Poet, playwright, director and lover of words
Words are our most inexhaustible source of magic. - J. K. Rowling I have never started a poem yet whose end I knew. Writing a poem is discovering. - Robert Frost I love deadlines. I like the whooshing sound they make as they fly by. - Douglas Adams A sunny August Sunday afternoon, a perfect time to… Continue reading Weekend Creative Corner 18th August
It is fitting that a post about procrastination missed its Wednesday slot and has been sitting in the draft folder for some days. From Merriam Webster dictionary , the definition of procrastinate is procrastinated; procrastinating transitive verb : to put off intentionally and habitually Often procrastination is seen as a fault, even a moral failing. But what… Continue reading Poetry Procrastination
Today's post revisits drafting, after all writing is rewriting. After reading 'On Poetry' I thought I would play with form, and my post is an illustration of this play. Draft Three Mornington CrescentIn the shadow of Richard Corden, an early spring day. When I looked up, I saw pigeons circling, a swoosh and a swoop.… Continue reading Mornington Crescent
I have finished reading 'On Poetry' by Glyn Maxwell, published by Oberon books in 2012. It was a Foyles purchase made whilst waiting for my phone repair in Westfield Stratford, and well worth reading. Certainly Adam Newey at The Guardian thought so, as proudly inscribed on the front cover. https://www.theguardian.com/books/2012/jul/13/on-poetry-glyn-maxwell-review First a little about the… Continue reading Weekend Creative Corner 4th August
One of my poetry inspirations is U.A. Fanthorpe. The link provides a comprehensive biography, critical perspective and bibliography. https://literature.britishcouncil.org/writer/u-a-fanthorpe#:~:text=A.%20Fanthorpe%20only%20published%20her%20first%20collection%20of,Cheltenham%20Ladies%20College%20%E2%80%93%20in%20order%20to%20write. The fact that U.A. Fanthorpe only published her first collection of poems, Side Effects (1978), when she was nearly fifty is inspiring. She confessed to being ‘a middle-aged drop-out’, having left teaching – she had been Head of… Continue reading Weekend Creative Corner 21st July
Writing and working full-time is a tricky tightrope to traverse and I might need to post less frequently. This is disheartening so, today, as my early drafts are too rough to publish, I have hunted for inspiring writing quotes to lend much needed encouragement. I would like to credit https://www.inc.com/glenn-leibowitz/50-quotes-from-famous-authors-that-will-inspire-yo.html © Read, read, read. Read… Continue reading Writing Inspiration
Today is a day of showing up on the page, I am tired, (hay-fever or the start of a cold?) so I would like to reflect on where our love for words and stories start; for me, nursery rhymes and fairytales. This has always been one of my favourites. THE WALTERS ART MUSEUM'S Online Collection… Continue reading Thursday’s Child
Yesterday I shared draft two from my poetry masterclass. How do you like the redrafted poem, from a unfinished prose poem to a sonnet. William Zinsser ©️Walker in West End Lane (Draft Two) I see you, sitting on haunches outside Cafe Nero on my way to work, hunchedagainst the day. Sometimes you nurse a coffee,… Continue reading Monday’s child
The Sketchbook (Inspired from a conversation with the artist Marc Brown, Southwold June 2024)Beach huts with perfect gables lift their heads to the cumulus. Colour of sand sediment, a breath inhaled and exhaled,black rocks a solid defense. An artist sits and watches as the sea waves over a swimmer’s brushstrokes in blue deep,deep blue, picking… Continue reading The Sketchbook
This week, I would like to refer to a book that I borrowed from the Poetry Library in the Southbank Centre, (a wonderful place to visit). 'A Ritual on How to Read Together-poems in conversation with William Stafford'© is edited by Becca J.R. Lachman and published in 2013. William Stafford was a prodigious and celebrated… Continue reading Weekend Creative Corner 30th June
Bonnie Braw Press 