First Prize (Publication)

 

Sign on the Scottish island of Gigha

After a tricky ten days, it was a real boost to hear that I had won First Prize in the 'Wee Collection' Challenge, set last November by Mark Davidson of the Hedgehog Poetry Press. This means that my sequence of seven interlinked sonnets will be published as a slim pamphlet. 

Watch this space!  

In other news, I very much enjoyed taking part in the ACW-Trellis online poetry day last Saturday. Participating poets came from England, Scotland, Ireland, France and Albania. I read 'Dunwich in Winter' from my 2021 collection, Driftwood by Starlight (The Seventh Quarry Press).   

Anthology Alert (13): A Pocket Full of Spring Fever

I have just received a copy of the second volume of A Pocket Full of Spring Fever, edited by Sue Kendrick, owner of Writelink. The small-format booklet contains the winning entries from the 2011 Spring Fever competition. My poem, 'Observations from the Hide', was awarded second prize and appears on p.14.

Publication Pointer (1): The Book of Forms (4th edition) by Lewis Turco

Professor Lewis Turco has posted a list of contributors to his new volume here (including your truly) ...

The Book of Forms: A Handbook of Poetics, Including Odd and Invented Forms, Revised and Expanded Edition  

by Lewis Putnam Turco

 

Paperback (November 2011) 

Buy new: $27.95 $18.45

COMING SOON! ~ Available for Pre-order

Eligible for FREE Super Saver Shipping.

Other Formats: Digital

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!

Archeological Avenues (4): OUP - HMS Belvidera and the Temple of Minerva

Cast of the 'Horse of Selene'
British Museum

David (Gill) and I have just received our offprints for our joint piece, HMS Belvidera and the Temple of Minerva, published by Oxford University Press in Notes and Queries. The print journal came out in June.

We consider the iconographical details on a marble book, and link these to HMS Belvidera and the Parthenon around 1832, when King Otto was crowned ruler of Greece. You may like to read my blog post here.

• D.W.J. Gill and C. Gill, 'HMS Belvidera and the Temple of Minerva', Notes and Queries, Vol 255 of the Continuous Series [New series, Vol. 57], No.2 (June 2010): 199-210

N.B. 'Notes and Queries Advance Access' scheme: you can login via Athens if you are part of an academic community.

Magazine Moment (10): Quill and Parchment (USA) - Featured Photographer

I am grateful to editor, Sharmagne Leland-St. John, for inviting me to join her as her fellow 'Featured Photographer' for the June issue of the subscription online magazine, Quill and Parchment.

If you would like to see my photographs of Wales in the magazine, you are invited to follow the link here, and type the following Guest Passwords into the box that will appear when you click on Sharmagne's cover photograph of Tynemouth Castle (a site I know well from my years in Newcastle):

NAME: june
PASSWORD: lake

I hope you enjoy the issue!

Publications (2): OUP Notes and Queries

Cast of the 'Horse of Selene'
British Museum

I mentioned in my last post that I had been paying a visit to the British Museum. It was good to see this cast of the 'Horse of Selene'. The original horse comes from the east pediment of the Parthenon. Benjamin Robert Haydon was one of the first artists to study the anatomical details of the marbles once they arrived in London. He described the 'Horse of Selene' in these words:

'a perfect example of what the highest genius will do,
when curbed and guided by science.'

David (Gill) and I have just been told that our joint piece, HMS Belvidera and the Temple of Minerva, was published on 20 April 2010 via the Oxford University Press 'Notes and Queries Advance Access' scheme.

You can login via Athens if you are part of an academic community. The print journal is due out in June, and will be available to all. We consider the iconographical details on a marble book, and link these to HMS Belvidera and the Parthenon around 1832, when King Otto was crowned ruler of Greece.

• D.W.J. Gill and C. Gill, 'HMS Belvidera and the Temple of Minerva', Notes and Queries, 57 (2010): 199-210