If you are going to be even remotely honest, you have to eschew reputation - and reputation as a poet is something Andrew McMillan is gaining in the UK. For my part, however, his collection "playtime" left me remarkably cold. So cold, in fact, that I have just given up reading it, unable to see … Continue reading “playtime”
Category: Poetry
Having a bad week…
Not me personally, you understand. Just in terms of what I'm reading. I have two books on the go - one fiction, one poetry - and when it comes to writing my short reviews here, I can already see they will pose a problem. I'm not naive or vain enough to think what I say … Continue reading Having a bad week…
Would this be acceptable – or theft?
I have just read Ted Hughes' poem "Chaucer" from the volume 'Birthday Letters', a vast collection of pieces written for / about Sylvia Plath. The thing that struck me about "Chaucer" - indeed as it has about many of the poems I have thus far read in the book - is that they read like … Continue reading Would this be acceptable – or theft?
Changing Trains
Changing Trains An express lances through a verdant cutting. Insistent, a tell-tale whistle of air compressed against an aerodynamic shell; air forced aside as the train has somewhere more important to be. The tuning-fork wheel hum on unending miles of extruded track robs us of a heartbeat, like grieving for that throat-clearing cough from the … Continue reading Changing Trains
Something for nothing – really?!
Five days ago I made an offer of a free book to WordPress readers. A number of people liked the post and checked-out the link, but no-one signed up for either of the books. This bothered me somewhat as my audience is largely driven by fellow writers and readers, people who search for things tagged as 'writing', … Continue reading Something for nothing – really?!
The Cut-out
The Cut-out I try and imagine the irregular space he will leave, the awkwardness of it. Will it have boundaries, soft-boiled edges to compromise if you’re not too careful, like stranger-bumping in a Tesco’s chiller aisle? Stolen from unconcerned history and devoid of value, I could take this abstract replica in all its coarse … Continue reading The Cut-out
FREE BOOK to say ‘Thank you’
In order to say 'Thank you' to those of you who have read and followed Writeral.com and my blog over the past two years or so, I would like to offer you a free copy of one of my books in ebook format. The choices are either my collection of short stories, "Secrets & Wisdom", … Continue reading FREE BOOK to say ‘Thank you’
Untitled
a few precious words are released unprotected into the maelstrom living on their wits and the genius to melt into an image the mind’s eye trick to trace pattern myth and ghosts in the never-there when we caress them our crass manipulation falls so often short yet there they remain imperious … Continue reading Untitled
A life of its own.
One of the things I have learned over the last few years - especially recently - is that, when trying to write the concrete things we call 'books', they have a dynamic all their own. Sitting down and writing a short story or a poem off-the-cuff is probably the most relaxed kind of writing there … Continue reading A life of its own.
No rhyme nor reason…
Sometimes, almost magically, words surprise you. Especially when you're not looking for them, settling down perhaps to watch tv or listen to music; just when you imagine your concentration is elsewhere. How can you write anything when you don't mean to...? Yesterday evening - and obviously not quite finished... a cracked voice tries to recapture … Continue reading No rhyme nor reason…
Ian Gouge - Writer 