National Poetry Day 2022 on Aldeburgh Beach

 

David and I have just returned from a wonderfully sunny day on the beach at Aldeburgh, where we joined other members of Suffolk Poetry Society (SPS) for the traditional National Poetry Day reading at the South Lookout, thanks to our Patron and host, Caroline Wiseman, and to members of the SPS committee who had organised the event.

 

We took the #NationalPoetryDay theme of the environment, which gave rise to a variety of largely serious poems on subjects as diverse as the ocean (and the devastation caused by plastic, oil slicks and pollution), a field where there had once been hedges with birds, and a beach with fossils. While acknowledging the gravitas of the Climate Crisis, we appreciated the occasional moments of wry humour which added to the sense of light and shade.

I read 'Puffin's Assembly'* from my poetry collection, Driftwood by Starlight, published last year by The Seventh Quarry Press (and available here for £6.99/$10).

 

The chip shop was still open at the end of the readings, and proved more than some of us could resist! 

 

 

* * *

*'Puffin's Assembly' was first published in Orbis. It was inspired by Robert Macfarlane's nature-word campaign, which resulted in The Lost Words.

 

 

National Poetry Day 2021, Theme of 'Choice'

 

Upper left: Basil Brown's (reconstructed) shepherd's hut at NT Sutton Hoo, Suffolk

Upper right: drystone beehive cell (for a monk) in the grounds of Kilmartin Museum, Scotland

Lower left: reconstruction of a Provençal 'borrie' for oxen (and shepherds, apparently), The Eden Project, Cornwall

Lower right: beach huts on the shore at Southwold, Suffolk

 *

I have often envied writers who have or have had a 'shed' at their disposal for writing, reading and contemplation, whether the structure has been a driftwood hut, a remote bothy or a garden gazebo. Dylan Thomas and the Reverend R.S. Hawker both had writing huts with coastal views. I would definitely opt for one of these.  

Of course, it isn't only writers who have huts. The photograph below shows a hut on Romney Marsh in Kent, provided for the 'lookers', folk who were asked to care for huge flocks of sheep on behalf of the land owners, who considered the marsh an unhealthy place in which to live. 

Unlike the shepherds, who only minded a single flock, lookers were responsible for sheep belonging to more than one owner. The workers were based at their huts by day, and at lambing times found themselves camping out in them overnight. 

It seems ironic to me that the hut in the photo below, designed for these lookers, seems so devoid of windows. I see there is a stable-style door; I do not remember if there was a window at the back. Perhaps this hut was mainly used for the storage of tools and other equipment. The chimney suggests an internal fire place. 

 

Driftwood by Starlight (The Seventh Quarry Press, June 2021), my poetry collection, includes my poem 'Hawker's Hut' (p.29); Parson Hawker's driftwood structure nestles in the cliff above the sea at Morwenstow in Cornwall. 

'Hawker's Hut' was read out at Ipswich Library today as part of Suffolk Poetry Society's National Poetry Day reading on the theme of 'choice'.

Lookers' huts on Romney Marsh in Kent, like the one in the photograph above, are mentioned in my poem, 'Lost' (p.12). This poem also has an allusion to the poet, Edward Thomas. 

 

Driftwood by Starlight (The Seventh Quarry Press, June 2021) can be purchased online, here. The cost is £6.99/$10.

National Poetry Day 2020: Vision

Greetings on National Poetry Day 2020

Vision: ‘see it like a poet’

#nationalpoetryday

 

I wonder what 'vision' might mean to you and how you will be celebrating NPD this year, when so many events have become virtual.

Not surprisingly, the National Poetry Day site is packed not only with poetry but with a wealth of poetic information from copyright to competitions, not forgetting the #haiflu. 

My own very recent news is that Peter Thabit Jones, editor of The Seventh Quarry Press, is due to publish my first full-length poetry collection in 2021. I am particularly delighted about this as my chapbook, The Holy Place, co-authored with John Dotson, was published by The Seventh Quarry Press (Swansea) in conjunction with Cross-Cultural Communications (NY). 

I have just checked on Twitter, and as usual, there is a flurry of #NationalPoetryDay and #nationalpoetryday2020 activity. English Heritage at Stonehenge @EH_Stonehenge, for example, are posting poems about the site. 

My own Stonehenge poem, 'Preseli Blue', was read on BBC Poetry Please in as part of the 2008 programme from the Hay Festival. It was written in response to a rope-bound Millennium Bluestone (pictured below) on display in the National Botanic Garden of Wales. You can read the text by scrolling down on the Shabdaguchha site. 

 

The Laurel Prize for ecopoetry collections will be announced this evening. The longlist, here, contains a number of books I have read, e.g. Seasonal Disturbances by Karen McCarthy Woolf, and would highly recommend; and others I much look forward to reading, such as Zoology by Gillian Clarke. 

I wonder what poetry you are reading today. I have been reading A City Waking Up by fellow Suffolk poet, Sue Wallace-Shaddad, and plan to write in more detail soon, once my thoughts on this exciting and unusual new collection from Dempsey and Windle have begun to settle.

Meanwhile, I have two new other collections on the go and, interestingly, they both have single word titles. 

Lure, published by Calder Valley Poetry, is described by Cathy Galvin on the back as Alison Lock's 'liminal journey' in and through a landscape of mud, rock and water. Alison wrote the poems during a spell of recovery from a very serious accident that occurred in this beautiful but bleak setting of hills and watercourses. The narrative may be dark in places, and while the poet's approach reveals the tenacity of the human spirit, her language sparkles with the lustre of a Yorkshire river on a crisp and chilly morning.     

Rail, by Miranda Pearson, was published in 2019 by McGill-Queen's University Press and has a glowing commendation from Kathleen Jamie on the back cover. The poems fall into five sections, which in itself suggests a breadth of theme and approach. Like Alison's 'Lure', the word 'Rail' has more than one meaning; and, having just started this volume, I am already enjoying poems that range from familiar aspects of school life in Kent ('Abacus', for instance) to a view, perhaps a vision, of Gaudi-like spires of ice in the poem 'Alaskan Cruise'.

 

* * *

 

Postscript

 I have just seen this Tweet, posted at 14.50 hrs this afternoon:

 

 Thank you, Tim. 

I much look forward to seeing all our poems in this.

  *

Happy National Poetry Day

 

National Poetry Day, 2019

The (Dylan Thomas) Boathouse, Laugharne, South Wales

Thursday 3 October 2019 is National Poetry Day here in the UK. It is the 25th anniversary, and this year's theme is TRUTH. You can find Keats' famous take on the subject here.

A few events and resources...

• the official site - here
• Suffolk Poetry Society National Poetry Day reading
  When: Thursday 3 October, 1pm – 2pm
  Where: IP15 5BS, Crag Path, Aldeburgh IP15 5BS, UK 
• The Poetry Society - here
• National Poetry Day at the BBC - here  

Blogs posts I encountered today (and I may add more)... 

• Janet Morley, guest blogger on Claire Musters' blog
• Malcolm Guite: a Villanelle for National Poetry Day
• Philip Gross on the Seren blog 

Have a poetic day... and do check out the Twitter hashtag: #NationalPoetryDay ...

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.

National Poetry Day, 2017

Wishing everyone 

an inspirational 

National Poetry Day 2017...

The photo above shows members of Suffolk Poetry Society and friends at the Lookout on the beach at Aldeburgh a year ago on National Poetry Day 2016. I wonder how many poems were declaimed from those steps...

Thanks to the generosity of Caroline Wiseman, members of Suffolk Poetry Society will once again be sharing their pieces as I type. The theme this year is 'freedom' and the weather here is set fair. I can't be there this year, but others will be gathering on the foreshore, enjoying the words, the fun, the sea, the fresh air and, of course, the fish and chips... There is always next year. 

If, like me, you enjoy poetry from Aldeburgh, you might be interested in this beautiful book, called  Lookout: Poetry from Aldeburgh Beach, edited by Tamar Yoseloff and produced by Lookout Editions (ISBN 978 0 9956250 0 6). I bought a copy at Snape Maltings a few days ago, and have been lulled and rocked by its waves. The photography is bold, beautiful and in keeping with the collection.

Happy Poetry Day to all!

Here are a few links...

• Anthologies for National Poetry Day
• Events ...
• Themes past and present
• Resources for schools
• Scottish Poetry Library
• on the huh...

The Poetry Society Annual Lecture by Rita Dove - and other Poetic Events

It has certainly been a poetic few days!

I was in London last night, listening to Rita Dove as she delivered The Poetry Society Lecture for 2015. Rita served as Poet Laureate of the United States and Consultant to the Library of Congress from 1993 to 1995 and as Poet Laureate of the Commonwealth of Virginia from 2004 to 2006.

'How does a shadow shine?' ... such an evocative title

Rita Dove preparing to begin at King's College, London, 13 October 2015

Taking questions at the end, helped by Judith Palmer

* * *

Last weekend included a lunch event at The Wentworth Hotel in Aldeburgh to celebrate the 2015 winners of The Crabbe Memorial Poetry Competition organised by the Suffolk Poetry Society. Here are the winning poets, with Caroline Gilfillan taking First Prize. Robert Seatter was the judge.

Overall Winner, Caroline Gilfillan with the Rose Bowl; Robert Seatter on the right

In addition to a lovely lunch, we were treated to a reading of the winning poems. Robert Seatter also read us a poem from each of his three collections.

* * * 

Some days ago I attended a stimulating poetry workshop led by Gregory Warren Wilson on the theme of Textiles. I came away with work to polish and at least one poem still to write, though it just might be the beginning of a series.

I took a piece of my Scottish family tartan to the workshop as a prompt. I saw more tartan and other Scottish items yesterday at the current exhibition at the British Museum on the 'Celts - Art and Identity'. I was excited, but not surprised, to find displays relating to the poetry of 'Ossian', linked, of course, to James Macpherson (1736–1796), who came from the same Kingussie area of Scotland as my ancestors. You may well have read in the press about the recent discovery of the Kingussie time capsule, dating from a century later.

The remains of Ruthven Barracks (built from 1719), edge of Kingussie

And finally, working back in time to National Poetry Day, I had a Haiku on the theme of 'Light' in the Paper Swans online presentation, which you can watch and read here.  

• Current reading: The Face of It by R.F. Langley (Carcanet).

Happy National Poetry Day!

I learned this morning that this is also World Octopus or Cephalopod Day, so here is an octopus from a reconstruction of Nestor's Palace in Homer's 'sandy Pylos' in the western Peloponnese. We visited this remarkable site five years ago. Over 1000 Linear B tablets came to light on this place alone.

And now for a little poetry. Alexander Pope may not be in vogue these days, but his rhymed version of The Odyssey gives a flavour of the storyline in the old epic (and it is a version that is out of copyright). What follows (in blue) are three excerpts from Pope, concerning the arrival of Odysseus' son, Telemachus, at Nestor's Palace. Telemachus is anxious for news of his father, who left his island home of Ithaka to fight in the Trojan War. Nestor is making animal sacrifices on the beach when his visitor arrives. 

Reconstruction of Nestor's Palace floor in the Chora Museum - octopus motif

Now on the coast of Pyle the vessel falls,

Before old Neleus’ venerable walls.

There, suppliant to the Monarch of the Flood,

At nine green theatres the Pylians stood.

Each held five hundred (a deputed train),

At each, nine oxen on the sand lay slain ...

Reconstruction of the Megaron floor in Nestor's Palace, Museum at Chora

Full for the port the Ithacensians stand,

And furl their sails, and issue on the land.

Telemachus already press’d the shore . . .

The Throne Room, with a huge central hearth

The youth of Pylos, some on pointed wood,

Transfix’d the fragments, some prepared the food:

In friendly throngs they gather to embrace
      
Their unknown guests, and at the banquet place.

Pisistratus was first to grasp their hands,

And spread soft hides upon the yellow sands;

Along the shore th’ illustrious pair he led,

Where Nestor sate with youthful Thrasymed.


from Alexander Pope's version of The Odyssey Book III. You can read the whole chapter here. 

Reconstruction of Nestor's Palace

Nestor's Palace - as it is now

• If I was suggesting a good modern translation of The Odyssey, it would be the one by Richard Lattimore. 
• You might be interested in Adam Nicolson's book, The Mighty Dead: Why Homer Matters, which I have just started to read.
• And, of course, the poem, 'Ithaka' by Cavafy is one of my all time favourites. 
• More octopuses! John Pinsent (1922-1995), a Classical scholar and Reader in Greek at Liverpool University, wrote a study called 'The Iconography of Octopuses: a First Typology' (BICS 25, 1978) about the development of octopus representations in late Mycenaean vase painting. I remember him giving a fascinating lecture on the subject in Newcastle when we were undergraduates. 

National Poetry Day - in Suffolk

Ian Griffiths, Florence Cox and Sue Wallace-Shaddad

We had a great time marking National Poetry Day here in Suffolk. Ian Griffiths (Chairman of the Suffolk Poetry Society), Sue Wallace-Shaddad (Secretary), Florence Cox and I teamed up to read poems in Waterstone's, Ipswich. The next Pop-Up poetry performances took place in two venues in Woodbridge, namely the library and Browsers' Bookshop. Ian and Florence continued on to the coast, where their last poetry stop was in Aldeburgh.     

The theme was 'remember', which afforded plenty of scope. My thanks to Florence for her 'pop-up' car cafe, which offered elevenses in the form of lemon torte to hungry poets on the move.

Ian, Florence and me

Fiesta Time: National Poetry Day Poetree Workshop

'... when the stars threw down their spears ...' 

William Blake

We gathered in Gainsborough Community Library in Ipswich for a National Poetry Day afternoon. The library had a Poetree in its foyer, and we were each invited to add a poetic leaf to the branches. Of course, we had to write the poems first!

It was soon time for a series of exercises designed to flex our poetic muscles. We played a kind of 'write a poem' version of Consequences, selecting words or phrases that could be incorporated into our own poetic offerings. So eventually, armed with ideas, words and phrases, we each selected a fine art picture ... and tried to harness our thoughts, ensuring that we had a brief but pretty well honed piece to transcribe onto our respective leaves.

Each person had been invited to bring and share a favourite poem, and we had the chance to say why our choices particularly appealed. I chose The Tyger by William Blake. It was one of the first animal poems to roar along into the poetic menagerie of my childhood. It is, I believe, a poem that can appeal to young and old alike. It celebrates the creative process, and you can almost hear the hammer banging away on the anvil as you read it aloud. Other selected poets included (among others) Eliot, Wordsworth and Yeats.

Poetree leaves, T.S. Eliot poems, pens, paper and coffee ...

... the leafy ingredients ...

... of much industry ...

We gathered by the Poetree ...

... to hang our leaves...

... on the green branches ...

... inside the green library building ...

... where a lot of fun ...

... was had by all!

This could be you!

Fiesta Time: National Poetry Day 2012

'when the stars threw down their spears ...' William Blake (artwork © C Gill)

I wonder how you will be celebrating National Poetry Day!

I am looking forward to the Gainsborough Community Library poetry workshop here in Ipswich. We shall be toning our poetry muscles and honing our poetry techniques. Each participant is due to present a favourite poem. No prizes for guessing which one I have chosen!

I hope to throw a link to NPD sites I see during the day ... so let's start with the official National Poetry Day site, which can be found here.

• National Poetry Day with the Poetry Society
• If you are in to txting, 'Texperiments' might be the activity for you.
• Poetry Prescription ... a panacea for all poetic ills
• Poetry Magazine (USA) reaches 100!

Calendar Corner (2): National Poetry Week 2011

We have enjoyed a variety of literary events this last fortnight. We celebrated National Poetry Day (or 'Week' in South Wales) at Number 5 Cwmdonkin Drive, birthplace of Dylan Thomas. Thanks are due to Annie and Geoff for laying on a number of events, and to Peter Thabit Jones of The Seventh Quarry for organising a programme of readings for last Saturday night.

It was good to meet Ian Griffiths of the Suffolk Poetry Society and Geraldine Green from Cumbria. Singer-songwriter, Maria Lindström from Sweden, was on tour, and read some of her work bilingually. We were sorry not to coincide with Susan Richardson, who was performing on a different evening. Peter Thabit Jones directed - and acted in - a performance of his verse drama, 'The Boy and the Lion's Head'. David and I read alongside fellow Quarry Poets, Jean Salkilld (Tuesday Poets) and Lynn Hopkins (author of 'Creatures of a Dead Community', Seventh Quarry Press). Jill Goodwin-Croke read poems by Dylan and Caitlin's daughter, Aeronwy Thomas, including one about walking in her father's shadow in a literary kind of way.   

'Games' was the assigned theme for this year's National Poetry Day, so I chose my poems with this in mind, reading 'The Ocean's Tears' (a Tercet Ghazal about a children's tide fight) and 'Lament of a Lewis Chessman' - about chess (just in case you were in any doubt!). 

Exchanging news and views at Number 5

A lot seems to have happened since then!

We spent this afternoon in UCS at a lecture by Faber novelist, Louise Doughty, sponsored by the Suffolk Book League. Louise's latest novel, 'Whatever You Love' was shortlisted for the Costa Novel Prize and longlisted for the Orange Prize for Fiction. Louise, however, is also well known for her how-to book, 'A Novel in a Year' - and I was pleased to buy a signed copy from her before she left Ipswich.

University Campus Suffolk, Waterfront, Ipswich - venue for Talk by Louise Doughty

Calendar Corner (1): National Poetry Week

5 Cwmdonkin Drive, Swansea, Wales, UK

We are much looking forward to participating in ...

The International Dylan Thomas Birthplace Festival 

Ways with Words

3 – 9 October 2011

David and I join Peter Thabit Jones (ed. The Seventh Quarry) and other poets on Saturday 8 October. Do take a look at the programme for Dylan's Birthplace and don't forget the National Poetry Day website.

Poetry Matters (15): National Poetry Day 2010

Susan Richardson, Sarah from Cover to Cover Bookshop, Susie Wild

 We had a stormy evening yesterday, with waves lashing over the road at Mumbles in Swansea. However, we scuttled inside and were treated to some brilliant readings and recitations at the Cake Gallery, an atmospheric venue with fairy lights and paintings. The National Poetry Day event had been arranged by Sarah from Cover to Cover. Thank you to all those who were involved. 

Susan Richardson (and here) read - well, recited the poems by heart - from Creatures of the Intertidal Zone (Cinnamon Press) and from her forthcoming collection. Susie Wild kept us on our toes with a mixture of poems and fiction.

A good time was had by all ... and we enjoyed the olives and other nibbles, too. It was a great evening.

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 ...