I'm thinking of taking a sabbatical from poetry. Giving it up for a while. A bit of 'detox'. Why? Multiple reasons really. The easy one is to say that "I want to focus on my prose". Very little collateral damage in that one I suspect. And it also has the benefit of being true! I … Continue reading Time for a Poetry ‘sabbatical’?
Category: Poetry
‘The Language of Diamonds’
In one of Lawrence Durrell's poems there is a wonderful line: Give us the language of diamondsThe Death of General Uncebunke, Fourteen Carols (V) That simple phrase - "the language of diamonds" - has always seemed to me complex, profound, powerful, beautiful. The subtlety of it comes in the unpacking of it of course, and … Continue reading ‘The Language of Diamonds’
You can’t be a Writer without writing…
Sounds obvious, doesn't it? But how many of us like to think of ourselves as 'Writers' (note the capital 'w'!) when - to be frank - we don't really put the hours in. Think about it. How could you be a surgeon without learning your craft and then operating on people day-in day-out, or a … Continue reading You can’t be a Writer without writing…
A glance in the rear-view mirror…
Every few months or so - usually at propitious or convenient points - I take stock of where I am with my writing. These reviews take the form of notes scribbled into one of many(!) notebooks, and essentially provide a snapshot of where I am with my creative work. When arriving at such moments (as … Continue reading A glance in the rear-view mirror…
“Selected Poems” – Lawrence Durrell
If his "Selected Poems" (Ed. Peter Porter) is anything to go by, Lawrence Durrell's poetry has not travelled well through time. Whilst they may have been stylistically appropriate for the 30s and 40s, I fear that do not sit well in the twenty-first century. Many seem contrived and clumsy, with (sometimes inconsistent) rhyming schemes shoe-horned … Continue reading “Selected Poems” – Lawrence Durrell
The rewind button’s broken…
Why is it that so many of us live our lives - subconsciously or otherwise - as if there is a secret rewind button always available? A button that gifts us the opportunity to revisit past triumphs, to avoid horrible defeats; a button which permits us to take different decisions and make alternate choices. And … Continue reading The rewind button’s broken…
“Randomly Moving Particles”
Andrew Motion's "Randomly Moving Particles" is, in many ways, a quite remarkable tour de force of free verse; indeed, it is so 'free' that I am reminded of the narrative qualities of Robin Robertson's award-winning "The Long Take". Nowhere is the power of his work more in evidence than in 'How Do the Dead Walk', … Continue reading “Randomly Moving Particles”
Why you shouldn’t believe everything an Amazon page says about a book…
As a writer and Indie Publisher I am always grateful that my distributor and the Nielsen book registration service have direct feeds into major on-line retailers. This facility means that, as soon as a book is published, it usually appears on global websites within 24-48 hours. However, what appears is only as good as the … Continue reading Why you shouldn’t believe everything an Amazon page says about a book…
“in the event”
John Birtwhistle's latest collection of poetry, "in the event", is an intriguing and eclectic mix; a real pic'n'mix of the traditional and modern, the poetic and the prosaic. It is a 'something for everyone' kind of book. Which, in a way, is both a strength and a weakness. There are 'statement' pieces - the more … Continue reading “in the event”
A short memory of Jacques Berthoud
A few weeks ago, I attended - virtually, of course! - the Carcanet launch of John Birtwhistle's latest poetry collection, "in the event", with John himself reading. I met John just over forty years ago at the University of Southampton where I was studying English and John was 'writer-in-residence', or some such. There were writing … Continue reading A short memory of Jacques Berthoud
Ian Gouge - Writer 