Isabelle Charlotte Kenyon's Blog, page 6
May 17, 2018
The Launch of Fly on the Wall Poetry Press!
Fly on the Wall Poetry Presshas been created under the conviction that our words really do have power, and that as writers we can raise awareness of issues, and sway public opinion. This is certainly not something we should underestimate!The Press will soon launch a new project - a submission call out will be announced under the Poetry Press page on my website. Submissions will open for three months on the theme 'Outsiders'.I am looking for poems which respond to this theme in any way which you see fit. I am expecting there to be a wide range of interpretations - that's exactly what I want! In the same way that themes emerged from submissions to Please Hear What I'm Not Saying, organically, I want to gather submissions together, comparing and contrasting. The charity will follow from these themes.For example - you may interpret 'outsiders' as the homeless, the lonely elderly, sexual abuse survivors, 'the undesirables', the uneducated, the bullied - you name it, if you can make it fit, I want to read it.You may like to think about a cause you would like to fundraise for as you write. This anthology will be much more fluid in that I want the charity (or charities) we raise money for, to be inspired by YOUR ideas. This means that you are in the driving seat.If you feel passionate about something in society which makes you, or others, 'Outsiders', I want you to write about it.Get brainstorming - and keep your eye out for that submission call! 
May 13, 2018
Chris Hopkins reviews 'Digging Holes To Another Continent'
A guest review from the talented poet that is Chris Hopkins! Chris gives his honest opinion on my new chapbook, Digging Holes To Another Continent, released May 25th.
I was lucky enough to be asked to be an early reviewer of Isabelle new chapbook ‘Digging Holes to Another Continent’. The chapbook relates Isabelle’s experiences while on a visit to the other side of the world. The poems are set up, as if polaroids of the trip, taking the from arrive to frolics on the beach but with it she packed sorrow in with her suncream with referring the loss of loved ones back home. Isabelle’s poems explore the country side and culture of, to her, a foreign land, and plays with imagery of seas, shores and mountains. These places, these forces of nature are somehow reassuring for her to the sense of loss which the visitors bring with them. The book ends with the realism of coming home, being boxed in by grief, “and now her child inside is crying, raging”While Isabelle’s poems may first come across as quietly spoken, there is a great voice here, which you are left with. - Thank you Chris! Check out Hopkins' new release with Clare Songbirds below :) 
I was lucky enough to be asked to be an early reviewer of Isabelle new chapbook ‘Digging Holes to Another Continent’. The chapbook relates Isabelle’s experiences while on a visit to the other side of the world. The poems are set up, as if polaroids of the trip, taking the from arrive to frolics on the beach but with it she packed sorrow in with her suncream with referring the loss of loved ones back home. Isabelle’s poems explore the country side and culture of, to her, a foreign land, and plays with imagery of seas, shores and mountains. These places, these forces of nature are somehow reassuring for her to the sense of loss which the visitors bring with them. The book ends with the realism of coming home, being boxed in by grief, “and now her child inside is crying, raging”While Isabelle’s poems may first come across as quietly spoken, there is a great voice here, which you are left with. - Thank you Chris! Check out Hopkins' new release with Clare Songbirds below :)
May 12, 2018
Poetry Review: the x of y
Colin Dardis is a poet, editor and arts coordinator from Northern Ireland. 
Blurb: Reality and escapism, protection and peeling away, prayer and sacrilege, resistance and surrender. Navigating an often complex and uneven playing field, Colin Dardis strives to find balance from a life constantly fluctuating between profit and loss. The poems on offer here explore questions of existence and identity, asking who we really are, and how we can possibly be.My review: My favourite poem from the collection was Lepidopterology – a name which I had to do my research on! The definition is ‘a branch of entomology concerning the scientific study of moths and the three superfamilies of butterflies.’ This is a poem which explores how fleeting and beautiful life can be – Colin suggests that people cannot be pinned down or treated as disposable/collective. The collection feels like a step back from life in order to reflect – Dardis reminisces on childhood and the nature around him: ‘we stand and watch, our trust placed in the fire, a heaven sent gift, a fervent prayer’ On a silly note, Colin seems to hate the neighbour’s cat. As a dog lover, these moments pleased me greatly (controversial).Links To buy the book: https://store.eyewearpublishing.com/collections/prose/products/the-x-of-y
Blurb: Reality and escapism, protection and peeling away, prayer and sacrilege, resistance and surrender. Navigating an often complex and uneven playing field, Colin Dardis strives to find balance from a life constantly fluctuating between profit and loss. The poems on offer here explore questions of existence and identity, asking who we really are, and how we can possibly be.My review: My favourite poem from the collection was Lepidopterology – a name which I had to do my research on! The definition is ‘a branch of entomology concerning the scientific study of moths and the three superfamilies of butterflies.’ This is a poem which explores how fleeting and beautiful life can be – Colin suggests that people cannot be pinned down or treated as disposable/collective. The collection feels like a step back from life in order to reflect – Dardis reminisces on childhood and the nature around him: ‘we stand and watch, our trust placed in the fire, a heaven sent gift, a fervent prayer’ On a silly note, Colin seems to hate the neighbour’s cat. As a dog lover, these moments pleased me greatly (controversial).Links To buy the book: https://store.eyewearpublishing.com/collections/prose/products/the-x-of-y
Poetry Review: The X of Y
Colin Dardis is a poet, editor and arts coordinator from Northern Ireland. I recently had the opportunity to interview Colin about this lovely new release - so do check back and read up on the influences behind this collection!The X of YBlurb: Reality and escapism, protection and peeling away, prayer and sacrilege, resistance and surrender. Navigating an often complex and uneven playing field, Colin Dardis strives to find balance from a life constantly fluctuating between profit and loss. The poems on offer here explore questions of existence and identity, asking who we really are, and how we can possibly be.My review: My favourite poem from the collection was Lepidopterology – a name which I had to do my research on! The definition is ‘a branch of entomology concerning the scientific study of moths and the three superfamilies of butterflies.’ This is a poem which explores how fleeting and beautiful life can be – Colin suggests that people cannot be pinned down or treated as disposable/collective. The collection feels like a step back from life in order to reflect – Dardis reminisces on childhood and the nature around him: ‘we stand and watch, our trust placed in the fire, a heaven sent gift, a fervent prayer’ On a silly note, Colin seems to hate the neighbour’s cat. As a dog lover, these moments pleased me greatly (controversial).Links To buy the book: https://store.eyewearpublishing.com/collections/prose/products/the-x-of-y
Blurb: Reality and escapism, protection and peeling away, prayer and sacrilege, resistance and surrender. Navigating an often complex and uneven playing field, Colin Dardis strives to find balance from a life constantly fluctuating between profit and loss. The poems on offer here explore questions of existence and identity, asking who we really are, and how we can possibly be.My review: My favourite poem from the collection was Lepidopterology – a name which I had to do my research on! The definition is ‘a branch of entomology concerning the scientific study of moths and the three superfamilies of butterflies.’ This is a poem which explores how fleeting and beautiful life can be – Colin suggests that people cannot be pinned down or treated as disposable/collective. The collection feels like a step back from life in order to reflect – Dardis reminisces on childhood and the nature around him: ‘we stand and watch, our trust placed in the fire, a heaven sent gift, a fervent prayer’ On a silly note, Colin seems to hate the neighbour’s cat. As a dog lover, these moments pleased me greatly (controversial).Links To buy the book: https://store.eyewearpublishing.com/collections/prose/products/the-x-of-y
May 8, 2018
Should we publish our pain?
I've been wondering lately: what should we reveal publicly, in order to honour the 'truth' of our writing, and what should we conceal?
We are all entitled to our private lives - but I'm sure many writers feel, as I do, that my most painful and personal writing ends up being my best work. But is it healthy to publish this?My debut poetry book, This is not a Spectacle, has been commented on by a few people as 'looking from the outside in', from the reader's perspective. There is a distance there between what I wanted to publish about my Granny Olga's death and my raw emotion. There is a distance between other's grief and my observations of it. I believe to get any closer in this collection, I would sacrifice something in myself. I am a very private person - I can count my best friends on one hand. It's not in my nature to feel instantly comfortable publishing intimate details of my life. Maybe if I published under another name - but building up a 'name' for my 'alterego' would take time, which I'm sure none of us ever have. The difficulty for me, then, is finding the right balance. I want my readers to know me and I want to publish my best work, but I don't want to publish anything which causes me anxiety.Let me know in the comments if you have ever felt like this too!
We are all entitled to our private lives - but I'm sure many writers feel, as I do, that my most painful and personal writing ends up being my best work. But is it healthy to publish this?My debut poetry book, This is not a Spectacle, has been commented on by a few people as 'looking from the outside in', from the reader's perspective. There is a distance there between what I wanted to publish about my Granny Olga's death and my raw emotion. There is a distance between other's grief and my observations of it. I believe to get any closer in this collection, I would sacrifice something in myself. I am a very private person - I can count my best friends on one hand. It's not in my nature to feel instantly comfortable publishing intimate details of my life. Maybe if I published under another name - but building up a 'name' for my 'alterego' would take time, which I'm sure none of us ever have. The difficulty for me, then, is finding the right balance. I want my readers to know me and I want to publish my best work, but I don't want to publish anything which causes me anxiety.Let me know in the comments if you have ever felt like this too!
May 7, 2018
Author Interview: Colin Dardis
I was excited to speak to Mind poet, Colin Dardis, about his upcoming release with Eyewear Publishing, The X of Y!
Colin Dardis is a poet, editor and arts coordinator from Northern Ireland. His work has been published widely throughout Ireland, the UK and the US. Having had a childhood speech impediment, attending speech therapy classes throughout primary school, Colin’s initial interest in language and words grew out of this formative experience. His personal history of depression and mental illness is also an ongoing influence on his work. A previous ACES recipient from Arts Council of Northern Ireland, Colin was recently shortlisted for the Seamus Heaney Award for New Writing, and the Over The Edge New Writer of the Year Award, as well as one of Eyewear Publishing’s Best New British and Irish Poets 2016. Colin is also the co-founder of Poetry NI, and is known for his devotion to supporting and developing the Northern Irish poetry scene. His new collection, The X of Y, is out in May 2018 from Eyewear.The book opens with a 'prescription' of how to read your poetry, which I loved - how did this idea come about?Well, that poem is a bit tongue-in-cheek, acting as a kind of introduction to the book, although I feel it also addresses poetry in general, not just my poetry. I’m very interested in the idea of poetry as therapy, and the importance of creative outlets to aid wellbeing. It’s not an original idea of course, but perhaps today in the world we live in, it’s required more than ever. We have the Emergency Poet Deborah Alma prescribing poems to people, the Poetry Pharmacy, anthologies aimed at relieving mental health issues. The correlation is perhaps obvious: read or write a poem, feel a little better. That’s definitely one of my aims for my poetry, and for this collection, so hopefully it helps some readers.The concept of the poem, of laying out a poem like the fact sheet of side-effects, ingredients, dosage, etc. comes from the album notes for Spiritualized’s Ladies and Gentlemen We Are Floating in Space. It took its inspiration from the packaging of prescription medicines, and was completely unique for its time. I love reading the production notes of albums, seeing where it was recorded, who played what, looking through the list of thank-yous. It’s something we’ve lost really in the digital, online streaming age, and it’s a concept that could be carried through to an entire collection.Your poem, mountaineering, has a simple title but seemingly, more complex meanings. Can you talk about what inspired this poem?Wow, you’re testing my memory here, I need to go back and look at my original drafts for this poem and see what I remember… interestingly, the first draft was written on the 1st January, 2015, so I must have been thinking of new beginnings, of the year ahead, all that clichéd stuff that comes with every New Year’s Day. But I was also thinking of the Greek myth of Sisyphus, who was condemned to repeatedly push a giant rock up a mountain, only to see it roll back down again. Existence feels like a mountain sometimes, living off far too steep a slope for comfort. And we’re caught on the side of that mountain, like Prometheus on the crag, weighed down by our own grief and sadness and heartache. So, how do you get off the mountain? Like any journey, you take small steps; it’s the Japanese idea of kaizen, of continuous improvement by gradual means, rather than giant strides forward. Giant leaps ahead aren’t very common in life: instead, we get to where we are going eventually. The layout of the poem has orphaned words jutting out from their parent lines like steps cut out of the side of a mountain. The visual idea is to follow the steps down back onto the flat land.What would you say thematically links this collection?There’s a lot of intertextuality in the collection, with poems picking up and extending, or revisiting, ideas, images and allusions mentioned elsewhere. The editing process of the manuscript really helped bring this to the fore, which impacts on the sequence of the poems. Though I would like the reader to find these connections for themselves, some of the themes are clear enough. I’m concerned with how we identify ourselves, and the dissonance there might be in how we label ourselves, and the labels that the world already has for us. This stems out of my experience with depression and social anxiety; for a long time, I didn’t really understand the person I am, and how that fitted in with the rest of the world. Depression really isolates you, and poetry is usually a solitary exercise anyway. So when you’re feeling disconnected, poetry is a way to keep on talking, trying to make sense of things.There’s a long poem that concludes the collection, The Escapist, which attempts to encapsulate all of this. This idea of two people in the one mind, the person the person the world sees you as, and how you really see yourself; which can be extended to the idea of how you want the world to see you too. How do other people impact on your own identify and self-worth? How do we escapism our fears and concerns, and how do we come to a point of acceptance and relief? Which writers have influenced you the most?I’m not sure if my work is really reflective of my influences; perhaps others can spy it, but I’m too close to the writing to see it for myself. Samuel Beckett is a huge influence, although more his prose than his poetry. There are hints of his reductive approach scattered throughout the x of y. I enjoy Ted Hughes’s exploration of the more animalistic, bloodied side of nature, how something can be both pastoral and violent. I also really identify with his Crow poems, which inspired a previous pamphlet, Dōji: A Blunder.My wife, Geraldine O’Kane, is also a poet, so she is an obviously influence on me! She converted me to the possibilities of micropoetry; originally, I had the opinion that a micropoem was just an isolated bite out of a bigger apple, and they left me hungry for more. Now I can see that micropoems can be a meal in themselves, or at least, an amuse-bouche.I’m also inspired by my friends and contemporaries. Geraldine and I run a monthly open mic night in Belfast, Purely Poetry, and we are blessed to hear great work regularly. Poets like Ross Thompson, Tory Campbell, Peter Adair, Patricia Delvin-Hill, Anthony Ferguson, David Braziel, Matthew Rice, Dan Eggs, Olive Broderick, Nathan Armstrong, Kathleen McCracken, Rachel McCrum; really, there are so many Northern Irish names to choose from. I believe you have to engage with what’s around you, to be part of that dialogue, and draw input from it. You don’t have to replicate anyone else’s voice, but certainly let yourself be open to it.In some poetry such as 'Orange' you experiment with form - the poem takes on the shape of an orange peel! When you write, what comes first - the imagery or the form?For me, there are two stages to writing a poem: figuring out what you want to say (the easy part), then figuring out howyou want to say it. Usually, the image comes in the first part, and then form arrives afterwards. It isn’t always like that though; sometimes, in the blessed moments, they arrive hand-in-hand, and that first draft is a gift. Sometimes, a first draft doesn’t get beyond a first draft as the idea isn’t worth pursuing. I’m a fan of villanelles, so occasionally I will purposefully sit down and attempt one of those. It’s a tricky form, and I’m far from mastering it; I am tempted to include one in the X of Y, but none felt strong enough. Perhaps the best approach is just be natural, allow the words and ideas to come, then worry about the presentation. You can written a very technically sound Petrarchan sonnet, but if there’s no feeling contained within, nothing to stir the imagination or senses, then I’m not really going to care about your volta, perfect iambic hexameter or clever rhymes.A lot of the poems in the collection do have a specific form, although it might not be obvious right away in some of the poems. I have a poor ear for stressed and unstressed syllables, which perhaps is a result from a childhood speech impediment. But I do enjoy setting restrictions in the number of syllables in a line, and the number of lines in a stanza, etc. There’s that challenge of restricted form, of still being able to say something eloquent and evocative in a poem despite this fierce boundaries you are made to operate within. And ultimately, that’s the truest reflection of life poetry can hold.Thank you to Colin! Look out for my book review of The X of Y soon...LinksTo buy the book: https://store.eyewearpublishing.com/collections/prose/products/the-x-of-yColin's website: http://www.colindardispoet.co.uk
Colin Dardis is a poet, editor and arts coordinator from Northern Ireland. His work has been published widely throughout Ireland, the UK and the US. Having had a childhood speech impediment, attending speech therapy classes throughout primary school, Colin’s initial interest in language and words grew out of this formative experience. His personal history of depression and mental illness is also an ongoing influence on his work. A previous ACES recipient from Arts Council of Northern Ireland, Colin was recently shortlisted for the Seamus Heaney Award for New Writing, and the Over The Edge New Writer of the Year Award, as well as one of Eyewear Publishing’s Best New British and Irish Poets 2016. Colin is also the co-founder of Poetry NI, and is known for his devotion to supporting and developing the Northern Irish poetry scene. His new collection, The X of Y, is out in May 2018 from Eyewear.The book opens with a 'prescription' of how to read your poetry, which I loved - how did this idea come about?Well, that poem is a bit tongue-in-cheek, acting as a kind of introduction to the book, although I feel it also addresses poetry in general, not just my poetry. I’m very interested in the idea of poetry as therapy, and the importance of creative outlets to aid wellbeing. It’s not an original idea of course, but perhaps today in the world we live in, it’s required more than ever. We have the Emergency Poet Deborah Alma prescribing poems to people, the Poetry Pharmacy, anthologies aimed at relieving mental health issues. The correlation is perhaps obvious: read or write a poem, feel a little better. That’s definitely one of my aims for my poetry, and for this collection, so hopefully it helps some readers.The concept of the poem, of laying out a poem like the fact sheet of side-effects, ingredients, dosage, etc. comes from the album notes for Spiritualized’s Ladies and Gentlemen We Are Floating in Space. It took its inspiration from the packaging of prescription medicines, and was completely unique for its time. I love reading the production notes of albums, seeing where it was recorded, who played what, looking through the list of thank-yous. It’s something we’ve lost really in the digital, online streaming age, and it’s a concept that could be carried through to an entire collection.Your poem, mountaineering, has a simple title but seemingly, more complex meanings. Can you talk about what inspired this poem?Wow, you’re testing my memory here, I need to go back and look at my original drafts for this poem and see what I remember… interestingly, the first draft was written on the 1st January, 2015, so I must have been thinking of new beginnings, of the year ahead, all that clichéd stuff that comes with every New Year’s Day. But I was also thinking of the Greek myth of Sisyphus, who was condemned to repeatedly push a giant rock up a mountain, only to see it roll back down again. Existence feels like a mountain sometimes, living off far too steep a slope for comfort. And we’re caught on the side of that mountain, like Prometheus on the crag, weighed down by our own grief and sadness and heartache. So, how do you get off the mountain? Like any journey, you take small steps; it’s the Japanese idea of kaizen, of continuous improvement by gradual means, rather than giant strides forward. Giant leaps ahead aren’t very common in life: instead, we get to where we are going eventually. The layout of the poem has orphaned words jutting out from their parent lines like steps cut out of the side of a mountain. The visual idea is to follow the steps down back onto the flat land.What would you say thematically links this collection?There’s a lot of intertextuality in the collection, with poems picking up and extending, or revisiting, ideas, images and allusions mentioned elsewhere. The editing process of the manuscript really helped bring this to the fore, which impacts on the sequence of the poems. Though I would like the reader to find these connections for themselves, some of the themes are clear enough. I’m concerned with how we identify ourselves, and the dissonance there might be in how we label ourselves, and the labels that the world already has for us. This stems out of my experience with depression and social anxiety; for a long time, I didn’t really understand the person I am, and how that fitted in with the rest of the world. Depression really isolates you, and poetry is usually a solitary exercise anyway. So when you’re feeling disconnected, poetry is a way to keep on talking, trying to make sense of things.There’s a long poem that concludes the collection, The Escapist, which attempts to encapsulate all of this. This idea of two people in the one mind, the person the person the world sees you as, and how you really see yourself; which can be extended to the idea of how you want the world to see you too. How do other people impact on your own identify and self-worth? How do we escapism our fears and concerns, and how do we come to a point of acceptance and relief? Which writers have influenced you the most?I’m not sure if my work is really reflective of my influences; perhaps others can spy it, but I’m too close to the writing to see it for myself. Samuel Beckett is a huge influence, although more his prose than his poetry. There are hints of his reductive approach scattered throughout the x of y. I enjoy Ted Hughes’s exploration of the more animalistic, bloodied side of nature, how something can be both pastoral and violent. I also really identify with his Crow poems, which inspired a previous pamphlet, Dōji: A Blunder.My wife, Geraldine O’Kane, is also a poet, so she is an obviously influence on me! She converted me to the possibilities of micropoetry; originally, I had the opinion that a micropoem was just an isolated bite out of a bigger apple, and they left me hungry for more. Now I can see that micropoems can be a meal in themselves, or at least, an amuse-bouche.I’m also inspired by my friends and contemporaries. Geraldine and I run a monthly open mic night in Belfast, Purely Poetry, and we are blessed to hear great work regularly. Poets like Ross Thompson, Tory Campbell, Peter Adair, Patricia Delvin-Hill, Anthony Ferguson, David Braziel, Matthew Rice, Dan Eggs, Olive Broderick, Nathan Armstrong, Kathleen McCracken, Rachel McCrum; really, there are so many Northern Irish names to choose from. I believe you have to engage with what’s around you, to be part of that dialogue, and draw input from it. You don’t have to replicate anyone else’s voice, but certainly let yourself be open to it.In some poetry such as 'Orange' you experiment with form - the poem takes on the shape of an orange peel! When you write, what comes first - the imagery or the form?For me, there are two stages to writing a poem: figuring out what you want to say (the easy part), then figuring out howyou want to say it. Usually, the image comes in the first part, and then form arrives afterwards. It isn’t always like that though; sometimes, in the blessed moments, they arrive hand-in-hand, and that first draft is a gift. Sometimes, a first draft doesn’t get beyond a first draft as the idea isn’t worth pursuing. I’m a fan of villanelles, so occasionally I will purposefully sit down and attempt one of those. It’s a tricky form, and I’m far from mastering it; I am tempted to include one in the X of Y, but none felt strong enough. Perhaps the best approach is just be natural, allow the words and ideas to come, then worry about the presentation. You can written a very technically sound Petrarchan sonnet, but if there’s no feeling contained within, nothing to stir the imagination or senses, then I’m not really going to care about your volta, perfect iambic hexameter or clever rhymes.A lot of the poems in the collection do have a specific form, although it might not be obvious right away in some of the poems. I have a poor ear for stressed and unstressed syllables, which perhaps is a result from a childhood speech impediment. But I do enjoy setting restrictions in the number of syllables in a line, and the number of lines in a stanza, etc. There’s that challenge of restricted form, of still being able to say something eloquent and evocative in a poem despite this fierce boundaries you are made to operate within. And ultimately, that’s the truest reflection of life poetry can hold.Thank you to Colin! Look out for my book review of The X of Y soon...LinksTo buy the book: https://store.eyewearpublishing.com/collections/prose/products/the-x-of-yColin's website: http://www.colindardispoet.co.uk
May 3, 2018
Review: The Last Time We Saw Strangers by Christopher Hopkins
I was lucky enough to be an early reader of Christopher Hopkins' second chapbook with Clare Songbirds Publishing House, my own publisher for my upcoming collection!A bit about Chris...Christopher Hopkins was born and raised in Neath, South Wales. He currently resides in the Canterbury area of Kent with his wife and daughter.His debut poetry chapbook ‘Take Your Journeys Home’ was published by Clare Songbirds Publishing House in November 2017 and has received a nomination for the IPPY book awardfor poetry and two of its poems ‘Sorrow on the Hill’ and ‘Smoke and Whiskey’ have also received nominations for the Pushcart Prize.My review: 4 1/2 StarsThis is the work of a seasoned poet who is able to take his own experiences of life, decide what it is important to him, and relate it to the world around him. In this collection, Hopkins takes inspiration from nature, and explores what is important to 'live'. The conclusion I would say he reaches, if any, is that there is a familiarity in family and our 'roots' which will bring us happiness, if we will only let it.'He took his heart out of his chest/and planted it in the earth.'- I really like this metaphor for where our roots are; where our hearts lie. That we decide where to plant these roots. 'and although I have chewed on my cord so often to somehow rid me of legends or on a day where I forget the name for heart/I see the sky is brightest in the western arch of home'- The pull and tug against 'home'. Chris explores his family ties and the phrase 'the apple doesn't fall too far from the tree' springs to my mind - this phrase does not always have to have negative connotations.From the poem: 'God and Work':'We have a habit of stoning prophets from time to time here in Jerusalem'- This poem seems to hold its own within the collection. What I got from this poem, was the idea of a small town with small minds, and the death of religion in our society.This collection also features 'Simple Physics', which was originally published in Please Hear What I'm Not Saying. Initially, and now, I am struck by the beautiful simplicity of these lines:'There have been day when oceans have been/dripping off my wings/my stomach singing tunes./Then I was fed by you.'There is a sense of hope in this collection that love can see us through a dark day; that family will always be around the corner. There is also an exploration of nature and particularly the animals in it - whales and birds feature the most. The metaphor of life being like an ocean seems to apply to this poetry chapbook: 'I am soaked in life'It was full of little descriptions which appealed to me, like this one:'The stars shone on our limbs/on our lilac pale skins.We fell/into the wells/of our button eyes.'This is a collection which will make you reflect on the world around you, and that is a powerful ability which cannot be underestimated.
April 28, 2018
April Book Reviews Are IN!
This month I bring 2 exciting new releases to your attention by poets Nicholas Trandahl and Melissa Jennings, and an old classic by a fabulous fiction writer, Zadie Smith.
Poetry Reads:Think of Meby Nicholas Trandahl Blurb: Nicholas Trandahl presents a stark and authentic work with his newest collection, Think of Me. Stories and observations rife with melancholy, adventure, and naturalism are displayed in the simple and honest verse he’s known for. Through this sincere poetic style, Trandahl informs us all, no matter our background, that the ordinary is actually quite extraordinary.Nicholas writes with an appreciation of the world around him, details which others may miss. The imagery in this book is truly impressive: 'Thick soupy dog 'Sliver of dawn 'Sunlight is splattered ' Descriptions which leave images very clearly in my mind! It is refreshing to here love in the word 'wife' and the way in which Trandahl writes about his relationship is raw and stripped back which, in itself, creates beauty.Sometimes there is a cynical feel to the writing, or a certain sadness, but if we can't express this in our writing, where can we?The Body Remembersby Melissa Jennings Blurb:In light of Sexual Assault Awareness Month in April, the short poetry collection will address sexual assault, drawing on the author's own experience by examining what happens to bodies and minds after being assaulted.My review: I was excited to be given an early reading copy of this book. I am a big fan of Melissa's other poetry books and I was very much looking forward to what I knew would be both a painful and rewarding read.Melissa navigates that which their body cannot forget: the pain of feeling powerless and disconnected from one's own self, one's own body.A difficult but necessary read in which Melissa tells their story in their own way and no doubt, brings power and strength not only to themself through writing this book, but to readers who need to know they are not alone.Fiction Reads:On Beautyby Zadie SmithBlurb: Howard Belsey, a Rembrandt scholar who doesn't like Rembrandt, is an Englishman abroad and a long-suffering professor at Wellington, a liberal New England arts college. He has been married for thirty years to Kiki, an American woman who no longer resembles the sexy activist she once was. Their three children passionately pursue their own paths: Levi quests after authentic blackness, Zora believes that intellectuals can redeem everybody, and Jerome struggles to be a believer in a family of strict atheists. Faced with the oppressive enthusiasms of his children, Howard feels that the first two acts of his life are over and he has no clear plans for the finale. Or the encore.Four dimensional, complex characters, who I feel so in love with, that the plot simply being their lives unfolding, was perfect in itself. There is a theme of coming to love your own body and your own life (as you get older) which I believe is an important message for so many. Kiki and Howard's marriage falters constantly as they change perceptions of themselves and each other - getting old is not kind to either, but somehow they fall back together and somehow, despite myself, I don't judge the characters for this. I can't believe this is my first time reading Zadie Smith but now I will just have to read all of her books!
Poetry Reads:Think of Meby Nicholas Trandahl Blurb: Nicholas Trandahl presents a stark and authentic work with his newest collection, Think of Me. Stories and observations rife with melancholy, adventure, and naturalism are displayed in the simple and honest verse he’s known for. Through this sincere poetic style, Trandahl informs us all, no matter our background, that the ordinary is actually quite extraordinary.Nicholas writes with an appreciation of the world around him, details which others may miss. The imagery in this book is truly impressive: 'Thick soupy dog 'Sliver of dawn 'Sunlight is splattered ' Descriptions which leave images very clearly in my mind! It is refreshing to here love in the word 'wife' and the way in which Trandahl writes about his relationship is raw and stripped back which, in itself, creates beauty.Sometimes there is a cynical feel to the writing, or a certain sadness, but if we can't express this in our writing, where can we?The Body Remembersby Melissa Jennings Blurb:In light of Sexual Assault Awareness Month in April, the short poetry collection will address sexual assault, drawing on the author's own experience by examining what happens to bodies and minds after being assaulted.My review: I was excited to be given an early reading copy of this book. I am a big fan of Melissa's other poetry books and I was very much looking forward to what I knew would be both a painful and rewarding read.Melissa navigates that which their body cannot forget: the pain of feeling powerless and disconnected from one's own self, one's own body.A difficult but necessary read in which Melissa tells their story in their own way and no doubt, brings power and strength not only to themself through writing this book, but to readers who need to know they are not alone.Fiction Reads:On Beautyby Zadie SmithBlurb: Howard Belsey, a Rembrandt scholar who doesn't like Rembrandt, is an Englishman abroad and a long-suffering professor at Wellington, a liberal New England arts college. He has been married for thirty years to Kiki, an American woman who no longer resembles the sexy activist she once was. Their three children passionately pursue their own paths: Levi quests after authentic blackness, Zora believes that intellectuals can redeem everybody, and Jerome struggles to be a believer in a family of strict atheists. Faced with the oppressive enthusiasms of his children, Howard feels that the first two acts of his life are over and he has no clear plans for the finale. Or the encore.Four dimensional, complex characters, who I feel so in love with, that the plot simply being their lives unfolding, was perfect in itself. There is a theme of coming to love your own body and your own life (as you get older) which I believe is an important message for so many. Kiki and Howard's marriage falters constantly as they change perceptions of themselves and each other - getting old is not kind to either, but somehow they fall back together and somehow, despite myself, I don't judge the characters for this. I can't believe this is my first time reading Zadie Smith but now I will just have to read all of her books!
April 26, 2018
29 poems on turning 30 (by Joe Woodhouse)
Nearly 30 by Joe Woodhouse is an eclectic chapbook which explores the digital generation and the mundane aspects of life. 
I like the comic side of this collection - poems such as The Hipster's Sonnet and Poems Like This have a certain charm. I always find I enjoy poetry which makes observations on society in ways which I relate to. I didn't always find the collection that cohesive, but that may have been the point - the chapbook is almost a comedic take on a early mid life crisis (and the poet hopes his Facebook time line highlights will continue to show him in exciting places doing exciting things, rather than resigning himself to being 'Nearly 30'). The second poem, The Hamster Gangsters of Hackney, was the strongest for me. It explains how a little girl had her beloved hamster stolen which pulled at my heart strings! I think some of the prose (like mini short stories with full speech in some) felt slightly odd to me and the haikus needed stronger vocabulary to have a full charge and energy behind them.However, the somehow lighthearted impending doom of Joe becoming 30 and 'settling' into his age, is very readable! The book is available via www.wordcatcher.comConnect with Joe on Twitter.
I like the comic side of this collection - poems such as The Hipster's Sonnet and Poems Like This have a certain charm. I always find I enjoy poetry which makes observations on society in ways which I relate to. I didn't always find the collection that cohesive, but that may have been the point - the chapbook is almost a comedic take on a early mid life crisis (and the poet hopes his Facebook time line highlights will continue to show him in exciting places doing exciting things, rather than resigning himself to being 'Nearly 30'). The second poem, The Hamster Gangsters of Hackney, was the strongest for me. It explains how a little girl had her beloved hamster stolen which pulled at my heart strings! I think some of the prose (like mini short stories with full speech in some) felt slightly odd to me and the haikus needed stronger vocabulary to have a full charge and energy behind them.However, the somehow lighthearted impending doom of Joe becoming 30 and 'settling' into his age, is very readable! The book is available via www.wordcatcher.comConnect with Joe on Twitter.
April 24, 2018
Let's get personal
I've did a poll on Twitter a while ago, and something which you said you wanted to see more of on my blog, was personal blog posts. It's scary to be personal online and to share your thoughts with the platform which you have created. 
A lot of the time I want to share my success only - I don't publicise the rejections I receive from literary magazines, because that would be counterproductive and a negative thing for me to dwell on! What I also rarely publicise is fear - if writing is about putting your soul and your emotions into your work, then that is a pretty terrifying thing.A collection which I am working on the moment, is a poetry anthology all about growing up. It is my most personal work, which I intend to publish, to date. I'm at the stage of my life where I have moved away from home, far away from family and the friends I have known for the past 3 years or much longer. It's a lonely place. A lot of the time I either throw myself into my writing and book marketing in my spare time, or I feel a bit lost, and wonder, 'is anyone actually interested in reading what I write?'I'm not alone in thinking that - writers are notorious for self doubt, and nor do I feel like that continuously, but I think it's so important to have a writing community for that reason.As we get older, we lose support systems and have to find new ones. It's not easy, and sometimes it is lonely, but I am very grateful for all the people around me who support me on a day to day basis.
A lot of the time I want to share my success only - I don't publicise the rejections I receive from literary magazines, because that would be counterproductive and a negative thing for me to dwell on! What I also rarely publicise is fear - if writing is about putting your soul and your emotions into your work, then that is a pretty terrifying thing.A collection which I am working on the moment, is a poetry anthology all about growing up. It is my most personal work, which I intend to publish, to date. I'm at the stage of my life where I have moved away from home, far away from family and the friends I have known for the past 3 years or much longer. It's a lonely place. A lot of the time I either throw myself into my writing and book marketing in my spare time, or I feel a bit lost, and wonder, 'is anyone actually interested in reading what I write?'I'm not alone in thinking that - writers are notorious for self doubt, and nor do I feel like that continuously, but I think it's so important to have a writing community for that reason.As we get older, we lose support systems and have to find new ones. It's not easy, and sometimes it is lonely, but I am very grateful for all the people around me who support me on a day to day basis.
