January 2017 - Resolutions and Reviews.

 Benoit Delhomme on Instgram

A short post. 2016 is over. 2016 was a strange year and perhaps we'll know what it all meant someday. I've decided to write some new year resolutions as a way of getting myself back on the poetic horse. I haven't sent out any poems to magazines since July. My writing needs some focus. So without any further ado here we go...

1. Give myself permission to write even if it's not very good. Eventually I might hit on something. Write at different times of the day and in different places and locations.
2. Not abandon drafts or have very long breaks on individuals poems, so as not to lose momentum.
3. Keep bloody well reading. Contemporary poetry. Not contemporary poetry. Not poetry. Prose. Non-fiction. Poetry magazines even. (That's a joke of course, I know that's important).
4. Less bloody social networking. Facebook is the kiss of death. A great may of my favourite poets post little or aren't on any networks. Go figure. Robin Houghton says it best on her blog.
5. Actually send out poems. Why? Because in order to send out you have to have poems completed to the best of your ability. It's not about being published, it's about discipline and keeping going. At least once every couple of months if not more. Be productive!
6. Be interested in things! Enthusiasm is the kiss of life! Lots of !!!
7. Go out more, (not pub or shops). Go out more where there's rocks, green things, sky. Breathe in and ponder.
8. Go out to more readings. Listen. Learn. Love. Or not love, but have an opinion.
9. Continue to share poems and poets I love. Ok, this doesn't contradict number 4. I share things I like on Twitter anyway. It's the difference between using the networks to share poems and using them to watch a 3 minute film clip of a Polar bear jogging around an ice floe wearing a party hat or something.
10. There should be a 10 after all, it's a nice round number. Poetry is my friend. Things are confusing at best, poetry is a good place to hang out and it's a satisfying and productive place to be. Always be thinking of the next poem.

I hope these resolutions are useful for you too. Also, if anyone felt like adding some decent ones of their own that would be good.

The other day I came across two very encouraging reviews of my pamphlet. This one by Charlotte Gann  and one by Tim Love on his Litrefs Reviews site. Tim wrote things about my poems that I hadn't noticed myself. This is good motivation.

Let's get going.

January 2015

Hi, happy new year to you! It's very lucky I can still just about manage to post on my blog as there was a very nasty accident last night involving a cup of tea, a keyboard and a very repentant accidental offender. I'll try and type as long as I can, but the keys aren't so happy.

Aside from that, do have a look at Robin Houghton's blog. Robin has had a brill idea and conducting a regional poetry focus on different parts of the UK. She's beginning with Leicestershire and I'm featured and interviewed there along with other local luminaries. I cheated a bit and mentioned Notts a little too, but to be fair it's only 20 mins up the road from me. There's also a very nice picture of Larkin holding a bunny, so don't delay click here to enrich your cultural knowledge! Many thanks to Robin as it's an ambitious project and she's working hard on this.

There's also a poem by me, featured on Ink Sweat and Tears' 'Twelve Days of Christmas' feature. Thanks to Helen Ivory. I have to say there have been some very kind tweets and comments on line about it. Do have a look, there are some lovely poems here by a range of writers.

Thanks to those who read this blog. I sometimes look at the stats and am amazed at the range of readers from so many different countries. Have a great 2015.