News from India

My copy of the latest edition of Metverse Muse (Triple issue: #51-53, ed. Dr. H. Tulsi) arrived from India yesterday. The contents reveal that my poem on The Allegory of Painting (Artist in his Studio) (1665-67) by Vermeer was awarded First Prize by the jury in the Fixed Form (Category A) class of the journal's competition for an Ottava Rima poem.

I saw the painting in the Kunsthistorisches Museum in Vienna some years ago, and was intrigued by its composition and iconography. It was a work that posed questions in my mind about the nature of what we try to attempt in our creative endeavours.

The painting also intrigued and inspired Salvador Dalí, who proceeded to paint The Ghost of Vermeer of Delft Which Can Be Used as a Table. I find it interesting that Gentileschi's work, Self-Portrait as the Allegory of Painting (La Pittura), dates from c.1638-9.

From India to the Fens: Poetry, Prose... and Cuckoos

Lantern Tower, Ely Cathedral, UK

The latest annual edition of Metverse Muse, edited by Dr. H. Tulsi, has just arrived from India. It contains a small selection of my poems, including one about a Cornish mining valley and one set in the very different landscape of the Fens. 

Ship of the Fens rising from the Isle of Ely

I am currently reading a splendid book about the Cuckoos who breed on Wicken Fen. Years ago we lived in a village poised between the edge of Cambridge (on the one hand) and the edge of the Cambridgeshire fens (on the other). Wicken Fen, in the care of the National Trust, was always a favourite haunt, and indeed remains one of our top destinations for a day out, despite the fact we have a bit further to travel these days.

Cuckoo by Nick Davies (Bloomsbury) bears the subtitle 'Cheating by Nature'. It is, in effect, a fascinating detective story, revealing how the Common Cuckoos at Wicken Fen 'cheat' on their Reed Warbler hosts, ensuring that the Cuckoo egg is given the best chance of survival. Nick Davies is Professor of Behavioural Ecology at Cambridge, and what I particularly appreciate about the book is the clarity with which Davies writes, enabling those of us without backgrounds in science to journey with him in his discoveries. His enthusiasm is infectious, and although I knew little about Cuckoos at the outset, my eyes are steadily being opened to their strange place in our ecosystem. This is an exquisite book of lucid and compelling prose. The field drawings by James McCallum are a delight. 

Poetry Round-up

Staffin ... Isle of Skye

Time for a quick poetry round-up ...

Due to time away and other commitments I have got behind with my postings, so here is a summary.

• I have been awarded Third-Equal in the Fixed Form Poet of the Year (2014) Challenge for the Metverse Muse (#38, ed. Dr. H. Tulsi, Visakhapatnam, India) competition in Category A. My poems in the international contest were 'Nightmare' and 'Feline Fancy'. My poems, 'Cattle Crossing, Staffin Bay' and 'Winter's Knife' have been published in this issue of Metverse Muse. 

• My poem, 'In the Wake of Prince Madoc', was Highly Commended in the inaugural Disability Arts Cymru Poetry Competition, judged by Menna Elfyn. The poem will appear in an eBook, alongside the artwork I selected as my inspiration. 

• I will be reading my poem, 'Dear Loris', at the Emma Press Launch of the anthology, Slow Things, in London on Tuesday 21 July. 

• My review of Mike Bannister's poetry book, The Green Man (translated into Romanian as Omul Verde) has appeared in Orizont Literar Contemporan, in the May-June 2015 issue. 

• My interview with Professor Don Riggs of Drexel University in Philadelphia has appeared in Made of Words (translated into Romanian as Făurit din cuvinte). Published in Romania under the aegis of Orizont Literar Contemporan.

Metverse Muse, India - Joint Second Place

My triple-issue copy of the international journal, Metverse Muse, edited by Dr. H. Tulsi in Visakhapatnam, India, arrived today. A glance at page 20 revealed that my two contest poems, a Petrarchan Sonnet (about pandas) and a Shakespearean Sonnet (about Pylos), had won me Joint Second Place with fellow UK poet, Pamela Trudie Hodge, in the Fixed Form 'A' category of the 2013 competition.

Many congratulations to Catherine Lee for taking First Place.

Reconstruction in Nestor's Palace, Homer's 'sandy Pylos', Peloponnese

 

Competition Corner (5): Metverse Muse ~ Best Fixed Form Poet, 2011, Category A

KIlt Rock, Isle of Skye. Can you see the tartan plaid (well, almost)?

I received a copy of the international poetry journal, Metverse Muse (ed. Dr. H. Tulsi), through the post today from Visakhapatnam in India. I had entered the annual competition a year ago, and was delighted to hear that the combined scores for my two fixed-form poems had won me the title of Metverse Muse 'Best Fixed Form Poet of the Year' in Category A for 2011.

My thanks to the panel of judges. One of my poems, a Terzanelle (a form devised by Professor Lewis Turco, author of The Book of Forms) is about Kilt Rock, a favourite haunt on the Isle of Skye.  

Competition Corner (1): A Message from India

I heard this morning from Dr. H. Tulsi, the editor of Metverse Muse (Visakhapatnam, India) that I had obtained 'the FIRST rank' in the 2010 Metverse Muse Poetry Competition, 'having secured a total of 38 points for your two entries together, - 20 pts. for your poem “King of the ‘Kilt Rock’ Cloud” and 18 pts. for “Life’s Silken Thread”.'

A good way to start the day!

Kilt Rock, Isle of Skye

International Echoes (14): Metverse Muse

I had been looking forward to the arrival of a package from India for some time, and was delighted when 'Metverse Muse' (double issue, 27 and 28) popped through my letterbox yesterday, all the way from Visakhapatnam.

The editor, Dr H. Tulsi, has put together 248 pages of international poetry (from India, Australia, UK, USA, New Zealand, Singapore...), articles, reviews and competition results.

I feel very honoured to have been awarded Joint Second Prize (with international Haiku prize-winner, Claire Knight) in Category A of the competition for the 'Best Fixed Form Poet of the Year 2010'.