Drawing Breath at the National Trust Her voice carries. No full stops she is all conjunctions: 'but' and 'so' and 'yet' and 'and'. Sixty-five years of catching up to do chasing herself through unpunctuated sentences. And then the crows come to pick at crumbs from the cheese scone taken an age to eat, minor mouthfuls … Continue reading Drawing Breath at the National Trust
Category: Poetry
Writing Retreats: panning for gold…
I suspect just about everyone who attends a Writers' retreat uncovers a nugget of some kind. Often these priceless finds will be unearthed through informal interaction with other attendees, conversations over dinner, sharing writing experiences - or even experiences of life. At my first retreat four years ago (at Garsdale Retreat in North Yorkshire), my … Continue reading Writing Retreats: panning for gold…
Writing Retreat – mk. 2
The first time I enrolled on a writing retreat I ended up getting the inspiration for - and writing the initial short story of - my collection "Degrees of Separation". Next week I am enthusiastically anticipating my second retreat and hope for a similarly productive outcome! Once more I go into the week with questions … Continue reading Writing Retreat – mk. 2
Sound body, sound mind – an update
Since my original post (appended below) I have now completed 12 stages of my journey since 'leaving' Land's End, cycling some 330km. In a virtual sense, I have now reached Cheddar. Nearly out of the West Country! I have decided to cycle the length of the UK - Land's End to John o'Groats - on … Continue reading Sound body, sound mind – an update
Always happy to read
I have always enjoyed reading my work aloud ever since my first experience of doing so when I was in my early twenties. Historically, being able to read to an audience usually requires an 'event' of some kind - such as a book festival - and then an invitation to do so. One of things … Continue reading Always happy to read
Watching Simon Armitage read…
Yesterday evening I attended the marque event of Ripon's fourth Poetry Festival, a reading by the Poet Laureate, Simon Armitage. Being slightly ambivalent to Armitage's work, I wasn't entirely sure what to expect. Without any introduction, Armitage started by reading "Thank you for waiting" - and immediately had the audience in fits of laughter. The … Continue reading Watching Simon Armitage read…
A quick look in the rear-view mirror…
Although it was not that long ago I reflected on the challenge of having 'too much free time' to work on literary projects (see my 'dreams' post), it has been a while since I offered any kind of update on what I'm actually writing. It's odd how your perspective can change week-to-week; how one day … Continue reading A quick look in the rear-view mirror…
“Sandettie Light Vessel Automatic”
Simon's Armitage's collection "Sandettie Light Vessel Automatic" is something of a smorgasbord in terms of theme, style, even seriousness. It could easily offer 'something for everybody', as the saying goes. What struck me most of all was a sense that I wasn't reading poetry as much as reviewing 'product'. Everything in this collection was commissioned, … Continue reading “Sandettie Light Vessel Automatic”
A written plea for the next…
I'm currently reading Simon Armitage's Sandettie Light Vessel Automatic and I came across this: each new poem never anything lessthan a written plea for the next.from "Émigré" This is, of course, spot on. For those of us blessed - or plagued (you choose!) - with the compulsion to write, there is always this sense of … Continue reading A written plea for the next…
Are we there yet?
If you're a parent and a driver, the chances are the title of this post will resonate. Remember those long journeys - and probably not-so-long ones - when the chant from the kids in the back at some stage invariably migrated to "Are we there yet?"... Journeys of this nature - from A to B, … Continue reading Are we there yet?
Ian Gouge - Writer 