Catchup for a rainy day – news, upcoming etc

With a real sense of summer coming to an end, I just wanted to mention a few things before August is up, and that feeling of moving on to the start of a new year. (Still haunted by school terms, decades on…) Excellent Events Back in July, I didn’t manage to make it to TheRead more ⟶

Poems coming out, new anthology, currently reading etc

Intro/bit of a rant etc (skip this if you’d rather go straight to The Poetry stuff) Where has the month gone? (Rhetorical question.) Why am I being besieged by companies/organisations telling me I must re-subscribe to their emails? (Non-rhetorical question, although I think I know the answer – *some people* are spreading panic about newRead more ⟶

Reading of poem ‘Long Haul’

This is from a reading I did in Eastbourne earlier this year and the poem appeared in The Interpreter’s House in June. Apologies for the sound quality and there are a couple of visual glitches – I never have much luck with video! Long Haul from Robin Houghton on Vimeo.

When the poetry magazines arrive…

… 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 sawRead more ⟶

Three small press poetry competition deadlines coming up

Ah! Poetry competitions. Love ’em, hate ’em? It helps when you win something occasionally, admit it. Sadly, the stats are against us, but would we have it any other way? Who wants to be a winner if everyone else is too? And on the subject of probability, I just read that the British state lottery, orRead more ⟶

Two steps forward one step back (or vice versa)

Last week I was deep in Telltale Press business which is probably why I didn’t post an update here. I’ve also been distracted by the process of ‘moving house’ which I put in inverted commas because I’m not entirely sure whether it’s actually happening, or just something I imagine is happening. Rather like those vividRead more ⟶

Poetry competitions: ‘do you not know who I think I am?’

I laughed out loud at Martin Malone’s editorial in The Interpreter’s House 57 on the subject of poetry competitions. “What is wrong with us? […] Are we such fragile approval junkies that we need to feel repeatedly validated by our Highly Commended in the East Jokerville 3rd Annual Arts Festival Poetry Competition?” Er, is thatRead more ⟶

Launch of The Interpreter’s House 56

In the interests of giving the magazine an airing in different parts of the country, The Interpreter’s House editor Martin Malone came down to the south coast yesterday to launch issue number 56. It was a very different event to the last one. Firstly, the Redroaster Coffee House is less intimate than the Albion Beatnik Bookstore inRead more ⟶

Launch of The Interpreter’s House #55

And so to Oxford, or the Albion Beatnik Bookstore in Jericho, to be precise. Martin Malone took over the editorship of The Interpreter’s House after the untimely death of Simon Curtis last year, and this is his second issue. I have to say, the production quality is great, I love the cover design, and it’sRead more ⟶