On Saturday 6th April at 3pm, the poetry anthology I am publishing (and contributing to) will be launched to a modest fanfare at The Oak Tree in Helperby, North Yorkshire. The anthology is called "Oak Tree Alchemy". Spot the link? As Brian Clark, co-editor and fellow contributor, notes in the book's foreword: Oak Tree Alchemy, … Continue reading Champagne and Canapés anyone?
Granta 144 – “Generic Love Story”
I don't normally offer a sketch on the Granta quarterlies once I have read them. Often it's because they are too eclectic, too varied to be able to hone in on something specific enough for commentary. Granta 144 is a little different. A number of the stories are told by women and relate to damaged … Continue reading Granta 144 – “Generic Love Story”
Cherry
Cherry in the tree the cuckoo watches as the bough bends exerting a will it never knew it had to kiss the hand of a woman heavy with her own fruit the bird has no song for this and feels for the first time an interloper that here is a place it truly doesn’t … Continue reading Cherry
‘At Maunston Quay’ – published today [well, tomorrow actually…]
It should have been 1st Feb, but thanks to an 'admin error', the book won't be available until tomorrow, 5th Feb. So if you looked and didn't find it, try again tomorrow, please... Today sees the publication of my new novel, 'At Maunston Quay'. You always hope that "this is the one"...perhaps this book will … Continue reading ‘At Maunston Quay’ – published today [well, tomorrow actually…]
“Birthday Letters”
Confession time: I didn't managed to finish this one. And actually, I didn't like it that much. Is that sacrilege? My reasons for finding it 'hard'? Most of the poems felt too personal, as if I was some kind of Peeping Tom looking in on lives and a relationship when I had no right to … Continue reading “Birthday Letters”
‘At Maunston Quay’ – published today
Today sees the publication of my new novel, 'At Maunston Quay'. You always hope that "this is the one"...perhaps this book will be the one that's read most, liked most - and more importantly, is the best yet. In many ways it feels that way, but only time will tell. Please check it out at … Continue reading ‘At Maunston Quay’ – published today
After the Concert
After the Concert falling foul of memory’s snare entrapment awaits and the waif-like recollection of an evening when time crept so slowly it felt as if we owned it as if the moon would never break beyond the branches of that winter ash nor disappear behind the distant hills it was romantic I … Continue reading After the Concert
“1606: Shakespeare and the Year of Year”
"1606: Shakespeare and the Year of Lear" is the third volume in James Shapiro's historical / literary amalgam, each book focusing on a single year and setting Shakespeare's output in the context of contemporary events. In the case of "1606", the ramifications of the Gunpowder plot (Shakespeare was really close to the action - but … Continue reading “1606: Shakespeare and the Year of Year”
“Feral”
Most of Kate Potts' "Feral" isn't really poetry. Normally that's a big red flag for me, but I have to confess, not this time. I really liked "Feral". There was something about the tone, the images, the quality of it - even if it wasn't 'poetry' - that was undeniably pleasing. I told myself that … Continue reading “Feral”
Full English on the 6:17
Full English on the 6:17 Breakfast en route to London everything so hot you could almost taste the radiation. Across the First Class aisle a young woman in a too-short hooped dress watches videos on her phone self-consciously out of place. And grey commuters whose days blur into an amalgam of routine take … Continue reading Full English on the 6:17
