Anthology Alert: 'The Mortal Man'

This is a very special anthology. David Thomas Webb, son of Norfolk Poet, Wendy Webb, tragically lost his life at the age of 19. He was a bright young man who, despite being autistic, had secured a place at university, studying for his Computer Science Degree. This eclectic poetry collection has been compiled in tribute to David and in celebration of his life; and in aid of The National Autistic Society. The poems have been written in a variety of styles by poets from around the United Kingdom. The book has been compiled by Jae-Alexander Linsey. The book contains three of my poems ... 'The Boat House Cat', 'King of the River' and 'A Meerkat Moonscape'.

The Mortal Man costs £8.99. Do support a worthy cause and buy a copy here.

Magazine Moment (28): TIPS FOR WRITERS 87

Cover design: Wendy Webb

I wonder how many of us you can identify!

Wendy's latest edition of TIPS contains 31 pages of poetry, along with reviews, competition news and readers' feedback. Many of us became acquainted with Wendy through her new poetry form challenges, but if you are expecting a magazine full of Villanelles, Sonnets, Davidians and Echotains, please think again for this is the Free Verse number. Those of us who feel particularly at home among the poetry forms need not worry, for a few formal contributions may, apparently, 'have slipped in'!

Congratulations are in order, for Wendy has taken Joint First Place with Bernard M.Jackson in the Reach Poetry (Indigo Dreams Publishing) 'Highest Number of Appearances in the Box' category AND Second Place (after Bernard Jackson) in the Reach Poet of the Year section. Well done, Wendy! And the 'Box', for the uninitiated, is the box containing the names of the poets who have received the highest number of votes from their Reach Poetry peers in a given issue. 

Having moved from Wales only three months ago, my eye was immediately drawn to 'Hymns and Arias' by Peter Davies. There are resonances, to my ear at least, with the autobiographical verse of Idris Davies. The speaker (perhaps Peter himself) describes familiar, if diverse, scenes from Ebbw Vale in the heart of The Valleys to the beautiful rugged coasts of Gower (Oxwich Bay) and Pembrokeshire (Strumble Head). Aberfan, Nye Bevan and 'King Coal' are all mentioned. This fine Villanelle, which presumably crept in to the Free Verse issue by virtue of being a prize winning poem in the November competition, draws to a close with a memory of sitting in a 'frosty per' in Pisgah, one of the Welsh chapels. This is a fine poem of love and loss.  

Mention should also be made of Ronnie Goodyer's 'Summer Friendship, Fernworthy' with its arresting lines,

             bell-heather rained violet and pink
             in an abandonment of grass ...

Other poems that particularly appealed include 'Ezekiel's Dream' by Joan Sheridan Smith, 'Lotos Land' (which really made me smile), 'Winter Poem' by Michael Newman (with its harsh and unrelenting refrain of 'again' and 'again') and 'High Tide' by Norman Bissett,

So thank you, Wendy, for another beautifully produced publication.

 

*

How did you fare in the Cover Quiz?

• Norman and Faith Bissett
• Anne Mullender
• Gerald Hampshire
• Ronnie Goodyer
• Bernard M. Jackson
• No prizes for this one (or the others, for that matter!)
• Michael Newman - under Bernard Jackson
• Wendy M. Lister
• Kay D. Weeks
• TIPS Editor, Wendy Webb

Magazine Moment (23): TIPS for Writers 83

Welcome to my 550th post on this blog!

Kalamata Olives with Basil and a tang of Peloponnesian Orange and Lime

TIPS for Writers magazine, 83, issue 3/2011

editor: Wendy Webb, Norfolk Poets and Writers

I recieved a copy of this edition of TIPS a few days, and as ever, have found it to contain a feast of new poetry. I chose the photo above because it seemed to represent (to me at least) something of the mouth-watering Mediterranean flavours evoked in 'Olives, Grapes, Cicadas, Sun' by Norman Bisset. We find ourselves listening to the sound of cicada 'choirs' and watching the fall of light on Doric columns. We see the very roots of civilization emerging alongside the twisting stems of olive and vine.

Wendy is always one for a challenge, and in her editorial she writes that she would like to see some palindromes, including her own verse form, the Palindromedary Sonnet, submitted for the next issue [Later note: Wendy's link no longer exists, July 2012]. She is also keen to receive some Folding Mirror poems in the form created by Dr Marc Latham. You can read my post linking these two forms here on Marc's Folding Mirror Poetry blog.

The poems in this issue represent a plethora of situations. We follow some steps behind the one (presumably a health professional) who walks beside the parents of a baby in 'Acceptance' by Margaret Whitaker, the winning poem in the 10th Anniversary Tips Competition. Then we take a completely different turn and feel the buzz as Kay Weeks dances the night away at Mar de Jade.  

Kay's poem embraces the geckos and turtles that help to populate this Mexican landscape. Norman Bissett brings us back to the shores of the UK with his poignant observations regarding the decline of the 'Camberwell Beauties'. Bernard Jackson's sonnet 'To a Hidden Bird' resonates for me with words by Edward Thomas. You can read about E.T's 'Unknown Bird' here on The Solitary Walker blog. Bernard's evocation of Jesmond Dene, the leafy 'interlacing canopy of green', rings true for me - and I spent five very happy years of my life in that neck of the woods.

A feature I particularly like in this issue is the editors' page (p.23). This contains sample poems by Ronnie Goodyer of Indigo Dreams (IDP) and Geoff Stevens of Purple Patch. Ronnie's 'Breakbones' with its intoxicating rhythm draws us in to take a closer - careful - look at the wild flowers such as Bog Asphodel on a stretch of West Country mire. Geoff's concrete poem, 'Looking out to Sea', needs to be seen in its eye-glass shape to be fully appreciated, but its array of 'blue' words is compelling.

If you would like to take out a subscription to TIPS  in this its 10th anniversary year, you will find Wendy's details on the Poetry Library Southbank Centre site here. Thank you, Wendy, once again for an engaging and colourful read.

Publications (3): Winter Warmers

The Mumbles Lighthouse: Swansea in the Snow, a year ago

I'm sitting here on a fine sunny afternoon, but there have been hard frosts in our neck of the woods. On an equally chilly note, I have just received the Winter Edition of Wendy Webb's 'TIPS for Writers', issue 80. The magnificent cats on the cover, painted by Kay Weeks, have the right idea and are curled up inside on their best cushions.

The city dogs in my poem, 'Ice Floe', are not so fortunate. My other poem in this number is also on a snowbound theme; 'Ötzi the Iceman', whose death has sparked so much archaeological controversy since his body was discovered. My light-hearted poem about Santa's unruly reindeer has been accepted for the Christmas edition of the online Writelink magazine, Writelinkers, edited by Maureen Vincent-Northam, David Robinson and Trevor Belshaw. My time as Writelink 'Writer of the Month' is drawing to a close - and as the snowy season is definitely not too far away, you might enjoy a peep at the Fenwick's Christmas window, in Newcastle, where I lived and studied many years ago ... 

... Meanwhile, a very Happy Thanksgiving to all my friends in the USA!

Magazine Moment (17) : Wendy Webb's TIPS for Writers, issue 79

Based on the Mermaid Stall in Zennor Church, Cornwall

I have been greatly enjoying Wendy Webb's 79th edition of TIPS for Writers (and here). The attractive technicolour cover shows Wendy, quill in hand, at Coleridge's desk in Nether Stowey. The back cover (and as a left hander, I usually begin at the back) shows the artwork covers by Kay Weeks and Dee Sunshine of more of Wendy's publications .

The issue begins with a tribute to poet, Simon Wood, whose fine poems I have enjoyed and admired over a number of years. Simon's contribution to the small press world of poetry will be missed.

Bernard Jackson's Rondelet for Autumn sets a seasonal tone, with its 'sunlit groves' and 'jewelled cobwebs'.

We are transported on through a landscape of alliteration (e.g. 'Mordor on a moody moonlit midnight') to the Sagarmatha Himalayas by Dr Marc Latham, creator of the Folding Mirror Poetry form.

For those who like to follow in the enchanting footsteps of the Foodleflap, there is A Foodleflap Sonnet by Bernard M. Jackson, in which the compelling creature pursues its quest for currant buns!

My favourite 'serious' poem is almost certainly Santorini by David Norris-Kay. The poet evokes this fascinating island with its 'small twinkling towns' and 'dark cliffs topped white as burnished bone'. 

Some poems concern subjects that are closer to hand, and I was particularly drawn to the examples of the Brentor Sonnet, a form created by Wendy with its split lines [6/7 and 13/14] 'for visual and sound effect'. Brentor is, in Wendy's words, 'a hill transfigured in the mist' on the edge of Dartmoor, with a chapel perched on the top of it. As it happens, it was a favourite haunt of some of my Tavistock-based relations in the early 1900s. One of the latest Brentor Sonnets in this issue is by John N. Brown. It is about a barge on a canal. Another - this time by Peter Davies - concerns the changing faces of the Suffolk landscape. Two more can be found on p.26, Autumn Love by international Haiku prize winner, Claire Knight - and Oh let me tell by Peter Geoffrey Paul Thompson. 

For those who enjoy taking part in poetry competitions, p15 of the latest issue is devoted to these. They form part of the celebrations for the 10th anniversary of the magazine. Entry is open to those who live in the UK and to those who are members of Norfolk Poets and Writers. 

Why not join us all as TIPS celebrates its first golden decade? The current magazine costs £3 (in the UK). eTIPS is a free pdf which is available to all and can be delivered to your inbox several times a year, on request.

You can find Wendy's email here if you would like to receive the monthly ezine or would like to take out a subscription to the full print magazine. There is something for most tastes ... the formal (with many of Wendy's own forms), the informal, the serious, the funny and even, on occasions, the absurd.

And as I mentioned, the Coleridge cover is wonderful, too!

You may be wondering about the mermaid in the photo above. To find out more about Wendy's association with these fascinating creatures, I would encourage you to take out a subscription to TIPS (or eTIPS). You might also take a look on Amazon ... e.g. here.

Thank you, Wendy, for a most enjoyable read.

Poetry Matters (14): National Poetry Day 2010

Mumbles Pier, flying the flag for poetry?

A very happy NPD to you all from Swansea, home town of Dylan Thomas!

I'm wondering if the postman will bring anything poetic in his bag this morning.

I hope you may be attending an event to mark the day. I would like to highlight one actual event, a reading by eco-poet, Susan Richardson, and short story writer, Susie Wild, at the Cake Gallery in Mumbles, Swansea (tickets from Cover to Cover ).

I would also like to draw attention to one virtual event, Wendy Webb's Online Poetry Slam on Facebook, which is already underway. I'm not sure whether the FB event is an 'open' one, but I found it via the search box (and yes, I had an invitation. too!).  

Ju Shardlow, writing a plea for old poetry in The Guardian, notices that modern forms - rap, performance, slam, podcast etc. - have pride of place this year. 'Just 10 of the 168 events listed on the National Poetry Day website have any connection with a world pre-Eliot. Ten,' she adds. How do we feel about this?

The web is full of blogposts, newspaper articles ... and celebratory poems. I will post a pick'n'mix selection of links below. Enjoy! 

•  The Poetry Society
• The Southbank Centre
• National Poetry Day in Wales
• Poetry Day spells all-age fun: click here to listen to Sarah James and her ideal 'home' 
• BBC Wales
• 'Poetry is ... mathematics' Steve Jones in The Telegraph. Agree? 
• I'm all for green digital 'solutions' - but where does this leave the book? 
• Roger McGough on the Greenbelt blog
• NPD at Dove Dottage
• A poem at last! (Norman MacCaig)
• Salt Publishing suggest we should 'seize the day'
• The Prime Minister's choice

And finally ...

... many of us who engage with poetry will have our own answers to the following question, but what does poetry mean to you? If I receive enough one-word answers, I will post my favourite ones in a word cloud ... (dream on?).

Does poetry need a special day? But of course. Let's party ...

Poetic Places (4): Loch Coruisk, Skye

The view from Elgol,
looking across Loch Scavaig towards Loch Coruisk

It gave me a real boost to return from Skye (nursing what seems to be a fractured ulna... final diagnosis still pending) to find that my poem, 'Turner's Loch Coruisk, Skye' [24/2009] had been awarded 2nd Prize as a result of Readers' Votes in issue 141 of Reach Poetry (Indigo Dreams Publishing, editors Ronnie Goodyer and Dawn Bauling). Thank you to all who voted and to Ronnie and Dawn for the cheque!

Incidentally, Wendy Webb's poem about (David and me at) Loch Coruisk appears in her volume, A Mermaid's Tale (Wendy Webb Books 2010). You can read more here on my Land&Lit blog.

Sadly, my injuries meant that we were unable to take the boat over Loch Scavaig to Loch Coruisk on this occasion, but we had a couple of memorable visits to Elgol. If you would like to see what we enjoyed watching on the sea loch, you might care to click on this link, which will take you to my new blog, 'Wild and Wonderful', about the natural world.

P.S. On the recommendation of the Quaerentia blog [and here], I took a copy of Robert MacFarlane's book, The Wild Places with me as holiday reading. I injured my dominant arm on our first full day on the island, so my reading plans have been delayed due to difficulty in holding the volume or turning the pages. Watch this space! I know the book contains a small section on Loch Coruisk.

Magazine Moment (11): TIPS for Writers 77

The latest issue [77] of TIPS for Writers (Wendy Webb Books) sports a fine watercolour drawing of Norwich Cathedral on the cover, from the hand of John Tatum. It is a view I know well and love dearly, from my teenage years in Norfolk.

The magazine begins with congratulations to Tina Negus, 2010 winner of the Margaret Munro Gibson Competition for a Comic Poem, adjudicated by Alison Chisholm. In this week in which Matt Merritt of Polyolbion mused (after the appearance of a Marmora Warbler on a certain hill beginning with 'B' near Abergavenny) on the pairing of Blorenge with orange, it was a delight to read about the Green-backed Turple who rhymes with purple! Congratulations, Tina, on a worthy win. I defy anyone to read the poem with a straight face...

Congratulations also to Peter Davies and Pam Gidney, whose poems took 2nd and 3rd place respectively. Incidentally if shelled creatures are your 'thing', you will also enjoy The Turtle by Geoff Williams on p.13. Voice of the Turtle by Norman Bissett on p.17 turns out to be about a Turtle Dove.

Despite the very English cover scene, the issue has a European flavour to it. Wendy has written Fib and Pleiades poems about Italy, and I enjoyed reading Norman Bissett's 'jaffa-hued' interpretation of the Duomo in Florence. The wry humour of Schoolboy Poet by Gerald Hampshire brings us back to the tower blocks and pigeons of home.

In more Romantic mode, we find Claire Knight's majestic Summer Moon sonnet, with its 'owl in silence on the wing'. The issue ends with a Foreword by Pamela Trudie Hodge to Wendy's new publication, How the Mermaid Lost her Voice, and a review of the Mermaid series by Bernard Jackson.

TIPS for Writers costs £3 per issue and is a print magazine. eTIPS is a free pdf which can be delivered to your inbox on request. You can find Wendy's email here if you would like to receive the monthly ezine or would like to take out a subscription to the full print magazine.

Magazine Moment (7): Wendy Webb's TIPS for Writers 76

Ladybirds near the entrance to
Epworth Old Rectory,
home of the Wesley family

My ladybird Haiku / 俳句 has been published in TIPS for Writers issue 76. It nestles in among a rainbow selection of poems, which include free verse and forms. There are other Haiku, such as those by Kay Weeks (in Maryland, USA) and Beth Buckley. There is a Tetractys by Tina Negus - not forgetting prize-winning Haiku poet, Claire Knight's delightful Echotain, Villanelle and Magi poems.

This edition celebrates James Knox Whittet's win in Wendy's Pamphlet Competition. His new collection, Carousel of Silences, will appear soon. Details available from Wendy. If you enjoy poetry news, views and tips, why not send her an email, asking to subscribe to eTIPS, which will then arrive in your inbox each month.

The mermaid bench end below is from the lovely church in Zennor in Cornwall. Wendy's book, A Mermaid's Tale, is now available. The mermaid cover painting is by Kay Weeks. You can read more about the publication here on Wendy's blog, or here on my Land&Lit page.

Magazine Moment (6): Wendy Webb's TIPS for Writers 75

Cold Snap: Leaf

I was delighted to receive the current issue (75) of Wendy's TIPS for Writers magazine, linked to Norfolk Poets and Writers. I tend to start reading volumes from the back - or at least to flick through from the end to the beginning - so my eye was immediately drawn to the amusing 'Podge' cartoon of a wannabe poet mistaking her Haka for her Haiku! I am not a great rugby fan, though perhaps I will take more interest now that I have discovered that a distant ancestor, Charles Monro, was at least partly responsible for introducing the game to New Zealand in 1870.

Issue 75 is packed with poems, reviews, competition details, publications to buy, and a round-up of news. A sample of work from 'Top Tips Poet', Michael Newman, takes pride of place. The first page of his poetry contains two fine sonnets, 'Cold Snap' and 'Landmark'. I have just spent a birthday book token on 'The Cinder Path' by Andrew Motion, and was very interested to see how Newman's 'Cold Snap' and Motion's 'Raven' both tackle the subject (I can't say persona, can I?) of the raven in distinct ways. I sense a resonance with John Dyer of Aberglasney, too; but this may not be the intention of either of these poets. Newman's 'statue-breaths' and 'willow-pattern dells' are two images that will stay in my mind.

Other treats include two Davidian poems by Claire Knight, ever the queen of the kernel in her ability to pack so much into a nutshell. Other poems that stopped me in my tracks were 'Quiet Lanes of Norfolk' (well, those who know my Norfolk roots will not be surprised here!) by Frank Topley - and 'Transience', a fine Davidian by Peter Davies. On the theme of tugging at the heart-strings, I have much enjoyed 'Ex Libris' by Kay Weeks from Maryland, USA. It never ceases to astound me how some poets can pack so much possibility into so few words.

Bernard Jackson has reviewed 'A Waste Land', Wendy's new anthology (which contains a few poems by guest poets, including one about a Cornish standing stone from yours truly). Speaking of Wendy's work, Jackson feels that the poet 'applies the implied rhetoric surrounding major past and present events, to seek out new hope for our world of the future.'

TIPS for Writers costs £3 per issue and is a print magazine. eTIPS is a free pdf which can be delivered to your inbox on request. You can find Wendy's email here if you would like to receive the monthly ezine or would like to take out a subscription to the full print magazine.

Poetry Matters (13): TIPS Xmas Special

Sheep
(on Hay Bluff)

I have been greatly enjoying the festive poetry selection in the TIPS for Writers (74) 'Xmas Special' anthology, edited by Wendy Webb of Norfolk Poets and Writers.

The anthology has an all-colour cover, featuring a barge in autumn, pictures of James Knox Whittet's winning anthology, 'Fires of Memory' (of which more in a future post) and Peter Smith's collection, 'Poems for Peter'. It also shows the cover of the 'Live Canon Emerging Poets Anthology 2009': my renewed congratulations to Wendy for taking the second prize in this esteemed competition.

Subjects in the anthology range from traditional Christmas themes (hence my sheep photo, in case you were wondering, to complement the Haiku by Jean Cooper on p.12), with 'Mary's Song' by prolific small press supporter, Joan Sheridan Smith (p.26), to 'Ye Olde Yorkshire Pudding' by Bernard M. Jackson (p.17).

Forms are wide-ranging, and include free verse (if this statement is not a contradiction in terms!), for example 'The Night Before...' by Alison Chisholm on p.31. I spotted examples of Tanka, Haiku (including a link to Claire Knight's poem* that won First Prize in the Haiku Section of the New Zealand Poetry Society Competition 2009) and Cinquain. Sonnet forms include Wendy's invented form, the Brentor Sonnet, 'Wishful Thinking' by Peter Davies; and my poem, 'Poltesco', in the Cornish Sonnet form. Dr Marc Latham's poem, 'Hiking Hadrian's Wall at Summer's End' is a colourful ('cerulean', 'green', 'gold[en]', 'yellow', 'emerald' and 'blue') Folding Mirror Poem, a form invented by Marc.

I am delighted with this anthology: thank you, Wendy, for another great publication.

* One of Claire's Haiku features in the 2010 Snapshot Press Haiku Calendar. My copy arrived today: you can order one here.

• Wendy's post about creating the Brentor Sonnet form
• Wendy's profile (& email for potential TIPS subscribers)
  

Poets win Prizes (1): Wendy Webb and Claire Knight

Wendy (left) with me outside the Dylan Thomas Centre, Swansea

Many congratulations to Wendy Webb (of TIPS for Writers, Norfolk Poets & Writers, and Wendy Webb Books) for taking second prize, with her poem, The Sap is Rising, in the Live Canon Poetry Competition.

My congratulations, too, to (fellow TIPS poet) Claire Knight for winning the New Zealand International Poetry Competition, Haiku Section. Claire has also had a Haiku accepted for publication in the Snapshot Press Haiku Calendar for 2010.

Magazine Moment (5): Wendy Webb's TIPS for Writers

Dylan's Writing Shed, Laugharne, Wales, UK

The Dylan Thomas Boat House, Laugharne

The estuary

Laugharne Castle

My copy of the winter edition of TIPS for Writers (ed. Wendy Webb) arrived last week. I am delighted to mention that the magazine has received an award for 'best UK poetry magazine' from the Writers' Grand Circle Awards 2009. Congratulations to Wendy!

The latest issue of TIPS (issue 73, Winter 2009) is dedicated to the memory of Dylan's daughter, the poet Aeronwy Thomas Ellis. The cover sports an image of Aeronwy's last book, 'Shadows and Shades: Selected Poems', which is available from Poetry Monthly Press (ed. Martin Holroyd).

TIPS 73 contains the text of an interview with Aeronwy, shortly before her death. The original TIPS TOP 20 questions were devised by Norman Bissett, and I adapted them for Aeronwy. You will not be surprised to learn that Aeronwy's 'Laugharne years' - 1946-1953 - are mentioned.

Congratulations not only to Wendy, but to Peter Davies, Norman Bissett and Bernard Jackson, who shared the readers' vote for their poems in TIPS 72. Many congratulations to James Knox Whittet for his clean sweep in the Pamphlet Competition.

It is good to have the chance to re-read Part I of 'Surface Trilogy', a Folding Mirror poem by the creator of the form, Dr Marc Latham. It is a very visual poem, packed with possums, blossoms, sharks, damselflies, coral and vipers!

I am particularly interested to find details of Wendy's new Brentor Sonnet form, with its split lines [6/7 and 13/14] 'for visual and sound effect'. Brentor, 'a hill transfigured in the mist' on the edge of Dartmoor has a chapel perched on the top of it, and was a favourite haunt of some of my Tavistock-based relations in the early 1900s.

Geoff Stevens (ed. of Purple Patch) is due to adjudicate the current Norfolk Poets and Writers' TIPS Pamphlet Competition. The closing date is 31 October 2009. The specified styles are (a) blank verse, (b) max. 2 verses of tetractys poems - and (c) simple rhyming quatrains. Further details of the competition and all TIPS activities and opportunities can be sought from Wendy via the email on her TIPS for Writers blog - here.

P.S. I have just been reading the Anniversary Issue of The Pages online magazine, which also mentions Wendy's competition and Marc's Folding Mirror Poetry. Do have a look at this enterprise from Wales: the link is here.

Publishing Outlets (1): eTips

Wendy in the Lakes (2009)
Photo: copyright Wendy Webb, used with permission

Wendy and Caroline at the Dylan Thomas Centre in Swansea (2008)

The May issue of eTips has just come out in rtf form. It is produced by Wendy Webb, founder of Norfolk Poets and Writers and editor of Tips for Writers. It contains an excellent interview with Wendy's fellow poet/publisher, Ronnie Goodyer of Indigo Dreams Press. It also features the first of my 'occasional column' pieces (under the heading 'Small is Beautiful') on a new poetry form that is gaining pace in the USA, the Fib (after Fibonacci), created by Gregory K. Pincus. The ezine contains good examples of the Fib by Claire Knight (whose Haiku, windfall apples..., features in the Snapshot Press 2009 calendar) and Norman Bissett.

If you would like to receive a trial copy of eTips, I suggest you visit Wendy's blog, Tips for Writers, where you can contact her via email or the comments facility.

The May edition of eTips also contains poems by poet and international reviewer, Bernard Jackson, from his sparkling Newcastle upon Tyne collection, Ballads of a Northern Town (reviewed by me in the magazine). There are, of course, announcements about Wendy's current challenges and competitions. Why not join us - and join in the fun?