“Sojourn”

Amit Chaudhuri's Sojourn is an odd little book. A curio. It's like a series of Polaroid photographs strung together to make an album - though obviously made up of words. Those snapshot images represent a journey through Berlin; less so a physical journey than a metaphysical one. The protagonist learns and forgets things along the … Continue reading “Sojourn” →

“A Girl is a Half-formed Thing”

Eimear McBride's A Girl is a Half-formed Thing is a difficult book to read. Firstly this is because of the style in which it is written: fragmented, jerky, linguistically inaccurate, often illiterate. It seems like stream of consciousness with about a quarter of the words removed. And with stuttering where there are words. Impossible for … Continue reading “A Girl is a Half-formed Thing” →

For a writer, here’s the problem with measuring things…

I can't take the credit for this; indeed, I may be butchering the source (which sadly I can't locate) - but here is something I think is really telling: We want to measure what we value - but end up valuing what we can measure... Which is why we focus on likes, shares, subscribers etc. … Continue reading For a writer, here’s the problem with measuring things… →

“The Silence”

There is nothing intrinsically wrong with Gillian Clarke's collection "The Silence". All the poems are entirely competent, 'poetic'. Yet for me they lack any kind of universality, something to which I can relate in such as way as to be moved or inspired or feel the work relevant. Reading them feels a little like skimming … Continue reading “The Silence” →

“Crash” – a new performance this year!

Following its debut performance at the 2023 Ripon Theatre Festival, I will be performing my dramatic poem Crash - the last 30 minutes of a life at the inaugural "WordFest" event in Market Rasen this summer. The performance will be on Saturday 6th July at 10:45 in the Old Magistrates Court, Market Rasen, Lincolnshire, UK. … Continue reading “Crash” – a new performance this year! →

Okay, you’ve written a poem. So what?

I am currently reading a collection of poems which are all well crafted, lyrical, ‘poetic’. Focussing on a limited palette in terms of theme - the natural world, the impact of lockdown, solitude - they all pretty much hit the mark; when you turn the page, as a reader you know what you’re going to … Continue reading Okay, you’ve written a poem. So what? →

“High Ground and other stories”

Is it impossible not to think of James Joyce and "Dubliners" when reading the first story in John McGahern's "High Ground and other stories"? I was instantly transported - and instantly enthralled. Wonderful stuff. And if I worried that the effect would be temporary and I might find everything was downhill after that, then I … Continue reading “High Ground and other stories” →