'Voices For The Silent', New Anthology from Indigo Dreams Publishing

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What can poetry do?  

There have been many who advocate art for art's sake, or l'art pour l'art, as the slogan was initially rendered in nineteenth century France. 

There have also been many, and indeed there are an ever-increasing number, of artists (in the broadest sense) who see their work as a focus for, or extension of, their activism. 

I feel fortunate to have had poems included in a variety of charity anthologies over the years, raising funds and awareness for Macmillan Cancer Support, Welney WWT and the Born Free Foundation, to name but three. 

I am delighted to add another to the list in the form of Voices for the Silent (Indigo Dreams Publishing, 2022), the new companion volume to For the Silent (Indigo Dreams Publishing, 2019), edited by Ronnie Goodyer, Poet-in-Residence at the League Against Cruel Sports. These companion (or stand-alone) volumes have been produced to aid the work of this charity, and not surprisingly some of the selected poems concern animal cruelty. Others focus on habitats and the wonders and complexities of the natural world. 

The new book includes poems by well-known names such as Margaret Atwood, Gillian Clarke, Pablo Neruda, Philip Larkin, John Clare, Mary Oliver, William Cowper, William Blake and Thomas Hardy, alongside a host of contributors who are part of the contemporary poetry scene.

Voices for the Silent costs £15 in Great Britain. Prices for other parts of the world are listed on the Indigo Dreams Publishing website. The book includes six wonderful pages of illustrations by Sam Cannon. The superb cover photographs are by Andy Parkinson.  

Subjects in the anthology range from a stag to a sparrowhawk, from a Chequered Skipper butterfly to an elephant. My poem, 'Basking Shark Blues', was inspired by the brooding Hebridean waters off the coast of Skye where I spent an evening watching one of these gentle giants of the ocean.

 

Evening, Loch Scavaig, Isle of Skye

  

Poetry in Lockdown

I was on the 'government shielded' list during lockdown so was confined to the house and garden for almost thirteen weeks. Time for most of us has been a strange commodity during this pandemic, time and most other things, too. There have been spells when the hours have raced by, but each day has gone at its own, often unpredictable, pace. The wave for the NHS and key-workers was one of the activities that punctuated my week: we waved to our neighbours after the clap and it was usually the only time I made face-to-face contact with human beings other than my husband. Nearly all other human interactions were by telephone, the internet or Zoom, and this was the case for many of us. 

Most of us, I think, felt the waves of motivation ebb and flow at times during those strict months of lockdown. Early on I decided to enrol on one of the Poetry Kit courses. It lasted three weeks and was conducted via email and listserve. It gave me set tasks to do, excellent feedback from the tutor, Jim Bennett, and a group of fellow students with whom I was able to interact. At the end of the three weeks I felt a sense of achievement and enrolled on a second course, this time on poetry that engaged with the natural world. Once again, it was an extremely positive experience and, at times, a steep learning curve. 

In addition to my own writing, I have felt a strong urge to offer something 'poetical', however small, to others during this difficult time. I was invited to judge a local poetry competition on the theme of 'key-workers'. I have long been persuaded that it's not what you say but how you say it that counts, and that short poems, even very short poems, can be powerful. They tend to be less daunting for new or would-be poets to write than, for example, an epic or sestina. And yet they require focus, craft and poise if they are to spin their magic. With this thought in mind, coupled with the assumption that if I was looking for chinks of light in a bleak situation, others were probably feeling the same, I started a blog for 5-line poems, written in response to a fortnightly photo prompt. The blog, The Glow of Emerald Light, can be found here. Anyone who was 18 or over was invited to join in the challenges. 

I had a few of my own poems accepted and/or published during this spell. One came out in Reach Poetry (Indigo Dreams) and another, a villanelle, will appear in Locked Down, the PoetrySpace anthology edited by Susan J. Sims. Another took 2nd Place (Category A) in the Petrarchan Sonnet Contest for Metverse Muse, an international poetry journal published by Dr. H. Tulsi in India. A couple of other poems were also published in the journal, including one on the Fritillary butterfly in the picture above, which we saw some years ago on the iconic path to Hallaig on the Inner Hebridean island of Raasay. 

 

For several years now I have teamed up with an artist (not always the same artist) with a view to submitting work to the annual Immagine e Poesia online anthology, created by Lidia Chiarelli from Italy and edited this year by Huguette Bertrand from Canada. This year I collaborated once again with South Korean artist, Jongo Park, who supplied one of his artworks, leaving me to write a poetic response. I enjoy these international collaborations. You can read the anthology via this link (or via this one).   

The writing and reading of poetry go hand in hand, and the books I have enjoyed during lockdown include Forest, moor or less by Ronnie Goodyer and Dawn Bauling (IDP), Throat of Hawthorn by Carl Griffin (also IDP), The Craft edited by Rishi Dastidar (Nine Arches) and The Haiku Handbook by William J. Higginson and Jane Reichhold ( Kodansha International). We have also enjoyed re-watching the Michael Wood series, In Search of Shakespeare.

 

It seems strange to be posting this summary of my lockdown poetry activities just as Covid cases start to soar again, but I hope you will all keep safe as we continue to navigate these stormy waters. 

National Poetry Day, 2018

While fellow Suffolk poets were out in the balmy sunshine at Aldeburgh, declaiming their poems from these iconic steps, I was stuck in Ipswich, missing their company, their poems, the sea and, of course, the fish and chips that are such an essential part of this particular National Poetry Day gathering. There's always next year...

The portion in the photo above is actually from Whitby, a good way further up the east coast, but since I wasn't on the beach today, I wasn't able to post an up-to-date photo. But the thought of chips by the sea is already whetting my appetite for the forthcoming Poetry in Aldeburgh Festival in November.

Speaking of November, I spent part of the afternoon asking local shop managers and assistants if they would display a poster for me, advertising our local poetry competition on the theme of '100 Years of Remembrance'. I enjoyed some lively conversations, and am very grateful to all who took a poster (or several) to advertise the following categories...

I came home to the cheering news that my own competition entry in the Indigo Dreams Publishing First Collection Competition, one of 34 Long-listed collections at the start of today, had reached the Shortlist of nine. Hearty congratulations to the two winners, Ben Gwalchmai and Zoe Mitchell, whose collections will be published.

Twitter, in particular, has been alive with poetry-related soundbites. One tweet (I wish I could remember the tweeter) expressed the view that National Poetry Day was like Christmas, but just for poets. Leaving Christmas aside for a moment, this set me thinking about those who read and listen to the poems we produce and share: it seems to me that while there would, of course, be no poetry without the poets, there would actually be little point to poetry if it failed to reach beyond the people who penned/typed/texted and declaimed it. Thank you, therefore, to all who publish poetry, to all those loyal readers who purchase it and to all those who come along to listen with the brooding expectation of one with a seashell to the ear.

Avocet Poem in Reach Poetry Magazine

The many supporters of Reach Poetry magazine, edited by Ronnie Goodyer of Indigo Dreams Publishing, are celebrating the arrival of the 240th issue of this well-loved monthly journal. You may like to click back to a previous post, written in 2013 for the 15th anniversary (and 180th issue) of the publication.

My poem about the iconic Avocets at RSPB Titchwell Marsh Nature Reserve in North Norfolk has been included in the 240th issue for September 2018. Despite the fact that my teenage years were spent in Norfolk, it was only when we returned to East Anglia some years ago that I was able to see these stylish birds for the first time at Minsmere, Snape, Cley and Titchwell.

David on the reserve

I took the photograph above on our first visit to Titchwell, soon after our arrival, when we were surveying the scene and getting a feel for the place. With conservation and a breeding programme in mind, an island was created for the birds in 2010. Remarkably it was soon filled with 80 Avocet nests.

Parson Hawker of Morwenstow Poem

My Parson Hawker of Morwenstow poem features in the current edition of Reach Poetry, #225, Indigo Dreams Publishing. Morwenstow is a favourite haunt on the North Cornish coast, with its wild scenery. Hawker's Hut is a fascinating shack, almost built into the cliff.

A Poem in Reach Poetry

David striding out...

I was delighted to open the April edition of Reach Poetry (Indigo Dreams Publishing) and find that my 'Lost' poem had been published. It begins in Kent on the expanse known as Romney Marsh, where there is a shepherd's hut* in the form of the small brick structure in the photo above, known as the Looker's (or Lookers') Hut. These lookers were responsible for the sheep. You can read more about them here.



* For a couple of shepherds' huts on wheels, this time in Suffolk, you can click here to see one of my Christmas posts...

2017 - New Year News

 Happy New Year 

2017

The Tawny Owl in the photo above is known as Mabel. She is well known to those of us who live in the Ipswich area as she frequents the town's Christchurch Park and has for many years returned to the hollow branch of the tree in the picture. 

I was delighted to begin the year with a cheque representing the fact that my Barn Owl poem had been voted 'Second' in the readers' votes for the December issue of Reach Poetry, one of three flagship magazines from Indigo Dreams Publishing. 

I heard today that my entry for the Indigo Dreams Pamphlet Competition had gained a 'Commended'. More good news, but of a kind that leaves little room for complacency as it would be good to see the poems published as a batch. Unlike Mabel, I intend to keep my eyes wide open.

As for specific 2017 writing goals, well, I have an 'illumination of ideas' but am still at the formulating stage. I wonder what goals you have in mind?

Barn Owl Poem in Reach Poetry #219

Barn Owl

I am grateful to editor, Ronnie Goodyer, of Indigo Dreams Publishing for including my poem, 'Barn Owl, Flatford', in the December 2016 issue of Reach Poetry. Like most poets I respond to what I see as well as to what I feel, and I well remember the thrill back in 2012 of watching the owl swooping over the snow in this landscape known so well to John Constable.  

Flatford Mill

The photos below were the best I could manage at the time. As you can see, the light had all but gone. But there is something magical about Barn Owls in the snow! 

Poem about Turkey in Reach Poetry magazine

Çay - in tulip glasses

My poem, 'Turkish Tesselations', has been published in the April issue (#211) of Reach Poetry, one of three magazines from Indigo Dreams Publishing.

Reach Poetry is now in its seventeenth year and is a magazine I have always valued. You can find my reasons here. In the words of one of the readers of this blog, 'Hearing Reach Poetry drop through the letter box every month gives a lift to my heart!'

I have not visited Istanbul for over thirty years, but the vibrant colours and exotic flavours left a lasting impression. We made a couple of trips across the water to Uskudar, or Scutari as Florence Nightingale would have known it.

The waterfront at Dolmabahçe, Istanbul, 1984

We revisited Claydon House (National Trust) in Buckinghamshire over Easter, and discovered that Florence Nightingale had resided there for a time.

Reach Poetry #205, Indigo Dreams Publishing

Bracelet Bay and the Mumbles Lighthouse, Swansea

An A5 package came through the letterbox this morning containing two magazines from Indigo Dreams Publishing, Reach Poetry #205 and The Dawntreader #032.

I have written before (here) about my long association with the press, and am always delighted when the latest copies arrive in my home. I tore open the envelope; and to my surprise, a cheque fluttered to the floor. My small poem about Bracelet Bay had come Second in the September contest of readers' votes. Thank you, Reach Poetry editor, Ronnie Goodyer!

My poem is a take (or perhaps a slight variation, since the key mid-line is split) on the Folding Mirror poetry form, devised by Dr. Marc Latham and included in The Book of Forms: A Handbook of Poetics including Odd and Invented Forms by Lewis Putnam Turco (University Press of New England).

Reach Poetry is a monthly publication. You can subscribe for a year or buy a single copy. The Dawntreader (editor Dawn Bauling) comes out each quarter, and again you can buy a sample issue or an annual subscription. 

Assynt Poem in Reach Poetry

 Fin Whale's jawbone

My poem, 'Notes from the Netting Station', has just been published in the February issue of Reach Poetry. The inspiration came from the windswept beach at Clachtoll in Assynt in the north of Scotland, where there is a salmon bothy dating from 1846, and a netting station. Clachtoll was once a crofting township, with a large population of sheep. The abandoned netting station is strange place. Salmon fishing was carried out in the past by a process known as 'bag-netting'. The netted fish were kept cool in a nearby ice house. A jawbone and part of the skull of a Fin Whale can be seen outside the bothy, and it was the sad sight of these 'bare bones' that sparked my poem.

The beach at Clachtoll (Clach = rock; toll = hole)

Net-drying Poles at Clachtoll for bag-net fishing

The Netting Station (complete with large drops of Assynt rain!)

Published Poems ~ Reach Poetry 2014

My poem, 'Titania of Titchwell Marsh' 

has been published in the January issue, #184, 

of Reach Poetry (Indigo Dreams Publishing, 2014).

Creature Feature ~ Rhino Poem in Reach Poetry

There has been much in the news recently about the plight of the Rhino. Even dead rhinos have not been exempt from the poaching of their horns, a sad fact that is particularly pertinent here in Suffolk. The new issue of Reach Poetry (#182) is just out from Indigo Dreams Publishing Ltd, and contains my rhino poem, 'Letter from the Bush'.

Rhinos on the Web ...

• Fight for Rhinos
• Small Steps Rhino Poems by Children
• Elvis the Orphan Rhino with Sir David Attenborough

Stop Press ... just today Juliet Wilson (aka Crafty Green Poet) has posted a book review on Rhinoceros Summer by Jamie Thornton. 

Magazine Moment ~ Reach Poetry at 15 Years Old (and issue 180)

I have got a bit behind on this site, so in the hope that I will eventually catch up with myself by filling in the gaps, here is a new post.

I have been a subscriber to Reach Poetry since the days when Shelagh Nugent was editor and the poetry publication was known simply as Reach. This eclectic and well-loved poetry magazine has been under the aegis of Ronnie Goodyer and Dawn Bauling of Indigo Dreams Publishing for some years now. It has just celebrated its 15th birthday with its 180th issue, which sports a magnificent avian creature from the editors' new homeland of Devon, as you will discover if you take out a subscription for yourself.

So what is *so* special about this poetry magazine? 

I will list my Top Ten answers - in no particular order.

Reach Poetry ...

• is more like an ever-expanding writers' circle. Well-known names in the poetry world sit comfortably alongside those of newcomers.
• is a monthly poetry magazine, one of the few in the UK.
• is eclectic in style and tone. You will find a healthy mixture of e.g. formal Shakespearean Sonnets and free verse poems. You will encounter poems for every mood: there are fine contributions that are elegiac in tone and there are humorous poems to make you smile.
• is eclectic in its subject matter. The current issue contains poems concerning a samovar, a long shadow and a ride on a feather, to name but three examples. I never cease to be excited and/or moved by the editorial choice, which often results in serendipitous connections for the reader. 
• has a monthly pair of book-end poems, one by Ronnie and one by Dawn. Judging by the reader comments, we all look forward to enjoying these. 
• is a magazine that takes feedback seriously. Each month the readers are invited to offer comments and to cast votes for their favourite pieces. There is a £50 prize (which can be shared), and the top four poems are elevated to 'The Box' which appears in the following issue.
• is a magazine with a perfect blend of the 'professional' and the 'personal'. 
• is a publication with stunning photographic covers, designed by Ronnie. 
• is perfect bound and feels good to handle.

• Oh, and I mustn't forget to mention (as if I would) that each month brings the new challenge of spotting a photo of Soxx, the resident Border Collie, who will doubtless be hiding somewhere on the cover. 

I hope that you will be able to enjoy the latest cover photo for yourself. I will end this post with a couple of pictures of my own - no prizes for guessing what my poem in #180 is about ... and, incidentally, I read this poem out at our monthly Poetry Cafe at Arlington's last night.

Publication Pointer ~ Glossy Ibis ... and Puffins

My previous post was about an anthology that will raise funds for WWT Welney, and, as it happens, my most recent poem to be published, 'Glossy Ibis near Welney', has just made The Box in the August edition of Reach Poetry, having been voted 4th in the readers' vote.

The Glossy Ibis is a bird that is still on my 'wish-list'. I had hoped to see one when we were on the lagoons near Pylos three years ago, but it was not to be.

Sunset: Yialova lagoons, near Pylos, Greece

Speaking of birds, my puffin poem, 'A Chink in the Sky', features in the August edition of FreeXpresSion from Australia. It seems a good excuse for a(nother) puffin picture ...

 ... or two!

Publication Pointer: 'Heart Shoots' from Indigo Dreams Publishing Ltd.

'My heart is like a singing bird

Whose nest is in a water'd shoot ...' 

Christina Rossetti 

A pre-ordered copy of Heart Shoots has just arrived at my home. This new poetry anthology is the companion volume to the popular Soul Feathers, also produced by Ronnie Goodyer and Dawn Bauling of Indigo Dreams Publishing Limited. Thank you, Ronnie and Dawn, for your dedication and tireless efforts not only on behalf of poetry, but also on behalf of the charitable causes you care so much about.

This new collection is sold as a fund-raiser for Macmillan Cancer Support, the charity known primarily for its Macmillan Nurses. These, of course, are backed up by a strong team of medical doctors, therapists, managers, administrative support-workers, campaigners, volunteers and others. You can find some of the people who make up the face of this inspiring organisation here. Way back in 1911, Douglas Macmillan established the 'Society for the Prevention and Relief of Cancer', providing information on recognising, preventing and treating cancer to patients, doctors and members of the public. All profit on the sale of this new volume has been waived by the publishers, allowing £2 (inc. of VAT) to go to the charity for every copy sold.

Heart Shoots is a volume in which poems by 'the newcomer' and 'the internationally famous' nestle side by side. Those in the latter category include Bob Dylan, Leonard Cohen, Seamus Heaney, Joni Mitchell, Benjamin Zephaniah, Sharon Olds, Penelope Shuttle, Moniza Alvi, Pascale Petit and Dennis Lecorriere, to mention those on the front cover. You will also find poems by Wordsworth, Keats, Elizabeth Barrett-Browning and John Donne. There are many contemporary poets whose names you will know from the wider poetry and small press scenes. 

And if you are wondering why I have posted this dragonfly, well, perhaps the answer lies on p.57 of Heart Shoots.

Poet on Poet: Geraldine Green comes to Ipswich!

About fifteen of us enjoyed a stimulating poetry workshop with Geraldine Green last Friday. The workshop took place at UCS, and was followed by a delicious meal, poetry reading by Geraldine and Open Mic session at Arlington's in Ipswich.

The day of poetry was organised by Ian Griffiths and The Suffolk Poetry Society. I, for one, came away with pages of draft poems and raw material on subjects as diverse as gooseberries and the Caryatids on the Erechtheion in Athens!

Geraldine's relaxed approach gave us the confidence to experiment, and we enjoyed sharing our efforts - and making new friends in the process. I never cease to be amazed (and impressed!) by the care and neat hand writing employed by some poets in their initial phase of drafting. I like to throw in all my ideas as fast as possible, which inevitably leads to much crossing out and illegibility on the paper in front of me. I realised some time ago that A5 is too small for me to use 'comfortably' (or 'productively'?) at this stage. I seem to need the space afforded by A4. This may be partly because I normally draft poems on the computer, often using the delete key and 'strike through' facility etc. in the initial stages. I wonder how others like to work ...

Geraldine read from her various collections, and particularly from The Other Side of the Bridge, published by Ronnie Goodyer and Dawn Bauling at Indigo Dreams Publishing. I bought a signed copy, and have enjoyed reading poems we heard like 'Me and Janine' (a compelling British poem about the shipyards at Barrow-in-Furness) and 'Walt' (a brilliant poem set on Long Island, addressed to Walt Whitman).

My thanks to to Geraldine, Ian and the Suffolk Poetry Society!

Incidentally, you will find Geraldine's answers to The Next Big Thing here. Thank you, Geraldine, for enabling me to host these.

Magazine Moment (31): Poem in The Dawntreader

Looking across to Skye, the Misty Isle

My poem, 'Cuckoo Song', has been published in The Dawntreader #019 (ed. Dawn Bauling and Ronnie Goodyer, Indigo Dreams Publishing). The poem is a rondeau redoubled, and is a tribute poem to William Ross, a Scottish poet who was born at Broadford on Skye in 1762. You can see where he died here.

Publication Pointer (5): Seurat, Pointillism (and the 2012 Olympics)

© Caroline Gill 2012

Well, I wonder how you rate my Pointillistic view of the Eiffel Tower!

I have not been in Paris for over quarter of a century, so my photographs, taken on my small 'point-and-shoot' camera are feeling their age. I cropped one and hope you will feel that Photoshop has helped me to jazz it up ... just a little!

Having recently returned from the Metropolitan Museum in New York, with its truly amazing works (and here - not forgetting the monkey in the painting mentioned below) by Seurat, I am almost ashamed to post my electronic attempt. However, my affinity with the artist's Pointillistic techniques goes back almost into the last century, and earned me the nick-name of the 'Dotty Painter' (or was it the 'Spotty Painter'?) in my Friday art class! 

My poem, 'Harmony in Fragmentation', an ekphrastic piece concerning Seurat's painting, Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte (the study for this painting is here in New York), has just been published by Ronnie Goodyer and Dawn Bauling of Indigo Dreams Publishing in issue 161 of Reach Poetry magazine. 

*

Curiously, Seurat seems to be currently in the news. This Seurat-style Olympic Games photo might make you smile!

Magazine Moment (27): Reach Poetry (and Puffin)

Reach Poetry issue 158 arrived this morning (thank you, Ronnie and Dawn at IDP). There are some great new poems in the magazine - not forgetting a fabulous cover of a certain Border Collie called Soxx.

It was great to find my name in 'The Box' for my 11-syllables per line Sonnet* on - you've guessed - those amazing Yorkshire Puffins. My poem was voted 4th out of those published in issue 157 - so thank you to all who chose it.

Many congratulations to Tina Negus, who took First Place with her brilliant poem, 'A Contradiction of Hoopoes'. 


* Shakespeare's Sonnet XX had 11 lines per line, which was unusual - but I like the rhythm.