nature

The Book Bag: Along The Home Roads by Andy Perrin

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

This week, I joined my new team at work and was welcomed warmly by colleagues. It also meant I said farewell but I’m still within earshot of my previous team. They did gift me a lovely bottle of Hendrick’s Gin. Which I will savour!

In allotment news, we’ve cleaned the greenhouse and have started some seedlings off at home and chitted some potatoes for first and second early crops.

I dabbed with some watercolour and I’m happy my colour bending for sunset and sunrise is improving.

If you’ve been keeping up to date with Paul Connolly’s Poetic Voice feature, on The Book Bag: Poetic Voices, you’ll know I’ve shared a fourth piece. I’ve been really lucky to share his work throughout February. Read the feature here.

I also took part in #FragmentsFriday which I’ve mentioned previously. This was my poem:

On top of that, I’ve been reading;

Along The Home Roads

  • Poet: Andy Perrin
  • Press: Bottlecap Press

Andy Perrin is a poet I’ve been reading for a few years now. He is a very supportive member of the poetry community on social media and I always welcome his commentary and encouragement. At the end of 2025, Andy held a giveaway for some of his copies of Along The Home Roads and I was very pleased and lucky to get one.

Andy is a master of minimalism in his word count, able to create vivid snapshots. His journeys (by bicycle) showcase terrific scenery. Poems such as ‘Point Judith Lighthouse’, ‘Wickford Harbor in January’ and ‘Spring’s Palette’ (one of my favourites) highlight this perfectly.

The reliance of humanity on nature as a healer is demonstrated across the pages in pieces such as ‘Serendipity’s Reward’ and ‘Along The Side Of The Road’. A favourite of mine is ‘A Winter Meadow Walk’, I’ve returned to it several times, it resonates so much.

The prevailing message in this book is hope.  This begins with the first poem in the book ‘The Night Map’ and continues throughout. ‘The Common Blue Violet’ uses colour to express this perfectly and brought a lasting smile. These were the right poems for me to consume this week.

Andy uses a variety of styles through the chapbook. We have couplets such as in ‘Daybreak in September’, micros including ‘Countless Faces’ and use of white space in ‘My Coastal Sanctuary’. Each style complements the language effectively.

This is a book that lifts spirits and will appeal to readers who enjoy poetry that recognises nature as a force for good. Fans of micro and minimal word counts incorporated across various styles will appreciate this book. It is a wonderful tonic of a book.

Favourite Poem:

I’ve already said ‘A Winter Meadow Walk’ and ‘Spring’s Palette’ but I’ll also mention another handful, although this is a book brimming with top notch poems. So I’ll add ‘Stilled’, ‘Alone By A Fieldstone Wall’, ‘My Hydrangeas Didn’t Bloom Last’, ‘Of January 29, 1882’ and ‘The Home Roads’.

To read more on Andy and buy Along The Home Roads click here.

You’ve pedalled all this way, so here’s your playlist, this week with a mix of rock, pop, R&B and Jazz;

Cannonball Adderley – Mercy, Mercy, Mercy
The White Stripes – Seven Nation Army
Florence & The Machine – Dog Days Are Over
Coldplay – Viva La Vida
Jay-Z Featuring Mr Hudson – Young Forever
Nat King Cole – Autumn Leaves
Hollow Coves – Coastline
Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band – Chimes of Freedom
Fleetwood Mac – Go Your Own Way
Joni Mitchell – Both Sides, Now

Before I Go…
The Book Bag Open Mic Session 3 is taking place via Zoom on Sunday 8 March between 7pm and 9pm. Reader and Audience Tickets available here. The sessions are always a supportive environment to showcase your polished gems and roughcut coals.

One More Thing…
The Last Saturday Poets takes place on Saturday evening, hosted by the excellent Louise Longson. Another great lineup to enjoy including recent Book Bag alumni Carmella De Keyser & Corrina Board. Full details and tickets available here.

And Another…
Last week’s book, Mædwe is being launched online on Tuesday 3rd March with the terrific Victoria Spires in the hosting seat and amazing guest readers. Check out Corinna’s Instagram to sign up.

And Finally…
Happy 5th Birthday to Black Cat Poetry Press. The quality of titles released in that time is substantial and is a real showcase of contemporary poets.

Your regular weekly instalment will return on Sunday 8 March 2026. Next Sunday, March’s Poetic Voice will be launched at Noon…

Take it easy and stay poetic, I’ll catch you next week with the launch of March’s Poetic Voice.

Paul

The Book Bag: Mædwe by Corinna Board

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

This week has been a fairly busy one. I celebrated my birthday on Wednesday and despite the dreary weather had an amazing time. Did I buy a few books? Yes. Did I enjoy a delicious dinner at Lollo Rosso? Yes. Because of the rain, we postponed visiting Howick Hall Snowdrop walk until yesterday where for the first time in what seems like forever we had sunshine! A great Valentine’s Day gift!

I was also able to chill, listen to some  Coltrane and Davis, and play some sax. I also dabbled with my watercolours, finished some books and returned to the Wasteland in Fallout 4.

Also, it was the return of Write Here, Right Now on Thursday evening. Another insightful and informative session. Having time dedicated to writing and being able to gain insightful peer feedback is tremendously valuable. I’m really proud to be part of it.

On top of that, I’ve been reading;

Mædwe

  • Poet: Corinna Board
  • Press: Salò Press


I’ve followed and enjoyed Corinna’s poetry for some time now and always find her work engaging, fascinating and full of beautiful language.

Mædwe is a pamphlet that drops the reader into the countryside, with nature and humanity intersecting in various ways. This begins with the titular poem ‘Mædwe’ that gives a vibrant introduction to the book.

Corinna is able to use imagery with ease. Poems engage the reader fully in scenery that is vivid and dynamic. The piece ‘You Find A Fox Skull’ (one of my favourites) reminded me of growing up in Northumberland and building forts in the willow, birch and hawthorn treeline close to the recreation field. The poem ‘Do You Speak Field?’ is another terrific example where the reader is given space to allow the poem to breathe.

The poems in this pamphlet are filled with heart and admiration for nature and its positive qualities in dealing with complex emotions. ‘Something Like Hope’ is a prosaic piece that takes the reader along on a searching walk with the narrator. ‘Meadow Semantics’ has a sense of survival, resilience and renewal.

Form is fluid throughout the book with multiple styles to excellent effectiveness. One of my favourites uses form terrifically. ‘A Short Guide to Noticing’ is a list poem that transfers to short stanzas full of wonderful language. Another piece (and another of my favourites) ‘Attempting to Translate The Curlew by Listening to Sound Samples on My Phone’ is extraordinary in its use of language, format, spacing and ambition. ‘Emergency For Bees’ is a tremendous use of erasure poetry and has real impact both in terms of message and visually.

This is a book that will appeal to lovers of poetry, lovers of nature poetry, lovers of poetry with heart. Fans of creative use of form will love this. It is an exquisite collection and a book everyone should be reading in 2026. I can’t praise this enough as it is another book that has expanded my perspectives on poetry like Leia Butler’s visual approach in Make Up My Mind.

Favourite Poem:

There are so many special poems in this book. I could name every single one and that wouldn’t be a stretch. So to go along with ‘A Short Guide to Noticing’, ‘Attempting to Translate The Curlew by Listening to Sound Samples on My Phone’ and ‘You Find A Fox Skull’, I’ll go with ‘Human Interviews Local Brook’, ‘A Dunnock’s Prayer’, ‘Meet Me In The Field’, ‘Tournesols’, ‘Field Notes’, ‘Owl In A Box’ and ‘& Then A Lark’.

To learn more about Corinna, click here to read an interview in The Wombwell Rainbow..

To buy Mædwe, click here

As always here’s a playlist that I think accompanies the book well. It’s a quirky mix of modern and vintage this week:

Oasis – Songbird
Fleetwood Mac – Landslide
Joni Mitchell – Little Green
Bill Withers – Ain’t No Sunshine
Passenger featuring Birdy – Beautiful Birds
Miles Davis – Stella by Starlight
George Ezra – Green Green Grass
The Corrs – Summer Sunshine
Sigrid – Home To You
Sting – Deep In The Meadow
Eurythmics – Here Comes The Rain Again
Gregory Porter – Skylark

Before I Go…
Have you been keeping up with The Book Bag: Poetic Voices feature for February? A new piece was added on Tuesday and shows a grittier side to Paul’s work. Read the full feature here.

One More Thing…
I highly recommend Black Bough Poetry’s Crafting Your Year in Poetry session. It’s a great, collaborative session to identify gals that you can realistically aim for and achieve over the year. There’s one happening on Sunday 1st March. Details here.

And Another…
Poetry Wales have a submission call for poetry on the theme of teaching. Find the details here.

And Finally…
The Alchemy Spoon are also looking for poetry. This time on the theme of ‘bugs’. More information here.

Next Week’s Read

  • Title: Along The Home Roads
  • Poet: Andy Perrin

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

Paul

The Book Bag: Poetic Voices – November 2025

November, here we are. The fiery palate outside makes me think this year is burning through time. Where did October go?

With a new month, comes a new Poetic Voice and I am beyond thrilled to be able to announce and welcome to The Book Bag, Rebecca Goss, a poet I have long regarded as exceptional, especially for her poetry of place. It was excellent to hear Rebecca receive much deserved mainstream recognition from Frank Skinner on his podcast a couple of months ago, listen here.

Image Credit: Natalie J Watts

Rebecca Goss is the author of four full-length collections. Her second collection, Her Birth, (Carcanet, 2013) was shortlisted for several prizes including the 2013 Forward Prize for Best Collection. She is the winner of the Sylvia Plath Prize 2022. Her latest collection Latch (Carcanet, 2023) was shortlisted for the Creative Suffolk Author Award, 2025. She works as a poetry mentor, and is a Writing for Life Fellow with the Royal Literary Fund, in NHS Recovery Colleges. She is current Poet in Residence for CW+, the official charity of Chelsea and Westminster Hospital NHS Foundation Trust.

Follow Rebecca on Instagram @gosspoems

This month I will be sharing a few pieces from Rebecca’s collection, ‘Latch’ available to buy from Carcanet here which previously is a A London Review Bookshop Book of the Year and has been longlisted for the Longlisted for the New Angle Prize for Literature 2025. Carcanet have kindly provided rights for me to share images and poetry.

The first poem I will be sharing from Latch is ‘The Farm’

As promised, and graciously shared by Rebecca, this is ‘Weir’ from the collection ‘Latch’.

I want to thank Rebecca for sharing this bonus piece from ‘Latch’. This is one of my personal favourites in the collection and it is a real privilege to be able to share ‘The Hounds’.

Remember, you can here Frank Skinner discussing ‘Latch’ on his podcast here. You can buy ‘Latch’ here. It would make an excellent gift for poetry lovers.

Stay Poetic

Paul

The Book Bag: Down River with Li Po by Karen Pierce Gonzalez

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

This week has been busy. Friends visiting the past weekend got us across North Tyneside and Northumberland. A walk around Rising Sun Country Park, a trip to the coast and a walk over the causeway to St. Mary’s Lighthouse. Some fish and chips too. I also saw Tim Minchin live on Wednesday at Newcastle City Hall who was excellent as always. His live shows always make me laugh, cry and leave with a smile.

On top of that, I’ve been reading;

Down River With Li Po

  • Poet: Karen Pierce Gonzalez
  • Press: Black Cat Poetry Press


I first read Karen’s work on a Broken Spine or (maybe a Top Tweet Tuesday) prompt response. Then I was lucky enough to see her read on an open mic and it was clear that she is both a tremendous writer and performer. Today I’m sharing my thoughts on one of the several collections Karen has or is releasing this year. I will be honest here, I had been sent this collection electronically hence it being on my tablet, but I have also ordered the physical copy, I loved it that much (it didn’t arrive intime for the photos which will be updated once it arrives). Read on for my thoughts as well as an eclectic playlist.

Down River with Li Po transports us back in time and space back to 8th Century China during the Tang Dynasty whilst also having a foot in modern California. This adds a great dynamic to the collection as the parallels become visible.


From the first poem, it is clear that creating sensory immersive imagery is one of Karen’s strengths. Pieces including ‘Lantern Festival’, ‘On The Bank’ and ‘Waking Up In Paradise’ are all terrific examples of this.

The collection feels relaxing, soft and uncomplicated as readers sail down the Yangtze River. Pieces such as ‘Waiting’ and ‘At The Harbor’ are excellent examples of crafting serenity in poetry. ‘A Tender Walk’ is a beautifully crafted piece that made me feel calm after reading.  However, Karen counterpoints tranquillity with urgency in pieces such as ‘When The General Arrives’ and ‘Instincts’.

Nature is a focal point in the collection. ‘Early Summer Rain’ is a fine example of Karen’s ability to weave the domestic and the wild. ‘Dandelions’ is a perfect display of economy of language and the omnipotence and movement of the oft overlooked golden wildflower.

Relationships are explored in the collection. ‘During The Invasion’ portrays a protective instinct. ‘Woodland’ reads as a poem of longing, potentially of lost love and how we attach meaning to sensory input. ‘We Meet In Spring’ is a wonderful piece. There is so much contained in eight lines.

Karen is deft at using form and formatting to set the pace of individual pieces. ‘Wistful’ and ‘Merlot With The Moon’ are two examples where a change in formatting and use of space adds further depth to the poems. ‘Between Us’ plays with alignment on the page as does ‘Bird Talk’ and many others.


This collection will appeal to anybody who wants to immerse themself in a calmer, less complicated world, even if it’s just for a few minutes away from the chaos, listen to the sounds of the natural world both modern and centuries old. It will also resonate with readers who appreciate rich imagery and expert use of language. It is a triumph.

Favourite Poem:
I have a few in this collection. ‘The Shift’, ‘Between Us’, ‘Dandelions’ and ‘Imperial’ all wrangled for top spot on various days.

To read more about Karen including other works, click here.

To buy Down River with Li Po click here.

As promised, a playlist;

Wong Yiqin – Summer of Jiamusi
Zhou Xiao-Qing – Chinese Dragon
Hong Ting – Lotus Out of Water
Zhang Wei-Liang – Plum Blossom Melody – Three Variations
Yu Xunfa – Six Clappers in Zhong Hua
Joni Mitchell – California
Bruce Springsteen – Goin’ To California
Maxime Le Forestier – San Francisco
John Denver – Country Roads

One More Thing…
Keep an eye out for another poem from June’s featured poet dropping on Monday. If you’ve missed it, catch up on the feature here.

And Another…
I’ll be sending out invites for this month’s Write Here, Right Now writing group meeting this week. If you’d like to know more, drop me a message on social media. We are an inclusive, supportive group.

And Another…
Beautiful Little Fools, an anthology inspired by The Jazz Age, following 100 yeas of the Great Gatsby will be released on 7th July 2025. If you follow me on social media, I’ll be sharing a link when it goes live.

And Finally…
The Winged Moon are open for submissions on the theme of Biophilia until the 2nd of July. More details here.

Next Week’s Read

  • Title: Midden Witch
  • Poet: Fiona Benson

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

Paul

The Book Bag: Lode by Gillian Allnutt

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

This week has been a week. For starters, I’ve hurt my back and it’s limiting what I can do. But this week I shared an article on recently appearing on the BBC, sent out a couple of submissions, done some prep for next month’s Write Here, Right Now, we had some close friends visit us from Lincoln. We also harvested and ate some of the turnips from the garden.

On top of that, I’ve been reading;

Lode

  • Poet: Gillian Allnutt
  • Press: Bloodaxe Books


I was tipped off to Lode by Bloodaxe Books (as its NE based) and had pencilled in to read in July. However, I got myself a copy early, moved some dates around due to postage and decided to rad it this week and share my thoughts with you all. Also there’s a playlist below (just my recommendations).  

Lode is divided into three sections. Postwar, Covid and Earth-hoard. We start in 2016 then time travel across generations throughout the book going back to late 40’s Britain all the way to modern day.

There are deeply personal pieces in this book. The poems dedicated and in memoriam of Gillian Allnutt’s father are full of emotional resonance. ‘Flame-thrower’ is an exceptionally crafted piece that gave me pause.

I’m familiar with most of the northern villages and towns mentioned throughout Lode. Therefore, when seeing names of places, I know in some of the poems, I could feel myself there enjoying sight, smell and sound memory concentrated even more so by Gillian Allnutt’s writing. ‘Dunstanburgh’, a conversation poem in the collection is home to a ruined castle and is a favourite walk of ours from Craster. In ‘My Father, Mislaid’, a moving piece, Gillian takes us to Chillingham, a place I’m very fond of.


There are threads of spirituality peppered throughout the collection. The poem ‘The Way She Remembered It’ is preceded by a quote from Song of Songs. In ‘Trist’ God is referred to again. In ‘At 71’ the poet reflects on Covid, mortality and loneliness. It’s a balanced poem of humour and sadness.

Nature plays a key role in the book both in terms of the landscape and fauna. ‘Dark Night of The Soul’ is an incredible piece that is both introspective and rich with natural imagery. As is the piece ‘Of The Trees In The Wood By The Old Pit Line’. I enjoyed ‘Golden Saxifrage’ as it combines wild nature, domestic lawnmowing and an online literature festival (saxifrage is one of my favourite plants especially the arctic variety for its resilience).

Wit is a constant through the collection. The poem ‘Azuma Meditation’ is a clever piece. Also ‘Audience’ will draw a smile where Gillian Allnutt is meeting Queen Elizabeth II when collecting her Queen’s Gold Medal for Poetry in 2016.

Form-wise, we are treated to various forms and devices. There are micropoems including ‘Footnote’, I’ve mentioned ‘Dunstanburgh’ which is a poem in conversation script form. Some pieces including ‘Audience’ have an internal rhyme structure. There are couplet arranged pieces including ‘Pink Jenkins’ and ‘On Having To Leave York University Without The Clock’. I must also mention the notes section of the book. This gives extra emphasis to the pieces and context.


Favourite Poem:
There’s a few that I must name. Crabapple Moon, The Walk (allowed) and The Song of Arachnid. I could add a few others including Beechwood, Do The Birds Worry? and Roughage.

To read more about Gillian Allnutt click here.

To buy a copy of Lode direct from Bloodaxe Books, click here.

This Week’s Playlist:

Kathryn Tickell – Back to the Rede
Mark Knopfler – Kingdom of Gold
Exile – In Between Tides
Lindisfarne – Kings Cross Blues
Sting and The Police – Brand New Day
Bearpark & Esh Colliery Band – Songs of the Tyne
The Unthanks – Magpie
Sam Fender featuring Easington Colliery Band – Remember my Name
The Jam – London Calling

This is a book with broad appeal. It has heartfelt, emotive poetry, wit, excellent imagery and various forms. The book navigates shifts in time deftly and like a lode, this book is a journey. Now, I need to get my hands on more of Gillian Allnutt’s work to read.

One More Thing…

You can read my piece on appearing on the BBC here. If you’re a poet or writer looking to get your work out there, it may be worth a read.

And Another…

Black Bough Poetry has another Crafting Your Year In Poetry workshop coming up on 13th July, a great way to help get serious about your writing. Details here.

And Another…

It’s not long until the Frazzled Lit Short Story Competition Closes. Details here.

And Another…

Broken Spine Arts has a range of events coming up including open mics and workshops. Details can be found here.

And Finally…

The Beautiful Little Fools Anthology, published by Broken Spine Arts will be out Early July. This is a book in response to the Jazz Age. It’s hotter than a Gatsby party. More details soon.

Next Week’s Read

  • Title: Down River with Li Po
  • Poet: Karen Pierce Gonzalez

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

Paul

The Book Bag: Mountains That See In The Dark by Regine Ebner

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

Well what a week it has been. After 70 years without a domestic cup, Newcastle United finally won the League Cup at Wembley. Since then, it’s been a bit of a whirlwind of emotions. I attended an awayday at work and heard a speaker discussing change which was really interesting. I also met a friend for a catchup over food and drinks.

On top of that, I’ve been reading;

Mountains That See in the Dark

  • Poet: Regine Ebner
  • Press: Black Bough Poetry

A few weeks ago, I shared my thoughts on Regine Ebner’s pamphlet ‘Oxidized Pennies’. I said that a new collection was coming from Regine in the near future, and readers, it has arrived.  You’ll also know that I’m a massive fan of Regine in her poetry and for her adventurous spirit.

The collection, recently announced as nominated for a Forward Prize by Black Bough Poetry, is divided into 6 sections (including bonus poems), each taking inspiration from the mountainous desert terrain that serves as a backdrop for much of Regine’s poems. A page ‘About Regine’ gives details as to how her life was shaped and how she arrived in the desert.

Her skill in economy of language has evolved since Oxidized Pennies. Two compact poems; ‘Citrine’ and ‘Drunk Confetti’ illustrate this, with word choices connecting to their underlying themes more vividly. I can also say the same for ‘Jellybean Hill’ and ‘A Myriad of Leaf’.

Regine plays with the spectrum of colour deftly in the collection. The pieces ‘Apparitions’, ‘Cracked Surfaces’ and ‘Hurricanes’ paint the wilderness of the mountainous desert region brilliantly, lifting them from the page to the mind’s eye.

The imagery throughout is exceptional. I could list countless poems in this collection where it felt as though I was immersed in landscaped scenes unfamiliar to me. I will pick out the following as examples; ‘Bonds of Salted Land’, ‘Missions and Slit Rail Fences’ and ‘Hushed Peaks and Glory Columbine’.  A great deal of the pieces are love letters to the environment that Regine calls home.

I read a quote at the Northern Poetry Library a while ago that said ‘…Poetry is painting that is felt rather than seen’, and this collection is definitely testament to that.

Poems including ‘Love and Beasts’ and ‘Desert Streets’ play with movement in differing ways. The shifts in pace really engage the reader further rather than rushing them through to a crescendo of a closing line.

Mountains That See in the Dark is a tremendous second ‘album’ that will appeal of lovers of imagery woven throughout emotional and natural reckonings. This is precise poetry that resonates.

To buy Mountains That see In The Dark, and find more about Regine, click here. It is available in both Paperback and for Kindle.

Favourite Poem:

Doorways.

One More Thing…

My efforts to start a new online poetry writing group have ramped up and will soon be sending out invites. The plan is to host every 6 weeks midweek, probably a Thursday evening (UK time).

Next Week’s Read

  • Title: A Dress With Deep Pockets
  • Poet: Jen Feroze

Take it easy and stay poetic, I’ll catch you next week. If you have any recommendations in the meantime, please leave a comment.

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

Poem: The Barghest

The Barghest is a figure from Northumbrian folklore. A monstrous black dog with large teeth and claws; believed to be an omen of death. This poem was in response to a prompt on the Top Tweet Tuesday platform on X.

The Bhargest

Sable-sad fur shifting in the gloam, 
you could be invisible but for your coronal eyes
blazing hotter than a hellhound’s, 
and those gouging silver-sickle claws glinting in moondusk, 
your blunt falchion-teeth rattling 
like promethean chains on the windspell. 

It’s hard not to choke 
on the wafting scent of your cavern-heft jowls, 
putrefaction palpable as a spit-roasted suckling pig. 
Sometimes you deafen the darkness with knowing - 
thunder-roars of finality. 

Old lives and older tales tell me to be wary of you. 
Beware of your paws for they will strike me down. 
But I’m no hostage to the opinions of others. 

To me,  you’re simply misunderstood. 
You’re no omen of death. 
Like all dogs, you’re a protector. 
A protector of life. You give us a chance to change, 
to settle balances before it’s too late. 

I’ve been called many names, none my own. 
We are kindred.
Not all that’s written and said, is true.

The Book Bag – Blossomise by Simon Armitage

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

This week, I had some amazing news at work: I battled the cold, attended an open mic hosted by Black Bough Poetry, submitted some pieces, attended North Tyneside Writer’s  Circle and went for a lovely meal in Northumberland.

On top of that, I’ve been reading;

Blossomise

  • Author: Simon Armitage
  • Press: Faber & Faber

Blossomise is a collaboration between Simon Armitage, Angela Harding and The National Trust.  It combines haikus with modern poetry. It is part of the National Trust’s campaign to celebrate spring and learn more about the natural world. I picked up my copy at Wallington Hall in Northumberland last year. 

As the title suggests, the poetry within this collection deals with the oncoming of blossom in spring. If you’ve read my piece “The Cherry Tree Orchard, Alnwick Garden”, you will know that I enjoy blossoming trees. 

It’s no surprise that the calibre of work within the pages is exquisite.

The poem ‘Folk Song’ is hypnotic, with the repetition of “apple, cherry, blackthorn, pear” especially when read aloud. 

‘Fluffy Dice’ is a terrific piece about nature versus man and its resulting unintended consequences. The use of triplets gives it energy and rhythm. It’s my second favourite poem in the collection. 

‘The Plymouth Pear’ highlights the rarity and the resilience of nature. The close grouping and shortness of lines give the piece an urgent immediacy.

The final poem in the collection, ‘Skeleton Tree’ shows us what nature offers and provides made me quite emotional.

A wonderful feature of Blossomise is how haiku is interspersed throughout the book. Each gives you pause. I found myself returning to the final haiku multiple times. 

But it’s not just the poetry that is exemplary. Angela Harding’s artwork that is throughout the book adds another dimension to the collection. The style of illustration really lends itself well to the message of the collection.

If you’re a fan of quality nature poetry brought to life by stunning artwork and love spring, this is the collection for you.

Favorite Poem:
Plum Tree Among The Skyscrapers.

One More Thing… 
There is an EP that accompanies the book recorded by Simon’s band LYR with community choirs across the UK.

Find out more about Simon Armitage here: http://www.simonarmitage.com

And Finally…

I’m really proud to have a piece published in the newest edition of Dust Poetry Magazine on the theme of Joy. I’ve included a link here; https://www.dustpoetry.co.uk/issues/categories/issue-13-joy the work inside is tremendous.

Next Week’s Read

Looking ahead, here’s what’s next in The Book Bag

  • Title: In Dangerous Hours
  • Author: Kitty Donnelly

Take it easy and stay poetic,

Paul

All Of Us Horses

Wild stallions overrunning cobblestone streets 
gallops fierce as northern thunder, 
manes a frenzy of electric-shock wind; 
all thoughts of consequences 
trampled in the wake of lightning-hooves. 

Shoots of meadows sprung up 
in tarmacked alleys and avenues. Band of brothers separated,  
searching for pastures of their own to graze. 

Love bridles all. Reins accepted willingly. 

Untethered and unburdened by expectation, 
when we horses herd together; 
                                                         we canter.

Photo by Vladimir Vujeva on Unsplash