Welcome back to The Book Bag. I hope you’ve had a poetic week.

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This week has been fun and fast.

I started the week with taking the dog to a secure field and woodland so he could run free and explore. He slept well on Sunday evening.

I received a letter with some beautiful poetry, followed closely by ‘the taro as deer’ by Caroline Harris.

Work has been busy and I am learning more in my new role daily. It was our company conference and hearing from the guest speakers was inspiring on the topic and approach to education.

It was another wonderful Write Here, Right Now. I set a rather complex prompt which was different to my previous prompts. I think it worked well. I am very proud of the small community that makes up Write Here, Right Now. Everyone has a different perspective which helps tremendously when reflecting on your writing and taking editorial suggestions.

I got to catch the Last Saturday Poets which was a showcase of Hedgehog Press poets. The readings were perfect as was the artwork shared by Karen Pierce Gonzalez.

It was also great to see Paul Connolly announce his debut book, coming out with Broken Sleep in 2027.

On top of that, I’ve been reading;

After Party

• Poet: Dean Browne
• Press: Picador Poetry

After Party is the debut collection from Dean Browne. And what a debut it is. This is a book that takes you with it as it explores multiple themes from different perspectives and angles. I now need to get a copy of his chapbook, Kitchens at Night.

Vivid, textured imagery jumps from the page in many of the poems in this book giving an immersive feeling. ‘Listening To Joni Mitchell’s Blue While Cooking Peposo’ is fantastic and one of my favourites in the collection. ‘Scuttle’ is another excellent example as is ‘Fascinators’.

Several of the pieces use surrealism with great effect. It’s an excellent skill to connect with readers at a subconscious level using weird and unexpected language and images. The poems ‘Quiche’ and ‘Notes Toward an Epithalamium’ are both excellent examples in my opinion.

We are treated to deep emotion in multiple ways across the collection. The poem ‘Percy French’ is a swathe of emotion, mostly regret and unexpected grief. The piece ‘Pinball’ (one of my favourites) moved me considerably. A dark humour fills ‘Parachuting Into The Volcano’ and ‘Prayer For Buster Keaton’ compared to ‘Butternut Squash’.

Fans of poets exploring different form are in luck in this book. Micro ‘The Infinite’ is tightly packed and appears in your mind and stays almost immediately. The piece ‘Horse Chestnuts’ (one of my favourites) uses excellent repetition to convey the atmosphere. The use of couplets in ‘The Pineapple Massage’ adds to the quirky feel of the piece.

After Party is an absolute corker of a book. It will appeal to readers who appreciate vivid imagery, humour and surrealism. Fans of form will love the variation. As debut collections go, this is one of the best I’ve read and i highly recommend you add it to your poetry library.

Favourite Poem
I’ve already mentioned ‘Listening To Joni Mitchell’s Blue While Cooking Peposo’, ‘Horse Chestnuts’ and ‘Pinball’ so I’ll add another seven. ‘The Triangle’, ‘Days Of The Brindled Cow’, ‘Synastry Chart’, ‘The Cup’, ‘Aide-Mémoire’, ‘Spacer’ and ‘Oink’ are still sticking in my mind.

To read more on Dean Browne click here.

To buy After Party, click here.

An After Party and The Book Bag wouldn’t be complete without the playlist. This week I have a special mix of music across genres;

Groove Armada – At The River
David Bowie – Life on Mars
Tiësto – Adagio for Strings
Dua Lipa – Levitating
Queen – Flash
The Weeknd – Blinding Lights
Roger Sanchez – Another Chance
Stardust – Music Sounds Better With You
The Cranberries – Linger
Bee Gees – How Deep Is Your Love
Jay-Z Featuring Mr Hudson – Young Forever
Joni Mitchell – California

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Before I Go…

Unwhispered Legacy is launching on Tuesday. Hopefully it can raise some money for Médecins Sans Frontières. Keep an eye on social media for when the anthology goes live. My handle is @PaulWritesPoems across Instagram, Facebook, Threads, X and BlueSky.

One More Thing…

Remember to check out Vikki C’s March Poetic Voice feature here. It includes the Forward prize nominated ‘Morningfall’.

And Another…

Evie Carlyn has created a new space for poetry on BlueSky using the hashtag PoemsAloud. All you need to do is upload audio or video files of your poems.

And Finally…

Congratulations to all who had success in the National Poetry Competition especially the overall winner, Partridge Boswell. The Gathering is a wonderful poem.

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Next Week’s Read

• Title: Strike
• Poet: Sarah Wimbush

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Take it easy and stay poetic, I’ll catch you next week.

Paul