Jim Webster's Blog, page 46

We’re the masters now.

You know what they say, “Always be careful whose fingers you tread on as you climb up the ladder. They may be attached to the backsides you’ll have to kiss on the way down.” American citizens look away now, a lot of this stuff is European and I’m not sure you’ll like it anyway. You …

How to make a living as a poet.

Originally posted on Tallis Steelyard:
It is perhaps something all poets yearn for. Not merely fame, the adulation of the masses or the soft tears of the ladies when you have to move on to another city. It is not even the rapturous applause of the crowd at a reading of your poetry. What we…

Paint it black, soma and light music.

I like music, honest. At the moment, as I write this, I’m listening to the Stones, ‘Paint it Black.’ But I like it in its place, in my ears, not in my head. This morning I was walking along lane when a cyclist came the other way. I heard him before I saw him because …

Look on my works, ye Mighty, and despair!

I heard it first on the radio. Daesh have blown up the temple of Baalshamin. Now I’ve never been there, never seen it, probably never will, but I feel the loss. But it’s interesting to just stop and think about what drives people. I think that some people have an instinct to destroy what they …

The yapping of small dogs.

A phrase I’ve always liked is “When small men begin to cast big shadows, it means that the sun is about to set.” — Lin Yutang I was looking sheep this morning. It was raining on and off and I got rained on twice. But as I walked up a track towards one house I …

A sad blow to artistic freedom

Originally posted on Tallis Steelyard:
You know what it’s like; we artists are condemned to eternally suffer for our art. Those without our gift, our drive, cannot comprehend what impels us forward and mutter darkly into their small beer. But here is a sad example to let you know what I mean. I was with…

A lady of my acquaintance

A lady of my acquaintance (Now there’s a telling phrase if ever I heard one. Conjures up all sorts of images, begs all sorts of questions. Such as ‘Lady?’ Your ‘acquaintance’? It raises an infinity of somewhat sordid possibilities without producing the slightest evidence to back them up. Should go down a storm on Facebook.’) …

Of maggots, sheep, and summer wellies

You know what it’s like. I had a busy day ahead of me. Work to do, people to contact, the internet to spam unmercifully in the hope that I’d sweet talk somebody into buying my chuffing book. So it’s off to a good start. Straight after breakfast I go to check the sheep and see …

The joy of living amongst civilised people

Originally posted on Tallis Steelyard:
I knew it was true; I had faith in my art and my muse. But still it is nice to have it confirmed by someone other than a chap I met in a tavern. It appears that in the dying hours of yesterday, as the special offer on ‘Lambent Dreams’…

Taking one’s place in society

Originally posted on Tallis Steelyard:
It has to be said that it nice to feel appreciated, to feel that one’s art is at last accepted and one’s genius is valued. Thus it was with a feeling of genuine pride that I noticed how well Lambent Dreams was doing. Apparently, (and I have this on good…