The Natural World - a Poetry Event for UNESCO World Poetry Day 2017

Fin whale jaw at Clachtoll in Assynt, Scotland

We marked UNESCO World Poetry Day last night with a reading event at the University of Suffolk, attended by students and local (and not-so-local) poets. Suffolk Poetry Society hosted the evening, and our guest readers were members of Poetrywivenhoe. Huge thanks are due to those who organised the event, providing refreshments, amplification and so much more.

Our theme, 'the natural world', produced poems on edgelands, coastlines (including a magical depiction of the essence of low tide from Pam Job) - and wildlife along railway tracks. There were seasonal references and a few slant-allusions to climate change and conservation initiatives. Subjects ranged from a female eel-catcher (Alex Toms) to a view from the train of the iconic swans at Manningtree (David).

I bought a copy of Ornith-ology from the book table. This beautiful anthology of birds in poetry and art was edited by Tim Cunningham for Poetrywivenhoe and the Mosaic stanza. M.W. Bewick, one of the Wivenhoe readers, brought copies of three Dunlin Press books, including his striking poetry collection, Scarecrow, which has just been launched.  

I read a couple of my poems, 'Moonshine', about the appearance of a Snowy Owl in Cornwall in 2009, and 'Notes from a Netting Station' about the fin whale bone in the photo above that lies, rotting, in the north of Scotland, near the old salmon netting station at Clachtoll in Assynt.

Poetry gatherings often find their own organic themes when no theme is proffered, but I felt the subject last night provided a sufficiently wide canvas to allow plenty of scope for interpretation, while, at the same time, making us feel we were travelling together on a journey of discovery.

'Nature is ever at work...' John Muir

The Migrant Waders, a new book from Dunlin Press

I am delighted to have a poem in this forthcoming poetry anthology from Dunlin Press ... 

The book has been compiled, edited and published by MW Bewick and Ella Johnston, and illustrated with Ella's exquisite artwork.  

Coming soon ... from Dunlin Press

Ars Poetica (3): Nature Poetry and Ecopoetry 21-Word Challenge

UPDATE, 14 June 2012 ... thank you very much for your comments. I will post those received here on 21 June.

Footprints ...

When it comes to writing poetry, I sometimes catch myself wondering about the very nature of 'nature' (see here). I am fascinated by those who feel that poetry exists for its own sake and by those who feel that poetry often works best as the vehicle for a message e.g. an environmental warning. I find myself pondering the following question, often in relation to a particular poem ...

What precisely is the difference between Nature Poetry and Ecopoetry? 

This is the stuff of lengthy theses, but I thought it might be a useful exercise for those of us who are interested to try to whittle our responses down to a slimline 21 words.

Why 21? Well, it will allow a little more scope than the average Anglicised Haiku. 21 is a Fibonacci number and therefore a 'building block', if you like, for the natural world.

This is not a competition: there are no prizes (sorry!). Your answer should not be on a postcard. It does not need to be in the form of a poem. I just thought it would provide a snapshot of interest on a subject that concerns many of us who write: I would value your responses.

If you feel like joining in, please leave your 21 words in my Comments box below or email them to me ... and I will endeavour to post all those that seem helpful and pertinent on 21 June 2012.

I much look forward to seeing our answers!  

P.S. An optional extra would be to post the title of the first book (just the first, please) that really got you thinking about the natural world in relation to ecopoetry. We can then share these with other readers.