Writing Retreat – Day 4 (last)

In the end it was all just marvellous. Not just the writing, but the company, the "me time", the time to chill... And the interaction between us all, being able to spark and bounce ideas off one and other. The last evening was spent in a kind of 'performance': Amy's academic paper had moved further … Continue reading Writing Retreat – Day 4 (last) →

Writing Retreat – Day 3

Somehow I just knew the value of trying something like this would surface in multiple ways... On Wednesday I had a minor, innocuous encounter on a short walk from the house. During the evening 'reading' session, the conversation turned to what we write about, how those things manifest themselves, etcetera. And it was at that … Continue reading Writing Retreat – Day 3 →

Writing Retreat – Day 2

It's funny how writing can abuse you, isn't it? Well, not funny exactly. In fact, almost the opposite. After a pretty buoyant day yesterday, today has been a real struggle to get going. Fewer words - and 'less good' words too! - on the prose piece; a bit more of a struggle to find momentum … Continue reading Writing Retreat – Day 2 →

Writing Retreat – Day 1

If I'm honest, I was worried about how slowly time would pass... but the day is structured so well with really useable chunks of time, that this just isn't an issue. And the company's great! Day 1 summary: 1200 words drafted on a prose 'thing' I'm working on; 2 new poems drafted, plus some rework … Continue reading Writing Retreat – Day 1 →

“The Noise of a Fly”

There can be little doubt that there are some great lines and phrases in Douglas Dunn's most recent volume of poems, "The Noise of a Fly". However, in spite of this, I found myself distracted by a) the many lists that appear throughout the poems, b) the slavish adherence to the (sometimes too forced?) rhyming … Continue reading “The Noise of a Fly” →

“Mama Amazonica”

There are some beautiful images in Pascale Petit's volume of poetry, "Mama Amazonica", even though the underlying subject is sobering: 'the story of (her) mentally ill mother and the consequences of abuse'. However, in spite of the quality of some of the writing, the subject matter is totally unrelenting; poem after poem on the same … Continue reading “Mama Amazonica” →

How was it for you?

I'm not sure what I expected from the reading and book launch yesterday. Of course, there was always the naive and simplistic hope, skulking in a dark corner somewhere, that at the end of the reading there would be a prolonged standing ovation, followed by a huge queue to buy my book and to secure … Continue reading How was it for you? →

Book Launch tomorrow!

Just over 24-hours to my reading tomorrow as part of the Ripon Poetry Festival... Who'd have thought it?!

What’s it all for..?

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..? →