Here’s a poem that was first published in Poetry and all that Jazz last year. The title is meant to be ambiguous. I wanted to use the title to add a layer or layers of different potential interpretations. What decision, and who has made it? And does the ending refer to the decision itself or the narrators reaction to it? Is it a reaction to the Kestrel or the prey? Or is the whole poem…
I’m not sure I’ll remember to share all of these, but there are poetry open mike events on the first Wednesday of every month at Wagtail Coffee in Chichester. Hopefully I’ll get to one at some point! The next event is on Wednesday, April 5th. Full details here: https://wordsoutloud.org.uk/event/poetry-spoken-word-open-mic-at-wagtail-coffee-yoga-chichester-15/
I thought I’d start sharing some of my regular poetry page updates in a slightly different way. When I add poems, I have just been putting them straight on the poems page. Which is fine when they have been shared here before. Especially those that have appeared more than once! But from now on, I’ll add other poems to posts as well. Maybe with some description / commentary, to go with them. Today’s poem, which…
That time of year again. A blackbird sings from a vantage point in a back garden somewhere along the street. And I feel a little more alive. Someone has lit a barbecue. And I don’t mind. The sun is shining. I used to view my life with a sense of disappointment. Compare myself to others who had made a better fist of it. Who had bigger houses, better cars, more glamorous lives, more exotic holidays.…
A quick mention for an event I am reading at tonight – if you are at a loose end and want to hear a range of poets read their work, details follow; POETRY & JAZZ CAFÉ Thursday, June 24, 7.30pm. ASSEMBLY ROOM, NORTH ST, CHICHESTER, PO19 1LQ. LIVE EVENT As part of the Festival of Chichester, acclaimed poets Raine Geoghegan and James Simpson team up with jazz stars the Charlotte Glasson Trio, with legendary guitarist Chris Spedding, to entertain and inspire. Raine…
A quick mention that in a week of two further poetry submission rejections, (all par for the course if you read my post last week), I have another poem appearing on the Chichester Poetry open mic page this month. It’s a poem that I recorded for an online festival last year, which I have since reworked – and may carry on doing so in the future – is a poem ever finished? I think Paul…
My poem Swordfish has made another appearance, this time on the Chichester Poetry website, alongside lots of excellent other poems and a feature on Myra Schneider at;http://chichesterpoetry.simplesite.com/445523888 The quality of submissions is really strong and if poetry is your thing, (and even if it’s not), it’s definitely worth a look.
Apart from Brexit and being off work for the tail end of the week – and missing today’s Pompey home game due to having a heavy cold, it’s been a good few days. On Wednesday I headlined at Chichester Poetry, which was great – a nice appreciative audience, and some excellent open mike poems from poets I was unaware of beforehand. I also had a poem accepted for the next edition of South Magazine the…
My first reading of 2020 will be in Chichester, on Wednesday 29th January. I’ll be reading mainly from Landings, and the longer time slot will enable be to read poems that don’t normally feature due to time pressures, including potentially the very long title poem. The full blurb for the event can be found below – and there are open-mic slots available. If you are reading this then hopefully I’ll see you there. OPEN MIC…