All too often I find that poems concerning themselves with subjects like climate change and sexual identity try to slap you round the face with their message, or smack you between the eyes. A fair number of the poems in Caleb Parkin's "This Fruiting Body" are far more subtle than that; they manage to get … Continue reading “This Fruiting Body”
New podcast episode!
Just like buses, two episodes for my Walking Thru Fire podcast come along one after the other! My short story - The Piano Player - is now available. I hope you like it. Walking Thru Fire is available on all good podcast services: Audible, Spotify, Apple podcasts, Amazon Music, Deezer etc.
New podcast episode!
It has been far too long since I recorded an episode for my Walking Thru Fire podcast - but I now address that omission. My short story - Closing his account - is now available. I hope you like it. Walking Thru Fire is available on all good podcast services: Audible, Spotify, Apple podcasts, Amazon … Continue reading New podcast episode!
Putting pen to paper – w/c 18th September
Time to look back / forward. How did I get on last week? Meetings and Events - A 'Cafe Writers' book launch and open mic - YES September's Derby 'Stanza' meeting - YES attending a local poetry group - YES, but the 'group' proved to be just me and the organiser! being interviewed for a … Continue reading Putting pen to paper – w/c 18th September
Taking my own advice?
Today our daughter went off to start her four years at University. Yesterday we had the 'dad talk' - the somewhat self-indulgent attempt at sharing wisdom. The most pertinent piece of advice I tried to give her was to 'make the most of it'; that it was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity; that she will never be … Continue reading Taking my own advice?
Putting pen to paper – w/c 11th September
So, here we go. 'Back in the saddle' as they say. Rather than revert to an entry a day ("been there, done that") I thought I might try and keep myself honest by previewing the week ahead - and then in seven days' time looking back to see how I got on. It's all about … Continue reading Putting pen to paper – w/c 11th September
“Life on Other Planets”
It seems that I'm not having much luck in my recent reading choices. I now realise it was supposed to be laugh-out-loud funny, but I'm afraid Matt Cook's "Life on Other Planets" didn't have that effect on me. The occasional smile of amusement perhaps. And I also confess that when I bought it, I didn't … Continue reading “Life on Other Planets”
“Proof of Life on Earth”
There is a tightrope poets walk when they are writing personal poetry i.e. poems which tackle specific instances or relationships in their lives. Because the poet is intimate with their subject, often there are references and images in the poem which work solely because they are privy to the other half of the handshake. So … Continue reading “Proof of Life on Earth”
Twitter saddens me…
...because it's like some vast goldfish bowl where millions of small fish are desperately trying to get to the very few crumbs of food that are thrown on the surface from time to time... ...because people are competitive - in a nice way, usually - about the number of followers they have: "I have 1,800", … Continue reading Twitter saddens me…
Getting my act together…
Following on from my recent rumination about time and what to do with it ("Today's the day"), over the last few days I have turned my attention to kick-starting some new Coverstory books publishing initiatives. The first of these is a new short story collection following on from the 2022 volume Making Marks in the … Continue reading Getting my act together…
Ian Gouge - Writer 