Category: Poetry

Sonnet Man #3 – “Obituary of a Would-be Poet”

https://videopress.com/v/C1uMRaNr?resizeToParent=true&cover=true&preloadContent=metadata&useAverageColor=true "Obituary of a Would-be Poet" from Not the Sonnets #poetry #poetrylovers #poets #writers #writingcommunity #readingcommunity

Sonnet Man #2 – “January Chill”

https://videopress.com/v/n1pNTe7l?resizeToParent=true&cover=true&preloadContent=metadata&useAverageColor=true "January Chill" from Not the Sonnets #poetry #poetrylovers #poets #writers #writingcommunity #readingcommunity

Putting pen to paper – w/c 25th September

Time to look back / forward. How did I get on last week? Meetings and Events - a Society of Authors' workshop on writing audio drama (via Zoom) - YES attending a book launch event (via Zoom) - YES attending a reading by Red Door Poets (via Zoom) - YES (this evening). Writing projects - … Continue reading Putting pen to paper – w/c 25th September →

Sonnet Man #1 – “On being thrown over”

https://videopress.com/v/0VSYljTb?resizeToParent=true&cover=true&preloadContent=metadata&useAverageColor=true "On being thrown over" from Not the Sonnets

“This Fruiting Body”

All too often I find that poems concerning themselves with subjects like climate change and sexual identity try to slap you round the face with their message, or smack you between the eyes. A fair number of the poems in Caleb Parkin's "This Fruiting Body" are far more subtle than that; they manage to get … Continue reading “This Fruiting Body” →

Putting pen to paper – w/c 18th September

Time to look back / forward. How did I get on last week? Meetings and Events - A 'Cafe Writers' book launch and open mic - YES September's Derby 'Stanza' meeting - YES attending a local poetry group - YES, but the 'group' proved to be just me and the organiser! being interviewed for a … Continue reading Putting pen to paper – w/c 18th September →

Taking my own advice?

Today our daughter went off to start her four years at University. Yesterday we had the 'dad talk' - the somewhat self-indulgent attempt at sharing wisdom. The most pertinent piece of advice I tried to give her was to 'make the most of it'; that it was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity; that she will never be … Continue reading Taking my own advice? →

Putting pen to paper – w/c 11th September

So, here we go. 'Back in the saddle' as they say. Rather than revert to an entry a day ("been there, done that") I thought I might try and keep myself honest by previewing the week ahead - and then in seven days' time looking back to see how I got on. It's all about … Continue reading Putting pen to paper – w/c 11th September →

“Proof of Life on Earth”

There is a tightrope poets walk when they are writing personal poetry i.e. poems which tackle specific instances or relationships in their lives. Because the poet is intimate with their subject, often there are references and images in the poem which work solely because they are privy to the other half of the handshake. So … Continue reading “Proof of Life on Earth” →

Getting my act together…

Following on from my recent rumination about time and what to do with it ("Today's the day"), over the last few days I have turned my attention to kick-starting some new Coverstory books publishing initiatives. The first of these is a new short story collection following on from the 2022 volume Making Marks in the … Continue reading Getting my act together… →