Book trailers

Over the last few weeks I have been generating short video trailers for my books (most are less than a minute long). Here they all are collected in one place!

“An Arbitrary Light Bulb”

There is a challenge in reading poetry which is intrinsically personal to the poet. Often, in order to get the most from a piece, you need to know the people concerned or the places described or the events which happened. Without this, striving for interpretation can feel a little like reading with one metaphorical hand … Continue reading “An Arbitrary Light Bulb” →

February’s best Substack posts

"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 links to recent posts from my Substack site. "Writing until the light goes out" "Writing until the light goes out"

Grimsby Docks – a trailer

https://videopress.com/v/zs9A289S?resizeToParent=true&cover=true&autoPlay=true&preloadContent=metadata&useAverageColor=true Grimsby Docks

“Constructing a Witch”

One of the many dangers in putting together a largely single-themed collection of poetry is that the poet may find themselves working with a restricted suite of words - this in addition to running the risk of 'sameness' or good poems/lines simply getting 'lost'. Painters do something similar of course (think Rothko or Picasso's 'periods'), … Continue reading “Constructing a Witch” →

January’s best posts

"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 links to recent posts from my Substack site. "Writing until the light goes out" "Writing until the light goes out" And a link to my latest … Continue reading January’s best posts →

“rock flight”

Not for me, I'm afraid. Hasib Hourani's "rock flight" is a work of protest and politics. I have no issue with that. Indeed, given the state of the world - and some of the so-called 'leaders' in our world (our world, not theirs) - there should perhaps be more. But I do I have an … Continue reading “rock flight” →

Highlights from the end of 2024

"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 links to recent posts from my Substack site. "Writing until the light goes out" "Writing until the light goes out" And a link to my latest … Continue reading Highlights from the end of 2024 →

“Songbook”

Joshua Idehen's "Songbook" is a difficult collection to categorise - which is perhaps a reflection on the source of the material: mainly musical collaborations / rap. Many of the poems contain QR links to Spotify tracks, and these further demonstrate the variety of the work: from the melodic to what seems to me at least … Continue reading “Songbook” →

The year in numbers…

"Writing until the light goes out" When I was a child I was always good with numbers. Top in maths at school, that kind of thing. Gradually, as a love of literature and writing took over, my interest in numbers’ purity began to wane. I believe I can date the start of that decline to … Continue reading The year in numbers… →