This is a catch-up blog. I've been working on my Sheppey project (see earlier blogs if this means nothing to you) - out and about locally in all weathers - catching the unseasonal sun, getting drenched in the far more predictable rain, and buffeted by the gale-force winds - trying to pull my ideas together - and it is getting there. More on this soon.
I've also been looking for new and different poetry to read. What I've found (again) is that there are far too many poets for me ever to catch up with and I'm running far behind. It is also an expensive business trying to do so. There are resources online, which is great, and libraries can be a good source - but regrettably not locally. I would love to subscribe to more poetry mags but unfortunately, even though they're usually brilliant and really good value, it's just not possible. And there are great deals on poetry books too, but even so... there is just too much good stuff out there.
Actually, if the poets among you could stop writing for a while - say twenty years or so - I could possibly catch up - and also, it would help me get my own stuff published. Just a thought. (I may have suggested it before, but do they listen?)
Anyway, here is a list of some of the wonderful poetry I've discovered recently. I've tweeted about most of these (and the descriptions are as per the tweets), but the more publicity they get, hopefully the more they will get bought and read, and then the poets can all retire early, leaving the field clear (laughs hysterically). On the other hand, it might just encourage them - oh no!
Starling and Crane - Elspeth Brown - Indigo Dreams Publishing - this really resonated with me - there is something of Sheppey, something of me in it.
Heartwood - Alison Jones - Indigo Dreams Publishing - imagery to wallow in, woven with feeling that is sometimes tangible, sometimes more elusive, but always worth pursuing. Beautiful.
Invisibility for Beginners - Helen Pizzey - Cinnamon Press - 'from the humorous to the tragic' - to quote the cover
Please hear what I'm not saying - compiled and edited by Isabelle Kenyon - heart-wrenching, raw, hopeful - the many voices in the stunning poetry collaboration for MIND.
This is not a spectacle - Isabelle Kenyon - raw, intense, with inspired inner strength.
Also just discovered - Kim Moore - If We Could Speak Like Wolves - Smith/Doorstop Books - still re-reading this - it's wonderful.
And finally, the stunning poems of Eloise CC Shepherd - as featured in Sarasvati (052) from Indigo Dreams Publishing - explicit and tender. (I've found Sarasvati a great place to discover new voices.)
And, having got all that tidied up, I'm now off to finish my Sheppey project, which will turn into a publication quite soon - I'll let you know.
