Hello Poetry Lovers, Window 5 eh? It’s moving along! And I’m so glad to feature Tales of the Unaccepted by the wonderful Ray Pool.
What can I say?! Witty, quirky with a unique voice, I have been enjoying young Ray’s poems for a couple of years. I was thrilled to get my mitts on this collection. Published by Dempsey & Windle in 2018, this collection is packed with vibrant material.
My own personal favourites are Mum and Dad, Down Memory Lane, Corners and On the other side of Reading. Great stanzas with outright wit, tangible wistfulness and nostalgia. A joy of a collection. We’re waiting for the next one, Ray!!
I did an interview with Ray recently on the site, if you want to have a look. Fascinating….
Lumme! Even Dobby enjoyed that review! Better keep on the good side of her – see you tomorrow, PL’s.
Hello Poetry Lovers, welcome back to day 4 of the poetry advent calender.
Now, the previous two windows I knew very well, but we are back to a collection I don’t know at all. In fact, I’m going to be deeply honest with you, I have no idea how this book even came into my possession
However, I’m very glad it did – by whatever means.
Samantha Boarer’s Real Grown-Up Women is brutal, sad, deeply honest, moving and so so enticing. Poems of sad and painful experiences will deal you such a blow – a welcome one.
The poet truly tells you like it is to be a young woman. Published by Burning Eye Books, Apology to my vagina, the title poem and Facebook Stalker are of such deep black humour that you can only embrace it. Though you may cut yourself in the process!
A comedian/poet from the West Country that delivers a powerful punch. Get reading now!
This is also a collection that I know well. This beautiful anthology by Dempsey & Windle from their summer competition this year is a complete joy. These publishers produce such stunning poetry books that really do deliver a high standard of material. This anthology is no exception.
Now there is a very promising, if ruthless poet in this book with the longlisted poem Pen Friend, so it really is worth a look! And this writer is joined by so many incredible poets. Including the winner Belinda Singleton with three very intelligent poems, plus all me favourites, including Trisha Broomfield, Greg Freeman, Sharron Green, Jeremy Loynes, Carla Scarano, Fiona Sinclair, Audrey Arden-Jones and the lovely two Marys –
Muir and Mullholland.
A delightful and fulfilling read. Get cracking and order a copy!
Welcome to Window 2 – now here’s where the fun really begins. Yesterday, I opened up a poet I completely didn’t know and today…
A poet I know very well, and adore his work. I’ve had the privilege of seeing the lovely Matthew Paul perform at Woking and The Troubadour, and I rushed out and got his wonderful collection The Evening Entertainment. If you haven’t already, do get this for a treat.
There are three very strong sections of gritty and clever pieces in this collection, including The Sewing Kit, Sunday at the Oval withDad to the very moving The D Word. My own favourites are Leaving Do and Winter of Discontent.
Matthew covers so much of life as we know it, and yet it is seen in such an original and insightful way. Taking you there with him from the quirky and witty to the genuinely heartwrenching.
Can’t wait for the next collection, Matthew – get cracking!
The Evening Entertainment by Matthew Paul is published by Eyewear Publishing.
Phew! Me and Dobby are exhausted already! Only another 22 to go! (24 looks a bit dubious). Stay tuned for the next window….
Let me introduce the Poetry Advent Calender for December 2020. Every day, a new window will be opened and for every book that comes out, there will be a mini-review and the story behind it.
Now forgive me, PL’s, I have had to omit the ones I have already reviewed – which breaks my heart as I love them madly. Sob! I just had to narrow it down somehow.
Now here’s where the fun begins. I’ve just opened the window for the 1st December and came across this stunning pamphlet, Black and Blue from Cathy Galvin.
Being a cheapskate, I bought this at a reduced price at the Poetry Book Fair at Conway Hall in February. I minded the table for The Melos Press while one of them read in the next room, and my beady eyes went straight to this – and I was blown away!
This is an amazing sequence of 15 sonnets – from a Mother’s death to a whole lifecycle of birth and human situations, which are portrayed in detail and beautifully written. Such a very poignant and intensely studied work indeed. Written in 2014.
Now, when I say mini-review, I’m really not mucking about.
Picking up this pamphlet in a random box, the gamble paid off. However, this has not always been the case…..
Okay, PL’s, tune in tomorrow, same time, same place for more advent action….
Hello Poetry Lovers! And welcome back to the Talk Show.
(rapturous applause)
Yes, it’s been a while I know, but absolutely worth waiting for! I am so proud to introduce our lovely and esteemed guest for today – Sharron Green
(standing ovation – security on standby)
(the lovely Sharron Green wafts gracefully down the stairs)…
Sharron, thank you so much for coming on the show. I’ve been so looking forward to this.
I do love that tank-top, I must say. Goes fabulously with the two-tone skirt.
First of all, thank you, Heather for inviting me along. It’s an honour to be interviewed by you.
Also thank you again. I’ve been desperate for one of these, and I sat up all night knitting it. Got a bit stuck on the orange stripes though!
Looks like you’ve pulled it off, Sharron! Isn’t that right, Poetry Lovers?
(smattering of agreement and wolf whistles)
I assume you’re up the discotheque later?
Oh yes, they won’t let you in without a tank top! And Norman Greenbaum’s appearing tonight……
What???! I’ll get knitting! Dobby, run up the wool shop! Pronto!!!
So, Sharron, tell us about yourself and how poetry came into your life….
I live in Guildford with my husband, Kevin (yes, Sharron and Kevin – don’t laugh!) and our lockdown puppy Dougie.
I used to work as a market researcher but now I’m studying for a MA in Creative Writing at the University of Surrey.
I’ve enjoyed writing poetry since I was little when my Granny used to encourage me to write poems to keep me busy when I was on holiday with her.
Gran’s eh? They shape who we are today, and are never forgotten. Also, that MA sounds a great move.
Who were your greatest influences?
Pam Ayres has been an inspiration to me since I watched her on Opportunity Knocks.
I have seen her perform live a couple of times and admire her ability to entertain an audience with poems that everyone can relate to.
Opportunity Knocks?! Suddenly all these memories of Monday nights in the seventies are flooding back! Hughie Green, eh?
They really produced good and solid talent, didn’t they..
.(spontaneous round of applause).
Yes, Pam Ayres is wonderful, isn’t she?! She has a new collection out, I believe. Fantastic influence, Sharron. What an iconic poet!
Now, how did it feel reading your work out for the first time?
After many years of not writing, I signed up for creative writing classes.
I felt nervous about reading my poems out to the class but I was thrilled with all the encouragement I received. That gave me the confidence to go to Janice and Donall’s The 1000 Monkeys monthly open mic meetings in Guildford. Which is where I met you, Heather and heard you read some of your fabulous ‘Bunty, I miss you!’ poems
Lumme! You’re making me blush! Bless you for those words. They were good nights there, weren’t they. I hope we can meet again there soon.
(audience sigh wistfully)
Now, you’ve produced a lovely pamphlet ‘Introducing Rhymes_n_Roses’ which is a wonderful read.
I hear that another collection is on the horizon…?
Thank you, you’re too kind.
Yes, lockdown poetry has helped keep me occupied and sane during this very strange year. I have contributed to a number of anthologies, including a couple of fundraisers, and I’ve produced my own compilation that I’ve called ‘Viral Odes’ due to be published on 1st December by Ink Gladiators Press.
I can’t wait, Sharron. It looks wonderful. I’ve been enjoying your poetry so much. You are so prolific, you put us all to shame.
Would you like to share your other projects with us?
I’m on Instagram as @rhymes_n_Roses where the poetry community is very dynamic and stimulating – for example I’ve had the opportunity to run an online poetry course with Poetix University.
Otherwise my studies are going to keep me out of trouble for a year. I’m learning a lot already and looking forward to seeing how my writing develops as a result.
I’m so glad you brought Instagram up – I really swooned over your pieces on there. Not only the strong writing and message, but the stunning way they were presented. It really jumps out at the reader.
Also, bless you for introducing me to Poetry Olympics on there, what a learning curve and supportive group of poets! I actually tackled a madrigal form! PO made August come alive for me! So grateful to you for that one.
Here’s some examples, PL’s, of Sharron’s wonderful new poems from ‘Viral Odes’.
(rapturous round of applause and sighs of awe)
Aren’t they just beautiful ?!
Sharron, what can I say? Good luck with 1st December – I’ll be the first in that book queue, I tell you! And thank you so much for coming on the show
(standing ovation – security look nervous)
Thank you so much for having me on the show, Heather.
Now I’d better get on, I don’t want to miss ‘Spirit in the Sky’. Is Dobby back from the wool shop? I have a message from Dougie for her
Lordy! I think Dobby is sending one back! Stop it, Dobby – now!!
Bless you, Sharron and enjoy the disotheque. It’s feet up and Shaw Taylor on the telly for me!
Goodnight Poetry Lovers!
(rapturous applause and standing ovation.
Credits roll up).
Wasn’t that just wonderful, Poetry Lovers. So enjoyed talking to Sharron there.
As you heard, Sharron’s ‘Viral Odes’ is out on 1st December. So get ordering.
Sharron’s website is http://rhymesnroses.com and her instagram is @rhymes_n_roses I’d really recommend a look.
I would like to come back to our recent theme on laundry – or simply washing as most people refer to it. It’s a burden we carry and what better way to express that than through poetry (and sketches)?!
The lovely and clever poet Trisha Broomfield has risen to my recent challenge of inviting further poems on washing, and this piece is emotional, colourful and reflective.
A lovely poem Trisha, well done. Read on….
Yellow Socks
She pegged her washing to the line
one careful garment at a time
green with grey,
black with blue
but the yellow socks
threw her.
She could not peg them
with green or grey
and next to black they looked like wasps.
Yellow and blue,
everyone knew
were opposites,
like her
and the man
whose yellow socks
she washed.
Trisha Broomfield 2020
Wasn’t that just fabulous reading? Terrific, Trisha. Thank you.
The challenge is still there, PL’s, if you have a piece on laundry or using our everyday appliances. The glove is still thrown down.
Do write in….. Tune in soon for more poetry projects…….
Hello Poetry Lovers, and welcome to another memory corner.
The Delorean has been taken for scrap so get your bus passes and masks as we head back to 18th May 2019 and the Poetry Cafe. The Poem-A-Thon to be precise…
I was thrilled when the wonderful Paul E McCrane emailed about this exciting and ambitious project that the Poetry Society were hosting all day on that Saturday. So I volunteered and headed down there sharp-ish!
Would you also believe I volunteered to be an MC – from 12 midday till one thirty! Never again will I think MC’s have a cushy number! I could hear the quiver in my voice as I spoke into the mike.
One of the poets I introduced was the lovely Dino Mahoney – I was so pleased it was someone I knew. And clever poet Greg Freeman was in the audience, so that was nice. In fact, he took over MC-ing from me. I also introduced, among other wonderful poets, Suzanna Fitzpatrick, Joshua Idehen and HIlaire.
I read at ten to two for eight minutes. This was luxury to me, being used to five minutes in an open mic, and a walk in the park compared to being a MC!
Our hero Paul McCrane was at the back recording it all, so I handed him a jelly pizza sweet on the way out. I’m sure that kept him going for the next four hours!
This is me with the fantastic poet and friend, Astra Papachristodoulou. I had the pleasure of seeing her read, along with Ben Rogers, Oliver Fox and Helen Bowell. A great team from the Poetry Society. And to top it all – I won the Tombola four times! I adore that red picture I’m holding there, and I now have it framed. How lovely it is to win things.
That was the day I actually joined the Poetry Society – filled in the form and sent a cheque. I haven’t looked back since.
Thank you Poetry Society for such a wonderful day – and bless you, Paul McCrane and good luck for the future. Poetry@3 and all us poets will miss you so much.
Phew! I got quite emotional remembering that one, PL’s. It was a wonderful day. Needless to say, there wasn’t one this year. The Poetry Cafe was one more place we took for granted. I hope its doors open soon…..
Well, now we’ve caught the bus back, let’s relish that lovely memory.
Thanks for tuning in, Poetry Lovers and we’ll be back real soon for more poetry adventures…..
how do you feel about a skeltonic verse? They really are quite fun – do one as a lockdown exercise, You’ll never look back.
And what better way to get in nostalgia and sketches. I got out my crayons this time. I wrote this skeltonic verse in August about a girl I used to play with up the road – number 23, if fact.
I hope you like it…..
Linda
Linda at number 23
Flung a stone at me
I hid behind a tree
But she caught me out
And gave me a clout
So I kicked her about
She ran in crying
And I was denying
To her Mum, defying
But now I was trying
To be a good friend
She was the living end
Friendship on the mend
Then she called me a cow
My hand moved somehow
Across her face now
An accident, I swore
But both mums abhor
The behavioural flaw
But she was a bitch
And this was a bit rich
My Mum called me
In for my tea
And I watched the telly
Then sent to bed
It’s too early, I said
Linda said she’ll get
Me tomorrow, yet
with who’s army?
That girl is bloody barmy!
Linda’s a mare and a half
But she is a good laugh
I hope you enjoyed that, PL’s. I’ll be honest with you, that’s my favourite poem this year. It simply wrote itself. Do send in any of your own in this skeltonic form.
Thank you for looking in, PL’s. Tune in soon for more poetry action…..
Now I’ve been thinking a lot about launderettes lately, and how I found them magical as a child.
We always had a treacherous twin tub at home, so I relished trips to these places with my pal and her aunt Renee. Especially if I was sent to the flat upstairs to get change!
However, the truth is they weren’t wonderous at all.
The scales fell away when I grew up and walked in with my own washing, and I finally saw they were just grim and functional places. Harsh lit and lonely. Still, that spark remained….
This piece tries to reflect that. I hope you like it….
Soiled Goods ……..
It’s Wednesday and the twin tub swallows the kitchen.
The walls shake as they devour Dad’s socks.
But I want breakfast! I drag my teddy bear by the ear.
You’ll have to wait!, Mum shouts against the noise,
her face moist and red.
Why can’t we go to the launderette?
Enticing yellow machines caked with discarded powder.
Knocking at the flat upstairs for change.
Dryers instead of washing lines outside – icicles
forming on sleeves.
And that treacherous wooden clothes horse,
blocking the fire.
Goosepimples run up my legs as I watch my nightie
drying – and I still go to bed with a damp crease.
When it’s my turn to be washerwoman, I find
launderettes no longer wonderous, just automated.
No more friendly chats upstairs –nor supervisors
in nylon overalls.
My washing immaculate, not lurking with moisture,
but like a lost sock, a part of me stays behind.
H.Moulson 2020
Dobby loathes the washing machine, by the way. Any poems about laundry or these former glamorous places are welcome. Do send them in…
Heather Moulson 