Workshop on Columba by Alex Aldred, Poet in Residence, Historic Environment Scotland

 

Approaching Iona by CalMac ferry from Mull

The photo above brings back many happy memories of days on Iona, the small and very beautiful island where Columba is said to have landed with twelve followers in 563 AD.

David, who is a member of Historic Environment Scotland, mentioned that a series of creative writing workshops were being run on Zoom by HES to mark the birth of Columba 1500 years ago. I was keen to find out more and signed up for the first, which took place this evening on the topic of Columba, the Exile.   

Alex Aldred, Poet in Residence for Historic Environment Scotland, led the workshop, giving participants information on Columba, along with prompts for creative writing and time for the sharing of our ideas. It was a very enjoyable way to spend 90 minutes, and I have come away (so to speak) with a raft of enthusiasm, pages of notes and a couple of poems in draft.  

The workshop inspired me to revisit my Iona photos, taken on several occasions ...

The Abbey on Iona (2014)

Exquisite cloister carving by Chris Hall

Fabulous beaches on Iona

Crystal-clear water

The view from the ferry

Setting sail for Fionnphort, Mull

One of my abiding memories is of the colossal wave of wingbeats as the wild geese hurtled up the Sound. 

Of all the Inner Hebridean islands, Skye is the one I know best. It contains a small inland island named after Columba. It is a tranquil (if usually damp) spot, and a beautifully tucked-away corner of the Misty Isle.   

St Columba's Isle, Skye

Thank you, Alex, for an inspiring evening.

Assynt Poem in Reach Poetry

 Fin Whale's jawbone

My poem, 'Notes from the Netting Station', has just been published in the February issue of Reach Poetry. The inspiration came from the windswept beach at Clachtoll in Assynt in the north of Scotland, where there is a salmon bothy dating from 1846, and a netting station. Clachtoll was once a crofting township, with a large population of sheep. The abandoned netting station is strange place. Salmon fishing was carried out in the past by a process known as 'bag-netting'. The netted fish were kept cool in a nearby ice house. A jawbone and part of the skull of a Fin Whale can be seen outside the bothy, and it was the sad sight of these 'bare bones' that sparked my poem.

The beach at Clachtoll (Clach = rock; toll = hole)

Net-drying Poles at Clachtoll for bag-net fishing

The Netting Station (complete with large drops of Assynt rain!)

Update from Romania ~ Orizont Literar Contemporan

Daniel Dragomirescu in the centre

Orizont Literar Contemporan continues to go from strength to strength. Daniel Dragomirescu, Romanian-based editor-in-chief of this international literary journal with the strapline, 'all the world in a magazine', has written an updated account of the story so far. You will find his account here.

The photo above shows me interviewing Donald Riggs, Teaching Professor of Creative Writing at Drexel University, when I was in Philadelphia in January 2012. The interview appeared shortly afterwards in Orizont Literar Contemporan.  

There was an excellent feature recently on a dozen Scottish poets, and more recently still, I have been delighted to find work by my publisher, Peter Thabit Jones (The Seventh Quarry Press, Swansea) in addition to poetry from Gillian Clarke, the National Poet of Wales, and Owen Sheers, Welsh poet, author and scriptwriter.

If you would like further information about the journal, please leave a comment here or contact Daniel via the website.

Poetry Events ~ RhymeWeld at our Poetry Cafe

'Wee, sleekit, cow'rin, tim'rous beastie ...' 1785, Robert Burns

We tried something a little different at our monthly Poetry Cafe in Arlington's last night, namely a RhymeWeld (some felt it should be a RhymeMeld).

A reader began by reading the title of a short poem followed by the poem and a moment's pause. The next person in the circle followed suit and so on, allowing the poems to form part of a much larger poem cycle.

The experiment made us realise that it was quite hard to restrain ourselves from jumping in with our usual comments and questions the moment a poem was over. It also made us think that when we try this again, we will go a little more with the flow, inviting any poet in the room to follow on if he or she feels the piece has a connection to what has gone immediately before. Will this make for more or less spontaneity and will this method enhance that feeling of creating something new in a unified way?

The exercise reminded me of starry winter nights in days gone by when our ancestors told tales around the fire. I read my poem The Ceilidh House in the RhymeWeld.

We returned to our normal procedure for the second half, and since Burns' Night will have come and gone by our February gathering, I read my poem called 'The Mouse Replies' in which I imagine what the wee, sleekit, cow'rin, tim'rous beastie might have said to the poet.

Published Poetry ~ 'Otter Watch' in Reach Poetry magazine

Otter in Assynt, 2013

Thank you to all Reach Poetry readers for your votes on #180, listed in #181. My poem, 'Otter Watch', came second in the October issue of this magazine from Indigo Dreams Publishing. Congratulations to Tina Negus for her poem, 'Billy', which came 'top of the box'.

Poetic People: Kathleen Jamie in Conversation with Lavinia Greenlaw at UEA

Lavinia Greenlaw introduces Kathleen Jamie ...

... at UEA (the University of East Anglia, Norwich, UK).

David and I attended a riveting poetry reading at UEA last night as part of the UEA Literary Festival. Kathleen Jamie, winner of the 2012 Costa Poetry Award, read a number of poems, many set in Scotland and the islands, from her new sparkling poetry collection, The Overhaul. We rapidly found ourselves in a world of Bottlenose Dolphins, Basking Sharks and Red Deer stags.

Kathleen, who said she was usually drawn to birds and animals on account of the fact that these creatures catch our eye when they move, also included three memorable flower poems. Kathleen was described by Lavinia Greenlaw as 'attentive' (to the natural world) but never 'attention-seeking', an attribute shared perhaps by the small blue bell-shaped flower in one of the poems. 

There was a fascinating conversation on the subject of engagement with the natural world, and how perhaps the poet sees her own approach as a thing apart from the more traditional Romantic notions of the all-seeing viewer-writer. Kathleen spoke wistfully of what might have been an awakening or flowering of a new phase in writing about the natural world. She gave the impression that in her view it was a wave that began to roll but perhaps failed to gather sufficient momentum. Perhaps it has yet to reach its zenith. I, for one, hope that this is the case, for it seems to me that there is an increase in 'wild' writing that balances 'engagement' with 'inhabitation', allowing the world (in Kathleen's words) 'space to be its own thing'.

Kathleen concluded that we engage with the natural world, 'because we have to; they (i.e. the creatures and component parts of our eco-systems) need us to, to keep the channels open.'

Book-signing afterwards ... a copy of 'Sightlines'

Poem in Joanna Ezekiel's 'poetry snapshots' series on 'my delayed reactions'

Stormy sunset on Skye

I am delighted to have a poem, 'The Ceilidh House', up on Joanna Ezekiel's site, my delayed reactions, in her poetry snapshots series (update: it seems this is no longer online - March 2015). Many readers of my blog will know by now that Skye holds a special place in my heart. The Clearances, however, were often brutal and devastating.

The Skye Bridge, with the Cuillin silhouetted in the distance

Poetic People: Rabbie Burns

'My heart's in the Highlands ...'

The photo above was taken some twenty-eight years ago on my first visit to the wonderfully bleak and majestic landscape of the Scottish Highlands.  

25 January is known as Burns' Night, and there will be many gatherings, complete with poetry and a haggis, in honour of the poet, Robert Burns (aka Rabbie), who lived from 1759 to 1796.

The link below the top photo will take you to a well-known and much loved song by Burns. It was written in 1789, but has become particularly cherished in the light of the emigration that ensued once the Clearances began.

Some of my Scottish ancestors, who hailed from the area around Kingussie and Newtonmore, might well have lived in homes like the blackhouse below, prior to their emigration to Australia.

Speaking of things Scottish, you can read my poem about Loch Coruisk (on the Isle of Skye) here - and you might like to create a poem with the Rabbie Burns Rhyme Generator here!

Happy Burns' Night to all.

Baile Gean, Highland Folk Museum, Newtonmore, set up by Isabel Grant

Magazine Moment (31): Poem in The Dawntreader

Looking across to Skye, the Misty Isle

My poem, 'Cuckoo Song', has been published in The Dawntreader #019 (ed. Dawn Bauling and Ronnie Goodyer, Indigo Dreams Publishing). The poem is a rondeau redoubled, and is a tribute poem to William Ross, a Scottish poet who was born at Broadford on Skye in 1762. You can see where he died here.

Fiesta Time (9): Scotland at the Aldeburgh Poetry Festival

We spent a grey November day in Aldeburgh, enjoying the 23rd Aldeburgh Poetry Festival, laid on by The Poetry Trust. We had visited this beautiful east coast town before, but this was our first visit in 'festival season'. 

Aldeburgh is proud of its poet, George Crabbe ... 

We had tickets for the Scottish Islands Reading event in the Jubilee Hall. Poets like Jo Bell, who had not arrived when I took this photo, and Penelope Shuttle joined the audience of local people (like us!) and followers who had come from further afield. There were representatives from the Poetry Society, and it was good to meet Judith Palmer for the first time.   

Words are the building blocks of poetry (see photo above), and it was particularly exciting to hear three poets flitting between languages, namely the languages of Gaelic, Shetlandic and English. Of course, this kind of rich diversity is not new to me, having just moved from the bilingual climate of Wales where the 'dragon has two tongues' (see here).

The three sets of readings were by Robert Alan Jamieson from Lerwick, Shetland; Meg Bateman, a lecturer at the Gaelic college, Sabhal Mòr Ostaig, on Skye - and an honorary lecturer in English at St Andrews University ... and Rody Gorman, who was born in Dublin and also lives on Skye. Rody has translated Cavafy poems into Gaelic.

There were various threads running through the poems, and Jamieson's short poem, 'Welcome to the Folk Museum', struck a particular chord with me, reminding the reader (or listener) just how easy it is to 'romanticise' the Highland and island way of life, glossing over the stark realities at e.g. the time of the Clearances.

Readers of this blog will know that we have a great affinity with Eilean a' Cheò aka the 'Misty Isle'. We also enjoy (if that is the right word) the heart-rending poetry of the Raasay poet, Sorley MacLean, so we were particularly pleased to have the opportunity of hearing some modern Gaelic voices. It was interesting to learn that while Gaelic has a limited lexicon, it has a richness of its own as so many of its words have a plethora of meanings.

Thank you to all took part and to those who gave us fascinating insights into the poetry of the northern isles.  

Aldeburgh ... in November

We spotted the home of a famous Aldeburgh resident ...

Fiesta Time (8): Aldeburgh Poetry Festival

Sheep on the beautiful Hebridean island of Raasay, birthplace of poet, Somhairle MacGill-Eain/Sorely MacLean

We have just booked tickets for the Scottish Islands event at the Aldeburgh Poetry Festival, run by The Poetry Trust. Meg Bateman, Rody Gorman and Robert Alan Jamieson will be taking part.

A new Sorely MacLean volume, An Cuilithionn 1939: The Cuillin 1939 and Unpublished Poems came out in June this year. Thank you, Sally Evans of Poetry Scotland, for drawing attention to this on FB.

• Further reading: what does it mean to be a Scottish writer?

Calendar Corner (10): Burns' Night

 

Those with Scottish links all over the globe will be celebrating Burns' Night this evening, so it seemed appropriate to join in. The haggis may only be 'virtual', but click here to enjoy it all the same!

• A Burns discovery! 

Poetic Places (5): Out in the Wild

Gannet flying inland from the Achiltibuie area,
north of Ullapool
[please click to enlarge]

I have just mounted a post on my new Wild and Wonderful blog about a Buzzard we saw in the Quiraing region of Skye. I have been thinking a lot about wild places and wilderness since we returned from Scotland, so it was a pleasant surprise to read Professor Morley's post about walking and writing. You can find it here: 'Rebounding Flowerheads'. His piece makes special reference to Scotland and the West Country.

• My Loch Coruisk post, with book suggestion etc.
• A 'wild' book I really enjoy is Britain and Ireland's Best Wild Places by Christopher Somerville
• Turnstone blog about walking and writing
  

Poetic Places (4): Loch Coruisk, Skye

The view from Elgol,
looking across Loch Scavaig towards Loch Coruisk

It gave me a real boost to return from Skye (nursing what seems to be a fractured ulna... final diagnosis still pending) to find that my poem, 'Turner's Loch Coruisk, Skye' [24/2009] had been awarded 2nd Prize as a result of Readers' Votes in issue 141 of Reach Poetry (Indigo Dreams Publishing, editors Ronnie Goodyer and Dawn Bauling). Thank you to all who voted and to Ronnie and Dawn for the cheque!

Incidentally, Wendy Webb's poem about (David and me at) Loch Coruisk appears in her volume, A Mermaid's Tale (Wendy Webb Books 2010). You can read more here on my Land&Lit blog.

Sadly, my injuries meant that we were unable to take the boat over Loch Scavaig to Loch Coruisk on this occasion, but we had a couple of memorable visits to Elgol. If you would like to see what we enjoyed watching on the sea loch, you might care to click on this link, which will take you to my new blog, 'Wild and Wonderful', about the natural world.

P.S. On the recommendation of the Quaerentia blog [and here], I took a copy of Robert MacFarlane's book, The Wild Places with me as holiday reading. I injured my dominant arm on our first full day on the island, so my reading plans have been delayed due to difficulty in holding the volume or turning the pages. Watch this space! I know the book contains a small section on Loch Coruisk.

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

Creature Feature (12): A Pond Seal? [Gulliver's Travels]

Seal pup in its natural environment on a Scottish skerry
Summer 2009

No sooner had I blogged about the seal in one of our local rivers here in South Wales (here) than David told me he had heard an even more extraordinary story about a seal pup who appeared in a pond in Benenden, Kent, some 18 miles inland from Rye, in the south of England.

• Rudolph aka Gulliver, the Christmas seal pup... on the BBC website
• Photos of Gulliver The Sun
  

Festive Matters (1): Reading Material

The Misty Cuillin, Skye*

Are you after some holiday reading material?

You might like to visit my Scottish selection of books here on my Land&Lit blog.

Do let me know if you have any favourite wildlife/natural world/poetry/heritage books to recommend to fellow bloggers.


*My poem about a Ceilidh on Skye has been published in 'By the Winter Fires', a 2009 anthology edited by Ronnie Goodyer and Dawn Bauling of Indigo Dreams Press. The first print run has sold out, but orders are being taken for a second run, I believe.

Creature Feature (11): Wales News - Dolphins use Jellyfish in ocean football

We watched these dolphins (in the photos above and immediately below) in the Moray Firth,
near Fort George, Scotland, in September 2009

We spotted these Bottlenose Dolphins (in the photo below) off Pembrokeshire, Wales

• WalesOnline News - Jellyfish pay the penalty in ocean football

Those who read my blog regularly will know that I enjoy keeping up with Professor P. Brain's ecological and environmental discoveries. This story about Bottlenose Dolphins particularly caught my eye.

Creature Feature (10): Mercedes the Polar Bear moves North

Ruins of Ruthven Barracks near Kingussie
(sorry - no Polar Bear pics!)

Mercedes, the only UK's Polar Bear, has just moved from Edinburgh Zoo to a The Highland Wildlife Park near Kingussie (home of some of my ancestors!) in Scotland. You can read about Mercedes here. Soldiers from 75 Engineer Regiment and the Parachute Squadron Royal Engineers volunteered to build the enclosure with its viewing platform, road and its car park, reducing the cost from an estimated £300,000 to £75,000.

• Highland Wildlife Park site
• Mercedes in The Times
• Mercedes, her former life (2005) ... in The Times
• Edinburgh Zoo: Mercedes and the Centenary Appeal
• A polar cub hitches a ride...

Postscript: you might like to read Gillian Clarke's poignant 'breath and growl' poem, 'Polar', on p.10 of Roundyhouse 28.

Creative Corner (7): Poetic Postcard Swap

Click to enlarge
(or visit Rachel's site here for a better view)

Blend in with the trees
Make use of their breadth
Think wild...

from Save the trees (or else) - by Rachel Fox

Fellow poet, Rachel Fox, and I have been swapping our poetic/photographic/poetic greetings cards.

Rachel sent me a set of her ten poetic postcards in exchange for a (rather eclectic) selection of my Coastcard items. It was Rachel's idea, and we both felt that it would be an interesting and experimental venture. Who knows where it may lead...

I promised to mention the swap on my blog. Rachel's cards can be purchased from her website: www.crowd-pleasers.net. Let me give a few more details:

• A set of ten costs £3.50 via PayPal (I assume for UK sales)
• The cards can (sometimes) be bought from the following outlets, though Rachel suggests that it may be best to buy direct from www.crowd-pleasers.net if you would like to have 'all the set'. Outlets as follows:
  
• Loch Croispol Cafe, Bookshop and Gallery, Durness, Sutherland
  Oathlaw Pottery and Gallery, by Forfar, Angus
  Scottish Poetry Library, 5 Crichton's Close, Edinburgh
  Tarts and Crafts, Balmedie, Aberdeenshire
  The Forest Bookstore, 26 Market Place, Selkirk
  The Windsor Gallery, 61 Perth Road, Dundee
  Unique Arts, South Square, Thornton, Bradford, West Yorkshire
  Wisecraft, 10 Lower Mill Street, Blairgowrie, Perthshire
  Word Power Books, 43 West Nicholson Street, Edinburgh
• Rachel's cards are (in non-metric measure) approx. 6"x4"
• I really like the fact that they are made on recycled card, and printed in Rachel's home locality.
  
• You will find Rachel's email on her site, if you have any queries.
  
• All cards (image, design and poetry) are the copyright of Rachel Fox.

The postcard set comprises ten poems. Most of them are in an American Typewriter-style font.

• The sisters said it best - on 'estuary sand-coloured background'
  
• Crowded out - on indigo/grey, with a lighthouse
• Save the trees (or else) - green background of birch trees
• Free at last - sand-coloured, with a balloon
• And so it goes - interesting and unusual shot of a car on mottled jade background
• Pluses and minuses - this witty and pithy poem is hand written for maximum impact
• Happy new hope - pink background, with handprint overlay
• Significant other deceased - pearl grey 'sky' background
• Diving - set against calm blue waters

and my personal favourite,

• Auchmithie road - muted brown background, with the words superimposed on a cliff edge scene. This poem has a liminal 'feel' to it. It was the one that particularly resonated with me, living as I do, high up in the clouds on the edge of Swansea Bay. Rachel's poem refers to Auchmithie near Arbroath on the Scottish coast.
  

Rachel's poems use rhyming quatrains and couplets. Most poems are not 'end-stopped', which gives them an open feel, and perhaps encourages the reader to add his or her own interpretation and ending.

Would I enjoy sending these poem cards to friends? Yes, indeed I would - and I have already done so. I feel they are good value - barely more (for a pack of ten) than one would pay for a single cup of quality filter coffee in town. They would make an unusual and welcome Christmas gift.

• Rachel's crowd-pleasers blog
• Rachel's crowd-pleaser PayPal page, where the cards can be purchased
  
• My Coastcard online shop (or you can click on the seal photo at the top right of my blog)

• Rachel reads her poems on YouTube
  

We look forward to your feedback!