ecopoetry

The Book Bag: The How In The World by Louise Longson

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

This week I’ve been able to celebrate Mrs S’ birthday with an afternoon tea, a day out and a movie night despite being lemsip cold.

The submission window for Black Bough’s Christmas/ Winter anthology opened and lots of poems are pouring in. Of my own writing, I’ve written a couple of pieces and edited them down. I was also in the audience for Iamb’s sixth birthday celebrations. A tremendously stellar lineup.

Aside from that, some unexpected news at work means I’ll be joining a new team in the next couple of weeks. I did receive a wonderful letter that raised my spirits.

On top of that, I’ve been reading;

The beautiful cover was designed and created by the multi-talented Oormila Vijayakrishnan Prahlad

The How In The World

  • Poet: Louise Longson
  • Press: Hedgehog Poetry Press

Louise Longson is an incredibly talented poet having won the inaugural Kari Ann Flickinger Memorial Literary Prize in 2023 and has released several books over the past few years. She is also a massive supporter of the poetry community hosting a monthly showcase on the Last Saturday poets (you may have caught the Iamb special yesterday evening, mentioned above). I’m a big a fan of Louise’s work.

The How In the World is an ecopoetry collection that examines the impact of humanity on nature and vice versa. It’s a book I’ve been looking forward to reading for a while.

Louise’s poetry teems with indictment and one of her strengths is getting the reader to invest immediately. The pieces ‘Hunger Stones’, ‘Prayer For The Bodies Of Those Who Died Violently’ and ‘The World Is A Mirror Of Myself Dying’ all capture environmental suffering and decline through human, industrial and agricultural expansion. ‘Dark Harvest (26 March 2022)’ is another poem that really hit me hard. These are not your typical eco poems. They have bite, purpose and importance.

Readers are immersed in vivid scenery in poems such as ‘Graveyard by the Sea’ which uses multi-sensory language to immerse the reader. The piece ‘Spirit Bear’ (one of my favourites) puts us firmly in nature with a sense of motion.

Louise plays with form in various ways throughout the collection. The use of white space in ‘The Impact of Atmospheric Change on Bird Flight’ is put to great use supported by beautiful language. The shaping of ‘How We Are Like The Moon’ is terrific and seems to shift depending on how you hold the book in your hand. The piece ‘Memories Left By Water’ (one of my favourites) is a skilled crafting of a piece that can be read as three different poems.

This book will appeal to fans of ecopoetry who like their poems to have purpose and truth. If you love a broad scope of language and imagery, this collection would be an ideal fit in your poetry library. If you want to feel, buy this book. A phenomenal read.

Favourite Poem:

I’ve already mentioned ‘Spirit Bear’ and ‘Memories Left By Water’. Another handful as I write today are ‘How We Are The Willows that Weep By The Banks of The River’, ‘Somewhere In The Shadows’, ‘How We Are Something Sharp Smoothed By The Sea’, ‘Depth of Field’ and ‘Finding A Piece of Humanity’.

To find more about Louise, click here.

To buy The How In The World, click here. You can also contact Louise directly for a signed copy.

Wondering what my playlist to enjoy with The How In The World is? Look no further…

A Winged Victory for the Sullen – Steep Hills of Vicodin Tears
Laura Marling – For You
Sigur Rós – Samskeyti
Fleetwood Mac – Songbird
Paul Desmond – Take Ten
Amy Macdonald – Caledonia
Ella Fitzgerald & Nelson Skylark
John Coltrane – After the Rain
Brian Eno – An Ending (Ascent)
Phoebe Bridgers – Scott Street
Duran Duran – Planet Earth
Phil Collins – In The Air Tonight

Before I Go…
The Book Bag: Poetic Voice for February 2026 goes live at Noon today. Links will be dropping on social media, keep your eyes peeled.

One More Thing…
Black Bough Poetry has an open mic on Wednesday 11th February. They are always supportive and welcoming evenings, and Matthew Smith is a great host. Tickets available here.

And Another…
Matthew is also holding another Crafting Your Year in Poetry workshop which I highly recommend. It kept me on track and accountable for my goals in 2025 and continues to do so. Tickets here.

And Finally…
I mentioned the submission window for Black Bough’s Christmas & Winter Anthology opening for entries this week. Remember, the window closes today (1st February 2026). Get your poems in.

Next Week’s Read

  • Title: Through Salt-Heavy Seas
  • Poet: Andy Williamson

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

Paul

The Book Bag: Vanishing Point by Colin Bancroft

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

What a week. I saw the Fantastic Four movie, followed by pizza with friends (I went for nduja and gorgonzola) where we saw England International and Manchester United midfielder Michael Carrick, an acceptance, a piece published as part of the Poetry of Witness project on Wednesday. Also, it was the launch of Beautiful Little Fools Anthology where I read my two pieces (was it too much wearing a velvet jacket and bow tie and sipping old-fashioned cocktails?) ‘Depraved New World’ and ‘The Flicker of Green’. Oh, I spent a bit of time on my writing too.

On top of that, I’ve been reading;

Vanishing Point

  • Poet: Colin Bancroft
  • Press: Broken Sleep Books

Vanishing Point opens strongly with vivid imagery and precise, rich language in the poem ‘Botanical Notes’. The strength of scene continues throughout the the book including in poems such as ‘Sitting On Rocks At Penveen Lighthouse’ and ‘Etal Castle’ (one of several locations in the collection I’ve been to).

Place plays an important part of the collection. Both its historical context tied to memory, heritage and culture but also how a place can act as a way marker to another place. This is how I interpreted the piece ‘Transverse Orientation’ with its listings of services. ‘Picking Raspberries at High Force’ (somewhere I’d recommend anyone visiting, because it is exquisite) is an excellent poem that shows the cycle of renewal of a place.

Many of the pieces hold an emotional weight. ‘Into The Distance’ and ‘Figuring It Out’ are two perfect examples of how to craft evocative poetry in contrasting ways. The poem ‘The Law’ is a layered piece that sparked a reaction both consciously and subconsciously and I made an audible ‘oooft’ when reading it.

There are powerful poems throughout. The final poem ‘Post Box On Corporation Street for Manchester’ is unflinching. ‘Thoughts On An Aftermath’ is a thought-provoking honest piece which had me considering my reaction. The piece ‘Tethered’ hit me hard.

Nature poetry is exceptionally crafted in Vanishing Point. Poems such as ‘Gauging The Flood’ , ‘Standing’ and ‘Life Study’ are all prime examples of writing the natural world without over-sentimentality or cliche. I also enjoyed the poem

Colin Bancroft uses form and style in various ways throughout. ‘John Clare’s Green Coat’ uses spacing expertly to convey the poem’s message, leaving room to breathe before continuing. Free verse is used but also forms including list and couplet such as ‘Frozen Pool in Hotburn Plantation’.

This book will appeal to lovers of eco-poetry, vivid imagery, emotional connection and a sense of place. The Northern landscape and cultural, industrial history referenced in Vanishing Point resonated deeply with me as I have stood in some of the same places and can immerse myself fully in the poetry and the landscape. It’s a book, I will keep going back to.

To buy Colin’s book, click here.

Favourite Poem:

I’m going to choose five here. In no order ‘The Law’, ‘HS2’, ‘Staithes’, ‘Capacity for Joy’ and ‘Night Horses’.

And here’s an eclectic playlist that I feel goes with the book that I’ve curated for your enjoyment;

Oasis – Champagne Supernova
Richard Ashcroft – A Song For the Lovers
Solis – Sunday
James – Sit Down
Lindisfarne – Run For Home
The Unthanks – Shipbuilding
Kate Bush – Running Up That Hill
Jimmy Nail – Big River
Seth Lakeman – The Colliers
Chris Rea – Curse Of The Traveller
New Order – Ceremony
Mr Scruff – Honeydew
Blossoms – Charlemagne

Before I Go…

Another page of Rishi Dastidar’s hobbies will be live on his feature from noon today, with another page of hobbies landing on 19th August. His feature can be found here. Catch up now.

One More Thing…

The Broken Spine has a ‘Cut To The Bone’ zoom workshop running on 24th August hosted by Alan Parry, details here. His workshops are always interactive and informative in a supportive environment and may be useful to all writers currently in the submission process.

And Finally…

Next week’s weekly entry in The Book Bag will be the last until September as I take a small summer break. I’ve already got exciting plans for the weekly entries from September with some more exciting poetry to share. I constantly update my social media channels with news so you can keep up to date there. You may even see me read a poem or 2.

Next Week’s Read

  • Title: Welcome To The Museum of A Life
  • Poet: Sue Finch

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

Paul

Resurgency

The terrace-surrounded oak is reclaiming its land.

Unseen subterranean tentacular incursions
move through mychorrhizal maps and attack .

Successful missions lift the grip of tarmac from pavement and road,
opening arteries and veins like a villain in a horror movie.

Saplings encamp along front lines;
fortifications of shoots climb slowly and
self-seeded wildflowers and mercenary-moss
shore up defences.

A hi-viz council kill squad
arrives at the battlefield too late. 
The war has already been won. 
A new country has emerged despite attempts to suffocate progress.

Their wasp-cry chainsaw lays claim to trunk. 
An undignified toppling of a head of state. 
In their minds, man must always win 
however hollow a victory.


Photo by Collab Media on Unsplash