More Effing Poetry
Writing / Not Writing / Always Becoming
It’s been seven weeks since my last post On Not Writing. My overwhelming busyness (with everything but actual writing) has extended to only now having had time to read and reply to those who commented on this post. Thank you for doing so! My predicament seemed to chime with several people, which is both reassuring (for me) and perhaps inevitable in these Days Of General Overwhelm. My delayed reply was not a reflection on those comments, or my genuine delight in receiving them, merely another symptom of aforementioned busyness.
In addition to not writing, I’ve barely submitted anything this year. So it’s come as something of a lovely surprise when I’ve had something accepted for publication. The rest of this post is less moaning about being too busy and tired to write, but a gentle singing of my own praises over what writing has come to fruition. With that warning, you may wish to stop reading now.
I’ve been lucky to have been published in a few anthologies and journals so far this year.
JANUARY saw Wet Casements, published in Berlin Lit, another output from Ella Frears’ wonderful Poetry Masterclass at City Lit which I attended last year. The prompt being to write a new poem to someone else’s title. In my case, it was John Ashbery’s Wet Casements from his 1977 collection Houseboat Days. You can read his original here. My version, completely different in every respect, since I hadn’t read the original when I wrote it, only the title, sits alongside several poets whose work I love, such as Ellora Sutton, Troy Cabida, and Harry Josephine Giles.
FEBRUARY saw the publication of my poem ANONYME in Broken Spine’s slimline anthology High Rise: Brutalist Poetry. A great poetry concept and a lovely list of writers to be amongst.
MARCH delivered The 145 to Dagenham Asda, a short prose piece that started life as a poetry prompt (see Ella Frears above) and turned into something slightly surreal. It’s my second piece published in 3:AM Magazine, of which I’m a huge fan.
The very end of March, saw the publication of Dahlia Books’ anthology Bring Me Gold: Fifty Poems for Palestine in which I was delighted to be able to contribute a poem. All proceeds of this book will be donated to Medical Aid for Palestinians. Please do support them if you can, you won’t be disappointed in the quality of work and the amazing array of poets within.
APRIL, that most poetic of months, saw another slimline anthology from the mighty Broken Spine, and my poem Don’t Make Me Come For Nothing in Glow: City At Night Poetry.
My contributor copy of The Aftershock Review also landed on my doormat in April. This is a fantastic new journal and initiative by the writer and journalist Max Wallis. It highlights poetry that is brilliant, beautiful and sometimes brutal focusing on the aftershocks of trauma, and I’m fortunate to have 3 poems included, alongside so many poets I admire. Aftershock was the Poetry Books Society recommended title the other week, and you can follow Max for news and excerpts from the journal on Substack.
MAY saw the arrival of another contributor copy for Becoming a gorgeous anthology curated by the Poetry Pharmacy and published by Macmillan. This is likely to be the only time that a poem of mine (that first appeared in Arachne Press’ Joy//Us anthology) sits alongside “poems by William Blake, Emily Dickinson, Edward Thomas, W. B. Yeats, William Shakespeare and many more.”
Before May heads out the door, this Saturday I’ll be reading at the launch of the latest issue of Long Poem Magazine. This is a FREE event at the Barbican Library from 12.45-15.45, and includes me and a host of other ‘proper’ poets reading our long poems. Mine is about the abstract expressionist painter Barnett Newman, and the search for oblivion through the medium of art (sort of). It’s also in strict terza rima. Should be fun!
Somewhere in the midst of all that I was shortlisted for the Poetry Society’s Free Verse competition. As the email said: “quite an achievement given that we had over 14,000 entries this year!”
Sadly I couldn’t make it to the Free Verse Book Fair this year, as I was performing at the Enrich Festival in Watford. This is a fabulous festival for inclusive, interactive, intersectional and accessible arts where Rick Dove, George Parker and I were on the bill sharing a preview of eff-able. There are some great photos of us in action (and me sitting on a splendid red velvet throne - no, not a euphemism) on their website here.
I should probably mention eff-able given that we have our book launch in exactly two weeks time! But I feel like I’ve taken up enough time of whoever it is that may read all the way to the end of this post, so let’s do that another day. In the meantime, you should definitely come. Go on, book a ticket, it’s gonna be great! Poetry-cum-cabaret, what’s not to like? Details here: www.outsavvy.com/event/26705/lese-majeste-xxiii-eff-able
I should also mention that I will be reading at the brilliant poetry salon Rise Up! in York on Weds 25th June. Supporting the majestic Rosie Garland, I’ll be reading alongside the fab Spencer Wood (another fourteen poems alumni) and I can’t wait!
Oh yes, I do have two books coming out at some point this year. No confirmed dates for either of them yet, but I’ll be sure to let you know when I do.
Thanks for reading me.
JP x