Coast Trace around its outline with great care, there is danger as well as beauty there. Go slowly, cautiously; try to picture postcard scenes of secluded coves, a deserted beach, the caves where smugglers hid and waited for the tide to reach. Pause again where once upon a time you ate greasy fish and chips … Continue reading Coast
It's my own fault. I admit it. I should have looked more carefully. I really should leave any book whose front cover endorsements come from magazines like "The Lady" and "Woman and Home" on the shelves. Not because the books themselves are no good, but its a bit like giving a Ristretto lover a full-fat … Continue reading “The Keeper of Lost Things”
Probably the strongest pieces in Paul Deaton's "A Watchful Astronomy" are those that relate to his relationship with his father. Elsewhere there is the occasional crisp image, but overall I get the impression of someone with talent who is still trying to find their voice. Here and there one might feel evidence of trying too … Continue reading “A Watchful Astronomy”
There are undoubtedly a few lovely images in Anne Michaels' "All We Saw". But - how can I put this? - there's also a lot of 'space'... Here is the contents of an entire page (from the title poem, which is spread over 10 pages): dear one That's it. Words fail me. And I'm probably … Continue reading “All We Saw”
Hamish Wilson's two great passions are probably literature and music, and within that a specific love for people like Dylan Thomas and John Lennon. It could be argued, of course, that Thomas' poetry fits both categories quite nicely. "Away from the Welsh Speaking Sea" was born from Wilson's visit to Thomas' childhood home in Swansea. … Continue reading “Away from the Welsh Speaking Sea”
Spoiler alert: I don't often rant... Assuming modern poets wish their verse to be read - and by real, normal, human readers - it would be useful if some of them actually made such a thing possible... There seems to be a trend in some current poetry that - eschews punctuation; avoids capitalisation; inserts bizarre … Continue reading Mentioning no names…
After a few pages of Ali Smith's Booker-nominated "Autumn" I began to wonder what I had let myself in for. I was, to put it mildly, a little unsure... However, I am so glad that I persevered. "Autumn" is simply ASTOUNDING... Wish I'd written it. Reading
I confess to have struggled with Sasha Dugdale's latest collection. The blurb praises the 'complex and not always easy range of voices', so maybe that's what did for me. It was, to be honest, difficult to see the long title poem as a 'poem'. It seemed part play, part prose, part something else. Not sure … Continue reading “Joy”
Currently three projects on the go: A new volume of poetry - aiming for February 2018 publication by Coverstory books (see link below) A prose piece that is currently yet to finish morphing into its final format - may make it to publication late in 2018 A new collection of (linked) short stories - with … Continue reading Quick update – 4th December 2017
In the end it was all just marvellous. Not just the writing, but the company, the "me time", the time to chill... And the interaction between us all, being able to spark and bounce ideas off one and other. The last evening was spent in a kind of 'performance': Amy's academic paper had moved further … Continue reading Writing Retreat – Day 4 (last)
Ian Gouge - Writer 