Disability Arts Cymru Poetry Competition 2016

I was thrilled to receive an envelope this morning containing my First Prize in the 2016 Disability Arts Cymru Poetry Competition. Poets were encouraged to write in response to art work, which is always an appealing idea; but this year we had the added topical but paradoxical theme of 'austerity and extravagance' to take into account.

'Shoreline Symphony' by Eileen Harrisson was my artistic starting point (9th canvas down on the left side of this link).

So why the photo of rope and gull prints on an otherwise empty beach? My poem was set in what had once been a flourishing harbour. You can guess the rest.

Poetry Workshop at Poetry in Aldeburgh

I have just returned from a Poetry in Aldeburgh workshop in the Lookout on the beach. It was a grey November afternoon, but we had a small log burner to keep us warm, and plenty of energy flowing freely through our pens. The workshop's title was 'Edge of the Depths' (the sea, the sea - what else?) and was led by Anne-Marie Fyfe. What an inspiring start to the Festival. Thank you, Anne-Marie.

Coming home, with two compulsory items - a book and a bag. 

The book in my hand is just out, and exquisitely produced by Eye Wild Books. Its title is Conversations with Birds, and the poet is Ian Griffiths, former Chair of Suffolk Poetry Society. The wonderful artwork is by Carol Lawrence. Do consider obtaining a copy of this publication.

 You can hardly see the sea,

but I can assure you it was visible

through the Lookout doors.

Aldeburgh beach, outside the Lookout

Last glance at the Lookout before I made my way home...

St Govan's Chapel Poem published in 'Seeing Beyond The Surface'

 

St Govan's Chapel © D&C Gill

I have just had a poem, 'Above St Govan's Chapel', published in a rather unusual book.

Seeing beyond the Surface is 'a lighthearted and uplifting compilation of short stories and poems by and about people with disabilities'. Joanna Swank, the editor, writes in the context of assessing our fellow human beings, that 'it is a great thing to see what is beneath the surface.'

This volume has just been published and proceeds will benefit Abilities Solutions in Westville, New Jersey, USA.

Most of the contributors are based in the USA, but there are a couple of us from the UK. Another volume is in the pipeline, and if you might be interested in making a submission to Joanna, please visit the Seeing beyond the Surface website here.

My poem arose out of a visit to the chapel in a cleft in the cliff at St Govan's in Pembrokeshire, Wales. I was both elated (by the scene, and also by the Choughs that clipped the turf) and frustrated (by the access to the chapel itself). 'Above St Govan's Chapel' was written as part of a Disability Arts Cymru project, which resulted in the publication of Hidden Dragons/Gwir a Grymus, an anthology published by Parthian and launched at the Hay Festival in 2004.  

Poetry News ...

After a relatively quiet spell on the poetry front, a couple of things came at once.


Orizont Literar Contemporan
 
I was delighted to have three poems published in English and Romanian in issue 52 of Orizont Literar Contemporan. The poems in question were a Tritina called 'Isle of Skye: Aquiline Encounter' (1/2010), an On-ce poem called 'Pompeii; a Tale of Two Dogs' (14/2010), and finally, 'Migration Mirage' (6/2005), which was first published in The Seventh Quarry. My thanks to editor-in-chief, Daniel Dragomirescu, and translator, Florian D. Mirea.

 

The 3rd Festival of Suffolk Poetry

David and I were invited to read for Arlington's Poetry Cafe in Ipswich (photos here and Festival Report by Deborah Wargate here). I decided to focus on poems inspired by other writers, so my set comprised the following pieces: 'Monte Testaccio: Mound of Potsherds' (53/2003), with its references to Keats, 'On Emily's Moor' (13/2004), about the landscape portrayed in Wuthering Heights - and finally 'Pepys Island' (12/2014), concerning a phantom area of land, supposedly at latitude of 47º south.  My first poem, 'Monte Testaccio ...' comes from my chapbook, The Holy Place, co-authored with John Dotson and published by The Seventh Quarry (Swansea) in conjunction with Cross-Cultural Communications (New York).

Reading for Arlington's Poetry Cafe at the John Peel Centre in Stowmarket

'Immagine e Poesia' International Ekphrastic eBook 2016

Atlantic Puffin (at one time 2000+ spent part of the year on Puffin Island)

I am delighted to have a poem, 'Penmon Song', about Puffin Island off Anglesey (itself an island off the north-west tip of Wales) in the new 2016 Immagine e Poesia eBook anthology produced and edited by Lidia Chiarelli (Italy) and Huguette Bertrand (the Canadian representative of the Immagine e Poesia movement).

My poem has been paired with artwork by Jongo Park from South Korea. 

The eBook is free and can be downloaded from this link.

'The Migrant Waders' from Dunlin Press

This is the day on which The Migrant Waders will be launched in Colchester.

This beautiful book is lavishly and exquisitely illustrated by designer Ella Johnston. You can see some of her drawings on the accompanying poster here in the Dunlin Press shop. The book, beautifully produced and edited by MW Bewick and Ella Johnston of Dunlin Press, is 'a collection of illustration, evocative prose, poetry and reportage that follows the migration routes of wading and shore birds from the high arctic to the tropics.'

One of the contributors, Samantha Franks, is a Research Ecologist with the BTO. Martin Harper is the Conservation Director of the RSPB.

My Bittern poem has been included; and in a serendipitous way, I see the RSPB have just posted a piece by Rachael Murray about this elusive bird, known more often by sound than its sighting. The Bittern, as I recall, was one of the threatened species to feature in the RSPB 'Conservation' board game that we used to play in the mid 1970s. I saw my first Bittern some thirty years later at Minsmere, and have since seen - and heard - a few more on the reserve. 

P.S. You may have found the same post on both my main blogs today. Birds and poetry seem to cover and span two key points of my (blogworld) focus. I was going to throw a link here (or over at Wild and Wonderful), but I decided it made sense to me to re-post in full.

'Treasure' Poems at UCS

David (Gill) reading his Sorley MacLean tribute poem about Hallaig on the Hebridean island of Raasay

We had an excellent Open Mic Poetry Evening last night on the theme of 'Treasure', organised by Suffolk Poetry Society. David, pictured above, hosted the event at University Campus Suffolk (UCS) on behalf of UCS Heritage Futures. My poem, written for the occasion, concerned a tiny scrap of woven silk dating from Roman times, on display in Colchester Museum.

Raasay (birthplace of poet Sorley MacLean), looking across to Skye and the Cuillin