March 2021 – Richard Williams Poetry

From my Poetry Bookshelf – Kevin Powers – Letter Composed During a Lull in the Fighting

By Richard | March 28, 2021March 28, 2021 by Richard

The next recommendation from my poetry bookshelf is Kevin Powers’ Letter Composed During a Lull in the Fighting. I used to be a member of the Poetry Book Society, (established by TS Eliot in 1953), who for an annual fee will send out their recommended books every few months. It’s a nice way to discover books that you wouldn’t otherwise read, and I may well rejoin at some point. Obviously there will be books you…

Words for the Wild

By Richard | March 26, 2021March 26, 2021 by Richard

I have a previously unpublished poem on the Words for the Wild Website. It’s a poem about running, ornithology and growing old. You can read it here, and also see some of my photographs taken on pre-marathon training runs. Clearly as I took lots of photographs it was pretty slow running – I wasn’t exactly a fast runner – indeed, when I completed the London Marathon I was overtaken by two blokes dressed as a…

Poetry

David Jones on the BBC

By Richard | March 23, 2021March 23, 2021 by Richard

A quick post today to mention the BBC 4 documentary on David Jones’ In Parenthesis, which I watched last night (it’s still available on the BBC’s website and on catch-up if you have it). I thought it was excellent. Follow the link below to watch it on the BBC website. https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b07kt9pj Regular readers of my blog (all three of you!) will know that In Parenthesis was one of the first books I referenced in my…

Poetry

From my Poetry Bookshelf – John Agard – Alternative Anthem

By Richard | March 21, 2021March 21, 2021 by Richard

Happy World Poetry Day! A good day to ask whether poetry is still relevant, whether it can actually achieve anything apart from providing an outlet for creative expression. In these current times of misinformation and misdirection, where here in the UK, as elsewhere, the government is becoming increasingly authoritarian, what can poetry do? A good day for this poem by John Agard. Flag What’s that fluttering in a breeze?It’s just a piece of cloththat brings…

Poetry

Seamus Heaney

By Richard | March 17, 2021 by Richard

Happy St Patrick’s Day! I thought I’d use it as an excuse to share this video of Seamus Heaney reading and discussing some of his poems; I’ll write in more detail about one or more of Heaney’s books another time (you won’t be surprised to know that I have several of them on my poetry bookshelf). I was lucky enough to see him reading from one of his later collections at an event at the…

Poetry

From my Poetry Bookshelf – Saughton Sonnets Anthology

By Richard | March 14, 2021March 17, 2021 by Richard

I received this book as a birthday present earlier this year. It’s an anthology of poems written by residents of HMP Edinburgh (Saughton) during lockdown amongst the COVID 19 Pandemic. The book came out of a project by First Time Inside, who give support to those who have experienced, or are currently experiencing, life within the justice system in Scotland, particularly those going to prison for the first time. Ostensibly set up as a poetry…

Poetry Random Ramblings

A World Still Ours

By Richard | March 13, 2021March 13, 2021 by Richard

From the Guardian this morning… Australia’s former finance minister Mathias Cormann has won a hard-fought election to become the new chief of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), despite grave concerns voiced by environmental groups over his record on climate change. Outside the wind is howling. The washing line would sing if it were taut enough to vibrate a note. This is just weather, of course, not climate. But is anyone listening anyway? Should…

Poetry

A Poetry Haul

By Richard | March 11, 2021March 11, 2021 by Richard

What else is there to spend birthday money on in lockdown than poetry books (apart from food, beer and wine of course, and whisky, gin, tequila…I could go on) ? Some of these were presents, but others were bought with birthday present money. The best way to improve your writing is to read. Different voices, different styles, different subject matter and writers from different eras. I’ve got a few gaps in my knowledge I need…

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BBC Radio Solent

By Richard | March 8, 2021March 8, 2021 by Richard

A very quick post to let you know that a recording of me reading my poem ‘Pieces’ , which is about, and for, the NHS team at QA Hospital in Portsmouth, is being aired on BBC Radio Solent tomorrow, between 12 and 1 PM tomorrow. If interested, you can listen via 96.1 and 103.8 FM, DAB, FreeView or via the BBC Sounds app.

Poetry

From my Poetry Bookshelf – Jeremy Hooker – Master of the Leaping Figures

By Richard | March 7, 2021March 7, 2021 by Richard

This week’s book from my poetry bookshelf is Jeremy Hooker’s Master of the Leaping Figures. It was published by Enitharmon Press in 1987 and is now out of print. Enitharmon have a collected, which I don’t own yet, and a more recent collection, Scattered Light, from 2015. If you are interested in buying them then they can be purchased here; https://enitharmon.co.uk/authors/jeremy-hooker-2/ You can also get these books on Bookshop.org, along with some other collections, this…