poem

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

The Book Bag – Rescue Lines by Lesley Curwen

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

This week, I’ve been to the cinema, done some stargazing, visited Morpeth, received some valuable feedback from my mentor, written some pieces, edited some pieces, researched some local mythology, read Orbital by Samantha Harvey and drank lots of lemsip. 

On top of that, I’ve been reading;

Rescue Lines

  • Author: Lesley Curwen
  • Press: Hedgehog Poetry Press

I had the pleasure of meeting Lesley in person at the famous Black Bough Poetry Party, where I first heard about this pamphlet. Lesley is widely published and recently guest-edited Black Bough’s Christmas / Winter Anthology (a great read). Lesley is also a broadcaster and sailor.

Rescue Lines is a highly personal pamphlet, dealing with forced adoption, coercive control, finding and losing a sister. Before I go further, let me state, that this is an important book. 

The collection opens with ‘To A Lifeboatman’. A poem about being saved at sea. Throughout the pamphlet, Lesley uses the sea in a variety of ways. ‘A View Of Plymouth Breakwater’ uses it as an outlet of rage. ‘The Seas Between Us Grow Every Day’ uses the sea as a measure of distance in terms of mourning and recovery. In the poem ‘Unmoored’, we see the healing nature of water. 

‘Sister with Bees’ is a visceral piece using bees to display the nature of coercive control. The way Lesley describes the onset of a swarm, illustrates the danger and the speed at which people can succumb to a horrible situation. ‘Irresistible Pull’ is a raw and brutal poem.

‘Full Sister, Half Known’ is deeply saddening and tackles the separation of Lesley from her sister using a sewing machine as a vehicle for the narrative. This is an evocative and brave piece to write. ‘Without End’ is an incredibly moving poem that struck a chord. It made me reflect on my own experiences of grief. ‘Afterness’ brought me to tears. 

This collection is tragically sad at points however, the final poem ‘My Sister’s Eye is Opal’ is a wonderful tribute and shows how Lesley and her sister are still connected through a bestowed ring. 

Get this collection. It is uncompromising, challenging and brave. The truest form of poetry.

To find out more about Lesley, check out her website at: lesleycurwenpoet.com

If you’d like a signed copy of Rescue Lines, you can contact Lesley on X @ElCurwen, 

Unsigned copies are available here: https://www.hedgehogpress.co.uk/product/rescue-lines-lesley-curwen-print-edition/

Favorite Poem:
My Sister’s Eye is Opal.

One More Thing… 

Lesley had a chapbook of Eco Poetry published by Dreich Poetry Press in 2024 available here;
https://hybriddreich.co.uk/product/sticky-with-miles-lesley-curwen/

And Finally
Two upcoming courses that may pique poetic readers’ interest, both on the Sunday 16th February and no overlap so if you wanted you could do both…

Untamed: Writing Without Fear by Alan Parry of Broken Spine Arts – I’ve attended several of Alan’s workshops and they are always informative and engaging. Tickets and Details here;
https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/untamed-writing-without-fear-with-alan-parry-tickets-1126372493449?aff=ebdssbdestsearch

Crafting Your Year in Poetry – A Strategic Workshop for Poets by Matthew MC Smith of Black Bough Poetry – I’ve attended this and it’s given me a great drive and focus. It is a real boost to your practice and helps identify how to get where you’re going. Tickets and Details here; https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/crafting-your-year-in-poetry-a-strategic-workshop-for-poets-tickets-1134533804149?aff=ebdsoporgprofile&keep_tld=1

Next Week’s Read

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

  • Title: Blossomise
  • Author: Simon Armitage

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

The Book Bag – The Keeper of Aeons by Matthew M.C. Smith

Welcome back to The Book Bag. Last week, I enjoyed Damien B. Donnelly’s Back From Away.

This week, I’ve submitted a poem to the Starbeck Orion #NotAdvent edition (accepting submissions until 16th December 2024 on departure, disappearance, abandonment, withdrawal, exodus, evacuation, absence, Extinction Event. submit – you know you want to, details here), done some Christmas shopping, made a delicious fruitcake and got valuable feedback on my writing plans. Among all that I’ve been reading;

The Keeper of Aeons

  • Author: Matthew M.C. Smith
  • Press: Broken Spine

I’ll start by saying that Matthew is a huge figure in the poetry community. He is a publisher extraordinaire through Black Bough Poetry and the architect of Top Tweet Tuesday on Twitter/X, where a community of poets can share poetry and receive weekly feedback from guest hosts and peers.

He is also a workshop facilitator, a campaigner to return The Red Lady of Paviland and Paviland relics to Swansea, an open mic host, a Poetry Party organiser, a mentor, an editor, and, most importantly of all, a genuinely top man who celebrates others’ successes and encourages people to do well. He is one of the people who have had a positive influence on my poetry for which I’m truly grateful.

The Keeper of Aeons takes the reader through space, time, myth, pop culture, the marvel of Welsh landscapes and beyond. The scale of the collection is introduced immediately in the poem ‘Astronaut’ followed by ‘Aeons’ in which past, present and future clash in marvellous sensory descriptions.

As an advocate for imagism through Top Tweet Tuesday and Black Bough Poetry, it is unsurprising that Wales’s vivid, rugged and sometimes dark landscapes are described in such incredible detail. Poems and prose including Mynydd Drummau / Drummau Mountain, ‘Henrhyd Falls / Annwn’  and ‘Sweyne’s Howes’ treat us to explorations of glorious places.

We are treated to nostalgia in ‘Fixing the Hyperdrive’, a piece that pulls us into the family home and the receipt of a Millennium Falcon. References to parma violets  (the most underrated sweet there is) the newsreaders of the era, and obviously a catalogue of Star Wars characters, but the star of the poem is undoubtedly Uncle David. 

The romantic in me admires the inclusion of some exceptional love poetry, notably in ‘Ancient Navigations’ a poem that guides the reader on a road trip around the countryside, and ‘Reunion’, a poem about Penelope and Odysseus reuniting (The Odyssey is my favourite of the epic poems).

In the poem Towards Night: from The Space Station, the question of human progress being too rapid and the potential aftereffects. Again, razor-sharp imagery and language throughout. 

Buy this collection. It’s visceral, thought-provoking, philosophical and clever. Also, it depicts Wales so beautifully and the next time I visit, I’ll have an itinerary as long as my arm. You could describe Matthew as the twenty-first-century RS Thomas.

Favorite Poem:
Reunion. Followed by Ancient Navigations, then The Blue Hour. 

One More Thing… 

I’ve already mentioned Matthew is a campaigner for returning the Red Lady of Paviland to Wales. More information on this campaign can be found here; https://x.com/PavilandFutures and the illustrated pamphlet Paviland: Ice and Fire  (currently on sale at a reduced price) can be found here; https://www.amazon.co.uk/Paviland-Ice-Fire-Matthew-Smith/dp/B0BRSG6ZLF 

And Another…

As stated earlier, Matthew is also the man behind Black Bough Poetry. You can learn more about him and Black Bough here; https://www.blackboughpoetry.com/  


And Finally… 

If you’re free on Thursday 12th December 2024, the super-talented Louise Longson is hosting a poetry event on Zoom. Called Human / Nature, the poems explore a sense of place and space. I am one of the readers alongside a stellar array of poets and tickets can be snapped up on the following link for free: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/human-nature-poetry-readings-exploring-a-sense-of-place-and-space-tickets-1094310144099 

The Book Bag will be closed for the next few weeks but don’t fear it will return on 5th January 2025. Thank you for delving into The Book Bag with me in 2024.

Drop a comment and let me know what you’re reading plans over Christmas. I’ll be reading the Black Bough Christmas/Winter Anthology, and this book from Hedgehog Poetry Press which I’m in.

Take it easy, stay poetic and have a very merry Christmas,

Paul

The Book Bag – Back From Away by Damien B Donnelly

Welcome back to The Book Bag. Last week, I read Panic Response by John McCullough and gave my thoughts on the collection.

This week, between finding out I have been nominated for the Pushcart by Broken Spine (details here), hearing I have a Christmas poem forthcoming in the Hedgehog Press Christmas Annual (details here), attending the 2nd launch of Consolamentum by James McConachie hosted by Matthew MC Smith of Black Bough Poetry where I read The Armchair, and submitting to a couple of presses, I’ve been reading:

Back From Away

  • Author: Damien B. Donnelly
  • Press: Turas Press

I’ll begin by acknowledging how much I value what Damien does for the poetry community and how much I appreciate what he has done for me from when I was taking tentative steps into my poetry journey. Being included in the Eat the Storms podcast gave me confidence and pushed me forward. 

Back From Away is a collection covering Damien’s return to Ireland following a well-travelled life. It is divided into two sections: Away and Back. It deals with aspects of lived experience, belonging, identity, and relationships. The pieces in this collection are honest, passionate, and very frank. 

Vivid imagery is found throughout the collection in poems such as ‘Shanghai Streets, ‘‘Far From Home,’ ‘Kamsahamnida,’ ‘Not Everything Is A Competition,’ and ‘Walking the Line.’ The language captures not just what’s on the page but what lies beneath. I especially appreciated the depiction of navigating Shanghai.

In Between the Floorboards and An Antique Letterpress in Amsterdam, the use of floorboards as a measurement of space both literally and figuratively is so well executed. Sometimes in poetry, you see something and think, I wish I thought of that. 

Relationships are scattered throughout the pages of the collection. Damien handles these poems in a multitude of ways including using particle physics in ‘The Scent of Something that Never Existed’, eating horse in ‘Better than Nothing’, and recalling songs in ‘Memory Is Often All We Can Hope For.’ The relationships explored in the Back section of the book hit me hard. Poems such as ‘The Blunt Butcher’, ‘That Snarl Amongst the Goddesses’ and ‘Mechanics’ are great representations of how poetry can be used in a way to describe situations that can’t be simply explained. ‘Mechanic’ had me welling up. 

Along with a variety of topics, Damien uses a range of forms from more formal structures to pieces like ‘The Wave’, ‘Tides’ and ‘The Sum Of’. Here he guides the reader through in delicately controlled way.

If you don’t have this book, then you should. The honesty and emotion is both palpable and visceral, a tour de force from a huge talent.

Find out more about Damien and his projects here: https://deuxiemepeaupoetry.com/ 

For information about the Storms Podcast & Journal visit: https://eatthestorms.com/ 

To order Back From Away, visit Turas Press here: https://turaspress.ie/shop/back-from-away-by-damien-b-donnelly/ 

Favorite Poem:
Late Light is number 1 followed by This Act & Between The Floorboards.

One More Thing… 

There are translations of non-English words in the glossary section and some interesting footnotes including a Johnny Cash appearance. 

And Another…

Back From Away featured heavily in poetry recommendations on the Top Tweet Tuesday reviews week, so you don’t just need to take my word for how good it is. Also, I must get back in touch with Damien as I hope to dive back into a Storm…

And Finally… 

I have been kindly asked to read at an event being hosted by the super-talented poet Louise Longson on Thursday 12th December 2024 on Zoom. Called Human / Nature, the readings explore a sense of place and space. The lineup is stellar and tickets can be snapped up on the following link for free: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/human-nature-poetry-readings-exploring-a-sense-of-place-and-space-tickets-1094310144099 

Next Week’s Read

Looking ahead, here’s what’s lined up for my book bag next week;

  • Title: The Keeper of Aeons 
  • Author: Matthew M C Smith

That’s it for this week’s reading roundup! If you’ve read any of the books I’m sharing or have recommendations for what poetry I should be reading, drop a comment below. 

Take it easy

Paul

Taihaku Joypiloting at Alnwick Garden

We launch, feet pushing from worn grass. 
Our thick sleeper-swing, dampscented by 
April showers hitting heavy rope, 
cradles us under the boutique of Taihaku blossom.

A tender spring whisperbreeze rustles,
swirling silken kisses around the orchard. 
Calm wonderstruck coos echo from fellow joypilots.

Knees propel us further into the vortex, 
paperlight white-pink petals dress us, 
accidentally feed us. 

Bitter tastes are fleeting chasing contentment storms.

We slow,
our legs heavy in a serotonin lake,
flooded with vanilla-cherry pheromones.

A blissful embrace.

Before The Apple Bobbing

The effigy burns 		   slowly 
until he’s blessed with 		       lighter fluid 
and turps.         Inferno, 	like hell, 
swallows the straw-man 			     whole. 

Innocent faces stare wide-eyed - 
claret cheeks gorging 		      liquorice Catherine-wheels 
while their spin-fizz namesakes 
frizzle		   out 	     defiant 		    sparks 
in the face of 	   Roman candles. 

Lies are told about the name's origin  
by the man in charge.   
‘Oh, Catherine Wheels were named for a king’s wife.’  
Nobody questions Akela.  
Instead, Baloo seethes redder  
                than the flame-licked luridness 
                                                         emblazoning the yard.

                                                         Explosions ensue.




Featured image: Photo by Alexis Hunter on Unsplash

The Armchair

Cenotaph of my loathe-quarry
lurks in the corner
ominous obelisk of misery-grey fabric 
stained by stagnant-self
                    arms grubbier than a plagiarist in an inkwell.

It haunts my body
memory-foam cushions twisted
around my depression
                      like an alligator in death-roll.

                                  If perching, it’s only for seconds
dread at comfort swallowing me whole
or falling over the feet clumsily
                                 delivering self-recrimination
that plunges me into that dark brutal chasm
                                                                                   - again.

The armchair is a sound-hollow
negative echoes only
so I stay silent near its plinth
  	              ⁃ yet sometimes the pride in victory
my eyes hold
is loud enough to drown
                                              past despair.

An Affair of Pipistrelles

Shrouded in the half-light 
of a crow-dusk sky and ruby streetlamp blur 
I observe hidden lovers 
tango in mid-air 
wings outstretched ready to hold the earth  
                                   in their lust-love 

time is stolen by the passion of the near-night  
                          and silent melody of the harp-moon 

until the crackle of burnt leaf-beacons
warns of a stoat’s prying eyes
               
         endangered by discovery
         the paramours bow into the shadows 
leaving only the gentlest echo of their romance 
                                                           
                                                                           to the dark.