grass is always greener …
Jayne Stanton (JS): Leicester has a growing number of poetry open mic nights as well as readings and events organised by its two universities. Loughborough also has regular events, I believe. I’ve also begun to travel further afield, lately, and enjoy poetry nights out across the Midlands, in Lichfield, Burton on Trent, Coventry, Kettering and Rugby.
Q2: Who are the poetry ‘movers and shakers’ ??
Charles Lauder (CL): Jonathan & Maria Taylor, Lydia Towsey, Jane Commane, Karin Koller who runs the Soundswrite Group, Mark Goodwin, a prolific poet who describes himself as a ‘community poet’—in the past he ran a lot of workshops for children in schools and for adults in adult education centers and in prisons. In the past year, he’s put on public installations in Leicester and Cornwall.
MT: Not sure if I’m a ‘mover’ or a ‘shaker’! I try and facilitate opportunities for readings with Shindig, but I think one of the most productive (and modest!) person is Jane Commane who organises all sorts of readings. Also Lydia Towsey and Pam Thompson who do sterling work in Leicester. I should also say my husband Jonathan Taylor, otherwise he’d get upset! Seriously, he organises and hosts lots and lots of events. Jonathan and Jane combined at Shindig are a force to be reckoned with! It’s hard to answer a question like this because I don’t want to miss anyone out. To be honest it’s more like a big web of people connecting with each other. Everyone can offer something.
Lydia Towsey, ‘Girl walks into a bar’
JS: Gosh! There are so many! Maria and Jonathan Taylor, Roy Marshall, D A Prince, Matt Merritt, Mark Goodwin, Jess Green, Lydia Towsey, Pam Thompson – to name just a few…
Roy Marshall (RM): Jonathan and Maria Taylor because they are involved in organising the spoken word night Shindig (together with Nine Arches Press.) They’re also publishers (Crystal Clear Creators). Other poets who do other things include Matt Merritt, who blogs and reviews for magazines such as Magma, and all the people involved with ‘WORD’ at the Y theatre, including Jean ‘Binta’ Breeze, Pam Thompson and Lydia Towsey. And Soundswrite Press which is based here and publishes women poets.
Q3: What regular poetry events are there in your area?
CL:Shindig! is a bi-monthly open mic night at the Western Pub on Western Road in Leicester, organised by Jonathan & Maria Taylor (of Crystal Clear Creators) and Jane Commane (of Nine Arches Press). The night is divided into two halves—CCC hosts one half and Nine Arches the other—of about 10 open-micers each followed by 2 guest readers. For a Monday night, it’s a lively crowd of about 40–50 people who are very supportive and cheer everyone on. It’s mostly page poets, with some performance poets too.
MT: Obviously Shindig is my top event as I help to run it with Jane and Jonathan and I’m often a host. The Open Mic is very high calibre, we often have some really exceptional poets reading. It’s also a friendly place for newcomers as well. Main readers have included some top notch poets, such as Kim Moore, Sarah Jackson, Rory Waterman and David Morley. We also use those slots to showcase local and regional writers. This year I was really cheered that Shindig was shortlisted for a Saboteur award, up against many London based events.
RM: I think Shindig (at the Western pub) is fantastic. Always a really good set of guest poets and a good open mic. Appreciative and attentive audience.
JS: Shindig! is unmissable, in my book (in fact, the only one I’ve missed was just after my hip replacement)!
CL:Word! at the Y is the longest running spoken word event in the Midlands and is hosted by Lydia Towsey. This is held monthly on the first Tuesday of the month, with an evening of open-micers and a guest reader at the end. Most of those reading are performance poets and sometimes visuals will accompany the poets. Well-attended.
MT: I began reading at WORD! myself nearly 5 years ago now. It’s a similar format to Shindig with lots of Open Mic. I recently heard George Szirtes and Pascale Petit read there. I was asked to read as a support act to Ann and Peter Sansom in April, which was lovely. It’s a very supportive atmosphere and readers are warmly welcomed.
RM: WORD! at the Y theatre was the first place I ever read a poem aloud and has had a great mix of guest poets over the years.
JS: Word! is where I cut my teeth as a poet at the open mic, and where I still attend as often as possible.
MT: WORD! also has a sister group called Pinggg…k run by Bobba Cass…
JS:Pinggg…K! is a monthly open mic night in celebration of metrosexual verse, at Duffy’s Bar, Pocklington’s Walk. Held on the last Tuesday of the month. The format: poetry circle, followed by open mics and feature poet. A popular event with a warm welcome to all from host Bobba Cass.
JS: Also, Find the Right Words: Performance Poetry and Rap Night hosted by Jess Green, held Upstairs at the Western (pub) monthly. The format: ten open mic slots and two feature performers. (I’ve not attended this one yet, but was sorry to miss Holly McNish recently).
MT: There’s lots going on in Nottingham, of course too. While bookshops are closing elsewhere, Five Leaves Bookshop run by Ross Bradshaw has opened. Great bookshop, you can actually browse poetry books! Apart from bookselling it’s also served as a venue for launches. One for the new issue of New Walk was held there in October for instance and it attracts good audiences who are serious about poetry. Then there’s also ‘Jazz and Poetry’ which is new-ish too with strong audiences. Should mention Nottingham Writer’s Studio too who offer writing space and courses.
A festival culture is also developing, supported in the main by local universities. These include States of Independence (DMU), Literary Leicester (Uni of Leicester) and Nottingham Festival of Words (Nottingham Trent). So you get the picture…there are lots of opportunities and masses of spoken word and performance poetry too. Again, sorry if I’ve missed anything out, there’s quite a lot!
Q4: Is there any poetry heritage associated with the area – famous dead poets, or locations or industries that inspired poets or poetry of the past, etc?
MT: Larkin lived in Leicester for a time, and was of course born in Coventry, but he is more widely affiliated with Hull. If D. H. Lawrence was a stick of rock he’d have Nottingham going through him. Lord Byron’s family home is at Newstead Abbey in Nottinghamshire. When you exit Nottingham station you’re greet with a big sign which reads ‘Our Rebel Writers’ and features Byron, Lawrence and Alan Sillitoe. Joe Orton and Sue Townsend came from Leicester. Poetry aside, both cities have a real literary heritage.
dun Larkin
JS: Other famous dead poets: Loughborough-born John Cleveland (1613-1656), Leicester-born poet and leading Chartist Thomas Cooper (1805-1892), Jessie Pope (1868-1941).
CL: Leicester is renown for its hosiery & shoe industry heritage. Currently, there is a project that involves the New Writing Centre at the University of Leicester and the Market Harborough Museum called ‘Sole2Soul’ (this is the project Jayne is involved in.)
Q5: Anything else I’ve missed?
CL: Two more important annual literary events to mention are Everybody’s Reading, a two-week festival in September with city-wide events to promote literacy throughout the city, and States of Independence (the equivalent of London’s Free Verse Book Fair), run by Ross Bradshaw of Five Leaves Press in Nottingham.
DAP: I realised you didn’t mention publishing as a separate category. In the past Leicester has had a range of small poetry publishers but they have quietly disappeared. Soundswrite is the only one I can think of – but so far we’ve only published from within our own members, so that keeps us in the ‘self-limited’ category. Nottingham, by contrast, has Shoestring, Five Leaves, Candlestick (all known nationally) – and, I suspect, others.
CL: I think the literary scene that’s alive and thriving now in Leics is making up for lost time. So many poets who are often reading at the city’s open mic events are publishing collections & pamphlets with national publishers and making a name for themselves. Years from now when a literary history of the early twenty-first century is written, Leicester will be highlighted as a thriving cultural centre for poetry.
MT: I think it’s great that my little bit of the East Midlands has such a vibrant poetry scene. Long may it thrive!
Q6: And finally … any interesting factoids for us?
MT: I really like the folklore tale of Black Annis, a blue-faced witch who’s meant to haunt the Leicestershire countryside. According to legend she has a taste for children and lambs and resides in a cave in the Dane Hills. She probably finds things a bit tricksy these days as many of her old haunts are now built up.
Loughborough was the home of Ladybird books and also the destination of the world’s first package tour. It was organised by Thomas Cook in 1841. They came all the way from Leicester on a train. Shilling a head.
CL: Quite a few native Leicesters I know don’t like Leicester. It’s a dirty, ugly city and a lot of its obvious architecture are failed post-war creations. However, you have to look beyond that to find some very historical (medieval, Tudor, Stuart, etc., up to Victorian) treasures. Now that Richard III’s body has been discovered, that might spur an historical revival of the city. Other nice little treasures are Cardinal Wolsey’s gravesite and the church where Chaucer got married.
RM: Bradgate Park (where the young David Attenborough found his first fossil) contains the oldest rocks in the world. The Python, Graham Chapman was from Leicester as was Sue Townsend of course.
JS: Leicester’s very own ‘King beneath the car park’: Richard III. Also: Leicester hosts the largest Divali celebrations outside of India. It was also Britain’s first ‘Environment City’ and is home to the National Space Centre.
It’s lovely in Leics! (Photo from http://www.goleicestershire.com)
Phew! Huge thanks to my tireless reporters. Do you live in Leicestershire? Have we missed anything or anyone out? Please let me know in the comments.
Would you like to see your area featured in a Regional Focus? Let me know!
I can’t tell you how great it will be to get our dining room back in order – currently it’s awash with piles of music, half-made Christmas cards, newspaper spread about the place with things drying (paint, glue), various papers to do with work but not yet actioned or filed, plus books and magazines I haven’t yet read, and laundry. OK, so the laundry will be under control today I hope. But I’ve just scooped up a bunch of reading material that I’m hoping I’ll get to enjoy a read of over Christmas.
I’ve been sitting on the Vanguard #1Poetry Anthology for several weeks, and a glance at the list of contributors confirms that it’s going to be a strong read.
Then there’s Josephine Corcoran’s new pamphlet, ‘The Misplaced House‘. I’m familiar with a few of the poems in this and I’m very pleased for Josephine that she’s been published by tall-lighthouse, their pamphlets are invariably excellent.
Recently arrived in the post is the BlueGate Poets Anthology 2014 which will be fun to delve into. I’m a sort of associate member of BlueGate – I live rather a long way from their Swindon heartland, so don’t get to join in things much, but I’m there in spirit!
Also just in is the December edition ofPoetry – the first issue of my new subscription, and I couldn’t resist a quick look through when it arrived, reading the introduction to the section on Larry Eigner. I’m very excited about being introduced to a wider range of contemporary poets and learning more about the US scene.
You might wonder what Thoughts on Design by Paul Rand is doing here. Not poetry, but close – Rand was a highly influential graphic designer who wrote this ‘manifesto’ in 1947, updated in 1970, and it’s still considered to be a classic. I’m halfway through this super book, illustrated throughout with Rand’s own designs, many of which are very familiar (for example logos for IBM and ABC).
And that’s not all! Last week at the very jolly Brighton Christmas Extrava-Stanza, poet friend Antony offered me his copy of Frank O’Hara’s Selected Poems, having moved onto his ‘Collected’… it’s already proving to be a wonderful ‘lucky dip’ sort of book (yes I know, call me superficial!) and I’m so pleased to have this to hand. O’Hara is one of those poets whose name comes up often and I’d already had him down as a poet I wanted to read more of.
Add to the mix Allison McVety’s Lighthouses which has been sat patiently awaiting reading, Jayne Stanton’s pamphlet ‘Beyond the Tune’ and D A Prince‘s luscious-looking book Common Ground, which I have started but not had a chance to return to, that’s probably enough reading material to keep me out of mischief.
Oh, and I’m launching a new ‘regional focus’ series on this blog – starting with Leicestershire – but that might have to wait until the New Year, as I’m in the middle of a blog tour to promote ‘Blogging for Writers’…ack!
SUBMISSIONS UPDATE: following last week’s blog post – thanks for all the discussion around this, on this blog, on Facebook and by email – I can report two sets of rejections, both mags responding within days of the blog post …. interesting! Let’s hope it’s not toooooo long before I can report something more positive!
Morning! It’s time for a little blog tour… the lovely Jayne Stanton invited me to take part in the ‘My Writing Process’ tour (or ‘meme’ in internet parlance). There must have been thousands of writers already taken the tour. The idea is to answer the same four set questions, then to nominate three more writers to take up the challenge.
1) What am I working on?
I’ve recently been commissioned to write two books about blogging. The first is a kind of sister publication to ‘Blogging for Creatives’ which was published in 2012, but this time it’s Blogging for Writers. Naturally this is right up my street! But, like with the first book, there’s a heck of a lot of research to be done, experts to be contacted and images to be found, on top of the actual writing (which is the easy bit). And I now have just 8 weeks to deliver, so it’s full-on.
On the poetry front I’ve just started by own small poetry imprint, Telltale Press, mainly to publish my own short first pamphlet, but also (I hope) to do the same for other poets. Still working out the details, but my own pamphlet should be out within a few weeks. My poetry writing is a bit in the doldrums at the moment. But that’s OK, it’ll come back.
2) How does my work differ from others of its genre?
I suppose I need to answer this in regard to my commercial writing and poetry, separately. When I was writing essays at Uni many years ago, a tutor remarked ‘I like your clear, textbook style.’ That comment stayed with me and I’ve consciously tried to develop this ability over the years. As a result I’ve had a lot of success with copywriting – especially when it comes to putting the technical into plain English and empathising with the audience’s thought processes. It’s also helped me in devising and delivering training and mentoring. Let’s break it down, look at it another way, that sort of thing.
Poetry of course is another matter. If anything I have to fight against the instinct to explain, to set the scene…maybe that’s one reason why I enjoy it. Poetry feels like the ultimate challenge for a writer. Does my poetry differ from others? Probably not. Like many people, I can write competent poetry that very occasionally has a magical spark (together with a fair bit of stuff that has no merit at all). But there are so many wonderfully original and surprising poets out there, and I’ve got a long way to go before (or even if) I reach that standard. If anything I would say I probably need to let go more and not be so controlled by rational/analytic thoughts.
3) Why do I write what I do?
Commercial writing: I write about whatever interests me, but I suppose I fell into the blogging books from having been an internet marketer for so many years, since the 20th century actually! And before that I was a corporate marketer on the international rat run. I discovered the internet in 1997, learned HTML in 1998, did an MA in Digital Media in 1999 and reinvented myself as an internet bod.
Poetry: a combination of the usual things that inspire poets (life’s big questions) and a love of manipulating language. I love jigsaws, puzzles, sudoku… I enjoyed maths at school as much as English… I see poetry a little like a creative extension of all that. Like a lot of people I started writing poetry at school, but despite encouragement from lovely English teachers I was determined to think everything I wrote was crap. I still think this was probably true, but I wish I’d had the confidence of youth to at least give it a go. But it wasn’t until I was settled and contented and in my 40s that I decided to take poetry seriously. Suddenly there was a heck of a lot of reading to catch up on and it was (and still is!) a steep learning curve.
4) How does my writing process work?
I’m pretty organised. When it comes to commercial work I rely on spreadsheets, time and word count calculations, and to do lists. I enjoy filing and try to keep well on top of deadlines. I’ve never missed a deadline – I was one of those kids who even at university would always finish tasks well ahead of the due date, and I never ran out of time in exams.
With poetry, again I keep good records of submissions, but I admit I’m a bit ramshackle as regards keeping notes and writing down ideas. Many things fly away before I have a chance to nail them down. I get a bit frustrated when I do have the time to sit and write, and nothing at all worthwhile comes to mind. But again, that’s part of the challenge.
I go to workshops because I do find feedback valuable, and I don’t mind doing exercises and having writing prompts but I wouldn’t seek them out. I’ve rarely had any useful inspiration come from prompts or exercises. I have more luck if I just stop trying to write and go read instead. Reading fine poetry before going to sleep can work well for me. Part of me thinks if I read enough good stuff it will rub off on me somehow. When I do actually write something, it might go through many revisions over several months or even years before it’s published, but on the other hand I’ve had a few notable successes with pieces I’ve literally written in one sitting with very little editing. Bizarre.
Next Monday, please check out the following writers/bloggers and their answers…
Abegail Morley of The Poetry Shed
Abegail Morley’s first collection, How to Pour Madness into a Teacup was shortlisted for the Forward Prize Best First Collection. Snow Child (2011) and Eva and George: Sketches in Pen and Brush (2013) are published by Pindrop Press. She has a collection forthcoming from Eyewear Publishing and is co-founder of EKPHRASIS.
Cathy Bramley
Cathy Bramley is a writer of romantic comedy. She lives in Nottingham with her family and is a fan of Polish cherry vodka, chocolate brazils and Marian Keyes novels. Her debut, Conditional Love achieved a little ‘best-seller’ flag from Amazon and her next novel will be published in April. You can usually find her wasting time on Twitter @CathyBramley or on Facebook.
E.E.Nobbs
E.E. Nobbs (Elly) won the 2013 Doire Press International Poetry Chapbook competition. Her first book – The Invisible Girl – is hot off the press. She lives in Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island, Canada.
Happy Holidays (or non-denominational winter festival, etc). Wouldn’t it be great to end the year on a ‘good news’ note? You know – I’ve suddenly been snapped up by Faber, or something – but I’ve nothing exciting to report on the submissions front, sadly: yet another no from Ambit, and a very swift no from HappenStance (very generous of Nell Nelson to read and respond so quickly and thoughtfully, even though I sensed she found my poems a tad yawn-worthy. Clearly I must do better if I want to raise myself above the swollen river of poetic same-ness that constantly darkens her door. Oh dear, there’s a lovely mixed metaphor for you – I rest my case…)
Oddly enough I don’t feel knocked back. I’m strangely optimistic about 2014, and determined to make something happen rather than be passive about it all. What that means exactly I’m not sure, it’s just a kernel of a feeling for now … will let you know!
There’s plenty of poetry business to keep me out of mischief in January: a trip to the T S Eliot Award readings on 13th – I have poet friend Julia to thank for introducing me to this annual poets’ gathering. Great fun! Also, I’ve lately got involved with Needlewriters here in Lewes, and am pledged to help publicise it – next event is on 16th, with Kay Syrad, Patricia McCarthy and John Usher. Plus there’s Brighton Stanza to think about – next meeting on 20th and some planning to be done before then.
I’m planning also for the Lewes Singers, our occasional choir – two concerts in 2014 and cathedral visits for 2015 and 2016 – yes, they have to be booked that far ahead! The Church of England may be struggling for attendees these days and plenty of the less glamorous cathedrals are desperately strapped for cash, but there will always be a ton of choirs wanting to sing in them. Sadly, it’s regular church goers and visitors who are needed, for their donations, whereas visiting choirs contribute nothing except their singing. A bit unfair of us really. The unevenness of this reminds me of the situation in poetry, vis a vis readers / writers.
I was very lucky this Christmas, not only did my lovely other half buy me a copy of A London Year, 365 Days of City Life in Diaries, Journals and Letters by Travis Elborough, which I’ve coveted for a while, but Stepson also came up trumps and presented me with the Centenary Edition of William Blake’s Poetry and Prose. Blake! Just the thing I need to clear my brain after a bit of Christmas excess and trashy reading.
This will probably be my last post for 2013, so I wanted to mention some of my favourite poetry blogs/poet bloggers and generous Poetgal supporters … thank you all so much for the wonderful posts, discussion, comments, shares/retweets, camaraderie and support: Josephine Corcoran at And Other Poems, Abegail Morley at The Poetry Shed, Anthony Wilson, Meg Cox, Isabel Rogers, Jean Tubridy at Social Bridge, Jayne Stanton, Elly Nobbs, Hilda Sheehan and Lynne Hjelmgaard. And apologies to anyone I’ve omitted. You are all brilliant and it’s a pleasure to know you (even if virtually).
Thank you for taking the time to read this blog, and I wish you a healthy, happy and successful 2014! Robin x
Happy Holidays (or non-denominational winter festival, etc). Wouldn’t it be great to end the year on a ‘good news’ note? You know – I’ve suddenly been snapped up by Faber, or something – but I’ve nothing exciting to report on the submissions front, sadly: yet another no from