Magazine Moment (23): TIPS for Writers 83

Welcome to my 550th post on this blog!

Kalamata Olives with Basil and a tang of Peloponnesian Orange and Lime

TIPS for Writers magazine, 83, issue 3/2011

editor: Wendy Webb, Norfolk Poets and Writers

I recieved a copy of this edition of TIPS a few days, and as ever, have found it to contain a feast of new poetry. I chose the photo above because it seemed to represent (to me at least) something of the mouth-watering Mediterranean flavours evoked in 'Olives, Grapes, Cicadas, Sun' by Norman Bisset. We find ourselves listening to the sound of cicada 'choirs' and watching the fall of light on Doric columns. We see the very roots of civilization emerging alongside the twisting stems of olive and vine.

Wendy is always one for a challenge, and in her editorial she writes that she would like to see some palindromes, including her own verse form, the Palindromedary Sonnet, submitted for the next issue [Later note: Wendy's link no longer exists, July 2012]. She is also keen to receive some Folding Mirror poems in the form created by Dr Marc Latham. You can read my post linking these two forms here on Marc's Folding Mirror Poetry blog.

The poems in this issue represent a plethora of situations. We follow some steps behind the one (presumably a health professional) who walks beside the parents of a baby in 'Acceptance' by Margaret Whitaker, the winning poem in the 10th Anniversary Tips Competition. Then we take a completely different turn and feel the buzz as Kay Weeks dances the night away at Mar de Jade.  

Kay's poem embraces the geckos and turtles that help to populate this Mexican landscape. Norman Bissett brings us back to the shores of the UK with his poignant observations regarding the decline of the 'Camberwell Beauties'. Bernard Jackson's sonnet 'To a Hidden Bird' resonates for me with words by Edward Thomas. You can read about E.T's 'Unknown Bird' here on The Solitary Walker blog. Bernard's evocation of Jesmond Dene, the leafy 'interlacing canopy of green', rings true for me - and I spent five very happy years of my life in that neck of the woods.

A feature I particularly like in this issue is the editors' page (p.23). This contains sample poems by Ronnie Goodyer of Indigo Dreams (IDP) and Geoff Stevens of Purple Patch. Ronnie's 'Breakbones' with its intoxicating rhythm draws us in to take a closer - careful - look at the wild flowers such as Bog Asphodel on a stretch of West Country mire. Geoff's concrete poem, 'Looking out to Sea', needs to be seen in its eye-glass shape to be fully appreciated, but its array of 'blue' words is compelling.

If you would like to take out a subscription to TIPS  in this its 10th anniversary year, you will find Wendy's details on the Poetry Library Southbank Centre site here. Thank you, Wendy, once again for an engaging and colourful read.

Archaeological Avenues (3): David Gill's BSA book, update

Just an update on David's book to say that you can now read more on the Swansea University website here. (There only seems to be a cached page available at present). 

• Previous post on publication of book here ...

Creature Feature (3): Tiger, Tiger

'In what distant deeps or skies
Burnt the fire of thine eyes?'
William Blake

Helen Calcutt and Peter Tinkler's Tiger, Tiger site is growing in leaps and bounds (if you will excuse the pun). The exciting news is that the project has now linked up with the Born Free Foundation, thanks to the support and involvement of Richard Bonfield, BFF Poet-in-Residence.

If you would like your creative 'tiger' work to be considered for the Tiger, Tiger project, you will come across the guidelines here. 

There are a number of pieces up on the site, so do take time to have a browse. You will find creative contributions from the following:

Helen Calcutt | David Calcutt | Richard Bonfield | Anna-Louise Pickering | Sarah James | Julie Boden | Ruth Stacey | Vera Franklin | Rosemary A Bach-Holzer | Saba Zai |  Nita Lewsey | Jackie Fallows | Jenny Hope | Rosemarie Rowley | Siobhan Harper | Jacqui Rowe | Janet Smith | Lucy Jeynes | Gareth Partington  ...

I also have two Tiger, Tiger poems on the site, which ... you can read here -

• by scrolling down for 'Isabella ...'* and 
• by clicking on my name, Caroline Gill, for 'Muffled Drum'.

It is a sad fact that there are probably only around 3500 tigers in the wild in our world today. You can read about the Born Free Foundation's concern for this amazing wild cat here.



* This poem was first published in Reach Poetry (ed. Ronnie Goodyer and Dawn Bauling, IDP). 

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'.

Archaeological Avenues (2): David's book, hot off the press

Gill, D. W. J. 2011. Sifting the Soil of Greece: the early years of the British School at Athens (1886-1919).  

Bulletin of the Institute of Classical Studies, Supplement, vol. 111. London: Institute of Classical Studies.

Hooray! 

David's book (pp. 474) has just arrived from the publishers - and is dedicated to me. 

The cover shows the Methana peninsula of Greece, 

which I visited during one of David's archaeological field survey seasons in the area.  

For further details of the book and how to order, please click here.  

A snippet ...

For other independent travellers in Greece, Ellen Bosanquet's advice was to engage the services of a dragoman who 'takes you wherever you wish to go, finds the mules or carriages, takes beds and a cook (or cooks himself), and arranges a comfortable lodging at the end of each day's journey.'

p.131, Chapter 5 - Women at the BSA

Poetry Matters (18): 'Creatures of a Dead Community' by Lynn Hopkins

Author: Lynn Hopkins (picture of cover used with poet's permission)

Publisher: Peter Thabit Jones, The Seventh Quarry Press (2011), The Seventh Quarry

Photographs: Moelwyn Hopkins

Illustrations: Rhian Elin Thomas  

Price: £4.50 

ISBN: 978-0-95674547-3-6

'From a lofty bed,

two hands clasp a kernel

as if in prayer'

from 'The Grey Invader' by Lynn Hopkins

It is hard to think of Swansea without picturing the curve of the bay. It is an iconic yet ever-changing seascape that can be enjoyed from numerous angles. If we associate Peter Thabit Jones with the view from Kilvey Hill, we can now link Lynn Hopkins with those sweeping vistas from another vantage point where 'sea breezes blow', namely the hillside that 'stands in stillness', supporting Oystermouth Cemetery.

This 'dead community' has found a special place in Lynn's affections. For her the cemetery is a place of 'peace in beautiful surroundings'. It is a place that has inspired her first collection, a sparkling quiverful of twelve poems about the wild creatures that make their home around the graves. They are very much alive, and for Lynn their presence proves that 'life goes on, even in a dead community'.  

I have known Lynn for some years, although our paths have not crossed frequently. She is currently a student on the part-time humanities degree at Swansea University. It was a privilege to attend the recent launch of Lynn's volume, and to hear the poet reading her own work. Artistic acheivement runs in the family: Lynn's husband was also a published poet. It was a thrill to meet the poet's daughter, Rhian, whose delightful illustrations are the perfect complement to her mother's words and to her brother, Moelwyn's photography. It is not often that three members of a family have worked together on a project of this nature. 

Publisher, Peter Thabit Jones, adds that Lynn's poems are 'accessible, sound-textured and tender'. He makes the shrewd observation that although they are written in English, Lynn is bilingual and brings to her work that added dimension or 'sense of craftsmanship employed by poets working in Welsh.' Lynn's detailed approach is both arresting and engaging: the poet weaves her stories of the wild creatures into a compelling warp and weft of carefully chosen words. 

In this poem-sequence, we encounter the statue on the cover (see above) of a pensive woman, clutching her 'private book'. Word and image combine to conjure up a sense of the pain of loss, but they also manage to convey a fragile sense of future: the reader is encouraged to consider the possibility of a time when tears will be no more. But for the present, this woman of stone has to suffer the dubious company of her faithless feathered companions, the 'Magpie, raven, and rowdy rook'. 

The choice of vocabulary keeps the reader alert. Just when we are tempted to feel that all is tranquil and serene, with butterflies fluttering over 'this haven of rest', we are reminded that it is folly to think of this place as an entirely peaceable kingdom. Instead, we are confronted with the stark reality of the horrors of death and war and 'butchered hearts'. The black cat 'with two sides' to its face sums up this paradox to perfection.  

So thank you, Lynn, for introducing us to your new circle of companions - the snail, the 'wily' fox, the 'brown owls' on their 'brittle boughs' - and all the other cemetery dwellers. Thank you for helping us to appreciate the world around us in a new way from the perspective of a place where sea meets sky, and where heaven and earth are bound in life and death.  

If you would like to buy a copy of this captivating and lyrical collection, I suggest you follow this link to The Seventh Quarry Publications, and scroll down to the bottom of the page for contact details.

• Lynn Hopkins: Part-time Degree Student’s Publishing Success

Seasonal Splash (7): Spring Fever (and amphibians)

The magnificent Priory remains, Mount Grace, Yorkshire ...

... with resident amphibian!

You may have seen my wasp bole in the previous post. These images above are also from Mount Grace.

I thought this was a Common Frog, but having lightened my photo a little, I think it is actually a Common Toad. I heard today that my poem, 'Observations from the Hide' (about toads back in Wales) had taken Second Place in the Writelink Spring Fever Competition.