One of my pieces has gone up today on ahandfulofstones This is Fiona Robyn’s lovely blog of small stones or moments of paying proper attention to everyday things.
Alison Brackenbury
One of my favourite poets, Alison Brackenbury was on Radio 3 last night with an essay about John Clare. It included her wonderful poem – The Beanfields’ Scent. You have a week to catch it on the BBC player if you missed it. http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b00fs4s2/The_Essay_Under_the_Influence_Episode_2/
Fakenham Poetry Circle Open Competition
During the summer I received a letter telling me that one of my entries was the amongst the twelve commended poems in the Fakenham Competition. The prizes were won by James Knox Whittet, Caroline Gilfillan and Bob Ward. http://www.carolinegilfillan.co.uk/ My poem Remember to live was my least favourite of the three I entered but that’s…
Applehouse Poetry
I have been writing poems although not as many as I’d like. One from last month has been chosen by Lynne Rees as her prize poem for June. http://applehousepoetryworkshop.blogspot.com/
Peter Doig
For one of the exercises on the course we were asked to create poems from paintings in the Walker Museum in Liverpool. These are viewable on-line http://www.liverpoolmuseums.org.uk/walker/collections/ The painting I chose to write about was Peter Doig’s Blotter and now by one of those strange co-incidences in life I discover that there is an exhibition…
Elizabeth Bishop
SESTINA September rain falls on the house.In the failing light, the old grandmothersits in the kitchen with the childbeside the Little Marvel Stove,reading the jokes from the almanac,laughing and talking to hide her tears. She thinks that her equinoctial tearsand the rain that beats on the roof of the housewere both foretold by the almanac,but…
Back to the Poetry
View from a Bathroom Window II Ice has whitened the corrugated roofsof the garages opposite.The dead starling still hangs,suspended by a threadfrom the top of the hawthorn. Every morning I look out and hopeit will be gone.The crows have tried to pull it away from whatever held it fastuntil it died. Will it still be…
Another Nature Poem
Wing, Buckinghamshire Black crows flyingover white mist through which loomblurry shapes of trees Cold October dawnbathroom window condensation streaked Crows cackle and fighton the rooftops Sun lightens the skythe mist thins. I found I had to make several attempts at writing such a simple poem and was conscious that I kept putting it off until…
Poems about Nature
This is week four of the course and another poem by William Carlos Williams – Nantucket to consider. I also have to write another Nature inspired poem. Meanwhile I’ve just sent off a revised draft of last week’s poem to the tutor. Improved, I hope, with the benefit of comments from my friends on the…
Catching up at last
Now I know why I’ve not kept a blog before. I don’t have the time. This week I’ve been reading William Carlos Williams – Spring and all – for the course. Wrote a commentary tonight and sent it off. There is more I could say. Since I last updated the blog I’ve written and re-written…