Welcome back to The Book Bag. I hope you’ve had a poetic week.
This week has been hot and sunny in Newcastle, and I’ve been able to absorb some Vitamin D in the garden (I also tripped over and landed in worm tea – not my finest hour). My wife and I also took the dog to the coast for a walk and ice-cream for breakfast!
On Monday evening, I did have to call the fire brigade during our dog walk. Someone thought it would be funny to set fire to trees in the nearby community orchard where lots of birds are currently nesting. The fire service was on the scene in quick time.
Poetry wise, I was lucky to do a reading and interview, details to be shared soon. Also, I’ve sent out some submissions, had an idea for participants of Write Here, Right Now and did something very exciting. Also, on Friday, the final episode of this season’s Thousand Shades of Green aired which featured work on the theme of water from myself and fellow contributing poets from the season. You can listen here . It was such a privilege to be part of and look forward to returning to feature again in the future.
On top of that, I’ve been reading;
- Poet: Victoria Spires
- Press: Salò Press
I first read Victoria Spires’ poetry on social media, I want to say in response to a prompt on Top Tweet Tuesday. Since then, I have read her work in multiple anthologies and lit mags where her poetry is always polished and beautifully crafted. She also introduced me to the ‘Sevenling’ form which I have practised a bit. Victoria is also a contributing editor to The Winged Moon, an excellent poetry magazine which has regular competitions and a weekly newsletter.
When Victoria announced on BlueSky that her debut pamphlet was incoming, I jumped straight on the pre-order page (a bargain from Salò Press).
Touch recurs through the book in various ways; ‘On Surrender’ begins tentatively and delicate between two people while the poem ‘Trouble’ looks at the want of haptic feedback from both the writer and inanimate objects like door handles. Poems in the collection are equated to desire (as stated on the back cover) and you definitely feel this upon reading. At points there is real intimacy.
There is an array of forms used in the pamphlet, sometimes from page to page. A prime example is the change of style from ‘A Hawk from A Handsaw’ to ‘Soi-disant’. Each form used gives extra focus to the poems and adds a little mystery before you begin reading.
The way in which emotion is portrayed within the pamphlet aligns with the nature of the poem. In ‘Soi-lui’ there is an edge, confrontational maybe. However, in ‘Orchard’, the emotion is mostly guided through the poem with touch and imagery.
The vocabulary in the collection is also worth mentioning for the sheer scale and precision of use. ‘Moon Almanack’ and ‘Mare Crisium’ taught me a handful of words unfamiliar to me which fit perfectly in place in the pamphlet.
Another benefit of incredible language use is the imagery within pieces such as ‘Brain As Radula’ and ‘Soi-lui’. This is also the case in ‘Sanguis’ which partners image, metaphor and form across the page.
This is a book that will appeal to many. At times it feels very intimate and is filled with poems exquisitely crafted that linger in the mind long afterwards making you return time and again. Highly recommended.
Favourite Poem:
White Gold.
If you want to keep up to date with Victoria, she has recently launched a Substack that can be found here.
To buy your copy of Soi-même (a bargain), click here.
One More Thing…
It was International Dylan Thomas Day on Thursday. Here is one of my favourites. Drop a comment with yours…
And Another…
Broken Spine Arts have an open mic on Thursday 29th May 2025. Details here of this always supportive event.
They have also released spotlights on the contributors to The Whiskey Tree Wave 2. Give them a read, all interesting insights to poetic thinking and inspiration. More info here.
And Another…
Black Bough Poetry are hosting a launch for Regine Ebner’s ‘Mountains That See In The Dark’ on Saturday 7 June 2025 at 630pm UK Time. Details here.
And Finally…
It was great to see recently featured Poyums by Len Pennie win the Discover Award at the 2025 British Book Awards this week. A triumph for poetry and Scots language.
Next Week’s Read
- Title: East of the Sun, West of the Moon
- Poet: Taz Rahman
Take it easy and stay poetic, I’ll catch you next week.
Paul
Paul Writes Poems 
3 thoughts on “The Book Bag: Soi-même by Victoria Spires”