We're told by the cover flaps that Sam Riveire's After Fame is a collection of 118 poems based - in some way shape or form - on Book 1 by the Roman poet, Martial. Which on the face of it is fair enough. However a significant proportion of the 118 are clearly not poems but … Continue reading “After Fame”
Category: Poetry
IMPORTANT – FOR ALL INGRAM SPARK USERS
I have just discovered there is an opt-out to help prevent your books being sold to AI companies (which presumably means the default is ‘opt-in’…) You can find the opt-out link here (pass it on): https://www.ingramcontent.com/page/ai-opt-out
“House of Lords and Commons”
If I struggled with Ishion Hutchinson's House of Lords and Commons that was because all too often I felt the poems sacrificed meaning in order to be 'poetic'. Often too poetic. For a large chunks of time I had no idea what was being said, getting lost in over-long 'sentences' and the tricky syntax. I … Continue reading “House of Lords and Commons”
Reading this coming Friday!
“The Melancholy Death of Oyster Boy and Other Stories”
I venture to suggest that The Melancholy Death and Oyster Boy and Other Stories (1997 in the US) was only published because Tim Burton was already famous. [Yes, the Tim Burton of 'Beetlejuice', 'Batman', 'Edward Scissorhands', 'Mars Attacks!' etc.] While the drawings are proficient, whacky and creepy, the writing isn't. Very few of the poems … Continue reading “The Melancholy Death of Oyster Boy and Other Stories”
July’s Substack highlights
"when you see anything of mine that you don’t like remember that I’m sincere in doing it and that I’m working toward something." - Ernest Hemingway A selection of recent posts from my Substack site. Also, on the same site, don't miss the free serialisation of my magic realism novel, The Big Frog Theory. If … Continue reading July’s Substack highlights
Upcoming event!
“Sensitive Information” – a new volume from Coverstory books
I am delighted to be publishing Zanna Beswick's debut poetry collection, Sensitive Information, under my Coverstory books imprint. For more information on the collection, please visit HERE.
“The Year’s Afternoon”
In reading Douglas Dunn's The Year's Afternoon I was struck by just how dated the poetry seemed. Though it was published in 2000, I wouldn't have been surprised had it been written fifty years earlier. I make this assessment based on language, rhyme and the layout of the poems on the page. And some of … Continue reading “The Year’s Afternoon”
“Poundland Rimbaud”
I picked up Johny Fluffypunk's Poundland Rimbaud in the Waterstones' remainders section. And what a whacky thing it is: a mixture of stories, poems, jokes (kind of), and the text of a stage performance. If you're looking for something off-the-wall I doubt you'll get much more weird than this - but you'll have to find … Continue reading “Poundland Rimbaud”
Ian Gouge - Writer 