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
Paul Writes Poems 