'The Leaping Hare and the Moon Daisy', a Poetry Collection by Jill Stanton-Huxton

 

I have recently had the privilege of bounding along in the company of Jill Stanton-Huxton’s Leaping Hare. What a truly unique and exquisite collection of poems, as I imagined it would be from so evocative a title. It is wonderful to 'feel the love', the author's passion for our threatened creatures and woodlands, as it blows through the poems to the reader. I was spellbound as I turned each page, and Emily Brady's illustrations are exquisite and indeed the perfect complement.

 

There is a fascinating Introduction (p.ix to xii), which sets the collection in context and explains the debt the author owes to her parents, who knew the importance of enabling their children to spend time in the natural world – with a pair of family binoculars. As I moved from the introductory prose to the poems, I found Jill’s magical memories were triggering a host of half-forgotten ones of my own.

 

It was the intriguing title that made me want to read this beautiful collection in the first place. I love the way in which the Moon Daisy weaves her way through the pages. I admire the sense of balance between joy and wonder on the one hand, and concern and pain on the other. This judicious inclusion of this ‘light and shade’ seems fitting for a dappled woodland backdrop. There are, however, other habitats to explore and enjoy; the opening poem offers a coastal setting, while the kingfisher prefers the willows by the river and the fox prepares ‘to curl up tight nose to tail’ in an urban garden.

 

Like Jill, the author, I found myself very worried when I first heard that a significant number of ‘nature’ words (‘acorn’, ‘buttercup’ and ‘catkin’, to name but three) had been removed from the Oxford Junior Dictionary back in 2007. Many will be familiar with Robert Macfarlane’s book, The Lost Words (illustrated by Jackie Morris); the poignant reference to 'last words' in Jill’s final poem, ‘The Nightjar’, did not pass me by.

 

The Leaping Hare and the Moon Daisy will surely appeal to adults and children alike. The author’s subjects are most engaging; we marvel at the Moorhen in her ‘green stockinged feet’ and are introduced to the Dandelion with its ‘mustardy roar’. The collection can be enjoyed for these wonderful descriptions alone, but I sense most readers will allow themselves to be transported downstream on the metaphorical undercurrent of something a little deeper, something linked to the joys, sorrows and responsibilities that reflect our humanity. 

 

 

* 

The Leaping Hare and the Moon Daisy: you can read the backstory on Jill's website here. 

Copies are available from Jill at £6.95 plus p&p. For each book sold, a £2 donation will go to UK wildlife charities. If you would like a copy, please email Jill by clicking here.

The Leaping Hare and the Moon Daisy (45 pages, Troubadour Publishing Ltd., 2021)

• ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1800463340
• ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1800463349

DRIFTWOOD BY STARLIGHT: Questions from Maria Lloyd (3)

Reconstruction (Piet de Jong) of floor motifs, Throne Room, Nestor's Palace, Pylos

 

Driftwood by Starlight, my first full poetry collection, was launched online on Tuesday 3 August. The book was published in June 2021 by Peter Thabit Jones of The Seventh Quarry Press. It can be purchased for £6.99/$10 from the publisher's online shop here.  

Maria Lloyd, who holds a Masters degree on The City of Rome from the University of Reading, read the collection and decided to set me some questions. I am attempting to provide a few answers in this mini-series (without giving too much away ...). Thank you, Maria. 

Post One (click here) concerned my poem 'Monte Testaccio, Mound of Potsherds' on p.35 of Driftwood by Starlight.

Post Two (click here) has as its focus the poem, 'Wildfire', on p.31. 

This is Post Three, and we stay with an archaeological theme as we switch our focus from the Roman World to Ancient Greece.

Let's turn to Maria's question. It relates, of course, to all the poems in the collection; but for the purposes of this post I shall apply it to 'The Ocean's Tears' on p.24 and 'Ice-Blue Blood' on p.25:

'You appear to write on a wide range of topics but what were the triggers that made you want to write about these topics in particular?' 

Many of us have a sense of adventure lurking somewhere inside us, even if in some cases we turn out to be largely armchair travellers. The classical world has fascinated me for decades so it is not surprising that aspects of ancient Greece and Rome surface in my poems from time to time. The Odyssey is a favourite ancient text. 

 

Homer in hand at Nestor's Palace, 'sandy Pylos', Peloponnese, 2010. Photo: © David Gill

The two poems I mention above were the result of my engagement with 'Homer', the blind bard. How much of the Iliad and Odyssey can actually be attributed to him is debatable since the tales of Troy are part of the oral tradition in which songs were passed on from singer to singer.  

 

Bust of Homer, Mount Egcumbe

The bust above, photographed in June 2021 during our Cornish holiday, is similar (though not, in fact, identical) to a sculpture of Homer found near Baiae on the Bay of Naples and purchased by Townley (BM Cat. Sculpture 25).

The two poems I consider in this post exhibit similarities and differences. They are not 'a pair', though it was a deliberate choice to place them opposite one another in the collection. Both concern the tale of Troy to some degree. They each have (in my mind at least) a 20th century UK beach setting.

'The Oceans Tears' is a Tercet Ghazal, a form developed by Robert Bly from the traditional (Arabic) Ghazal of Persian origin. I first encountered Ghazals with a three-lined stanza or 'sher' on The Ghazal Page, a web resource run by Gene Doty, which, sadly, is no longer available. 

'Ice-Blue Blood' is also written in three-line stanzas, but (to give words from this poem a new context) there the similarity ends, at least as far as form is concerned.

'The Ocean's Tears' includes a number of items that point to the Homeric world (gold, bronze, arrows and horse). Troy was never far from my thoughts during the drafting of this poem. 

 

Entrance to the 'Troy: Myth and Reality' exhibition, British Museum, 2019-2000

 

Those who have visited King Agamemnon's citadel at Mycenae will be familiar with the cyclopean walls to which I allude in the third verse.

Mycenae, linked to King Agamemnon. Photo: © David Gill

The Lion Gate entrance to the citadel at Mycenae. Photo: © David Gill

Mycenaean walls, with jeep for scale. Photo: © David Gill

'Ice-Blue Blood', on the other hand, begins with an epigraph from William Cowper's translation of Homer about a many-legged creature. I have long been intrigued by artistic renderings of octopus and squid in the Ancient World (see assorted examples on Greek pottery below), and have wondered whether these representations have any symbolic meaning beyond the visual. I believe I read that in one part of the ancient Greek world, the octopus motif could have been applied as a kind of early trademark, but I would need to explore this further.

 

Octopus fragment found at Phylakopi, Melos (Fitzwilliam Museum)

Octopus (9), Metropolitan Museum of Art, NY (early 20th century reproduction of stirrup jar, Crete)

Octopus in the 'Troy' exhibition, British Museum

Amphora from Tholos tomb II at Routsi, Archaeological Museum of Chora, near Pylos

The octopus was a popular part of the so-called 'Marine Style' of pottery, which originated on Crete in the late Bronze Age and was embraced by potters on the mainland. Monsters, some more cephalopod-like than others, abound in Greek mythology. They are not all creatures of the sea. The Hydra, which appears in a number of myths and sources such as Hesiod, had several heads. Cerberus, or Kerberos, the hound referred to but not actually mentioned by name in the Iliad, had two, three, or even 'many' heads. 

 

The first open lecture I attended as an undergraduate at Newcastle University in 1979 was given by Dr John Pinsent of Liverpool University on the unusual theme of ancient art and cephalopods. He had authored a paper called The Iconography of Octopuses: a First Typology (BICS 25, 1978) about the development of octopus representations in late Mycenaean vase painting. 

 

More recently I came under the influence of a large blue graffiti octopus known locally as 'Digby'. Digby, designed by John D. Edwards, is part of the Never Ending Mural community arts project in Ipswich and a popular local icon (see here). There may well be a nod to the spirit of Digby in my poem. And, as I hinted earlier, the impact of squid and octopus representations on ancient artifacts should not be overlooked. There is something very fluid, fascinating and changeable about these marine animals. It is worth remembering that while the wine-dark purple colour from the Murex shell (see also here) was prized as a costly dye in Ancient Greece, humans have been writing and drawing with cuttlefish ink, known to us as 'sepia', since times of antiquity. 

 

Speaking of early writing, I began with a photograph relating to Nestor's Palace at Pylos in the western Peloponnese. It seems worthy of note that large quantities of Linear B tablets were found here. Ironically, these clay tablets were baked, and therefore preserved for posterity, in a devastating fire.

Linear B tablet (a cast, I think), Archaeological Museum of Chora

In his poem, 'Upon a Foreign Verse', George Seferis reminds his readers that Odysseus is a human hero, and as such a very different 'being' from the otherworldly monsters he encounters. Scylla in Odyssey Book XII has twelve feet and six particularly long necks, each ending in a head and three rows of teeth. She makes the Loch Ness monster seem extremely benign. Were Homer's sea monsters inspired by atmospheric shadows whipped up by storms at sea or by sightings of giant octopuses? I guess we shall never know.  

'A City Waking Up' by Sue Wallace-Shaddad (Post 1: Mini-Review)

 

I am delighted to welcome Sue Wallace-Shaddad as my guest poet for this mini-series of posts. Sue and I both live in Suffolk and have known each other for nearly a decade. Sue is Secretary of Suffolk Poetry Society.

 

Sue Wallace-Shaddad

 

Following the publication of Sue’s poetry pamphlet, A Working Life, Sue had her first short collection, A City Waking Up, published last year by Dempsey & Windle. The book costs £8.00 and can be purchased here by PayPal (UK) or by contacting the poet (international and other orders).

 

Sue has been visiting Khartoum since the 1970s, and has recently begun to draw her poetic inspiration from the city itself. Khartoum is not only the place at which the Blue and White Nile converge; but also, as Paul Stephenson points out, the ‘Meeting Point’ (the title of Sue’s opening poem) at which so many aspects of Sudanese life, not least ‘city and countryside’, come together against a backdrop of tradition and fast-moving political change.

 

First impressions are important, and the glossy cover photograph, taken by the poet herself, invites the reader into this sun-baked land as day begins. Sue’s poems are often tight, and not infrequently short in length, which means that each piece has been given what I might call its own space in which to breathe. The glossary of Arabic words at the back of the book is brief and helpful. The Arabic words for food items in the poem Al fatur – Breakfast add a sense of the exotic to a piece that is almost a list poem.

 

Sue’s palette is a colourful one. In a few deft strokes, she conjures up cameo after cameo before the eyes of her readers; take for example her vision of Sudan in the early morning. Pastel-green houses, we discover, dot the khaki landscape, scattered like fresh mint. I am drawn to the poet’s description of pyramids of cucumber, tomatoes ready to be sold (A City Waking Up, p.10). Sue’s images are crisp and visual, but we are also invited to experience Khartoum via the senses of hearing (‘unseen ghosts screech into life’), touch (‘the desert smothers us in its sticky embrace’), smell (‘the scent of pink grapefruit lingering in the air’) and taste (‘Feta, hard squares, salt to the tongue’).

 

I have barely scratched the surface as I hope you may choose to encounter Sue’s poems for yourselves. I have not, for example, included comments on the narrative elements of the wedding and its feast, or on the very real sense of danger surrounding the 2019 uprising.  

 

You can listen to Sue reading three poems from the short collection here on her Wordpress site. To whet your appetite further, Sue will answer some questions about her poems and writing practice in my next post. Please stay tuned!  

 

Poetry Publications: Pre-Raphaelite Poems

This is actually Sandymouth in Cornwall (rather than the Kent coast), but I like the theme of sheep on the sea cliffs ...

Congratulations to Deborah Harvey for winning the Pre-Raphaelite Society Poetry Competition!

I heard last night that my entry will be included in the new competition anthology. My poem is an ekphrastic one inspired by the 1852 Holman Hunt painting, 'Our English Coasts' (aka 'Strayed Sheep').

Last year's anthology can be bought (and previewed) here. 

The 'Pre-Raphaelites: Victorian Avant-Garde' Exhibition is on at Tate Modern in London until 13 January 2013.

Poetry Matters (19): Route to a First Collection Workshop with Heidi Williamson

Heidi Williamson (photo courtesy of Heidi)

Have you ever wondered exactly what it takes to prepare a first full-length poetry collection?

I went on a brilliant workshop today led by Bloodaxe poet, Heidi Williamson. The pieces in Heidi's first collection, 'Electric Shadow', which I couldn't resist buying, have been described by Poetry Book Society selectors, Moniza Alvi and Paul Farley, as ...

‘Poems which display an incisive mind, 
a powerful imagination 

and an equally impressive purchase on language.’

I very much look forward to reading these at leisure. 

Heidi, a prize-winning poet, held a two year residency at the Science Museum’s Dana Centre in London. She is currently serving as Poet-in-Residence at the John Jarrold Printing Museum in Norwich. These opportunities have afforded her the opportunity to move out of her comfort zone (as I believe she said), and to embark on a series of explorations into the multi-faceted worlds of science and technology, worlds that are not often associated with our perhaps limited perception of those 'traditional spheres' of poetry. 

I first met Heidi some weeks ago when she travelled to Ipswich to join the Café Poets at Arlingtons. There was little chance to talk then, but I was excited when I heard that she was running a course, and was thankful that our house move didn't quite overlap with the day in question!

So what did we do in the workshop? Well, we were encouraged to attempt exercises that helped us to focus and think more incisively about the nature of our embryonic future collections. We were also given step-by-step guidelines to follow. We were made aware not only of helpful tips but also of common pitfalls to avoid along what can be for some - if not for many - an uncertain route towards publication. 

I won't go into more explicit details because it is possible that you may choose to take the opportunity of attending one of Heidi's future workshops for yourself. Suffice to say that Heidi took a very comprehensive approach to her topic, providing her participants with an extremely enjoyable and valuable way of spending a Saturday. I have come home with much to think about and a wad of practical handouts to read and digest. I look forward to following through some of the books that were recommended - and I feel far more equipped for the next leg of my own exciting and doubtless unique journey into the world of poetry and its publication.

Thank you, Heidi, for an inspiring and challenging day!

Poetry Matters (18): Peter Thabit Jones ~ 'Poems from a Cabin on Big Sur'

Poems from a Cabin on Big Sur by Peter Thabit Jones
Editor-Publisher: Stanley H. Barkan
Publishing House: Cross Cultural Communications, Merrick, New York, 2011
Photographs: Melissa Goese-Goble, Patricia Holt, Carolyn Mary Kleefeld, Linda Parker

Available from Cross-Cultural Communications, 239 Wynsum Avenue, Merrick, New York, 11566-4725, USA. Price $25 (hardback) $15 (paperback)

Launch of 'Poems from a Cabin on Big Sur' (Photo © David Gill 2011)

'I went on daily walks, alone, letting the island-like world seep into my very being ...'

Peter Thabit Jones, Preface, p.9

We were delighted to visit the stunning Studio Gallery of Swansea artist, Nick Holly, last Friday for the launch of Poems from a Cabin on Big Sur by Peter Thabit Jones. The work in this sparkling new collection brings us - in the apposite words of Vince Clemente - a vision of Peter, 'the man on Big Sur [observing] with the eyes of maturity, but [feeling] with the open heart of the boy on Kilvey.'

Big Sur, on the Central Coast of California, is adorned with the stunning combination of the St Lucia Mountains and the Pacific Ocean. It is a place well-loved by writers and those who seek natural wonder and solitude. Redwood and Monterey Pine adorn this region. It is an area of wide skies and horizons, where the rugged landscape is frequented not only by mountain lions but also by rare amphibians such as the California Giant Salamander (Dicamptodon ensatus).

In his Preface, Peter alludes to the fact that his spell as Writer-in-Residence in the Cabin on Big Sur followed in the tradition of a line of other writers and artists who had been equally influenced by this extraordinary wilderness (in the sense of 'expanse of wildness' rather than 'area of emptiness'). Jack Kerouac's novel, Big Sur, (1962), for example, arose out of his time in the same cabin.

Many of us dream of living the Robinson Crusoe experience. Most of us occasionally manage to hunt out small corners 'far from the madding crowd'. Writers like Dylan Thomas and R.S. Hawker beavered away in huts perched high above estuary and ocean. I like to write with one eye on the keyboard and the other on the wide sweep of Swansea Bay, as it spreads out beneath my window. Few of us, though, unlike Peter, have truly experienced the life of a poet in isolation - for real.

It is with these thoughts in my head that I plan to approach this collection as I read it more carefully and alongside the accompanying photographs in the days to come. I have already encountered poems that invite the reader to glimpse into the 'window's picture', as it conveys the poet's vision in terms of a dual sense of the 'so-close ocean' and the 'shores of the mind'.  

• Peter Thabit Jones
• Forthcoming: International Poetry Festival, June 2011 (organised by The Seventh Quarry
  
  and Cross-Cultural Communications, New York - more details soon) 

Poetry Matters (18): 'Creatures of a Dead Community' by Lynn Hopkins

Author: Lynn Hopkins (picture of cover used with poet's permission)

Publisher: Peter Thabit Jones, The Seventh Quarry Press (2011), The Seventh Quarry

Photographs: Moelwyn Hopkins

Illustrations: Rhian Elin Thomas  

Price: £4.50 

ISBN: 978-0-95674547-3-6

'From a lofty bed,

two hands clasp a kernel

as if in prayer'

from 'The Grey Invader' by Lynn Hopkins

It is hard to think of Swansea without picturing the curve of the bay. It is an iconic yet ever-changing seascape that can be enjoyed from numerous angles. If we associate Peter Thabit Jones with the view from Kilvey Hill, we can now link Lynn Hopkins with those sweeping vistas from another vantage point where 'sea breezes blow', namely the hillside that 'stands in stillness', supporting Oystermouth Cemetery.

This 'dead community' has found a special place in Lynn's affections. For her the cemetery is a place of 'peace in beautiful surroundings'. It is a place that has inspired her first collection, a sparkling quiverful of twelve poems about the wild creatures that make their home around the graves. They are very much alive, and for Lynn their presence proves that 'life goes on, even in a dead community'.  

I have known Lynn for some years, although our paths have not crossed frequently. She is currently a student on the part-time humanities degree at Swansea University. It was a privilege to attend the recent launch of Lynn's volume, and to hear the poet reading her own work. Artistic acheivement runs in the family: Lynn's husband was also a published poet. It was a thrill to meet the poet's daughter, Rhian, whose delightful illustrations are the perfect complement to her mother's words and to her brother, Moelwyn's photography. It is not often that three members of a family have worked together on a project of this nature. 

Publisher, Peter Thabit Jones, adds that Lynn's poems are 'accessible, sound-textured and tender'. He makes the shrewd observation that although they are written in English, Lynn is bilingual and brings to her work that added dimension or 'sense of craftsmanship employed by poets working in Welsh.' Lynn's detailed approach is both arresting and engaging: the poet weaves her stories of the wild creatures into a compelling warp and weft of carefully chosen words. 

In this poem-sequence, we encounter the statue on the cover (see above) of a pensive woman, clutching her 'private book'. Word and image combine to conjure up a sense of the pain of loss, but they also manage to convey a fragile sense of future: the reader is encouraged to consider the possibility of a time when tears will be no more. But for the present, this woman of stone has to suffer the dubious company of her faithless feathered companions, the 'Magpie, raven, and rowdy rook'. 

The choice of vocabulary keeps the reader alert. Just when we are tempted to feel that all is tranquil and serene, with butterflies fluttering over 'this haven of rest', we are reminded that it is folly to think of this place as an entirely peaceable kingdom. Instead, we are confronted with the stark reality of the horrors of death and war and 'butchered hearts'. The black cat 'with two sides' to its face sums up this paradox to perfection.  

So thank you, Lynn, for introducing us to your new circle of companions - the snail, the 'wily' fox, the 'brown owls' on their 'brittle boughs' - and all the other cemetery dwellers. Thank you for helping us to appreciate the world around us in a new way from the perspective of a place where sea meets sky, and where heaven and earth are bound in life and death.  

If you would like to buy a copy of this captivating and lyrical collection, I suggest you follow this link to The Seventh Quarry Publications, and scroll down to the bottom of the page for contact details.

• Lynn Hopkins: Part-time Degree Student’s Publishing Success

Anthology Alert (6): Writelink and my Puffin poem, 'A Chink in the Sky'

Puffins: the Clowns of the Sea

I wonder whether other poets find it increasingly rare to be sent a proof these days. I am always pleased to be given the opportunity to check my work once it has been prepared for publication. I am grateful to Sue at Writelink for allowing the contributors to do this for the anthology arising out of the Spring Fever competition. We hope the collection will be out in time for Christmas orders. 

• A Chink in the Sky

Poetry Submission (2): 'Invisible Breath' by Indigo Dreams

Ice Edge?

I am delighted that my poem, Weddell Seal at the Ice Edge, has been taken by Ronnie Goodyer and Dawn Bauling for the IDP winter 2010 collection, Invisible Breath.

Poetry Matters (10): Good News from India

Awaiting a package from India

I have just heard that my Kyrielle, The Winding Way, has taken Joint Second Position in the Metverse Muse Fixed Form Poetry Competition 2010.

Dr H. Tulsi from Visakhatpatnam is the editor of Metverse Muse. The magazine's new book of poetry forms, Muse Clad in Costumes, contains two of my poems. I am looking forward to its arrival from India.

Magazine Moment (15): The Seventh Quarry

Swansea Bay from Mumbles,
with the Swansea-Cork ferry

I was delighted when the Summer 2010 edition [issue 12] of The Seventh Quarry arrived today, featuring an international spread of work from Wales, England, Holland, Romania, Italy, Catalonia, Israel, South Africa, Canada and America.

The magazine includes an interview with one of the leading Catalonian poets, Dr August Bover. Dr Kristine Doll poses interesting questions about the 'difficult to understand' label that attaches itself to the art of poetry.* I had the privilege of meeting August at a stimulating and memorable workshop in the Dylan Thomas Centre some months ago. Allan Peterson appears on p.5 as the issue's poet in profile.

The magazine opens with a poetry sequence including a moving piece, A Circle of Meadow, by Vince Clemente, The Seventh Quarry's Consulting Editor for America. A stylish concrete poem, Elephant, by Dave Lewis from Wales is embedded with 'memories' and 'stories' from the watering holes. Gerald England's witty contribution seems to me to combine the lazy dog pangram with a kind of abcedarium. I much enjoyed Gillian Drake's evocative poem, Lost - and am delighted that my poem, The Women of Linear B, has been included on p.11.

In Chapter 1 - Swansea Bay we are treated to an excerpt from a forthcoming Cross-Cultural Communications publication, Love For Ever Meridian; Finding Dylan Thomas in the 21st Century by John Dotson, who enjoyed 'taking in the shore-places of Dylan the boy' on a recent visit to South Wales.

The penultimate page of this issue carries a description of the latest Poet to Poet chapbook, Nightwatch by Aeronwy Thomas and Maria Mazziotti Gillan, in the series published jointly by Cross-Cultural Communications and The Seventh Quarry Press ... of which more perhaps in a future post.

Thank you, Peter, once again for another bumper edition!


* Postscript: On the subject of the meaning of poetry, there is a substantial article entitled by The Virtue of Verse by George Watson, fellow at St John's College, Cambridge in the current Times Higher Education Supplement (29 July-4 Aug 2010) - available online, with livelink highlighted above.

***

N.B. If you would like to take out a subscription
to The Seventh Quarry poetry magazine,
details can be found here.

Poetic People (37): Juliet Wilson

'Unthinkable Skies' (2010) by Juliet Wilson (aka 'Crafty Green Poet')
Calder Wood Press

28pp, £4.50 plus p&p - UK £1, Europe £1.50, Rest of the World £2
ISBN: 978-1-902629-28-5

Juliet Wilson*
author of

Unthinkable Skies

'poems reflecting Juliet's deep and wide-ranging concerns
for our planet and its inhabitants - human and animal.'

Juliet very kindly agreed to answer some questions about her new book, 'Unthinkable Skies'.

'All poetry should aim to be like birdsong' ~Juliet Wilson

1.) The title, 'Unthinkable Skies', is both evocative and arresting. At what point in the (writing/publication) process did you settle on this title, and why did you choose it?

Unthinkable Sky is a phrase from the poem Domesticated (p11) and I thought right from the beginning it would make a good title and loose theme (covering birds, the colour blue, galaxies, air pollution etc). I changed it to the plural at a later stage. Having a title and theme as soon as I started really helped to focus my mind!

2.) 'Unthinkable Skies' as a collection demonstrates your concern for our fragile world. At what age did you first become aware of 'green issues'? (I guess I have 'Drift' and 'Mistaken Identity' particularly in mind).

I was very interested in bird-watching and nature from very early on. I was probably seven when I did the jigsaw I mention in ‘Drift’. I first became aware of conservation as an issue through books and TV documentaries when I was about nine or so.

3.) As a left-hander, I instinctively turn to the back of a book. I was delighted to find a selection of your Haiku and Senryu on the last page. I also enjoyed your Ghazals, 'Malawian Moon' (p.3) and 'Endless Skies' (p.20). Why are form and poetic craft important (assuming that you feel they are); and what is it that appeals to you particularly about these forms?

I think all poets need to understand form and craft. This doesn’t mean that we should only write formal poetry and I write a lot of free verse myself. I think writing formally develops poetic discipline and a feel for the rhythms of language. I think also it’s a good discipline for poets to have a couple of favourite forms that they aim to ‘master’.

Haiku appeal to me because of their brevity, their traditional connection with nature and the seasons and the fact that there is so much more to them than meets the eye.

I discovered the ghazal relatively recently. There’s something magical about the repetition of the key word and the way the stanzas stand alone but interact to make something bigger.

4.) You edit the popular online poetry magazine 'Bolts of Silk'. How does your role as editor strengthen your role as poet - in your opinion, of course?

I really enjoy editing Bolts of Silk. Since the beginning I’ve had a steady stream of poetry to choose from, most of it excellent. This has offered me the chance to read quite widely from contemporary poets who I may otherwise never have heard of (I think it’s vital for poets to read a lot of poetry). Editing itself also has improved my critical eye which has probably helped me to improve my own writing.

5.) Like many others worldwide, I enjoy following your 'Crafty Green Poet' blog. Does blogging fuel your poetic output - and if so, in what ways? Do your recycled handicraft ideas go hand in hand with your writing?

Blogging helps to keep me going as a writer because I know I’ve got an audience! I’m always looking for things to blog about which helps me to find ideas for poetry. There are times though when I feel that blogging steals time from writing poetry.

Crafting gives me time to think and let my mind wander - I often have poetic ideas while I’m sewing or making collages. I hope to be able to make more collage versions of my poems in the future.

6.) Those of us who read your blog know that you regularly patrol a section of the Water of Leith in Edinburgh, Scotland, for conservation purposes. Wildlife plays a key part in your published poetry: do you make mental field observations while you are out and about, or do you use a dictaphone or notebook?

When I’m walking along the Water of Leith I always carry a notebook with me and record everything that way. At other times and in other places I’m often making mental notes rather than writing things down.

7.) Your poetry is concise and your words are chosen with care, sometimes with sound in mind e.g. 'scurry', 'shush' and 'skirr' in 'Turnstones' (p.29). You hint at more than you describe, and draw inspiration and imagery from emotion and the senses. Why is it more effective to 'show' than 'tell'?

I like poems that can be understood on a first reading but that reveal more on subsequent re-readings. I think showing rather than telling can draw a person into a poem and into the re-reading of it. Any poem should bring the reader’s imagination into play!

8.) Which poets - or authors - have been influential? In what ways (in a few words)?

a) Ruth Padel – who has wonderful stage presence
b) Margaret Attwood – whose poetry always gets to the heart of things
c) Edwin Morgan – the most imaginative poet in the English language

9.) We have mentioned 'Malawian Moon'. I know that my own year in Rome was life-changing. How did your two years in Malawi transform your view of the world?

Living and teaching in Malawi was an amazing experience. It gave me first hand experience of life in a very different culture and climate than the one I was used to, which helped me to see things in a bigger perspective. It was also a place that really inspired my writing.

10.) Those of us who follow your blog really appreciate your bird notes, with links to the RSPB site. Are there similarities between birds and poems?

Haiku are like songbirds in being small and perfectly formed and dependent on the seasons. All poetry should aim to be like birdsong, uplifting to the ear but with something worth saying too.

11.) Your publisher is Calder Wood Press. Please tell us a little about the press and about your part in the publication process.

Calder Wood Press is based close to Edinburgh, in East Lothian. I’ve known Colin Will (who runs the press) for several years. The press publishes a small number of poetry chapbooks every year, mostly by Scottish poets. Colin works closely with poets in producing their books. I sent Colin an initial selection of poems, we then worked together to select the final poems. I also provided the cover photo.

12.) What advice would you give to someone preparing a first collection?

Believe in your work. Place individual poems in reputable journals. Find a good small publisher, preferably a local one, to publish your first collection, which is more likely to be a pamphlet or a chapbook rather than a full length collection. Network a lot to create an audience for your work.

•••

Thank you, Juliet, very much indeed for your answers and information. 'Unthinkable Skies' has certainly made me want to continue to explore our world and our use of words. I very much hope that readers of this interview may care to visit the Calder Wood Press site (link) and order a copy of 'Unthinkable Skies' for themselves. This is a book that has made me think and feel.


* Photographs (under copyright) kindly supplied by Juliet Wilson

Anthology Alert (3): 'Empty Shoes' ... update

I am delighted that the 'Empty Shoes' website is now up and running. Those of you who follow this blog may recall that Patrick T. Randolph edited this book of poems about hungry and homeless people in the hope that it would raise funds for those who lack food and shelter. The volume contains over 15 poems donated by 80 poets, to benefit Wisconsin-based food banks and homeless shelters. It reached number 2 in the amazon.com pre-Christmas 'Hot New Releases' list of popular new books in the 'religious and inspirational' category.

The good news is that $1,203 has already been sent to FEED AMERICA. This money came from the recent proceeds of 'Empty Shoes', and was sent by Popcorn Press. If you would like to help the cause by purchasing a copy of the anthology, you can follow the links from this page.

You may recall that the volume includes my poem, 'Stranger'.

Puffin Quest (5): THANK YOU to all who voted!

It's those puffins again!

My sincere thanks to all who voted for my puffin poem, 'A Chink in the Sky' in the Writelink Spring Fever poetry competition. I am pleased to report that it made the 'grade for publication' in the anthology in the judge's eyes by the skin of its teeth (or should that be by the tip of its bill?).

'A Chink in the Sky' came in at number 10 in judge, Magdalena Ball's shortlist.

If my poem had been number 11, all your votes would in fact have saved my puffins from 'near-extinction' (as the final publication list comprised the judge's Top 10 poems plus the 10 poems with the most votes) - so thank you very much for your support.*

The poem will be published in the Writelink Spring Fever anthology in due course.


* Many of you will know that puffins are in the Amber category on the RSPB 'conservation' list...

Poetic People (33): Byron Beynon - book launch

The Dylan Thomas Centre in Swansea
(above)
launches Byron Beynon’s latest collection,

Nocturne in Blue

on Friday 19 March at 7pm.
All are welcome.

Swansea poet and lecturer Byron Beynon has had poems poems published in many publications including Agenda, Poetry Salzburg Review, Planet, The French Literary Review, Quadrant (Australia) and the Istanbul Literary Review.

Byron's collections include: The Girl in the Yellow Dress, The Restaurant of Mud and Cuffs (Rack Press).

Nocturne in Blue is published by Lapwing Publications (Belfast).

Byron is a former co-editor of Roundyhouse Magazine. You can find Byron reading his poems on the PoetCasting site.

You can read my interview with Byron for the Romanian magazine from Bucharest, Contemporan Orizont Literar/Contemporary Horizon Magazine, here.

Surprise Subjects (3): Tattoo poetry

I am grateful to fellow blogger, Crafty Green Poet, for alerting me to this new tattoo anthology, Skin Deep. The publisher is Read This Press. Congratulations, CGP, for featuring in it.

Surprise Subjects (1): Sugar Poetry

I try to keep an eye open for unusual poetry collections. The latest one to catch my eye is The Sugar Poetry Book: images and insights from a sugar era. The book is a poetic response by the Kittisivian and Nevisian islanders to the history and decline of the sugar industry in a part of the world that has seen so much change over the centuries.

I grew up in rural Norfolk, UK, where the view along the river Yare was dominated by the sugar beat factory at Cantley (for our sugar was beat, which can now be used as a bio-fuel). When my family moved to East Anglia in the 1970s, coypu roamed the river banks near our home. I feel a certain wistfulness when I think that these creatures are no longer there, but I know that they did immeasurable damage to the beautiful but fragile waterways and wildlife habitats of Broadland.

Postscript 4 February 2009: a penduline tit was spotted at Strumpshaw near Cantley. Source: Rare Bird Alert.

• The Ted Ellis Trust
• Mark Cocker, Country Diary, The Guardian