Welcome back to The Book Bag. I hope you’ve had a poetic week.
I’ve had a very busy week.
Work is ramping up ahead of Summer. I’m all settled into my new team and I’m learning more each day.
The allotment progresses more each passing day. Peas are now in their bed, turnips are planted, sunflowers are in the border. It won’t be long until we can start picking salad leaves.
On Sunday, I was at The Alnwick Garden to experience the Taihaku Cherry Orchard for the last day of its peak bloom. I took this week’s read to enjoy on the swings under the blossom. Coupled with the Japanese lanterns, chimes and traditional music, it was super relaxing.
After the Garden, I went to my parents for Sunday lunch. Cracking Roast Beef.
Sunday evening was the launch of Eleanor Holmes’s #Moth. It was an excellent launch with great readers, beautiful harp and a look behind the creation process from Sara who runs Ethel. Catch up with Eleanor’s Poetic Voice Feature here.
The running order has been finalised for the Unwhispered Legacy launch night, (subject to change). Join me and a stellar lineup of poets reading from the anthology, grab your tickets here.
On Friday, I attended an online workshop hosted by Sasha Debevec-McKenney, as part of Bristol’s Lyra Poetry Festival programme of events. It was a fantastic evening and has given me new techniques and a different perspective on approaching poems. We also read the work of 3 poets I wasn’t familiar with. I will now be buying more books!
This week, I’ve been reading;
Cherry Blossom At Nightbreak
- Poet: Rishi Dastidar
- Press: Nine Arches Press
Rishi’s poetry has real heart. The pieces ‘A leopard parses his concerns’ and ‘A man of theory on the Via Publica’ are two of my favourites that deal with relationships exceptionally well as is ‘Chromophilia (Song for B)’ and the title poem ‘Cherry Blossom At Nightbreak’ (another of my favourites). I’ll also add that ‘Charon the bus driver’ is a poem that made me happy.
A spotlight is shone on the everyday. This is another of Rishi’s powers as a writer, to make poetry accessible and relatable. ‘Rake with telescopic handle’ and ‘Playing tag’ are both excellent examples of this. The poem ‘Knives raised in prayer’ takes us to the hallowed halls of Ikea, adding philosophical questions to the shelves.
There is plenty of humour in the book. ‘On bullshit jobs’ is one of my favourites because of its authenticity. On the following page is ‘Meanwhile in Ebisu’ a terrific example of satirical poetry. ‘I dreamed I stopped traffic’ is another chuckle worthy piece that makes great use of Pantone. I knew straightaway who would appreciate the poem.
‘Felt despairing, might delete later’ (one of my favourites), is a sad and strong assessment on the state of the current political situation. Its compact nature gives heightens the emotional language. ‘Credentialism’ is a smart poem that startled and stayed with me all week, especially the last line.
The style and form fans are well catered for in the collection. The use of couplets and line breaks in ‘Scapegoat-ish’ give it a tremendous rhythm. There is rhyme poetry in ‘Love’s Renewal’, a sprawling sequence poem named ‘the break of a wave’ which includes the clever ‘To his mistress moving to LA’ and a variety of styles. There is also free verse, a reverse ghazal, sonnets, an almost sonnet and more.
This is a book that will appeal to many readers for its heart, warmth, relatability and accessibility. Humour and hope can be found across the pages. Form is played with throughout so the technique lovers will adore this collection. I hadn’t even scratched the surface of how much I could write on this book, but I will say it’s one of the best collections I’ve read this year.
Favourite Poem:
I’ve already mentioned ‘A leopard parses his concerns’, ‘A man of theory on the Via Publica’, ‘Cherry Blossom At Nightbreak’, ‘On bullshit jobs’ and ‘Felt despairing, might delete later’. I’ll add another handful; ‘How to verb a sore heart’, ‘The late-style of my funk dancing’, ‘This Year My Only Strategy Was To Read Books About Strategy, To Work Out What To Do The Year After’, ‘Modern ruin’ and ‘Melted cockerel’. I could keep going.
Read more about Rishi here.
Buy Cherry Blossom At Nightbreak here.
If you’ve stayed for a playlist, then you’re in luck.
The Horrors – Still Life
Shakedown – At Night
Bill Withers – Ain’t No Sunshine
Kaiser Chiefs – Ruby
Tori Amos – Bouncing Off Clouds
Sheryl Crow – All I Wanna Do
Taylor Swift – Cardigan
Fatboy Slim – Praise You
John Coltrane – Naima
Bob Sinclar – World Hold On
Paolo Nutini – Cherry Blossom
Nightbreakers – Quarter to Midnight
Before I Go…
Last week I mentioned the Black Bough anthology in response to The Wasteland. ‘Shored Fragments’ is now able to purchase and the poets included are fantastic. Details here.
One More Thing…
I’ll be taking part in Poetry (In Brief) hosted by the delightful Rachel Turney on Saturday May 2nd. Full details and how to join can be found here.
And Another…
If you’d like to be in the audience for The Book Bag: Open Mic Sessions, you can grab your tickets here. Sunday May 3rd. 7pm UK time.
And Finally…
No regular Book Bag next week but when I return, I’ll be sharing my thoughts on Hatchery by Elizabeth Osmond.
Take it easy and stay poetic, I’ll catch you soon.
Paul
Paul Writes Poems 