Welcome back to The Book Bag. I hope you’ve had a poetic week.
This week has been mostly fun. An exquisite array of poetry at Black Bough Poetry open mic, attended Si Fellows’ online launch of Debone & Fold, took a trip to The Alnwick Garden to swing under the Taihaku blossom, went on a couple of woodland walks, enjoyed a couple of big wins for Newcastle United and I also picked up some books from one of the best bookshops in the North, Barter Books.
On top of that, I’ve been reading;
Smatterings of Cerulean
- Poet: Susan Richardson
- Press: Dark Winter Press
I first encountered Susan through her podcast ‘A Thousand Shades of Green’ which is a must listen for poetry lovers where Susan dedicates an episode to a singular poet, reading their work and closes with a poem of her own. I became a bigger fan through engaging with the same prompts and poets on Twitter then BlueSky where her poetry always teems with emotion and imagery.
Smatterings of Cerulean is Susan’s third collection and is a poetry collection combining Susan’s poetry and photography by Ken Whytock.
A constant of the book, is the economy of language used in pieces. ‘Shore’ and ‘Transformation’ are both prime examples at what can be achieved when stripping back superfluous words. This is a tricky skill to master, I often try to cut out words to hit a brief and it can be a bit of a struggle. I’m sure a lot of poets would agree.
I’ve already mentioned Susan’s ability to capture emotion in her work. Poems including ‘Grief as an Ocean’ ‘Ricochet’ and ‘Ribbons’ all demonstrate this. ‘Until The Room is Airless’ is a masterpiece of Susan’s skill. It will give you pause.
‘Quietly’, ‘Hope’ and ‘Calling Love Home’ are all vivid displays of imagery, showcasing another of Susan’s trademarks. Bearing in mind that these poems are minimal in word count, with less than thirty words each, they all shine.
Layered throughout the collection, are personal poems related to blindness. Susan was diagnosed with a retinal disease in 2002. Examples include ‘Outline of Echoes’ ‘Eyes Closed’ and ‘Striking Colour’, the latter of which is powerfully defiant.
Talking of defiance, I’m glad to say this is a recurring theme in some of the pieces. Susan demonstrates her fight in poems including ‘From Silence’, ‘Through Nightfall’ and ‘Butcher’.
I must mention the curated images throughout the book. They all add an extra element to the work without any disconnection from the poetry. I particularly liked the changes in focus throughout with some softened and some sharp. So this is a shoutout to Ken Whytock.
Smatterings of Cerulean is a book with broad appeal. It will resonate with lovers of imagery and emotion especially when potently-packed into powerful small poems.
To hear Susan reading work from Smatterings of Cerulean, a link to the special A Thousand Shades of Green episode is available here along with all other episodes. Alternatively, listen to A Thousand Shades of Green wherever you normally access your podcasts.
To read more about Susan, her website can be found at: https://floweringink.com
To purchase a copy of Smatterings of Cerulean, click here.
Favourite Poem:
‘In The Veins’ or ‘Striking Colour’.
One More Thing…
On Sunday May 4th, Matthew MC Smith, Editor in Chief of Black Bough Poetry is hosting another of his excellent and highly recommended ‘Crafting Your Year in Poetry’ workshops, 630-9pm UK time. Details here. If you need that extra push to focus for your writing, get yourself along to it.
And Another…
I’m now using Instagram. My handle is paulwritespoems. Give me a follow for poetry-related stuff, landscapes and maybe a dog picture.
And Finally…
There are some excellent poetry collections out there I may not have heard about. If you have any suggestions for upcoming editions of The Book Bag, drop a comment below or send me a message on social media.
Next Week’s Read
- Title: Poyums
- Poet: Len Pennie
Take it easy and stay poetic, I’ll catch you next week.
Paul
Paul Writes Poems 