Poet, playwright, director and lover of words
Picture by Petr Kratochvil ©️ It has been more than a minute since visiting my blog. Life has a habit of getting in the way of writing, and activism, (Palestine and Gaza) has taken, (without regret) a larger slice of my time. However, after the winter solstice and as the turn of the year approaches,… Continue reading Weekend Creative Corner 29.12.24
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
For this weekend's corner, I looked for a poem about August, it is my birthday month after all. Sara Teasdale is a poet I am unfamiliar with, and I am glad to have found her and this poem. Poets.org describes Teasdale’s work as being characterized by its simplicity and clarity, her use of classical forms,… Continue reading Weekend Creative Corner 10th August
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
Yesterday I attended a demonstration, Hands around Parliament-stop arming Israel. It encouraged me to look at a journal entry from early spring, the day after attending a vigil for the Gaza victims and Aaron Bushnell. Writing is rewriting, particularly for poetry. Walt Whitman published Leaves of Grass in 1855, and spent most of his professional life… Continue reading Writing is rewriting
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
Here is a question, do artists have a duty to be activists? It is a huge question. Some might answer that their art is personal, a place of retreat in a busy life, a stressful world. It could be argued that maintaining an independent identity is a form of activism, rebellion in a society where… Continue reading Weekend Creative Corner 14th July
Bonnie Braw Press 