At our writing group this week we had a panel-led session on “Publishing - Then and Now”. Even though I’ve been fortunate enough to have seen both sides of this particular coin first-hand, it struck me how irrelevant the ‘Then’ part of the conversation feels now. Like many things, it seems a world away; a … Continue reading What’s it all for..?
Category: Poetry
The Ripon Poetry Festival
The flyer for the Ripon Poetry Festival, 13th-15th October, is now available. Really looking forwards to my slot on the 15th!
Islanders
Islanders They have a special aura, those fine-tuned to life on the harsh isles. Standing on a cliff, they watch the sea retreat in a white flag of foam, their remoteness permitting them to live as much in myth as on a map. Yet like us, they boast no divine insight, and try to see … Continue reading Islanders
Veritas
Veritas They should have been devoted to the pursuit of truth but found themselves seduced by the ubiquity of lying and the common pressure to inflate their image, to manufacture a second self, deceptions to gain unjust rewards. Twisted by this blemish in nature and the roots of behaviour, even if we wanted to, we know countering with fact would be … Continue reading Veritas
What a week!!
How often in a lifetime might you be able to say that you've published two books in the space of just 5 days?! Thought so... Of course it sounds as if you might have just rushed out some kind of rubbish in order to make the boast, whereas in this case these two books are … Continue reading What a week!!
New Book Published!
My new collection of poetry, "Human Archaeology", is published today! It will be available to order through any good bookshop (via their standard account with the publisher, Ingram - they should have one!) and hopefully via Amazon and other on-line sellers within the next week or two. This is my first use of the IngramSpark … Continue reading New Book Published!
Minor trumpet blowing…
A couple of months ago I entered a poetry competition, and the results are just out. There were a total of 1,305 entries - and I was 'long listed'! I didn't make it to the short- or prize-list - and to be honest, I didn't expect to - but I'm pleased to have made it … Continue reading Minor trumpet blowing…
“The Superiority of Nature”
Trapped as an unintentional consequence of the weather’s sudden shift, the mist of myth envelops the moors and strands us in the bleak backdrop of gothic literature and Hollywood. It is not merely our innocence whipped by gale-force gusts of change. National identity balances on the tip of some vast unstable scree, the trip … Continue reading “The Superiority of Nature”
“Noise (or Between God and the Internet)”
Imagine a vast ocean of mirror-still translucent turquoise so clear that you can see its bottom so vast that its edges are become the horizon. Imagine that. One day, from an invisible somewhere, a pebble is dropped into the very centre of the ocean and a single ripple forms. All around the ocean’s edge, … Continue reading “Noise (or Between God and the Internet)”
Time for some collaboration?
A few years ago, I worked with a friend, Tom, on a chain of Haiku. I wrote one and gave it to him simply to read. He responded by writing a second Haiku to follow-on from my own. In the end I think we produced maybe 30 or 40 verses in something we ended up … Continue reading Time for some collaboration?
Ian Gouge - Writer 