tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-41512872275762201882024-03-14T08:43:40.459+00:00Conversations with WritersPresents interviews with writers, publishers and literary activistsAmbrose Musiyiwahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12325345242865418582noreply@blogger.comBlogger424125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4151287227576220188.post-33223603422938634012022-07-23T14:06:00.005+01:002022-07-23T14:11:31.199+01:00Welcome to Britain: a Call for Poetry and Short Fiction<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgr9U2SeiLAl7AUO9BHsRQFVA3kIvtjK_f3U9xSZ3fGi9wHHlVXASr4jwGknDkqTzyMu84-229NBLDdoSjxPF7WBcWC-HFEDLqCszDcCtbwh8n30SHScVdblLXXHxTlStdGpFe4QvlVcIDYUoEcfAUpZb7RJA9l-GQguFZnCt5KnE2BHW4Z_ZU3NBX0Cw/s1200/Welcome%20to%20Britain.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="628" data-original-width="1200" height="167" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgr9U2SeiLAl7AUO9BHsRQFVA3kIvtjK_f3U9xSZ3fGi9wHHlVXASr4jwGknDkqTzyMu84-229NBLDdoSjxPF7WBcWC-HFEDLqCszDcCtbwh8n30SHScVdblLXXHxTlStdGpFe4QvlVcIDYUoEcfAUpZb7RJA9l-GQguFZnCt5KnE2BHW4Z_ZU3NBX0Cw/s320/Welcome%20to%20Britain.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><p></p><p><span face="Calibri, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">CivicLeicester is inviting and accepting poems and short fiction on the theme, </span><span face="Calibri, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Welcome to Britain</span><span face="Calibri, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">.</span></p><span id="docs-internal-guid-fea12624-7fff-9032-a9c7-08ceaf9ed1b8"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span face="Calibri, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">We welcome submissions exploring but not limited to:</span></p><ul style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-inline-start: 48px;"><li aria-level="1" dir="ltr" style="color: #333333; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; list-style-type: disc; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><p dir="ltr" role="presentation" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">images, issues, histories, lives, and demands that are currently in play in Britain today</span></p></li><li aria-level="1" dir="ltr" style="color: #333333; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; list-style-type: disc; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><p dir="ltr" role="presentation" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">daily life in Britain</span></p></li><li aria-level="1" dir="ltr" style="color: #333333; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; list-style-type: disc; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><p dir="ltr" role="presentation" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">reparations for slave trading, the use of slave labour and for benefiting from the slavery system (the extended global system involving plantation labour and slave-produced commodities etc)</span></p></li><li aria-level="1" dir="ltr" style="color: #333333; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; list-style-type: disc; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><p dir="ltr" role="presentation" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">issues that made the Black Lives Matter movement relevant to Britain, the current state of the movement and its possible futures</span></p></li><li aria-level="1" dir="ltr" style="color: #333333; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; list-style-type: disc; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><p dir="ltr" role="presentation" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">responses that engage with, contest and subvert the myths Britain tells about itself</span></p></li><li aria-level="1" dir="ltr" style="color: #333333; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; list-style-type: disc; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><p dir="ltr" role="presentation" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">responses to British politicians' attitudes towards the use of nuclear weapons and their fixation with the idea of pushing 'the button'</span></p></li><li aria-level="1" dir="ltr" style="color: #333333; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; list-style-type: disc; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><p dir="ltr" role="presentation" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">responses to Britain’s role in the current Ukraine-Russian War that go beyond, engage with or challenge the propaganda coming from both sides of the conflict</span></p></li><li aria-level="1" dir="ltr" style="color: #333333; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; list-style-type: disc; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><p dir="ltr" role="presentation" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">responses to how Britain positions itself in the world</span></p></li><li aria-level="1" dir="ltr" style="color: #333333; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; list-style-type: disc; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><p dir="ltr" role="presentation" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">migration, refugee and human rights issues in Britain, and</span></p></li><li aria-level="1" dir="ltr" style="color: #333333; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; list-style-type: disc; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><p dir="ltr" role="presentation" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">issues affecting racialised and minoritised groups in Britain.</span></p></li></ul><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span face="Calibri, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">We welcome submissions from writers of all ages, based anywhere in the world. </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="background-color: white; line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"> </p><p dir="ltr" style="background-color: white; line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span face="Calibri, sans-serif" style="background-color: transparent; color: #333333; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Please send the poems and/or short fiction to <b>civicleicester@gmail.com</b> by <b>2pm</b> on <b>Thursday, 8 September 2022</b>.</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="background-color: white; line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"> </p><p dir="ltr" style="background-color: white; line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span face="Calibri, sans-serif" style="background-color: transparent; color: #333333; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Submission Guidelines</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="background-color: white; line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"> </p><p dir="ltr" style="background-color: white; line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span face="Calibri, sans-serif" style="background-color: transparent; color: #333333; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">● Poems should be 40 lines or less</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="background-color: white; line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span face="Calibri, sans-serif" style="background-color: transparent; color: #333333; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">● Short prose 100 words or less.</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="background-color: white; line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span face="Calibri, sans-serif" style="background-color: transparent; color: #333333; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">● The poems and short prose should be on the theme, </span><span face="Calibri, sans-serif" style="background-color: transparent; color: #333333; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Welcome to Britain</span><span face="Calibri, sans-serif" style="background-color: transparent; color: #333333; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">. </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="background-color: white; line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span face="Calibri, sans-serif" style="background-color: transparent; color: #333333; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">● Submissions must be in English. In the case of translated work, it is the translator’s responsibility to obtain permission from the copyright holder of the original work.</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="background-color: white; line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span face="Calibri, sans-serif" style="background-color: transparent; color: #333333; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">● If submitting a poem or short prose that has been previously published, please give details of where it has appeared and confirm that you are the copyright holder.</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="background-color: white; line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span face="Calibri, sans-serif" style="background-color: transparent; color: #333333; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">● Ideally submissions will be typed single spaced and submitted either in the body of an email or as a .doc attachment.</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="background-color: white; line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span face="Calibri, sans-serif" style="background-color: transparent; color: #333333; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">● Please include a short biography of 100 words or less. This will be included in the anthology if your poem or short fiction is accepted. </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="background-color: white; line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span face="Calibri, sans-serif" style="background-color: transparent; color: #333333; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">● You may submit a maximum of three poems or three pieces of short fiction or a combination of poems and short fiction. You do not have to submit all three at the same time, but the editors can only consider a maximum of three submissions.</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="background-color: white; line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span face="Calibri, sans-serif" style="background-color: transparent; color: #333333; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">● We welcome submissions from writers of all ages, based anywhere in the world.</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="background-color: white; line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span face="Calibri, sans-serif" style="background-color: transparent; color: #333333; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">● Please send the poems and short fiction to <b>civicleicester@gmail.com</b> by <b>2pm</b> on <b>Thursday, 8 September 2022</b>.</span></p><div><span face="Calibri, sans-serif" style="background-color: transparent; color: #333333; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></div><div><span face="Calibri, sans-serif" style="background-color: transparent; color: #333333; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><i>CivicLeicester is an indy publisher that uses poetry, video, photography and the arts to highlight conversations. Books we have published include </i><a href="https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/1916459374/" target="_blank">Poetry and Settled Status for All: An Anthology</a> <i>(2022), </i><a href="https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/1916459358/" target="_blank">Black Lives Matter: Poems for a New World</a><i> (2020) and </i><a href="https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/1916459331/" target="_blank">Bollocks to Brexit: an Anthology of Poems and Short Friction</a><i> (2019).</i></span></div></span>Ambrose Musiyiwahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12325345242865418582noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4151287227576220188.post-34434235606403670572022-06-04T15:42:00.013+01:002022-12-12T19:30:54.355+00:00Africans in Ukraine: a Call for Poems, Short Stories and Creative Nonfiction <p><span face="Calibri, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #666666; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5PT4eu_EhIWHpk0Ptu-tv3GERgl_M50Leq5LDpxsYtD7wZ6WRjX6wTGBBe5w-bqiQHZqRA3PfP827vO1PB9beRYoiDZbN-Jm-dOecy26dJzv-ywyTxc-Ud7oc8lgmoRPKFt_vR5N_Hp-bWZ4DJa9MpNMZyOvuBou_TeLld4B6XNh_jAhhFN1wQNTRaw/s1280/Africans%20in%20Ukraine%20_%20Call%20for%20Submissions.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="853" data-original-width="1280" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5PT4eu_EhIWHpk0Ptu-tv3GERgl_M50Leq5LDpxsYtD7wZ6WRjX6wTGBBe5w-bqiQHZqRA3PfP827vO1PB9beRYoiDZbN-Jm-dOecy26dJzv-ywyTxc-Ud7oc8lgmoRPKFt_vR5N_Hp-bWZ4DJa9MpNMZyOvuBou_TeLld4B6XNh_jAhhFN1wQNTRaw/s320/Africans%20in%20Ukraine%20_%20Call%20for%20Submissions.jpg" width="320" /></a></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit; text-align: left;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit; text-align: left;">CivicLeicester is inviting and accepting poems, short stories and creative nonfiction (including memoir, diary entries, chronicles, biographical and autobiographical accounts, letters and other narratives) on the theme, </span><span face="Calibri, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-align: left; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Africans in Ukraine</span><span face="Calibri, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-align: left; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">We welcome submissions exploring:</span><span id="docs-internal-guid-ef6f05d2-7fff-43f7-63f9-737ec8cd028a"><ul style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-inline-start: 48px;"><li aria-level="1" dir="ltr" style="font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; list-style-type: disc; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><p dir="ltr" role="presentation" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">the lived experience of being an African in Ukraine</span></p></li><li aria-level="1" dir="ltr" style="font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; list-style-type: disc; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><p dir="ltr" role="presentation" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">what brought Africans to Ukraine </span></span></p></li><li aria-level="1" dir="ltr" style="font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; list-style-type: disc; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><p dir="ltr" role="presentation" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">their lives in Ukraine before the current Ukraine-Russian War</span></span></p></li><li aria-level="1" dir="ltr" style="font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; list-style-type: disc; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><p dir="ltr" role="presentation" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">what happened when the war broke out</span></span></p></li><li aria-level="1" dir="ltr" style="font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; list-style-type: disc; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><p dir="ltr" role="presentation" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">experiences of and flight from the conflict</span></span></p></li><li aria-level="1" dir="ltr" style="font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; list-style-type: disc; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><p dir="ltr" role="presentation" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">the images, issues, histories, lives and demands that Africans in Ukraine are highlighting</span></span></p></li><li aria-level="1" dir="ltr" style="font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; list-style-type: disc; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><p dir="ltr" role="presentation" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">the reception Africans got in neighbouring countries or in their countries of origin, and </span></span></p></li><li aria-level="1" dir="ltr" style="font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; list-style-type: disc; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><p dir="ltr" role="presentation" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">what happens or what should happen next</span><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">. </span></span></p></li></ul><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">We welcome submissions from writers of all ages, based anywhere in the world. </span></p><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">We particularly welcome submissions from people of African descent who were living and studying in Ukraine <b>and</b> those who witnessed or are witnessing what this group of people are going through.</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="background-color: white; line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="background-color: white; line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: inherit; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Please send the poems, short prose and creative nonfiction to <b>civicleicester@gmail.com</b> </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="background-color: white; line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: inherit; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="background-color: white; line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: inherit; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The call for submissions will stay open until we have enough material for an anthology.</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="background-color: white; line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="background-color: white; line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: inherit; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Submission Guidelines</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="background-color: white; line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="background-color: white; line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: inherit; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">● Poems should be 40 lines or less</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="background-color: white; line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: inherit; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">● Short stories and creative nonfiction 1,500 words or less.</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="background-color: white; line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span face="Calibri, sans-serif" style="background-color: transparent; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">● The poems, short stories and creative nonfiction should be on the theme, </span><span face="Calibri, sans-serif" style="background-color: transparent; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Africans in Ukraine</span><span face="Calibri, sans-serif" style="background-color: transparent; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">.</span></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="background-color: white; line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: inherit; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">● Submissions must be in English. In the case of translated work, it is the translator’s responsibility to obtain permission from the copyright holder of the original work.</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="background-color: white; line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: inherit; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">● If submitting a poem, short story or creative nonfiction that has been previously published, please give details of where it has appeared and confirm that you are the copyright holder.</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="background-color: white; line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: inherit; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">● Ideally submissions will be typed single spaced and submitted either in the body of an email or as a .doc attachment.</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="background-color: white; line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: inherit; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">● Please include a short biography of 50 words or less. This will be included in the anthology if your poem, short story or creative nonfiction is accepted. </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="background-color: white; line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: inherit; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">● You may submit a maximum of three poems or three pieces of short stories or three pieces of creative nonfiction or a combination of poems, short stories and creative nonfiction. You do not have to submit all three at the same time, but the editors can only consider a maximum of three submissions.</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="background-color: white; line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: inherit; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">● We welcome submissions from writers of all ages, based anywhere in the world.</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span face="Calibri, sans-serif" style="font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">● </span><span face="Calibri, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">We particularly welcome submissions from people of African descent who were living and studying in Ukraine <b>and</b> those who witnessed or are witnessing what this group of people are going through.</span></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="background-color: white; line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: inherit; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">● Please send the poems, short prose and creative nonfiction to <b>civicleicester@gmail.com </b></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="background-color: white; line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: inherit; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">● The call for submissions will stay open until we have enough material for an anthology.</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="background-color: white; line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="background-color: white; line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #666666; font-family: inherit; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Notes:</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="background-color: white; line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"></p><ol style="text-align: left;"><li><a href="https://chng.it/5xcy4Fwk" style="font-family: inherit; text-decoration-line: none;"><span face="Calibri, sans-serif" style="color: #1155cc; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">What Next for African Students in Ukraine?</span></a><span style="color: #666666; font-family: inherit; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> (Petition)</span></li><li><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #666666; font-family: inherit; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Virginia Pietromarchi. </span><a href="https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/5/13/african-students-who-fled-war-in-ukraine-fight-to-keep-studying" style="font-family: inherit; text-decoration-line: none;"><span face="Calibri, sans-serif" style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Across Europe, African students fight to study after Ukraine exit</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #666666; font-family: inherit; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">. </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #666666; font-family: inherit; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Al Jazeera</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #666666; font-family: inherit; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">, 13 May 2022</span></li><li><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #666666; font-family: inherit; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Shamira Ibrahim. </span><a href="https://www.refinery29.com/en-gb/2022/03/10892538/african-students-ukraine-racism" style="font-family: inherit; text-decoration-line: none;"><span face="Calibri, sans-serif" style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Africans In Ukraine: Stories Of War, Anti-Blackness & White Supremacy</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #666666; font-family: inherit; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">. </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #666666; font-family: inherit; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Refinery29</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #666666; font-family: inherit; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">, 6 March 2022</span></li><li><span style="color: #666666; font-family: inherit; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">CivicLeicester is an indy publisher that uses poetry, video, photography and the arts to highlight conversations. Books we have published include </span><a href="https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/1916459374/" style="font-family: inherit; text-decoration-line: none;"><span face="Calibri, sans-serif" style="color: #1155cc; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Poetry and Settled Status for All: An Anthology</span></a><span style="color: #666666; font-family: inherit; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> (2022), </span><a href="https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/1916459358/" style="font-family: inherit; text-decoration-line: none;"><span face="Calibri, sans-serif" style="color: #1155cc; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Black Lives Matter: Poems for a New World</span></a><span style="color: #666666; font-family: inherit; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> (2020) and </span><a href="https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/1916459331/" style="font-family: inherit; text-decoration-line: none;"><span face="Calibri, sans-serif" style="color: #1155cc; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Bollocks to Brexit: an Anthology of Poems and Short Friction</span></a><span style="color: #666666; font-family: inherit; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> (2019). </span></li></ol><p></p><div><span face="Calibri, sans-serif" style="background-color: transparent; color: #666666; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><i>This post was updated on 12 December 2022 to remove the deadline for submissions and turn it into an open call.</i></span></div><div><span face="Calibri, sans-serif" style="background-color: transparent; color: #666666; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><i><br /></i></span></div><div><span face="Calibri, sans-serif" style="background-color: transparent; color: #666666; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><i>This post was updated on 23 July 2022 to change the deadline from 14 July 2022 to 24 November 2022.</i></span></div></span></div>Ambrose Musiyiwahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12325345242865418582noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4151287227576220188.post-4070863936274996872022-02-14T16:06:00.004+00:002022-02-14T16:08:35.678+00:00Poetry and Settled Status for All: Readings and Conversation _ Online Events, February 2022<p><span face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-size: small;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjeyXypKWP3PW_wmhhFbGnHGLftc-SaZepFaTOlKjTbj7OPZ1QFNKS9J6cxPaFNSm7Nn-E9kRyp4XyGFRTs9eyOQAoRt_hJVBC-6o19oJ7XWVQpytoVzoQvmpBgihG_Du4xvdlWbpCV_JRa_xkCqmLdBkJP8TrImXPeuxqIbeMGhRvxPhaTDpf3zQQJtA=s2048" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1492" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjeyXypKWP3PW_wmhhFbGnHGLftc-SaZepFaTOlKjTbj7OPZ1QFNKS9J6cxPaFNSm7Nn-E9kRyp4XyGFRTs9eyOQAoRt_hJVBC-6o19oJ7XWVQpytoVzoQvmpBgihG_Du4xvdlWbpCV_JRa_xkCqmLdBkJP8TrImXPeuxqIbeMGhRvxPhaTDpf3zQQJtA=s320" width="233" /></a></div>Writers in the East and West Midlands regions of the UK are organising two online events around the new anthology, <i style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><a data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/1916459374/&source=gmail&ust=1644939891915000&usg=AOvVaw2VTpEALxF5CWZQm81tiuMI" href="https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/1916459374/" style="color: #1155cc;" target="_blank">Poetry and Settled Status for All</a></i><span face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-size: small;"> </span><span face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-size: small;">(CivicLeicester, 2022)</span><span face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-size: small;">: </span><p></p><blockquote style="background-color: white; border: none; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px;"><div class="gmail_quote">● <a data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/poems-for-a-changing-world-an-evening-of-poetry-readings-and-discussion-tickets-249755494407&source=gmail&ust=1644939891915000&usg=AOvVaw3svGEUv5A6BWVTLF8O_03g" href="https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/poems-for-a-changing-world-an-evening-of-poetry-readings-and-discussion-tickets-249755494407" style="color: #1155cc;" target="_blank">Poems for a Changing World</a> which is taking place online on Thursday, 17 February 2022 (7-8.30pm, UK time), and </div><div class="gmail_quote">● <a data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/poems-about-migration-tickets-260186162817&source=gmail&ust=1644939891915000&usg=AOvVaw3Sqlq4k2mTGCU1uJP6bpVL" href="https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/poems-about-migration-tickets-260186162817" style="color: #1155cc;" target="_blank">Poems about Migration</a>, on Friday, 25 February (7.30-8.30pm, UK time).</div></blockquote><div class="gmail_quote" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><div dir="ltr"><br />Both events are free and open to all. <br /><br />As part of the events, a number of writers will be reading and talking about their work featured in the anthology. Also speaking at the events are representatives from Nottingham and Nottinghamshire Refugee Forum (17 February) and Shropshire Supports Refugees (25 February).</div><div dir="ltr"><br /></div><div dir="ltr">Introduced by Claudia Webbe, Member of Parliament for Leicester East, <i>Poetry and Settled Status for All</i> presents 114 poems and short prose pieces from 97 writers from around the world exploring themes that include lived experience of migration, refugee and undocumented migrant experiences, and the hostile environment.</div><div dir="ltr"><br /></div><div dir="ltr">The anthology is inspired by and builds on how, around the world, campaigners are asking governments to give Settled Status, Indefinite Leave to Remain and humane pathways to citizenship to all in their jurisdictions who need such status.</div><div dir="ltr"><br /></div><div dir="ltr"><i>Poetry and Settled Status for All </i>is dedicated to "all who have left the place they were born to find home elsewhere, to those who support them, and to peace and community activist extraordinaire Penny Walker (1950-2021)" and features contributions from seasoned writers with many publications to their names alongside emerging voices. </div><div dir="ltr"><br /></div><div dir="ltr">The anthology has been described variously as “powerful”, “thought-provoking” and “effective”.</div></div>Ambrose Musiyiwahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12325345242865418582noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4151287227576220188.post-33532838044339319022021-02-12T14:59:00.013+00:002022-01-25T12:42:59.787+00:00Poetry and Settled Status for All - a Call for Submissions<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjw7-KqsWQclanxPEnT1iQW8FNNCPhTsuYAc9hjO2p7dkde4uErKRChgJcl9kO-x-O0rPxY0KZ9SYuz1LWZuEfhHOy6Qhb7zPw-P8mqwCvpC71lUbA-NffEOwVNHTlxngvmtD783Q5Qembl/s747/Settled+Status+poetry+anthology+_+300621.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="435" data-original-width="747" height="186" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjw7-KqsWQclanxPEnT1iQW8FNNCPhTsuYAc9hjO2p7dkde4uErKRChgJcl9kO-x-O0rPxY0KZ9SYuz1LWZuEfhHOy6Qhb7zPw-P8mqwCvpC71lUbA-NffEOwVNHTlxngvmtD783Q5Qembl/w320-h186/Settled+Status+poetry+anthology+_+300621.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><i><a href="https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/1916459374" target="_blank">Poetry and Settled Status for All: An Anthology</a> (CivicLeicester, 2022) is now available.</i><div><i><br /></i></div><div><i>This call for submissions is now closed.</i><div><br /></div><div>CivicLeicester is inviting and accepting poems and short fiction on the theme, Settled Status or Indefinite Leave to Remain for All. <div><br /></div><div>The editors will also consider poems and short fiction exploring themes that include: <div>● lived experience of being a migrant or an undocumented migrant or seeking refuge in Britain and the Irish States, </div><div>● migrant, undocumented migrant or refugee experiences of rural and urban life, education, housing, work, healthcare, immigration and asylum systems, and </div><div>● the hostile environment. </div><div> </div><div>The call for submissions is inspired by how, in Britain and the Irish States, in response to the Covid-19 pandemic, several coalitions, including the Status Now Network (SNN), Members of Parliament (MPs) and groups that are concerned about the welfare of refugees and migrants are calling for settled status or indefinite leave to remain to be granted to all people who have insecure immigration status or are undocumented or in the legal process so that the people can access healthcare, housing, food and vaccines. </div><div> </div><div>We welcome submissions from writers of all ages, based anywhere in the world. Submissions should respond to or explore the themes set out in this call for submissions. </div><div><br /></div><div>Please send the poems and short fiction to civicleicester@gmail.com by <b>11pm </b>on <b>Wednesday, 30 June 2021</b>. </div><div><br /></div><div><b>Submission Guidelines </b></div><div><br /></div><div>● Poems should be 40 lines or less, and short fiction, 100 words or less. </div><div>● The poems and short fiction should be on the theme, <i>Settled Status or Indefinite Leave to Remain for All</i>.</div><div>● Submissions must be in English. In the case of translated work, it is the translator’s responsibility to obtain permission from the copyright holder of the original work. </div><div>● If submitting a poem or short fiction which has been previously published, please give details of where it has appeared and confirm that you are the copyright holder. </div><div>● Ideally submissions will be typed single spaced and submitted either in the body of an email or as a .doc attachment. </div><div>● Please include a short biography of 50 words or less. This will be included in the anthology if your poem is accepted. If you do not send a biography, it will be assumed you do not wish your biography to appear in the anthology. </div><div>● You may submit a maximum of three poems or three pieces of short fiction or a combination of poems and short fiction. You do not have to submit all three at the same time, but the editors can only consider a maximum of three submissions. </div><div>● We welcome submissions from writers of all ages, based anywhere in the world. </div><div>● Please send the poems and short fiction to civicleicester@gmail.com by <b>11pm</b> on <b>Wednesday, 30 June 2021</b> </div><div> </div><div><b><i>Notes: </i></b></div><div><br /></div><div>1. Poetry anthology <a href="https://www.gofundme.com/f/poetry-settled-status-for-all" target="_blank">fundraising page</a> </div><div>2. <a href="https://www.youtube.com/user/CivicLeicester/" target="_blank">CivicLeicester</a> is an indy publisher that uses video, photography and the arts to highlight conversations</div></div><div><br /></div><div>● <i>This post was last updated on 25 January 2022 to indicate that <a href="https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/1916459374" target="_blank">Poetry and Settled Status for All: An Anthology</a> is now available.</i></div><div>● <i>This post was last updated on 5 July 2021 to indicate that the call for submissions is now closed. </i></div><div>● <i>This post was last updated on 4 April 2021 to reflect that the deadline for the call for submissions has been extended to 11pm on Wednesday, 30 June 2021.</i></div><div>● <i>The image accompanying this blog post was first changed on 15 March 2021 and then on 4 April 2021 to reflect deadline extensions.</i></div><div>● <i>This post was first updated on 13 March 2021 to reflect that the deadline for the call for submissions has been extended to 11pm on Wednesday, 31 March 2021.</i></div><br /></div></div>Ambrose Musiyiwahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12325345242865418582noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4151287227576220188.post-12935777548351069682021-01-19T13:26:00.004+00:002021-05-12T20:25:30.068+01:00Interview _ Becky Swain<b><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhq4ioCPqkY2JdqrJRn_kiECkGnlLPm9EqmuvpdDdMlrOz01cEErPlYK7aJgax7jc5gM3vWqVaXHyqtELFMU_EnOvLaqIaJmK2fg4ULcRwz6E6uJgcpMr81srgpIB20_sI-40Z6Mgae_z4k/s938/Becky+Swain.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="938" data-original-width="750" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhq4ioCPqkY2JdqrJRn_kiECkGnlLPm9EqmuvpdDdMlrOz01cEErPlYK7aJgax7jc5gM3vWqVaXHyqtELFMU_EnOvLaqIaJmK2fg4ULcRwz6E6uJgcpMr81srgpIB20_sI-40Z6Mgae_z4k/s320/Becky+Swain.jpg" /></a></div>Becky Swain</b> is Director of <a href="http://www2.mmu.ac.uk/poetrylibrary" target="_blank">Manchester Poetry Library</a>, the North West’s first public poetry library, opening in 2021. She has experience leading arts, literature and learning programmes at organisations including Arvon, Creative Partnerships, and Creativity Culture and Education, and is an experienced youth worker, English and Drama teacher, coach and arts learning facilitator. A Clore Fellow (2009), and a Fellow of the Royal Society of the Arts, she is a member of the Advisory Group and Young Poets’ Stories, a poetry writing development research. <br /><br />In this interview, Becky Swain talks about poetry, the Manchester Poetry Library and why poetry matters. <br /><br /><b>How would you describe the Manchester Poetry Library? </b><br /><br />Manchester Poetry Library based at Manchester Metropolitan University, is the North West’s first public Poetry Library, and the only public poetry library in the country to be based within a university. The Manchester Poetry Library will open on Oxford Road in Manchester early in 2021. <br /><br />It will host a public programme where language is celebrated in all its diversity. It aims to imagine, make and grow a leading collection of contemporary poetry with our members and partners and to be a place where the next generation of readers and writers are made. <br /><br />Open to everyone, visitors will be able to enjoy a collection of contemporary poetry in the widest sense of the word; including anthologies, spoken word in recording, films, and poetry in translation. <br /><br />The public will be able to borrow from and mould the collections and events programme to reflect their interests. We aim to work with people across and beyond the region to ensure that poetry from over 200 of Manchester’s community languages are represented within the collection. The collection will begin in 1889 – the year of the world’s first audio collection. <br /><br /><b>Tell us more about the library's focus on poetry in recording. </b><br /><br />Manchester Poetry Library will also have a special focus on poetry in recording from film to audio. The library will be seeking funding to trace the history of poetry in audio recording from the first wax cylinder recordings to podcasting. <br /><br />If you know of recordings that need to be preserved or made more widely available, please let us know. We’ve also had quite a request to collect vinyl and we have run our first Poetry Record Club online. <br /><br /><b>How did the idea of the library come about? </b><br /><br />The idea for a public poetry library came from conversations some years ago between the amazing group of poets based at Manchester Writing School at Manchester Metropolitan University – these include the recent poet laureate Carol Ann Duffy, Malika Booker, Jean Sprackland, Michael Symmons Roberts, Andrew McMillan, Helen Mort and Adam O’Riordan. <br /><br />Manchester Metropolitan University has a thriving undergraduate and postgraduate creative writing community, and the North West has a huge array of poetry talent and a love of poetry. The idea of a dedicated poetry library captured the imagination of the university and it became part of the new Arts and Humanities Building on Oxford Road. <br /><br />The idea has gathered momentum across the city, and amongst our partners as Manchester is a UNESCO City of Literature. Celebrating the many languages of the city will be key to the mission, and working with communities to co-curate the collections. There is excitement about the opportunity to work in partnership with poets, literature, arts and community groups across the city as we start to develop the collection and public programme. <br /><br /><b> What can poetry libraries add to literature and life? </b><br /><br />I think that just the act of creating a poetry library in Manchester shows the sheer love for poetry in this city and will add to the vibrancy of the scene that already exists. <br /><br />Connecting poetry with the civic role of libraries has the potential to be a powerful combination, especially during times when public libraries have had to fight for their very existence - and where our curriculum in schools often lack any real commitment to, or understanding of, poetry and how it can engage young minds. <br /><br />Creating Manchester Poetry Library enables us to develop a space dedicated to poetry in all its forms. We aim to create a poetry place of opportunity and creativity. The Poetry Library will be for everyone interested in, curious about, or simply inspired by poetry. A place to read, hear, perform, write and talk about poetry. We will work in partnership with literature, arts and community organisations across and beyond the city which already has a thriving literary heritage and scene. <br /><br /><b>How is the Manchester Poetry Library different from other libraries that are out there? </b><br /><br />The focus on poetry makes it different – and poetry not just in books, but recordings and on film, with a programme of reading, writing and performance in partnership with poets. We will work closely with poets to develop programmes that meet the needs of residents and members of the library. Specialisms will include poetry and community languages, poetry and recording, poetry for children and poetry in collaboration. <br /><br /><b>Why does poetry matter? </b><br /><br />For writers and readers I think the best of poetry can explore what it means to be human and help us make sense of ourselves and the world around us. <br /><br />Poetry matters to people in so many different ways. <br /><br />It’s always good to ask a poet too. When asked whether she felt poetry could change the world, poet and Manchester Metropolitan University lecturer Malika Booker replied, “Poets interrogate the world to arrive at truth and honesty and that can inspire people.” <br /><br />Poetry can often articulate what cannot be said and give it clarity. <br /><br />As an educator, I have seen that poetry can change a person’s life in the way that they find comfort in other’s words, and through writing poetry themselves, which can help us see a sense of possibility in their future. I have seen students re-engage with themselves and learning and take a new kind of pride in their own voice – to understand that they do have something to say that is of value to others. <br /><br />And people turn to poetry in challenging times. Carol Ann Duffy initiated the <a href="https://www.mmu.ac.uk/write/">WRITE Where We Are NOW</a> poetry project at Manchester Metropolitan online in March and we have seen over 50,000 people engage with the poems about people’s experiences of living in the time of a global pandemic. The Manchester Poetry Library will be collecting public submissions to curate an archive for future generations. <br /><br />Manchester Poetry will be the first dedicated public poetry library in the North West of England, a place where poets are plentiful and held in high esteem. Not just at Manchester Metropolitan, but also Lemn Sissay and Jackie Kay, who hold Chancellor roles at University of Manchester and Salford University respectively. <br /><br />Manchester alone is home to award winning independent presses such as Comma, Carcanet, Saraband, Confingo, Flapjack, Manchester University Press and the Manchester Review. We also have Commonword/Cultureword and fantastic festivals – including the Manchester Literature Festival, and Manchester Children’s Book Festival. <br /><br /><b>Is there anything you would like to add or emphasise?</b> <br /><br />You can sign up for the Manchester Poetry Library <a href="http://www.mmu.ac.uk/poetrylibrary" target="_blank">monthly newsletter</a> for the latest on news, opportunities, writing workshops and events, and blogs.<br /><br />We are always interested in what you'd love to see in the library and any ideas for working in partnership - email <a href="mailto:poetrylibrary@mmu.ac.uk">poetrylibrary@mmu.ac.uk</a>Ambrose Musiyiwahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12325345242865418582noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4151287227576220188.post-12391118490640844332020-06-08T19:43:00.009+01:002020-11-17T23:38:01.057+00:00Black Lives Matter: a Call for Poems and Microfiction<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiT2xUWia1GhyphenhyphenxU7Ux16Hj1ukDWtrgDjh5ZumNCnlkYDcaz6ROGD0OCJcYcw-lCKiUQwRDJBEdFl7I2_MWqiyR5dES4to-dKVo7lS4PR9NMPFNR5G1i9a1u9wnHPNy5-lfwsjxAWst93Dl4/s1600/Black+Lives+Matter.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="914" data-original-width="1361" height="215" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiT2xUWia1GhyphenhyphenxU7Ux16Hj1ukDWtrgDjh5ZumNCnlkYDcaz6ROGD0OCJcYcw-lCKiUQwRDJBEdFl7I2_MWqiyR5dES4to-dKVo7lS4PR9NMPFNR5G1i9a1u9wnHPNy5-lfwsjxAWst93Dl4/s320/Black+Lives+Matter.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<i>Black Lives Matter: Poems for a New Word (CivicLeicester, 2020) is <a href="https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/1916459358" target="_blank"><b>now available</b></a></i>*<br />
<br />
CivicLeicester is inviting and accepting poems and short fiction on the theme, <i>Black Lives Matter</i>.<br />
<br />
We welcome submissions exploring any of the images, issues, triggers, histories, lives, demands and outcomes that are being highlighted by Black Lives Matter and current and past protests.<br />
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We welcome submissions from writers of all ages, based anywhere in the world.<br />
<div>
<br /></div>
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The video of George Floyd dying as a white policeman pressed his knee against Floyd's neck and kept it there even after Floyd had stopped speaking or moving has triggered weeks of mass protests around the world. <br />
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The protests are taking place in the midst of a global pandemic that is also disproportionately killing people from Black, Asian and ethnic minority backgrounds.<br />
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Around the world people are demanding justice.<br />
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"Black Lives Matter", "Hands up, don't shoot", "Am I a threat?", "I can't breathe", "White silence is violence", "No justice, no peace", "Is my son next?", "Get your knee off my neck" have become rallying calls against police brutality and against the killing of Black people by the police. They have become rallying calls against racism, racial profiling and racialised inequality, discrimination and oppression. <br />
<br />
Please send the poems and short fiction to civicleicester@gmail.com by 2pm on Tuesday, 7 July 2020<br />
<br />
<b>Submission Guidelines</b><br />
<br />
● Poems should be 40 lines or less, and short fiction, 100 words or less.<br />
● The poems and short fiction should be on the theme, <i>Black Lives Matter</i>.<br />
● Submissions must be in English. In the case of translated work, it is the translator’s responsibility to obtain permission from the copyright holder of the original work.<br />
● If submitting a poem or short fiction which has been previously published, please give details of where it has appeared and confirm that you are the copyright holder.<br />
● Ideally submissions will be typed single spaced and submitted either in the body of an email or as a .doc attachment.<br />
● Please include a short biography of 50 words or less. This will be included in the anthology if your poem is accepted. If you do not send a biography, it will be assumed you do not wish your biography to appear in the anthology.<br />
● You may submit a maximum of three poems or three pieces of short fiction or a combination of poems and short fiction. You do not have to submit all three at the same time, but the editors can only consider a maximum of three submissions.<br />
● We welcome submissions from writers of all ages, based anywhere in the world.<br />
● Please send the poems and short fiction to civicleicester@gmail.com by 2pm on Tuesday, 7 July 2020.<br />
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<b><i>Notes:</i></b></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
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1. Black Lives Matter poetry anthology <a href="https://www.gofundme.com/f/black-lives-matter-poetry-anthology" target="_blank">fundraising page</a></div>
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2. <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_Lives_Matter" target="_blank">Black Lives Matter</a>, Wikipedia entry</div>
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3. <a href="https://www.youtube.com/user/CivicLeicester/" target="_blank">CivicLeicester</a> is an indy publisher that uses video, photography and the arts to highlight conversations<br />
<br />
*<i>Updated on 17 November 2020 to show that </i>Black Lives Matter: Poems for a New World<i> (CivicLeicester, 2020) is </i><a href="https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/1916459358" style="font-style: italic;" target="_blank">now available</a><i>.</i></div>
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Ambrose Musiyiwahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12325345242865418582noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4151287227576220188.post-38825109065285060592020-05-02T14:48:00.001+01:002020-05-02T14:48:28.012+01:00Interview _ Siobhan Logan<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<a href="https://twitter.com/siobsi" target="_blank">Siobhan Logan</a> is a storyteller and poet.<br />
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Her first collection of poems and non-fiction, <i><a href="https://conversationswithwriters.blogspot.com/2010/02/interview-siobhan-logan.html" target="_blank">Firebridge to Skyshore: A Northern Lights Journey</a> </i>(original plus, 2009), was sponsored by auroral scientists at the University of Leicester. It was performed at the British Science Museum, the National Space Centre and Ledbury Poetry festival. <br />
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Her second collection, <i><a href="https://conversationswithwriters.blogspot.com/2011/10/book-launch-mad-hopeless-possible.html" target="_blank">Mad, Hopeless & Possible: Shackleton’s Endurance Expedition</a></i>, was also published by Original Plus Press, whilst <i><a href="https://sites.google.com/site/philaesbookofhours/" target="_blank">Philae’s Book of Hours</a></i> was published on the European Space Agency’s website. <br />
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Logan's poetry is widely published in magazines and short stories appear in various anthologies, including <i>Wednesday’s Child</i> (Factor Fiction, forthcoming 2020), <i><a href="https://amzn.to/2KP8zf1" target="_blank">Leicester Writes Anthology 2017</a></i> (Dahlia Books) and <i><a href="https://amzn.to/2WcbcfW" target="_blank">Mrs Rochester’s Attic</a></i> (Mantle Press 2017). In 2014, she led a WW1 writing residency for <a href="https://www.1418now.org.uk/" target="_blank">14-18 NOW</a> and in 2015 co-edited a Five Leaves Books anthology for refugee solidarity, <i><a href="https://fiveleavesbookshop.co.uk/over-land-over-sea/" target="_blank">Over Land, Over Sea</a></i>.<br />
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She is co-director of indie publisher, <a href="https://spacecatpress.co.uk/" target="_blank">Space Cat Press</a>, who published her poetry/ non-fiction collection <i><a href="https://spacecatpress.co.uk/shop/desert-moonfire-the-men-who-raced-to-space/" target="_blank">Desert Moonfire: The Men Who Raced to Space</a></i> in 2019. When not being led astray by stories or dodging the claws of an errant ‘space cat’, Logan teaches Creative Writing at De Montfort University.<br />
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In this interview, Siobhan Logan talks about poetry, <i>Desert Moonfire</i> and the race to space.<br />
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<b>How would you describe <i>Desert Moonfire: The Men Who Raced To Space?</i></b><br />
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<i>Desert Moonfire</i> is a collection of poetry and non-fiction about the era when humans became a space-faring species. The narrative centres on two scientists, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sergei_Korolev" target="_blank">Sergei Korolev</a> and <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wernher_von_Braun" target="_blank">Wernher von Braun</a>, who designed the rockets that got us there. These two rivals from either side of the Iron Curtain mirrored each other’s lives in uncanny ways, as they struggled to realise their dreams of spaceflight. And it turns out to be a rather dark tale with our protagonists passing through gulags and concentration camps as well as nuclear near misses along the way. <br />
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The rocket technology was very much a product of superpower conflict, with the Cold War driving the whole Sixties space project. So that stark front cover depicting a night-time rocket launch captures the mood of <i>Desert Moonfire</i>’s story – both ‘chilling and exhilarating.’ However, I did also get interested in how science fiction first sparked these impossible imaginings for early space pioneers. And indeed, how scientists eventually used sci-fi films and TV shows to harness the public’s support for realising such costly and dangerous ventures.<br />
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<b>What influences does <i>Desert Moonfire</i> draw on?</b><br />
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I’m never aware of particular influences when I write. But years of reading – non-fiction, poetry, fiction – no doubt seeped into the boggy ground that I worked over for this project. And sometimes got lost in. It took me seven years, all told. Lots of biographies and books about the Space Race. Also immersing myself in films, TV shows and other art of the period. Because this book did feel rather like writing historical fiction. <br />
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I loved going back to read the sci-fi of <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jules_Verne" target="_blank">Jules Verne</a>, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/H._G._Wells" target="_blank">HG Wells</a> and others and watching obscure Russian sci-fi films as well as Hollywood B movies etc. <br />
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The book began with a sequence of poems which are imaginative re-enactments of real-life events. My friend <a href="https://twitter.com/RodDuncan" target="_blank">Rod Duncan</a> has described these as ‘non-fiction poems’. But I approach the material as a storyteller and I’ve been drawn to other poets who write in narrative form. So I think of Susan Richardson’s marvellous sequences about Arctic explorers in <i><a href="https://www.susanrichardsonwriter.co.uk/poet/creatures-of-the-intertidal-zone/" target="_blank">Creatures of the Intertidal Zone</a></i> (Cinnamon Press, 2007) or Lydia Towsey’s <i><a href="https://www.theguardian.com/stage/2017/aug/30/lydia-towsey-the-venus-in-me-eating-disorder-female-bodies-the-venus-papers" target="_blank">The Venus Papers</a></i> (Burning Eye Books 2015) where the goddess washes ashore in the UK as a Mediterranean migrant. Or the poems of Emma Lee who unfolds tightly compressed narratives in a single poem with great delicacy. Like <i>Desert Moonfire</i>, Lee often draws upon true-life histories, whether WW2 children in the Blitz or women navigating refugee camps more recently. (See <i><a href="https://arachnepress.com/books/poetry/the-significance-of-a-dress/" target="_blank">The Significance of a Dress</a></i>, Arachne Press 2020). So yes, I enjoy poetry collections with lots of storytelling and big thematic sweeps, whether historical, mythical or contemporary.<br />
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<b>Why does poetry matter?</b><br />
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Why does any creative work matter? Perhaps the instinct to create might counter that to destroy. Or at least keep us sane. <br />
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At a time when the world seems to be in free-fall, when we are racked by political crises, a global pandemic and the accelerating crisis of climate change, stories have never been more important. They are at the heart of who we are and how we envision our future as well as our past. They transmit our values and generate the stuff of identity. <br />
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My book about the Sixties Space Race came out in 2019 just as the world was moving into a second Space Race. Many countries and companies are chasing to colonise the Moon’s South Pole and its buried supplies of water and minerals. It’s worth looking back to understand the dynamics that drove the last Space Race and ask whether we want to write a different narrative this time round. <br />
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Poems to me are stories but in a sung form. <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carol_Ann_Duffy" target="_blank">Carol Ann Duffy</a> talks about poems singing the stuff of our lives, the everyday as well as the big life events. Like the people singing in deserted streets or calling from balconies, poems will be passed across our spaces of isolation. They remind us of the hidden music of our lives and relationships. <br />
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<b>Which were the most difficult aspects of the work you put into <i>Desert Moonfire</i>?</b><br />
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The problematic aspects of the work always generate the most interesting material and push you to dig deep creatively. With non-fiction, it’s about doing masses of research and then compressing these large, complex narratives into a few chapters that each have their own distinct story arc. Trying to make sure the research doesn’t suffocate the narrative. So I’m using novelistic techniques to give pace and urgency to the story of two men caught up in this superpower to chase to the Moon. <br />
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For Wernher von Braun, the Prussian baron, it was always a matter of opportunism. Pitching his projects first to the Nazis and then to the American state, to win a chance at ‘the Big Time’, as he called it. But Sergei Korolev faced an ongoing struggle to survive the upheavals of Russia’s Civil war, Stalinist Purges and Soviet realpolitik. <br />
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Mostly this comes across as a very male world, as my title suggests. It’s typified by von Braun’s engineers decorating their V-2 test rockets with the logo of a naked woman astride a crescent moon. Women surfaced in sci-fi films as alien sirens or glamorous astronauts but seemed confined to the spectators’ stadium or the back office in the real space programme. The truth was more complex of course. It’s only recently that NASA’s begun to acknowledge and celebrate long-buried accounts of its female and Afro-American ‘<a href="https://amzn.to/2Ss3o92" target="_blank">Hidden Figures</a>’. <br />
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The core of my narrative remains two men from either side of the Cold war locked into the machine of political conflict. But I did explore their relationships with women and wanted those voices to come through in certain poems.<br />
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The challenge with the poetry was to find a human centre, given this context of technology and global politics. While the non-fiction chapters conjure up vast social forces at work, the poems open intimate windows into the two men’s lives. They put us right there, in the immediacy of their world. <br />
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Often with poetry, it’s about finding a surprising metaphor or image that illuminates the scene. So when I was writing about Korolev sitting out the Cuban missile crisis in October 1962, I came across a brief reference to his wife Nina serving up a watermelon. What a gift that was! The whole poem "Martian Watermelon" was built around that footnote, from the red fleshy fruit to the sound of the pips. His men had been trying to launch a rocket to Mars when their launch pad was taken over by the military to ready a nuclear missile for firing. <br />
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By contrast, I’d read several accounts of the night the secret police arrested him in the Thirties but couldn’t find out what music he put on the record player while he waited for the knock on the door. That gave me freedom to invent. The spiky rhythms of a tango inspired two poems about the police harassment that dogged his career. So these unexpected details pulled me into their world and I hope that works for the reader too.<br />
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<b>What sets the book apart from other things you’ve written? And in what way is it similar to the others</b><br />
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<i>Desert Moonfire</i> is similar to my previous collections, such as <i>Firebridge to Skyshore: A Northern Lights Journey</i>, in that it combines poetry and non-fiction with a strong narrative structure and touches on science, history and politics along the way. <br />
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My chapbook <i>Mad, Hopeless & Possible: Shackleton’s Endurance Expedition</i> told an equally dramatic story of two linked Antarctic expeditions during 1914-17 when notions of empire-building and heroism collided in devastating ways. That was another all-male adventure shaped by the somewhat toxic ideologies of the time.<br />
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Yet <i>Desert Moonfire</i> is a scaled-up narrative. It starts off discussing the 19th century science-fiction which inspired a generation of rocketeers and rounds off their story in the 1970s, a century later. So yes, the ambition of this book marked a shift for me. I was in no hurry with it, wanting the book to find its own form and the right publishing home too.<br />
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Where <i>Firebridge</i> and <i>Mad, Hopeless & Possible</i> both centred on journeying across wild frozen landscapes, <i>Desert Moonfire</i> has a biographical impulse, tracing the life journeys of two men who lived through extraordinary times. <br />
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I have noticed there’s various styles and voices here, including poems about deserts and cars and movies, shape poems inspired by rocket technology, dramatic monologues in the voice of bystanders and loved ones, poems of gulags and concentration camps as well as space modules and two lunar book enders. So hopefully something for everyone.<br />
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<b>How did you chose a publisher for the book? Why this publisher? And what advantages or disadvantages has this presented?</b> <br />
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For some time, I weighed up whether to tilt this book more towards the popular non-fiction market, given the expanding scale of the narrative. Or alternatively to strip it down to a poetry chapbook with a tight focus on these two men’s intertwined lives. I researched possible publishers from both angles. In the end, I decided I wanted to try something different with this book. I knew from my previous collections that there is an audience for this kind of non-fiction and poetry combination but it is a niche audience that I encountered mainly by giving talks, shows and face-to-face readings. <br />
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With the sci-fi and space science strand in <i>Desert Moonfire</i>, I was thinking of taking this new book to SFF conventions too. <br />
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So I decided to set up my own imprint, <a href="https://spacecatpress.co.uk/" target="_blank">Space Cat Press</a>, with an eye on further space-themed books I have on the back-burner. And I was lucky enough to embark on that as a collaboration with freelance editor Darragh Logan Davies. She is the Kaylee of our Firefly rocket and without her, we’d never have got into orbit. <br />
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Having got that far, we considered the possibility of using our press to also publish work by other writers, in the form of space-themed anthologies. In that sense, Space Cat Press is a hybrid, combining an indie-author venture with micro-publishing at the non-commercial end of small presses. It’s enabled me to structure the <i>Desert Moonfire</i> book in exactly the way I wanted to and I’m thrilled with the design Darragh came up with. I love the feel and look of the finished article. Plus I’ve learnt a huge amount about how book production and marketing works. <br />
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The disadvantages are it takes a lot of time and energy. That’s definitely slowing my writing progress on new projects. We did rush into the anthology rather quickly after publishing <i>Desert Moonfire</i>, so it’s hard to get on with marketing that whilst editing our <i>Race to the Stars</i> submissions. But it’s been so much fun and a real inspiration to work with stories, poems and flash fiction by other writers and watching the anthology take shape. Everything from detailed structural and copy edits to budgeting to working out the brand of the book. And soon we’ll be getting to grips with e-publishing and doing virtual launches as well. Quite the small-press adventure.<br />
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<b>What will your next book be about? And, what else are you working on?</b><br />
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Well, I’ll have editors’ credits on our Space Cat anthology, (working title <i>Race to the Stars</i>) which should be out in e-book format by the summer of 2020. <br />
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I then have a small chapbook lined up for the SCP roster with a sequence of poems about the European Space Agency’s Rosetta mission to chase a comet. An earlier digital version of this, <i>Philae’s Book of Hours</i>, appeared on the ESA website in 2015. <br />
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There’s another sprawling non-fiction book on the back-burner about those Space Race sci-fi films I got so engrossed with whilst researching <i>Desert Moonfire</i>. But on the front burner, right now, I’ve dividing my time between a poetry chapbook about my father (who passed away recently) and a dystopian fantasy novel which will probably develop into a trilogy - if I can ever get this first book edited into a readable shape! <br />
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So in between teaching creative writing at De Montfort University and running a small press publishing outfit, there are plenty of writing projects competing for my time. <br />
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<u>See also</u>:<br />
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● <a href="http://conversationswithwriters.blogspot.com/2010/02/interview-siobhan-logan.html" target="_blank">Interview _ Siobhan Logan</a>, <i>Conversations with Writers</i>, February 20, 2010<br />
● <a href="https://conversationswithwriters.blogspot.com/2006/12/poetry-football-and-spirits-in-sky.html" target="_blank">Interview _ Siobhan Logan</a>, <i>Conversations with Writers</i>, 4 June 2007<br />
● <a href="https://conversationswithwriters.blogspot.com/2006/11/siobhan-logan-poet-and-short-story.html" target="_blank">Interview _ Siobhan Logan</a>, <i>Conversations with Writers</i>, 11 April 2007Ambrose Musiyiwahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12325345242865418582noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4151287227576220188.post-15159024676987929582020-04-15T23:09:00.000+01:002020-04-15T23:09:26.759+01:00Interview _ Andrew Button<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Andrew Button lives in Market Bosworth in western Leicestershire, England. <br />
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His poems have been published in magazines that include <i>Orbis</i>, <i>Staple</i>, <i>The Interpreter’s House</i>, <i>Iota</i> and <i>Ink, Sweat and Tears</i>.<br />
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His pamphlet, <i>Dry Days in Wet Towns</i>, was published in 2016 and a first full collection, <i>Melted Cheese on the Cosmic Pizza</i> in 2017 by <a href="http://erbacce-press.webeden.co.uk/andrew-button/4592871542" target="_blank">erbacce press</a>.<br />
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In this interview, Andrew Button talks about his latest collection of poems <i>Music for Empty Car Parks</i> and poetry in the time of Covid-19.<br />
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<b>How would you describe <i>Music for Empty Car Parks</i>?</b><br />
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<i>Music for Empty Car Parks</i> is an eclectic mix of poems that wryly observe life with all its quirks and obsessions. Eccentricity and human preoccupations particularly fascinate me. You could say that is my poetical obsession!<br />
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<b>How long did it take you to put the book together?</b><br />
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I have a large back catalogue of poems written over the years and it was a matter of selecting the best ones, old and new. I really enjoy the process and quite often it involves some revisions and even virtual re-writes. <br />
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The book itself came out in January 2020 and was published by Erbacce Press in Liverpool.<br />
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<b>How did you chose a publisher for the book? </b><br />
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Erbacce published my previous book, <i>Melted Cheese on the Cosmic Pizza</i> at the end of 2017 which was my first full collection (and still available to buy from the publisher’s website and on Amazon). I respect erbacce and their publishing philosophy which is all about supporting the poet’s development. It was not a difficult choice to ask them to publish my second book. I have a positive and well established relationship with them and, of course, it helps that they actually like my poetry!!<br />
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<b>Who is your target audience?</b><br />
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I have always maintained that my audience are adults still amazed or willing to be amazed by the wonders of human nature. As my favourite author, Ray Bradbury said, the most rounded adults are those that still retain an element of that childlike sense of wonder. <br />
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My aim as a poet is to make people laugh and ponder at the same time.<br />
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<b>What influences does <i>Music for Empty Car Parks</i> draw on?</b><br />
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Poetically, I am largely influenced by the likes of Simon Armitage, Ian McMillan, Philip Larkin, Roger McGough and Adrian Henri to mention but a few. <br />
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In an unorthodox way, I am also heavily influenced by the science fiction and fantasy stories of the American author, Ray Bradbury. His fiction was very poetic. I read every single word of his voraciously from the age of 13. <br />
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Music and lyrics have also inspired me, too, and I would like to think that although I am not a rhyming poet <i>per se</i>, that my poems have an intrinsic rhythm. I am certainly an alliteration junkie!<br />
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<b>Why does poetry matter?</b><br />
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Ah, the £64,000 question - or more like £64 in the case of a poet! <br />
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Even in the difficult days, in an unassuming way, poetry matters. People are popping up on programmes like BBC Breakfast with their poems about life in lockdown, their hopes and fears laid out in verse. <br />
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I think poetry is the undercurrent of our lives and poets are the ones who bring it to the surface for public consumption. <br />
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Increasingly, poets are finding a variety of imaginative ways to spread the words; online, outside, indoors, on beer mats… Social media and the internet has played a very important part.<br />
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<b>You say why poetry matters is the £64,000 or £64 question. What do you mean by this? Why £64,000? And why £64?</b><br />
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What I mean is that it is the big question for poets and the poetry world. The example of £64 instead of £64,000 is a jocular reference to the fact that most poets don’t make much more but are grateful for what they earn. <br />
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<b>With (or in) <i>Music for Empty Car Parks</i>, what would you say are your main concerns?</b><br />
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Yes. I do have my go-to themes. All writers and artists have their fixations. Some can focus on just one and write a whole book of poetry about it. <br />
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I have discovered that most humour comes from humour behaviour. I love watching people, eavesdropping, reading about their antics. <br />
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In the new book I have written a trilogy of poems about a man who is the world authority on roundabouts. His quirky singlemindedness is absorbing to me as a poet and of course there is a lot of comedy in his story. He’s been married three times for example. So, obviously, his all-consuming passion for roundabouts has affected his ability to maintain an intimate personal relationship (at least three times). <br />
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I have a quirky sense of humour myself which comes through in my book. Hopefully, my poet’s world view is unique. <br />
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I strive to find the unusual in everyday situations whether it’s marvelling at the variety of different toilet rolls or the removal of expiry dates on cucumbers in supermarkets.<br />
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<b>Which aspects of the work you put into the book did you find most difficult?</b><br />
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If I’m honest, I don’t write many poems about myself and if I do it is often in the third person. There are occasional exceptions. For example, in the poem “Life lessons” in <i>Music from Empty Car Parks</i>, I write about a history teacher who inspired me at school. It isn’t because I can’t, but more about my natural writing style as an observer and commentator. Humour helps me to express myself and I like to explore subjects that interest me as well. <br />
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Having said all that, there are poems in my new book like “Six Month Man” where it is obvious, despite being written in the third person, that it is autobiographical albeit unashamedly comical. It is true to say, though, that I can see the funny side to most situations and experiences (including my own).<br />
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<b>Which aspects of the work did you enjoy most? </b><br />
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I enjoy the whole process of creating a poem from the conception of the idea, the research, compilation of ideas, forming of the poem and refinement in the writing to the finished product (some argue that a poem or story is never finished but that is another discussion to be had at another time). It is such an immense thrill when you get the seed of an idea and it grows. Sometimes, it feels as if you are given the idea from the poetic ether. That as poets we retrieve these vague ideas and shape them into poems.<br />
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<b>What sets the book apart from other things you've written?</b><br />
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I see the latest book more as another instalment in my writing career. It’s a philosophy of ‘welcome to the wacky world of Andrew Button’. I am always writing about new subjects and themes that interest me and striving to do so in entertaining ways. So, that will be evident over the two books I have written, I hope. The style is the same but the content is different. <br />
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<b>In what way is it similar to the others?</b><br />
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It is similar in that there is a recognisable style. The same observational slant by and large. The mantra of chronicling human absurdity continues. It’s what I get off on as a writer!<br />
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<b>Can you say more about the title poem?</b><br />
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The title poem started out as a poem in its own right before I decided to use it as the title of my collection. The inspiration for that poem came literally from an empty car park blaring out music. I thought to myself, <i>How pointless</i>. This then inspired me to write a poem about pointless situations. I had a lot of fun with that poem which really lends itself to live performance!<br />
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<b>How has <i>Music for Empty Car Parks</i> been affected by the state we are in with the coronavirus and Covid-19?</b><br />
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The book was conceived and collated before Coronavirus. So, in that sense there is no obvious connection. I hope, though, that my book might act as an antidote against the dark thoughts and despair prevalent in these dystopian times. <br />
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Smiles and laughter have not been outlawed.<br />
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<b>And can you say more about the poem about toilet paper?</b><br />
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“The Bottom Line” is a poem that chronicles and celebrates the history of toilet paper manufacture in the UK encompassing the ghastly and the great! <br />
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My initial point of reference was my hideous childhood experiences with a severe medicated toilet paper that was a common feature of my school life in the 70s and 80s. With friends of the same age I was reminiscing about the notoriety of this product and even found an online forum where people were sharing their adverse experiences!<br />
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<b>One of the ways people have responded to the coronavirus is by stockpiling toilet rolls? How would you explain this?</b><br />
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I think the whole toilet roll stockpiling syndrome is a symptom of the panic that broke out when people thought they would be holed up at home for weeks (which they are now, ha, ha). Basically, a siege mentality. I saw someone reacting to this online and it made me chuckle, because they quite rightly pointed out that if people contracted the virus, it wouldn't be coming out of that end!!!<br />
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<b>What do you think a post-Covid 19 world could look like? Are there things the world is learning that it should retain? Are there things the world should let go of?</b><br />
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Hopefully, a post-Covid 19 world will mean there is a greater sense of community around the world and especially in the UK. Also, I would like to think that we will value the work of NHS and care workers more (increased Government funding will contribute to this significantly). More kindness and consideration to the more vulnerable members of our society must ensue. Overall, appreciating our families and life itself would be a desirable outcome.<br />
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<b>And what will be the role of the poet in that world?</b><br />
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I see poets as imaginative observers and commentators. Most of us hold a light up to the world as it is and as it could be. We can be poetic healers with our metaphors and similes, insights and humour.<br />
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<b>What will your next book be about?</b><br />
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It may be another <i>smorgasbord</i> of themes that tantalise me, or untypically for me, carry one thread through it. I don’t really know at the moment. It could even be a poetic view of the Coronavirus crisis we are living with. I have been keeping a daily diary of my poetic thoughts and observations of life in lockdown. So, watch this space!<br />
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<b>What else are you working on?</b><br />
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I am currently involved in putting together a poetry performance for the Leamington Poetry Festival in July (if it still goes ahead). It features myself and three other fellow poets from the Midlands. <br />
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The show will be called <i>Meta4</i>. <br />
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We are all quirky, observational poets with a unique view of the world we inhabit. <br />
Hopefully, it will happen and if it does come along and see it at the Temperance Art Café in Leamington Spa on Saturday 4th July at 3.30pm. Four local poets sparking off each other in an engaging <i>melee</i> of metaphors, similes, rhythms and rhymes.<br />
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<i><u>Notes</u>:</i><br />
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<i>● Details of Andrew Button’s books can be found on the <a href="http://erbacce-press.webeden.co.uk/andrew-button/4592871542" target="_blank">erbacce press website</a>.</i><br />
<i>● See also: </i><a href="https://conversationswithwriters.blogspot.com/2019/06/interview-andrew-button.html" style="font-style: italic;" target="_blank">Interview: Andrew Button</a><i>, </i>Conversations with Writers<i>, 12 June 2019 </i>Ambrose Musiyiwahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12325345242865418582noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4151287227576220188.post-3278166101146136562020-03-27T14:58:00.003+00:002020-03-27T15:02:27.847+00:00Interview _ Emma Lee<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<a href="https://emmalee1.wordpress.com/" target="_blank">Emma Lee</a> was born in South Gloucestershire and now lives in Leicestershire. She is on the committee of <a href="https://leicesterwritersclub.com/" target="_blank">Leicester Writers’ Club</a> and the steering group for the Leicester Writers’ Showcase.<br />
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Her poems, short stories and articles have appeared in many anthologies and magazines. Some of her poems have been been translated into languages that include Chinese, Farsi, German, Greek, Italian, Polish, Portuguese and Romanian.<br />
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Emma Lee co-edited <i><a href="http://fiveleavesbookshop.co.uk/over-land-over-sea/" target="_blank">Over Land, Over Sea: Poems for those seeking refuge</a></i> (Five Leaves Publications, 2015) and <i><a href="http://amzn.to/2hl8Ol5" target="_blank">Welcome to Leicester</a></i> (Dahlia Publishing, 2016). She has four poetry collections, <i><a href="https://arachnepress.com/books/poetry/the-significance-of-a-dress/" target="_blank">The Significance of a Dress</a></i> (Arachne Press, 2020), <i><a href="http://amzn.to/2oSUuTQ" target="_blank">Ghosts in the Desert</a></i> (Indigo Dreams Publishing, 2015), <i><a href="https://emmalee1.wordpress.com/2014/10/08/mimicking-a-snowdrop/" target="_blank">Mimicking a Snowdrop</a></i> (Thynks, 2014) and <i><a href="http://thesamsmith.webs.com/originalpluscollections.htm#463304088" target="_blank">Yellow Torchlight and the Blues</a></i> (Original Plus, 2004).<br />
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Her latest collection, <i>The Significance of A Dress</i>, has been described as "Poems informed by, and immersed in politics. Whether investigating the lives of refugees, families or women in crisis, everything has a significance beyond the surface. Beautiful, hair-raising words and form, utterly from the heart."<br />
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In this interview, Emma Lee talks about poetry and <i>The Significance of A Dress</i>.<br />
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<b>How long did it take you to put the collection together?</b><br />
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<i><a href="https://arachnepress.com/books/poetry/the-significance-of-a-dress/" target="_blank">The Significance of a Dress</a></i> started back in 2015 when I was involved in co-editing <i><a href="http://fiveleavesbookshop.co.uk/over-land-over-sea/" target="_blank">Over Land, Over Sea: Poems for those seeking refuge</a></i> (Five Leaves Publications, 2015), an anthology to raise awareness of the plight of refugees and raise funds for refugee charities. <br />
<br />
After the anthology's publication, I was involved in the <a href="http://www.nichemagazine.co.uk/post/2016/09/22/leicester-poets-to-liven-commute-at-london-road-station" target="_blank">Journeys Poems Pop-up Library</a> where postcards of some of the poems were distributed at Leicester Railway Station during Everybody's Reading 2016. In 2017, the start of Everybody's Reading coincided with International Translation Day so I organised <a href="https://emmalee1.wordpress.com/2017/10/04/journeys-in-translation-30-september-2017-write-up/" target="_blank">an event</a> where 13 of the poems from <i>Over Land, Over Sea: Poems for those seeking refuge</i> were read in their original English and one translation. In turn this led to my setting up <a href="https://journeysintranslation.wordpress.com/" target="_blank">Journeys in Translation</a>. <br />
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By 2018 I had a collection of refugee-themed poems but hadn't really thought about getting them published as a collection although individual poems had been published in magazines and anthologies.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0PP9jhQ2r6kUI1dpAJ-nwx24kyq8jPjJdTAlpdzmb8O2JR2Yzo5TwPW8n7Mv9fg_k2O9NtIZE54oEewwGK04tSUhT3C0hFX1_vv2GydF0gedxGj1Y0Gxb3SniriVvVDtcwMsvPK3Ajy7v/s1600/Significance+of+a+Dress.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="899" data-original-width="584" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0PP9jhQ2r6kUI1dpAJ-nwx24kyq8jPjJdTAlpdzmb8O2JR2Yzo5TwPW8n7Mv9fg_k2O9NtIZE54oEewwGK04tSUhT3C0hFX1_vv2GydF0gedxGj1Y0Gxb3SniriVvVDtcwMsvPK3Ajy7v/s320/Significance+of+a+Dress.jpg" width="207" /></a><b>How did you chose a publisher for the collection? Why this publisher? And, what advantages or disadvantages has this presented?</b><br />
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<a href="https://arachnepress.com/" target="_blank">Arachne Press</a> put a call out for submissions for an anthology in 2018. Arachne like to publish a group of poems by each poet rather than just have one or two poems by each. I submitted some of my refugee poems.<br />
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Arachne Press got back and said they didn't want to put my poems in their anthology but were interested in a single author collection. The only sensible response to that request was to ask how many poems they wanted and <i>The Significance of a Dress</i> was born. <br />
<br />
I'd been published in some of the anthologies Arachne had produced previously so I knew I was working with a committed, caring publisher.<br />
<br />
The disadvantages so far have not been with the publisher but with the Covid-19 pandemic. I was due to hold a Leicester launch on 11 March but the venue was pulled with less than 24 hours' notice. Fortunately I found another and a launch still went ahead on 14 March. However, most poetry books are sold at readings and book fairs and those are all on hold for now.<br />
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<b>Who is your target audience?</b><br />
<br />
Anyone with an interest in the themes explored within.<br />
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<b>Why does poetry matter?</b><br />
<br />
It's difficult to reduce it to a soundbite. <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jean-Claude_Juncker" target="_blank">Jean-Claude Juncker</a> said poetry doesn't matter and the focus should be on people's first needs, shelter and food. But that's a very reductive way of looking at humans. Maya Angelou spoke of there being no greater violence than an untold story within you. But refugees aren't always able to tell their stories and, for some, not telling their stories is more important than triggering their trauma by repeating stories. So poetry becomes a way of bearing witness, exploring those stories and raising awareness. Poetry's brevity and structure offer a way of processing strong emotions; we turn to poetry in times of hardship and in times of joy.<br />
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<b>With (or in) the collection, what would you say are your main concerns? How do you deal with these concerns?</b><br />
<br />
Themes emerge not only of refugees but violence done to, for example, women, through discrimination and dehumanisation. Through my poems I try to humanise those who have been rendered voiceless.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_NPk2qLwAgcz6yGaFR_Szm0QXDCMym3ccd7sFAGiwpoen6S1nZAuR7yo0fY7Zas3K45VH7ZzC3CKei4gcLx2WA5_L6jsbHDh1tNNEC83e0nktgQWe8SDkLVgW_9c48Ds7aiZv3QgbVePL/s1600/book-table-at-14-march-launch.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="374" data-original-width="780" height="153" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_NPk2qLwAgcz6yGaFR_Szm0QXDCMym3ccd7sFAGiwpoen6S1nZAuR7yo0fY7Zas3K45VH7ZzC3CKei4gcLx2WA5_L6jsbHDh1tNNEC83e0nktgQWe8SDkLVgW_9c48Ds7aiZv3QgbVePL/s320/book-table-at-14-march-launch.jpg" width="320" /></a><b>What influences does <i>The Significance of a Dress</i> draw on? </b><br />
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I don't think there were any specific influences in <i>The Significance of a Dress</i>. I read and review widely so no doubt readers might pick up influences I wasn't aware of. I do try and indicate positives, even in traumatic subjects, such as those small acts of kindness that can make a huge difference.<br />
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<b>Which aspects of the work you put into the book did you find most difficult?</b><br />
<br />
I didn't conceive of the poems within <i>The Significance of a Dress</i> as a book until Arachne invited me to put a collection together. I was conscious that the main themes would make for hard reading so endeavoured to put in some lighter moments, such as a poem about playing a piano on College Green ("How Rapunzel Ends") or a bank teller struggling to spell a surname ("When Your Name's Not Smith" and the transformative power of music ("Put a Spell on those February Blues").<br />
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<b> Which aspects of the work did you enjoy most?</b><br />
<br />
The lack of pressure: because I wasn't selecting sample poems and sending them off to a publisher in the hope they'd consider a collection, the process of selecting and shaping <i>The Significance of a Dress</i> was done when I knew a publisher was interested.<br />
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<b>What sets the book apart from other things you've written?</b><br />
<br />
My first collection <i><a href="http://thesamsmith.webs.com/originalpluscollections.htm#463304088" target="_blank">Yellow Torchlight and the Blues</a></i> was hugely inspired by my time as a music reviewer. My second <i><a href="https://emmalee1.wordpress.com/2014/10/08/mimicking-a-snowdrop/" target="_blank">Mimicking a Snowdrop</a></i> drew on a poet's autobiography and aspects of her life, particularly during the Second World War when she used her nurse's training to be a first responder and did voluntary work in a disadvantaged children's playgroup. My third <i><a href="http://amzn.to/2oSUuTQ" target="_blank">Ghosts in the Desert</a></i> features a lot of ghosts and contains a sequence about <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Matrix" target="_blank">The Matrix</a>.<br />
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So, the topics and issues explored in <i>The Significance of a Dress</i> are very different. It's also the first of my books to feature one of my embroideries on the cover.<br />
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<b>In what way is it similar to the others?</b><br />
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I think some topics link all four collections, discrimination, feeling like an outsider, explorations of whose voices don't get heard and why that might be.<br />
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<b>What will your next book be about?</b><br />
<br />
No idea. I'm always writing poems, stories, reviews, articles so I don't think in terms of focusing on a next book. I keep writing and when I seem to have a body of work, I start arranging poems by theme and see what emerges.<br />
<br />
<b>What else are you working on?</b><br />
<br />
I'm now reviews editor for <a href="https://thebluenib.com/" target="_blank">The Blue Nib</a> and still reviewing for other magazines. I have a couple of short stories to edit and am still writing individual poems, one based on <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bruce_Springsteen" target="_blank">Bruce Springsteen</a>'s explanation of why he doesn't like wind chimes.<br />
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<u>See also</u>:<br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #666666; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , "trebuchet" , "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px;">● </span><a href="http://conversationswithwriters.blogspot.com/2017/04/interview-emma-lee.html" target="_blank">Interview _ Emma Lee</a>, <i>Conversations with Writers</i>, 19 April 2017<br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #666666; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , "trebuchet" , "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px;">● </span><a href="http://conversationswithwriters.blogspot.com/2007/04/interview-emma-lee.html" target="_blank">Interview _ Emma Lee</a>, <i>Conversations with Writers</i>, 27 April 2007<br />
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Ambrose Musiyiwahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12325345242865418582noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4151287227576220188.post-53503647423302228082019-08-24T15:01:00.003+01:002019-08-24T15:15:57.846+01:00Interview _ David R Mellor <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQ1bufJcpjdb8jHd4zicpCe6YsxtcN9v8SH6dK2Jd9f7D_PYBzexBB-9NKxz-k1rf9k82vTxiYnlpmBjXxHI0k7Ele0I1RfFN5P5qEcsd7Xe5QJs-pzR09KkLqwURkFqLyqFmE0ZbI4kb7/s1600/David+R+Mellor.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="200" data-original-width="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQ1bufJcpjdb8jHd4zicpCe6YsxtcN9v8SH6dK2Jd9f7D_PYBzexBB-9NKxz-k1rf9k82vTxiYnlpmBjXxHI0k7Ele0I1RfFN5P5qEcsd7Xe5QJs-pzR09KkLqwURkFqLyqFmE0ZbI4kb7/s1600/David+R+Mellor.jpg" /></a></div>
<a href="https://www.facebook.com/The-Poetry-of-David-R-Mellor-209851495778641/" target="_blank">David R Mellor</a> is from Liverpool, England. He spent his late teen homeless in Merseyside. He found understanding and belief through words, and his work has been aired widely, at the BBC, The Tate, galleries and pubs, and everything in between.<br />
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His books include the poetry collections, <i><a href="https://amzn.to/2MARfgy" target="_blank">What A Catch</a></i> (Mellordramatic, 2012) and <i><a href="https://amzn.to/2MAaVRK" target="_blank">Some Body</a></i> (Mellordramatic, 2014). One of his poems has also been featured in <i><a href="https://amzn.to/2MATcJM" target="_blank">Bollocks to Brexit: an Anthology of Poems and Short Fiction</a></i> (CivicLeicester, 2019).<br />
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In this interview, David talks about his writing:<br />
<br />
<b>When did you start writing?</b><br />
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In my early 20s, I started to carry a notebook with me everywhere I went. (Still do). I wasn’t that well educated at the time. To me, words... they were just words. After a while I saw them as what they were. Writing was a way of finding my voice after a very troubled childhood. <br />
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I was published in the poetry press, then found a local publisher, and I’ve had three books out.<br />
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I’ve played pubs, art galleries and everything in-between since. <br />
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<b>How would you describe the writing you are doing?</b><br />
<br />
A friend of mine stated that what I’m doing is trying to stop things that have already happened either personally or politically and I guess there is something in that. <br />
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The poetry is brutally honest. Being from Liverpool and from a working class background gives a bit of edge to what I do, especially in performance. I don’t think I change what I write to suit audiences. <br />
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<b>In the writing you are doing, which authors influenced you most? </b><br />
<br />
Wilfred Owen. I was lucky, later in life, to be poet-in-residence for a while for the society in the north. <br />
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Emily Dickinson, Sylvia Plath, Dylan Thomas. But also music, The Smiths and David Sylvian. The former provided an alternative northern voice, the latter for deep spirituality in his songs.<br />
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<b>How have your own personal experiences influenced your writing?</b><br />
<br />
Completely. You can only be that and true to that. Anything else is being fake. <br />
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<b>What are the biggest challenges that you face? </b><br />
<br />
Acknowledging that I am a writer and have something to say. My parents still don’t recognise what I do.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPd4dRzS5QcHz8Cj2pPXKJqRcbRo6rTx93PsuZV17cZbj_lKNNgqrCJwmBau7KEfuK7MEkX63BCSv387hjSiocOv6TuNLub06aif8Nn4tOjSJfGibX9hcLgmpRK66uoDjpMe8UZ1LYUuPU/s1600/Pages+from+David+R+Mellor%2527s+notebook.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPd4dRzS5QcHz8Cj2pPXKJqRcbRo6rTx93PsuZV17cZbj_lKNNgqrCJwmBau7KEfuK7MEkX63BCSv387hjSiocOv6TuNLub06aif8Nn4tOjSJfGibX9hcLgmpRK66uoDjpMe8UZ1LYUuPU/s320/Pages+from+David+R+Mellor%2527s+notebook.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<b>Do you write everyday? </b><br />
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I’ve carried a notebook with me everyday since the mid 80s. It’s like a friend, a friend to myself. Usually when I’m out and about a word or sentence will pop into my head and will write itself.<br />
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When I don’t write for a few days, I feel out of kilter.<br />
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<b>How many books have you written so far?</b><br />
<br />
<i><a href="https://amzn.to/2MARfgy" target="_blank">What A Catch</a></i> (2012), <i><a href="https://amzn.to/2MAaVRK" target="_blank">Some Body</a></i> (2014), and <i><a href="https://amzn.to/2ZsqHQt" target="_blank">Express Nothing</a></i> (2019).<br />
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Each are a build up of world, personal, social and political.<br />
<br />
Best found on Amazon or via paypal. <br />
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<b>What is your latest book about?</b><br />
<br />
<i><a href="https://amzn.to/2ZsqHQt" target="_blank">Express Nothing</a></i> presents my take on modern life and the human conditions. It is a collection of poems written over the last few years. Choosing which to include was agonising.<br />
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The book was published in April 2019 by a small publishers in my local area, who have always been supportive and good to me.<br />
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<b>Which aspects of the work you put into the book did you find most difficult? </b><br />
<br />
In the book, there are a number of poems that are deeply personal and you wonder if people will get it, but I believe if you have felt something then others have too.<br />
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In the book, there are also a number of poems that I have been wanting to send out into the world for a while and some that are more meditative and gentle or in which I’ve captured something deeper. I enjoyed working on these a lot.<br />
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<b>What would you say has been your most significant achievement as a writer?</b><br />
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I am always touched after performances when people say a reason they relate to a poem and having 20.000 YouTube hits on my site <a href="https://www.youtube.com/user/MellorDR/videos" target="_blank">MellorDR</a>.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgT-iY3URqXE5ZsfaU4k9Ltx2YecXoT_GAdyukKlyj7ss6rwS9DmpfZf2w7-EEhFwI24tS8SsWQvsuo6xoB173TPQffC1Q9M53O7-gvx9RnBNh1HPHAAzAjDl35xDex8VqzgkmxuTzPP9jm/s1600/Bollocks+to+Brexit.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1379" data-original-width="926" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgT-iY3URqXE5ZsfaU4k9Ltx2YecXoT_GAdyukKlyj7ss6rwS9DmpfZf2w7-EEhFwI24tS8SsWQvsuo6xoB173TPQffC1Q9M53O7-gvx9RnBNh1HPHAAzAjDl35xDex8VqzgkmxuTzPP9jm/s320/Bollocks+to+Brexit.jpg" width="214" /></a></div>
<b>One of your poems has been featured in <i><a href="https://amzn.to/2ZjTmLT" target="_blank">Bollocks to Brexit: an Anthology of Poems and Short Fiction</a></i>. How did the poem come about?</b><br />
<br />
I saw a Facebook post about the book, so decided to send it. The poem changes verses of the Hokey Cockey and how we danced ourselves to this terrible point concluding in comic irony over the cliff.<br />
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Humour and politics have long been a British tradition.<br />
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<b>Why is it important for poets to speak up on social, political and related matters?</b><br />
<br />
Politics affects people's lives and words can be very subversive and powerful.<br />
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<b>In your view, what do anthologies like <i>Bollocks to Brexit </i>add to poetry and public discourse?</b><br />
<br />
Brexit is vile, driven by snobby elites and hateful narrow-minded Brits. This book, <i>Bollocks to Brexit</i> is a statement that we don’t all support Brexit or the thinking that’s led to the verge the country is now on. Ambrose Musiyiwahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12325345242865418582noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4151287227576220188.post-62185217311960573132019-08-15T15:15:00.004+01:002019-08-15T15:17:02.461+01:00Interview _ Marija Todorova <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<a href="https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4709-2988" target="_blank">Marija Todorova</a> has worked for international organizations that include the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), the Department for International Development (DFID), and the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE). <br />
<br />
She is currently a Postdoctoral Fellow at The Hong Kong Polytechnic University. Her research interests include interpreters in mediation, intercultural education, and visual representation in translation.<br />
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Todorova is an Executive Council member of <a href="https://www.iatis.org/" target="_blank">International Association for Translation and Intercultural Studies</a> (IATIS). She holds a PhD in Translation Studies from the Hong Kong Baptist University, and a PhD in Peace and Development Studies from University Ss. Cyril and Methodius Skopje.<br />
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In this interview, Maria Todorova talks about translation, peacebuilding and <a href="https://arts.cityofsanctuary.org/2016/11/15/journeys-in-translation-translators-needed-for-13-poems" target="_blank">Journeys in Translation</a>:<br />
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<b>What would you say is the role of translation or translation studies in peacebuilding?</b><br />
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For me, language is maybe one of the most important aspects of both peacebuilding and development. In the current state of the world when we are witnessing increasing numbers of refugee crises around the globe, the need for language professionals who work alongside humanitarian personnel is greater than ever.<br />
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My interest in this topic started with my employment with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) during the Kosovo conflict in 1999 and the ensuing refugee crisis in Macedonia in 2001 as well as the repatriation process in Kosovo. I was interpreting for the refugees at the Macedonia-Kosovo border as well as in various refugee camps throughout Macedonia, and for the internally displaced people and minorities in Kosovo. This was a truly life-changing experience for me. <br />
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I have done a lot of research to explore some of the aspects that make interpreting in conflict different and specific.<br />
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My personal experience provides me with a lot of insight, and I also conducted interviews with people who were working as interpreters in both the Kosovo refugee crises and the European refugee crises. Although employed primarily for their linguistic skills, field staff working in situations of emergency often decide to adopt a role similar to that of a mediator, and giving voice to the vulnerable. In doing this they undertake tasks beyond the scope of the work of a language broker and more of a peacebuilder.<br />
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<b>Can you tell us more about the book chapter, "Interpreting conflict: Memories of an interpreter"?</b><br />
<br />
Interpreters have been traditionally seen as invisible. Even when their presence is mentioned by historians, interpreters working in conflict zones are rarely referred to by name or given space to share their stories and comment. However, if we listen to their accounts we may be able to learn a lot about how they feel and how they perform their tasks. <br />
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The chapter you mention was published in <i><a href="https://amzn.to/2MiEE1z" target="_blank">Transfiction: Research into the realities of translation fiction</a></i> (John Benjamins Publishing Company, 2014), edited by Klaus Kaindl, Karlheinz Spitzl. The chapter makes an attempt to make some sense of the life of a Serbian interpreter in a Kosovo US Army base by examining the main character of Tanja Jankovic’s semi-autobiographical work of fiction, <i>The Girl from Bondsteel</i>. The novel is an account of how an interpreter copes with the difficult situation of being “in between”. This ‘in-betweenness’, however, does not mean being in a place which is neutral or objective, in between cultures. For Diana, the main character in the novel, this means constantly making decisions and taking sides based on her own ideologies and loyalties which are connected with specific cultural spaces, and not with the ‘in-between’.<br />
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<b>And, with Zoran Poposki, you co-authored "Public memory in post-conflict Skopje: Civic art as resistance to narratives of ethnicity and disintegration". Can you tell us more about that chapter as well?</b><br />
<br />
The violent conflicts in the countries emerging out of former Yugoslavia may be a thing of the past but the ethnic and nationalistic tensions underlying them remain part of the daily life in the new independent states. This article looks at how art in public space is used to promote or resist the legacy and ideology of ethnic division, disintegration and conflict. <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwGMBBRKN2qMuH61Y6ZkIaF0i1ta5wV7PM46KpwBUHbWCSkT4PxT6oKtelyOMR1-sOSvmxrELXYIa0RrybcpSvqgIlfmhyphenhyphenRweB0q3Rqgdf5lTMQAQJEvT2p3wTyWBNwiu7SK5FLn2Kq7xp/s1600/Post-Conflict+Performance%252C+Film+and+Visual+Arts+-+Cities+of+Memory.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="216" data-original-width="153" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwGMBBRKN2qMuH61Y6ZkIaF0i1ta5wV7PM46KpwBUHbWCSkT4PxT6oKtelyOMR1-sOSvmxrELXYIa0RrybcpSvqgIlfmhyphenhyphenRweB0q3Rqgdf5lTMQAQJEvT2p3wTyWBNwiu7SK5FLn2Kq7xp/s1600/Post-Conflict+Performance%252C+Film+and+Visual+Arts+-+Cities+of+Memory.jpg" /></a>The article, in <i><a href="https://amzn.to/2YRPB0H" target="_blank">Post-Conflict Performance, Film and Visual Arts: Cities of Memory</a></i> (Palgrave Macmillan, 2016), edited by Des O'Rawe and Mark Phelan, explores tactics of creative resistance to the official public narrative of ethnicity, history and disintegration, focusing on the work of a few Macedonian new media artists who seek to resist the government-led transformation of Skopje’s public space into a place of division and spectacular power. One of these artists, Zoran Poposki has produced several projects focusing his art on transforming the public space from a place of exclusion into a place of inclusion and representation of the multifaceted nature of Skopje’s citizens. <br />
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In the article, we also focus on the difference between public art proper (artworks in public space commissioned by governmental or corporate entities that ultimately reproduce existing mechanisms and relations of power as well as a culture that glorifies violence); and civic art (artworks in the public sphere, largely immaterial in form and created through broad participatory processes that are representative of various counter-publics and help create a culture of peace).<br />
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<b>You are also the author of "Hong Kong Diversity in Anglophone Children’s Fiction". Tell us more.</b><br />
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A few years ago, my family and I moved to Hong Kong. Moving to a new country for us meant being able to learn a new culture, experience it in our own unique way, and adding that layer to our existing (multi)cultural experiences.<br />
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It also meant implanting a bit of ourselves in the diverse and cosmopolitan culture of Hong Kong.<br />
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We do this by embracing the local literary and art scene. Hong Kong offers a unique possibility to do this due to its production of local books in the English language.<br />
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I was particularly drawn to children’s literature because of its potential to transform and change deeply rooted stereotypes.<br />
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My study, "Hong Kong Diversity in Anglophone Children’s Fiction" (in <i><a href="https://amzn.to/2MiK5gT" target="_blank">Cultural Conflict in Hong Kong: Angles on a Coherent Imaginary</a></i> (Palgrave Macmillan, 2018), edited by Jason S. Polley, Vinton W.K. Poon and Lian-Hee Wee), approaches fiction books for children as framing and representation sites that contest or promote stereotypes. Books should assist children in building their identities and thus encourage children to accept differences and reject discrimination. They should serve to open young readers’ horizons to other cultures and ways of life, thereby helping them to overcome fears that stem from ignorance. <br />
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The written word has a great potential to convey to children information about social diversity. One of the goals of effective use of children’s literature is to familiarize and celebrate cultural difference, to develop interaction, experience, understanding, and respect for people from different cultures. Both Anglophone children’s books and the Anglophone authors from Hong Kong speak to the diversity in Hong Kong, but migrant and ethnic minority experiences are still less likely to become the center of Anglophone children books published and distributed in Hong Kong.<br />
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<b>How did you get involved with <a href="https://journeysintranslation.wordpress.com/" target="_blank">Journeys in Translation</a>? </b><br />
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Translation is not only my profession; it is something I take great pleasure in. In addition to my work as an award-winning professional translator of numerous literary works primarily catering to a particular market, serving as a volunteer translator gives me the opportunity to participate in the socio-cultural processes by promoting the voices of the marginalized periphery.<br />
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For several years, I have served as a volunteer translator for the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_Children%27s_Digital_Library" target="_blank">International Children’s Digital Library</a>, translating children’s picture books in Macedonian. It all started with the translation of the picture book, <i>Ciconia, Ciconia</i> by the Croatian author, Andrea Petrlik Huseinović, about a white stork who is forced to leave its home destroyed by war.<br />
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In Hong Kong, I have served as a co-translator for the Hong Kong Poetry Festival, introducing Macedonian, Bosnian and Serbian poetry to Hong Kong readers. On the other hand, literature produced in and about Hong Kong is often overlooked by foreign translators and critics, rarely getting the attention it deserves as part of the world literary scene. Thus, my translation students at the Hong Kong Baptist University and I <a href="https://marijatodorova.wixsite.com/hkbustp" target="_blank">curated a website</a> that introduces new contemporary prose and poetry from Hong Kong authors to English readers. <br />
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Hong Kong is also home of a significant migrant and refugee community. Recently, I was invited as guest speaker at a literary sharing on the issue of belonging and hospitality. Here I shared some of the poetry from Journey in Translation and the poems were received with great interest. <br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2ETLWds5hc7TkyoQisF90CRoaKM0YzMDlR3L8xJ6hyphenhypheng795VyK4GwtM3bMIfh3YkP-g1X555s14QDRGIEc5iR-c418DXWUHNBzvu7R7vAmpvK3q37Ync324H8R1xLUAGGMeIz8m-zIAD8i/s1600/Emma+Lee%25E2%2580%2599s+%25E2%2580%259CStories+from+%2527The+Jungle%2527%25E2%2580%259D%252C+Translated+into+Macedonian+by+Marija+Todorova.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="559" data-original-width="833" height="214" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2ETLWds5hc7TkyoQisF90CRoaKM0YzMDlR3L8xJ6hyphenhypheng795VyK4GwtM3bMIfh3YkP-g1X555s14QDRGIEc5iR-c418DXWUHNBzvu7R7vAmpvK3q37Ync324H8R1xLUAGGMeIz8m-zIAD8i/s320/Emma+Lee%25E2%2580%2599s+%25E2%2580%259CStories+from+%2527The+Jungle%2527%25E2%2580%259D%252C+Translated+into+Macedonian+by+Marija+Todorova.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Marija Todorova's translation, into Macedonian, of Emma Lee’s “Stories from 'The Jungle'”, <i>Over Land, Over Sea: Poems for those seeking refuge</i> (Five Leaves Publications, 2015) p.85. </td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<b>Which were the most challenging aspects of the work you put into the initiative?</b><br />
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Translating poetry is not an easy task. Poetry contains a multi-layered and complex language, condensed with images and feelings, very different from any other literary genre. Translating poetry means that one has to interpret all the potential meanings embedded in these features. For some poems this meant retaining the poetic form as well. Whether or not this is at all possible when translating poetry from one language to another is a big question. Finding the right words to make the same impact in a new language can be very challenging. <br />
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<b>Which were the most enjoyable aspects of the work?</b><br />
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Translating poetry is a very rewarding task. By translating the poetry in the Journeys in Translation project into Macedonian language I hope to contribute to the internationalization of the narratives of refugees and their plight. With this translation I hope to confront and change the misperceptions and stereotypes of the ‘other’ as enemy, along with providing positive models for acceptance and integration. This acceptance of cultural diversity as a positive thing and not as an obstacle helps promote models of coexistence and the expansion of identity.<br />
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As Macedonia has been affected by several refugee crises over the years, these poems will find resonance with the readers affected by the cultural conflict still present in the country. <br />
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Translating into Macedonian does not only represent sharing different voices and perspectives with the Macedonian readers. For me, it also means preserving the Macedonian language. <br />
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<b>What would you say is the value of initiatives like Journeys in Translation?</b><br />
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Culture has been seen as an integral part of conflict, being both the cause of and channel for direct violence and its justification, as art can also be used to perpetuate cultural violence. <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Johan_Galtung" target="_blank">Johan Galtung</a> defines ‘cultural violence’ as referring to aspects of culture such as religion, language, art, empirical science and formal science, all of which justify direct and structural violence.<br />
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Art has an important role to play in the symbolic continuation or challenging of that culture of violence. Art, in all forms, is used as resistance to narratives of hate. The artist is a citizen, too, who reacts to social problems in the city just like everyone else.<br />
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By being an oppositional aesthetic practice, art of the activist or socially engaged type can offer powerful resistance to the state’s power structures, becoming civic art, the type of ‘art that promotes and creates civic values, invites and fosters citizen participation in public affairs’, all of which are essential to the functioning of democracy as a discursive space. In this process, culture is perceived as vital to social transformation, conflict mediation and resolution.<br />
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<i><u>Editor's Note</u>:</i><br />
<i><br /></i>
<i><a href="https://literature.britishcouncil.org/blog/2017/journeys-in-translation/" target="_blank">Journeys in Translation</a> aims to facilitate cross- and inter-cultural conversations around the themes of home, belonging and refuge.</i><br />
<i><br /></i>
<i>The project encourages people who are bilingual or multilingual to have a go at translating 13 of the 101 poems from </i><a href="http://fiveleavesbookshop.co.uk/over-land-over-sea/" target="_blank">Over Land: Over Sea: Poems for those seeking refuge</a><i> (Five Leaves Publications, 2015) from English into other languages and to share the translations, and reflections on the exercise through blogs, letters, emails to family and friends, and on social media.</i><br />
<i><br /></i>
<i>So far, the 13 poems that are being used as part of the project have been translated into languages that include Italian, German, Shona, Spanish, Bengali, British Sign Language, Farsi, Finnish, French, Turkish and Welsh. </i><br />
<i><br /></i>
Over Land, Over Sea<i> was edited by Kathleen Bell, Emma Lee and Siobhan Logan and is being sold to raise funds for <a href="https://www.msf.org.uk/" target="_blank">Doctors Without Borders/ Médecins Sans Frontières </a>(MSF), <a href="https://leicester.cityofsanctuary.org/" target="_blank">Leicester City of Sanctuary</a> and the <a href="http://www.nottsrefugeeforum.org.uk/" target="_blank">Nottingham and Nottinghamshire Refugee Forum</a>.</i><br />
<i><br /></i>
<i>Copies of the anthology are available from <a href="http://fiveleavesbookshop.co.uk/over-land-over-sea/" target="_blank">Five Leaves Bookshop</a> (Nottingham).</i><br />
<i><br /></i>
<i>More information on how </i>Over Land, Over Sea<i> came about is <a href="https://morningstaronline.co.uk/a-5ac6-solidarity-which-sings-1" target="_blank">available here</a>.</i><br />
<br />Ambrose Musiyiwahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12325345242865418582noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4151287227576220188.post-44368095711495647942019-08-13T17:37:00.002+01:002019-08-15T10:15:50.102+01:00Black Radical: a Book of Black British poetry that defines struggle<a href="https://benjaminzephaniah.com/" target="_blank">Benjamin Zephaniah</a> and <a href="https://www.peepaltreepress.com/about-us/kadija-sesay" target="_blank">Kadija (George) Sesay</a> are working on <i>Black Radical: a Book of Black British poetry that defines our struggle</i>, a new anthology. <br />
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They are looking for books, pamphlets, newsletters and newspapers and any ephemera that includes poetry in / on it written by those who define themselves as Black British (including people of Asian descent) born in or who migrated to Britain. <br />
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They say, "Please send copies (in any format) in the first instance with relevant details of where and when it was first published, copyright details and any other relevant details if you have that information and one of our team will follow through with you. <br />
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"If you can make any suggestions of other people we should follow up with, and possible places to source material, we’d appreciate it. <br />
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"Please feel free to share this call out. We already have a small team working on it but we don't want to miss out poems or people! <br />
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"If you are not sure if material that you have, or know of is of interest, please contact us or send it in and we will be in touch.<br />
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"Please note: This is not a call for submissions for new work. For all queries or material relating to this project please send it to the email address: blackradical21@gmail.com <br />
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"Thank you."<br />
<br />Ambrose Musiyiwahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12325345242865418582noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4151287227576220188.post-85373709872193673092019-07-26T10:31:00.000+01:002019-07-26T10:31:03.985+01:00Interview _ Jacob Lund<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_593ugil1J5DdllKI4RZYJEsv8OuUjfyFoZ3NHUoUgm-Nl7oW_F8WLZfvhprpiJ8zWuxXDBOFDr27Pag1Bv94vgz56VCejHN7OdsJD0OK0FFmLIjpeb0Tgo_buWTRsPzZ8up5oUFz4vE-/s1600/Jacob+Lund.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="608" data-original-width="760" height="256" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_593ugil1J5DdllKI4RZYJEsv8OuUjfyFoZ3NHUoUgm-Nl7oW_F8WLZfvhprpiJ8zWuxXDBOFDr27Pag1Bv94vgz56VCejHN7OdsJD0OK0FFmLIjpeb0Tgo_buWTRsPzZ8up5oUFz4vE-/s320/Jacob+Lund.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
Jacob Lund’s poetry has been published in <i><a href="https://oupoets.org.uk/anthologies/" target="_blank">Openings</a></i>, the annual anthology of The Open University and in <i>N2 Poetry</i>, London. He has worked as a reviewer for the <i>Daily Telegraph</i>, and has published on Shakespeare in academic journals. He lives in Brighton.<br />
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In this interview, Jacob talks about his writing:<br />
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<b>When did you start writing?</b><br />
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I only began writing poetry seriously about three years ago, though before that I had been published as a book reviewer for the <i>Daily Telegraph</i>’s youth magazine <i>Juiced</i>. I have also been a contributor to NATE and <i>EMag</i>, writing mostly on Shakespeare and on literary theory. <br />
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After a conversation with the poet, short story writer and memoirist Dr. John O’Donoghue, I went home and found quite a lot of half-finished poems, fragments, titles, images – and realised that a few of them were probably worth completing. <br />
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A friend of mine who teaches at the University of Cambridge, Dr. Sean McEvoy, encouraged me to carry on with the work, and I began by giving a reading in Norwich, alongside Andrea Holland, Naomi Foyle and others. The poet Peter Pegnall invited me to do this. At about the same time I had started to contribute regularly to the magazine of The Open University Poetry Society, and my first published work was in their anthology, <i>Openings</i>. <br />
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I never really took the decision to want to be published: I just write and hope that others will find something of interest. I think that if I started to try to guess at what people might want to read, I wouldn’t be able to write at all. <br />
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<b>How would you describe the writing you are doing?</b><br />
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The very first poems I had published were to do with ageing, memory and loss, though more recently I have been engaged with ideas of identity, nationhood and history, and this has coincided of course with the UK’s decision to leave the EU. <br />
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Some of the poetry is written, loosely speaking, in blank verse, and for two reasons: first, it is a form that offers wonderful flexibility in terms of rhythm and movement; second, it is the form in English verse that is so frequently associated with argument, ideology and rhetoric – in Shakespeare’s soliloquies or in Milton, for example – and I guess I have more or less consciously taken the decision to try to speak to that tradition, to a poetry that has the power to make the case for change. <br />
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I also write in free verse, so that I am able to work with allusions and intertexts, some of which might be in languages other than English. Overall, I guess I am a kind of modernist writer, though I am not sure that this sort of categorisation is all that helpful. <br />
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<b>Who is your target audience?</b><br />
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My target audience is anyone who cares to look. I am hugely grateful for people’s responses to what I write, whatever those responses are, but I’m not really motivated to write for particular groups. <br />
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<b>In the writing you are doing, which authors influenced you most? </b><br />
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This is a difficult one. I read widely and eclectically in terms of poetry, and I think there are probably many influences of which I am barely aware. I do think, however, that it is my responsibility as a writer to know as much as I can about what has gone before – it’s part of the job. <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTy69vrRW-0r8uibW7AwMLolioN0A4WUwz8A-Z0ie6X3KtRLt_L1aJmswbYf8lcW3LVKjykiYmmYzE0yOlXI6ZSobNZ0qhjEWQp0u-cSIoZ8rmTDnF95P5fWjVvXIQYYypO7EPKHWSRzaA/s1600/One+of+Jacob+Lund%2527s+notebooks.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="968" data-original-width="1600" height="193" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTy69vrRW-0r8uibW7AwMLolioN0A4WUwz8A-Z0ie6X3KtRLt_L1aJmswbYf8lcW3LVKjykiYmmYzE0yOlXI6ZSobNZ0qhjEWQp0u-cSIoZ8rmTDnF95P5fWjVvXIQYYypO7EPKHWSRzaA/s320/One+of+Jacob+Lund%2527s+notebooks.jpg" width="320" /></a><b>How have your own personal experiences influenced your writing?</b><br />
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My early poems touched upon personal loss and the subjective experience of getting older, but I have always been conscious that poetry can become boringly self-obsessed. I think that, unless they are for private use, poems need to reach out in one way or another.<br />
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More recently, I have visited areas of the UK that are unfamiliar to me, and my experiences there have started to allow me to write in a more observational way, I think. Lately, I have been to the Isle of Grain, Swindon, and Dungeness. These locations appear in a poetry collection I am writing about identity, nationhood and history. <br />
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<b>What are your main concerns as a writer?</b><br />
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I am always concerned with the capacity of language to handle the truths of who we are or where we are, and I think that I deal with this simply by continuing to try to write. It doesn’t always work, of course. <br />
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The biggest challenge as a writer, I think, is to challenge your readers. I never, ever lose sight of the fact that people who see your poetry will quickly apprehend cliché, tiredness, overused tropes… and discard your work, which is absolutely fair enough!<br />
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<b>Do you write every day? </b><br />
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I write every week, certainly, though not in a particularly structured way. A session might include writing up a draft from rough notes, then editing a piece that is well on its way to completion. I also love to prevaricate, which is good news for coffee sellers and BBC Sport, I think. I have a notebook and pen, but the main work is done on a PC: I like the coldness of type: it makes me somehow more critical of what I have before me, and this really helps with redrafting and editing. <br />
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<b>What would you say has been your most significant achievement as a writer?</b><br />
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It’s those moments when you realise that you have made people think. Nothing beats this. <br />
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<b>Some of your poems are featured in <i><a href="https://amzn.to/2EOjpiB" target="_blank">Bollocks to Brexit: an Anthology of Poems and Short Fiction</a></i>. What would you say the poems are about? </b><br />
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I have two poems in the anthology. ‘Views along the English Coast’ is about the fragility of people’s lives in times of economic and political trouble, and of how in the end we have much in common with those who, too often, are deemed by reactionary political voices to be undesirable. <br />
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The other poem, called ‘The Territorial’, takes an imaginary English male figure who represents a sick, post-imperial, far right set of attitudes that are both echoed and challenged by other cultures. The emergence of ultra-conservative and fascist organisations in the UK, Europe and the USA are, I think, my preoccupations where this poetry is concerned, though the ostensible vehicle for responding to these developments is Brexit. <br />
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<b>How have the poems been received? </b><br />
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I am absolutely delighted that some readers have been curious about and interested in the work. To say <i>why</i> they have been received well would sound way too much like self-congratulation – not my game at all. <br />
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<b>Why is it important for poets to speak up on social, political and related matters?</b><br />
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I think that all art forms can speak to the political discourse of their time – and to other times as well. It’s difficult to make a special case for poetry, except perhaps that it has the capacity to handle political and social issues in a highly compressed way that doesn’t necessarily need to lose the nuance of argument. <br />
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<b>In your view, what do anthologies like <i>Bollocks to Brexit </i>add to poetry and public discourse? </b><br />
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I think that the strength of an anthology like <i>Bollocks to Brexit</i> lies in its range of arguments, forms and tones, and in its linguistic variety. It gives the book its chance to engage with a broad audience, at a time when public engagement in politics has never been more important. Ambrose Musiyiwahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12325345242865418582noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4151287227576220188.post-19405290585074759892019-07-24T15:35:00.003+01:002019-07-24T15:35:39.324+01:00Interview _ Deborah Tyler-Bennett<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<a href="http://www.kingsengland.com/PBCPPlayer.asp?ID=1042389" target="_blank">Deborah Tyler-Bennett</a> is a poet and fiction writer with eight volumes of poems and three volumes of short linked stories to her credit. She is currently working on her first novel, <i>Livin' in a Great Big Way</i>. Her new volume, <i>Ken Dodd Takes a Holiday</i>, will be out from King's England in 2019.<br />
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Her poems have also been featured in anthologies that include <i><a href="https://www.amazon.co.uk/Bollocks-Brexit-Anthology-Poems-Fiction/dp/1916459331/ref=as_li_ss_tl?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=ZTV99M46BKX1BCQ8Y82C&linkCode=sl1&tag=leicreviofboo-21&linkId=33cb2e6fb8148f6bf3886dcf1121b16f&language=en_GB" target="_blank">Bollocks to Brexit: an Anthology of Poems and Short Fiction</a></i> (CivicLeicester, 2019), <i><a href="https://amzn.to/2XZ019l" target="_blank">Leicester 2084 AD: New Poems about The City</a></i> (CivicLeicester, 2018) and <i><a href="https://amzn.to/2LD4ugf" target="_blank">Welcome to Leicester</a> </i>(Dahlia Publishing, 2016).<br />
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In <a href="https://conversationswithwriters.blogspot.com/2019/07/interview-deborah-tyler-bennett.html" target="_blank">an earlier interview</a>, Deborah talked about her concerns as a writer, and some of the influences she draws on.<br />
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In this new interview, Deborah talks about her latest book, <i><a href="https://amzn.to/2JUyqB8" target="_blank">Mr Bowlly Regrets</a></i>, and about poetry and politics:<br />
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<b>Do you write every day? </b><br />
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I do write everyday: on trains; in cafés; in bars; at home; in other settings. I try and give myself a timetable between teaching Adult Ed creative writing, workshops, and performances, and the writing itself. I think the important thing is to do it. If the session is me writing alone, I split my day between the writing and reading aloud what I’ve done so far. I end when I feel the writing’s becoming stale and I need a break. I think knowing when to stop’s an art like anything else.<br />
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<b>How many books have you written so far? </b><br />
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I have just finished the manuscript of my ninth poetry collection and am working on my first novel. I’ve also written three books of linked short fictions set in the world of variety. Also, I’ve had published a poetry pilot for schools and three creative writing textbooks and packs. I was fortunate enough to co-author the Victoria and Albert Museum’s creative writing web package with Gillian Spraggs. See below for details:<br />
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<b><i>Volumes and Chapbooks: Poetry</i></b><br />
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Forthcoming 2019: <i>Ken Dodd Takes a Holiday</i> (King’s England).<br />
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<i><a href="https://amzn.to/2JUyqB8" target="_blank">Mr Bowlly Regrets</a></i> (King’s England, 2017)<br />
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<i>Napoleon Solo Biscuits</i> (King’s England, 2015)<br />
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<b><i>Volume Using Record Office Collection, Leicester:</i></b><br />
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<i>Friendship’s Scrapbook</i> (University of Leicester, 2015, reprinted and re-issued as two volumes in 2017, with extracts being published by the University’s Centre for New Writing in <i>Women’s Writing in the Midlands 1750-1850</i>, 2016). Two of the poems were later displayed on the front of Leicester University’s David Wilson Library and in the new Digital Resource Centre, for International Women's Day, 2018. ‘A Walk with Susanna Watts’ from the collection also appeared in <i><a href="https://amzn.to/2LD4ugf" target="_blank">Welcome to Leicester</a></i> (Dahlia Publishing, 2016). Two Responses to the poems, plus a poem based on images of child migrants appeared in <i><a href="https://amzn.to/2XZ019l" target="_blank">Leicester 2084 AD</a></i> (CivicLeicester, 2018).<br />
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<i>Kinda Keat</i>s (Shoestring, 2013): Inspired by Residency at Keats House, Hampstead.<br />
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<i>Revudeville</i> (King’s England, 2011): Featured many poems inspired by adult and school museum workshops.<br />
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<i>Mytton … Dyer … Sweet Billy Gibson</i> (Nine Arches, 2011). Three portraits in verse.<br />
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<i>Pavilion</i> (Smokestack, 2010). Poems set in Brighton and featuring images of Dandies.<br />
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<i>Clark Gable in Mansfield</i> (King’s England, 2003)<br />
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<b><i>Selected Poems: </i></b><br />
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<i>Take Five</i> (Shoestring, 2003); The Staring Owl: An Anthology of Poems by the Poets of the King’s England Press (King’s England, 2017)<br />
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<b><i>Special Museum Volume:</i></b><br />
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<i>Ballad of Epping and Other Poems</i> (Leicestershire Open Museum Pilot, 2007-2008)<br />
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<b><i>Three linked books of short stories set in the 1940s/ 1950s/ 1960s world of variety:</i></b><br />
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<i>Turned Out Nice Again</i> (King’s England, 2013),<br />
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<i><a href="https://amzn.to/2JTCemn" target="_blank">Mice That Roared</a></i> (King’s England, 2015),<br />
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<i>Brand New Beat </i>(King’s England, 2017).<br />
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<b><i>Museum and Education Volumes:</i></b><br />
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<i>Words and Things: Writing Creatively from Objects and Art</i> (with Mark Goodwin et al, Leicestershire County Council, 2008). <br />
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<i>Speaking Words: Writing for Reading Aloud</i> (Crystal Clear, 2005),<br />
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<i>Poetry, Prose, and Playfulness for Teachers and Learners</i> (with Mark Goodwin, Leicestershire County Council, 2004). <br />
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<b><i>Museum Packs:</i></b><br />
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Leicestershire and Nottingham museums (includes Art and Education packs for Leicester’s <i>Open Museum</i>). <br />
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<b><i>Special Commission, Victoria and Albert Museum:</i></b><br />
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Co-authored creative writing adult education web-package for the <a href="https://www.vam.ac.uk/" target="_blank">Victoria and Albert Museum</a> with Gillian Spraggs, which included two of my poems on objects, these have since been used for summer schools at Wake Forest University, NC, USA and elsewhere. <br />
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See also <i>Wellcome Collection</i> work at the <a href="http://www.bshs.org.uk/" target="_blank">British Society for the History of Science (BSHS)</a>.<br />
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<b>What is your latest book about? </b><br />
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It’s called <i><a href="https://amzn.to/2JUyqB8" target="_blank">Mr Bowlly Regrets</a></i>, is a book of poems, and came out from King’s England Press in 2017. It has many poems about growing up, memory, and change, some on performers, including Britain’s Bing Crosby, the wonderful Al Bowlly. It also contains a sequence on the First World War, which came from a series of Lottery Funded workshops done for Diseworth and other Leicestershire villages. Those poems often contain images of real soldiers from the villages’ war memorials.<br />
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I’ve also just completed a further volume of poems for King’s England, <i>Ken Dodd Takes a Holiday</i> which is due out later in 2019. The poems are mainly about theatre and imagery from the lives of Music Hall and Variety performers – of which an elegy for Ken Dodd (to my mind the last of the Victorian inspired performers) is key to the rest of the poems. <br />
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On top of these, I’m working on my first novel, <i>Livin’ in a Great Big Way</i>, for the same publisher. This tells the story of Dad, Rosa, and their daughter, Spring, who live on Velia Street, Sutton-in-Ashfield. When the novel opens it’s 1946. Spring’s beloved Aunt, Reena, is dying, and her husband, Nev, is just back from service in Italy. The family have kept things buttoned-up throughout the war, but as Reena fades, secrets and confessions begin spilling out. Also, Dad has visions of moving up in the world, while Rosa’s happy where she is. This is not to mention Grandad Stocks who lives with Mrs Close, much to the family’s shame, Mrs Jim, next door neighbor and Velia Street’s beating heart, and Butcher Mr Cole and his odd wife – whose dreadful crime will come to haunt them all.<br />
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<b>How long did it take you to write the book? </b><br />
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My forthcoming book of poems has taken me a couple of years but, interestingly-enough, some of the poems are earlier ones I had in magazines and have since re-written. The poems in <i>Mr Bowlly</i>, likewise, took a couple of years to write, and King’s England published it in 2017. The novel was begun on the way back from the Callander Poetry Weekend in Scotland, in 2017. At first, I thought it was a short story, but it got longer and longer. So, in the end I had to admit it was a novel and carry on!<br />
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<b>How did you chose a publisher for the book? Why this publisher? What advantages and/or disadvantages has this presented? How are you dealing with these?</b><br />
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Over the years I’ve had many publishers including Shoestring Press, Smokestack, University of Leicester Press, Leicester County Council Press, Nine Arches Press, and others. But the majority-of my stories and poems have been published by King’s England Press, Huddersfield, under direction of Steve Rudd. When they accepted my first volume of poems, <i>Clark Gable in Mansfield</i> in 2003, they published mainly historic and children’s books. Over years their poetry and fiction lists have grown, and I’ve come to trust Steve’s judgement as an editor. He’s allowed me a lot of consultation on how the volumes look, and how my poetry and prose is presented. He’s also allowed me to experiment and been honest over what did and didn’t work. So, I’ve enjoyed working with him and continue to do so.<br />
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<b>Which aspects of the work you put into the book did you find most difficult? Why do you think this was so? How did you deal with these difficulties?</b><br />
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I think with most of my books of poems I deal with memory and characters a lot. I want the poems to be true to the ‘voices’ of various narratives and narrators. So, I think about who sees, who speaks, and period detail as I work. In <i>Mr Bowlly</i>, I wanted the title poem to bring Al Bowlly’s life, the fact he’s such a great performer and yet didn’t get his fair dues from history (he died in 1941 during the blitz, is buried in a communal grave, and has a blue plaque but no statue), and his wonderful singing voice to life. In performance I sing bits of the poem. If someone comes away from reading the volume to watch a clip of him on YouTube, I’ll be happy.<br />
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<b>Which aspects of the work did you enjoy most? Why is this?</b><br />
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I enjoyed playing with poetic form in <i>Mr Bowlly</i> – there are sonnets, monologues in rhyming couplets, shaped poems, a poem to the rhythm Longfellow uses in ‘Hiawatha’, unrhymed couplets, and poems chiefly in dialogue. I love playing with form and have previously used sestinas and villanelles, which I go back to in my forthcoming book. Form really tests you, makes you think, and alters the poetic ‘voice.’ I review many poetry books and always feel a bit cheated when a poet doesn’t stretch themselves via form. Lots of unrhymed ‘free verse’ (like many poems I find the term doesn’t really describe what a verse with structures you come up with is) can feel much the same to me. So, I like testing the limits of a poem, and form helps me do this.<br />
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<b>What sets the book apart from other things you’ve written?</b><br />
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Although most books represent developments and, hopefully, advancements in style and technique, I think <i>Mr Bowlly</i> differed in that I wanted the sections of the book to be read in tandem, but also stand alone. <br />
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I also think I dealt with the subject matter of the First World War in a more sequential way. Those poems were important to me as they dealt with histories of real soldiers that I came across during my workshops and I really wanted to get things right. I also realised that I used the poems to memorialise people who may not have got much of a memorial in death, a technique I began with an earlier poem about my Great Grandad’s son – ‘James William Gibson’ (in <i>Mytton …Dyer …Sweet Billy Gibson</i>) – who died in infancy and was buried below the cemetery wall. The soldiers I came across and used in poems for this newer volume often came from Institutions like the Industrial Schools, so, their next of kin might be their last employer. <br />
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<b>In what way is it similar-to the others?</b><br />
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I think I’ve looked at similar histories and voices throughout my poetic career – maybe I’m fascinated with the ‘little things’ in history (both familial and wider) which, as my friend Ray Gosling once remarked, might be more important than the big things.<br />
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<b>What will your next book be about?</b><br />
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As this will be the novel, I’d say about family life, of the triumphs and tragedies of human beings being able to live and work together. I realised, also, that the book has a lot of images of craft, (sewing, making, cooking etc.) that may go un-sung as a talent because people separate if from art. I collect vintage items from the 1940s, and often go to 1940s events, loving the music, endurance, and style of the period. Talking to historians and re-enactors (there are some splendid displays on the Home Front, from wedding dresses to the contents of a larder) has made me aware that making something from nothing is a skill to celebrate and venerate – yet often it’s passed-over in favour of the more showy-and-expensive object.<br />
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I have begun collecting brooches made by women (started when Mum gave me a brooch made by my Great Aunt from fuse wire, a belt buckle, and buttons shaped like flowers) and marvel at the artistry they create from things you would throw away. I wanted the novel to celebrate craft as someone’s art, their talent, and love – hence Reena in the book is a wonderful seamstress, and Mrs Jim comments at what she might have achieved with money behind her. <br />
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<b>What would you say has been your most significant achievement as a writer?</b><br />
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I think, like most writers it’s carrying on writing. Not many people get to do what they love every day, and I think that’s something to be celebrated and, also, marveled at. Obviously, getting published is significant, as it gives your voice an audience, and I hope never to take this for granted. I’ve also been very lucky in the places I’ve worked and read in from the Wellcome Trust, Brighton Pavilion, and Keats House in Hampstead (where I did a residency), to small art galleries, schools and colleges – I wouldn’t have guessed, early on, that I’d work for any of them.<br />
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<b>You have a poem featured in <i><a href="https://www.amazon.co.uk/Bollocks-Brexit-Anthology-Poems-Fiction/dp/1916459331/ref=as_li_ss_tl?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=ZTV99M46BKX1BCQ8Y82C&linkCode=sl1&tag=leicreviofboo-21&linkId=33cb2e6fb8148f6bf3886dcf1121b16f&language=en_GB" target="_blank">Bollocks to Brexit: An Anthology of Poems and Short Fiction</a></i>. How did the poem come about?</b><br />
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I was tremendously pleased to be asked to be in the book and another poem on Brexit, ‘Ennui’, appears in my new collection. As a writer and someone who has always considered themselves a European, the divisions occasioned by Brexit have made me tremendously sad. I think that the poem, which I wrote especially for the volume, gave me an opportunity to highlight these divisions as they seem to me. <br />
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I hope the poem gives you a whistle-stop tour of what I observed after the vote, and how I consider it is the young who will suffer loss of opportunities, from which European Citizens such as myself benefited, from this most disastrous decision. When you feel that your voice is not being heard above shouting – poetry can give you your voice back.<br />
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<b>Why is it important for poets to speak up on social, political and related matters?</b><br />
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Poetry has always spoken out on such matters! From Shelley to Blake, Suffragette poets to John Cooper Clarke, poets speak for themselves but also often for the excluded, and those finding themselves ‘voiceless.’ <br />
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I think it’s worth considering that people sometimes remember lines from a poem giving protest, such as poems by Sassoon, Owen, and Graves from the First World War and those lines come to represent certain times in history perhaps more poignantly than anything else. <br />
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<b>What do anthologies like <i>Bollocks to Brexit </i>add to poetry and public discourse?</b><br />
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In a time of shouting, it’s important to hear something more measured, and in a time when phrases such as ‘will of the people’ are being bandied about, it’s a good thing to remember that not all ‘people’ are being represented. You can read a poem over-and-over again, and think about it, come back to it. I always thought Barrack Obama sounded a better statesman than most, because I felt he’d considered his words with care. <br />
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Poetry considers its words with care. <br />
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Seamus Heaney talked of the right words in their proper places. I think public discourse, at present, is lacking in thoughtful, measured words. Perhaps it’s up to poetry to fill-in the gap.Ambrose Musiyiwahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12325345242865418582noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4151287227576220188.post-21550724211407606262019-07-19T10:31:00.000+01:002019-07-19T10:39:51.093+01:00Interview _ Deborah Tyler-Bennett<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<a href="http://www.poetrypf.co.uk/deborahtylerbennettpage.html" target="_blank">Deborah Tyler-Bennett</a>’s forthcoming volume, <i>Ken Dodd Takes a Holiday</i>, is out from King’s England Press in 2019, and her first novel, <i>Livin’ In a Great Big Way</i> is in preparation for the same publisher. She also has two recent volumes from the same publisher – <i><a href="https://amzn.to/2JUyqB8" target="_blank">Mr Bowlly Regrets – Poems</a></i>, and <i>Brand New Beat: Linked Short Fictions Set in the 1960s</i> (both 2017). <br />
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She’s had seven collections of poetry published, some previous volumes being <i>Napoleon Solo Biscuits</i> (King’s England, 2015), poems based on growing up in the 1960s and ‘70s, and <i>Kinda Keats</i> (Shoestring, 2013), work deriving from a residency at Keats House, Hampstead. <br />
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Her first collection of linked, 1940s set, short stories, <i>Turned Out Nice Again</i> came out from King’s England in 2013, and a sequel, set in the 1950s, <i><a href="https://amzn.to/2JTCemn" target="_blank">Mice that Roared</a></i> was published in 2015, <i>Brand New Beat, set in the 1960s</i>, represents the final part of the trilogy. <br />
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In 2016, <i>The Coffee House </i>Anthology from Charnwood Arts marked the final volume of <i>Coffee House</i> magazine, which she edited for twenty-five issues over fifteen years (this was featured on the <a href="https://poetrysociety.org.uk/" target="_blank">Poetry Society</a>’s poetic map of England). <br />
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Translations and publications of her poems have appeared in Spain, Ireland, The US, Scotland, Austria, and Romania, where they were broadcast on Radio Bucharest. She’s also read in Belgium.<br />
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Deborah regularly reviews poetry and has written books and education packs on creative writing. <br />
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Recent poems have appeared in the anthologies <i>Double Bill</i> (Red Squirrel, 2014), <i>Maps and Legends</i> (Nine Arches, 2013), <i>Strike Up the Band: Poems for John Lucas at Eighty</i> (Plas Gwyn Books, 2017), and the Max Miller Society journal, who recently published the elegy for Ken Dodd that forms the title poem in her new book. New poems appear in <i><a href="https://amzn.to/2XZ019l" target="_blank">Leicester 2084 AD</a></i> (CivicLeicester, 2018).<br />
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She regularly performs her work and has appeared at many venues in Brighton, London, the East Midlands and nationally. She occasionally teams up with music hall expert Ann Featherstone to perform variety stories from her first two collections. She also does many workshops for adult and school groups, teaches writing classes for the WEA, and hosts workshops for national galleries and museums.<br />
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In 2018 one of her poems was displayed on the side of Leicester University Library, and one at its new digital resource centre, for International Women’s Day. <br />
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With Gillian Spraggs, she co-authored the Victoria and Albert Museum’s creative writing web pages. She’s also currently working on a new poetic sequence, <i>The Ladies of Harris’s List</i> set in the eighteenth-century, and a series of music hall poems with Andy Jackson. <br />
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In this interview, <a href="http://www.kingsengland.com/PBCPPlayer.asp?ID=1042389" target="_blank">Deborah Tyler-Bennett</a> talks about her writing:<br />
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<b>When did you start writing? </b><br />
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I’ve been writing things down for as long as I can remember being able to write and recall composing poems and bits of stories from the age of about eight. I don’t think I started taking the writing seriously until I was in my early twenties. Then you realise you’re starting to have drawers and notebooks full of stuff and you need to do something creative with it. I don’t think I felt I’d earned being called a ‘writer’ until I’d had a significant amount of work published.<br />
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<b>How did you decide you wanted to be a published writer? </b><br />
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I think the above realisation (that you have lots of work and unless someone else gets to read it, it’s a little pointless, and also you have no feedback on what others think of it) drives you to send work out. Personally, I began sending poems to little magazines and competitions. I felt that if I had a body of published work behind me, and people responded to it, then maybe I could send work away for consideration as a collection. <br />
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The more I had published in little magazines, the more I felt I was becoming part of a poetic community and, also, most crucially, the more I learned. Editors sending advice and encouragement was invaluable to me. I also considered the range of where I sent to – I had quite a few things published in Ireland and found the magazines there an aesthetic delight. To achieve publication takes a thick skin and the old cliché about all writers getting used to rejections is true – but these make the publications you do get, sweeter. <br />
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<b>How would you describe the writing you are doing? </b><br />
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I think my writing has changed a lot over the years. At-the-moment, I’ve just finished my ninth volume of poetry and am working on new poems. I’m also writing my first novel. This comes after three volumes of linked short stories. It’s always hard to describe your own work but I think I’ve become fascinated by the lives of so-called ‘ordinary’ people – and have come to believe that no one has an ‘ordinary life.’<br />
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I think writing is a great way of conveying past and present – and have noticed two things, recently, in commentaries on my work. Firstly, people comment on my use of Nottinghamshire dialect, as if it’s something unusual to use. Secondly, people often think I’ve invented elements that come from my own background and family history. I feel as if we’re living at a cultural time where, if we’re not careful, and despite the success of writers like Sally Wainwright and Andrew Graves on the script writing and poetry scenes, we’ll be going back to the idea of the arts as a preserve of the privileged and socially connected. <br />
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I realise what’s not unusual for me, seems unusual to some, and that there are many assumptions made about writing from ‘ordinary’ life. <br />
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I’m also using a lot of images and characters from music hall in my poetry (my new book’s titled <i>Ken Dodd Takes a Holiday</i>) as I do think that this reflects a type of history that often gets ignored, sidelined, or damned with the loaded phrase ‘popular culture.’<br />
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I’ve also started to take my painting more seriously and exhibit work and suspect that the colours and textures I use in visual art creep into my poems and stories.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinL6dIOXtDgrosxzwN8EiYn0ZBD-uW7GU2qCdb3JzORkYfMNcCq9nelxQEUVmSvptIAys9RC5IAXuVzJD6sGykTk-ew6C0PJyJ8LVcFsR3FBibgyzh4tEcOZXQfOdjhK74dEwNpsXf0BRp/s1600/Mr+Bowlly+Regrets+%25E2%2580%2593+Poems.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="392" data-original-width="256" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinL6dIOXtDgrosxzwN8EiYn0ZBD-uW7GU2qCdb3JzORkYfMNcCq9nelxQEUVmSvptIAys9RC5IAXuVzJD6sGykTk-ew6C0PJyJ8LVcFsR3FBibgyzh4tEcOZXQfOdjhK74dEwNpsXf0BRp/s320/Mr+Bowlly+Regrets+%25E2%2580%2593+Poems.jpg" width="208" /></a></div>
<b>Who is your target audience? </b><br />
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This question is interesting. When I started, I don’t think I thought in terms of a ‘target audience.’ Most poets I know are just glad to get an audience. But I do think over time I’ve become aware that with poetry in particular - I want my work to be accessible to the widest possible audience. I don’t really want someone to leave a reading of mine saying: “I didn’t get it.” Or “I think that was aimed at a poetry or literary-critical group.” <br />
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The same is also true of fiction. I like it when an audience laughs, holds its breath, or even joins-in. Maybe that’s the music hall influence again. I like it even more when someone approaches me after a reading to say that they didn’t think poetry was for them, but they enjoyed what I did and would go to a reading again. I try my stories out on local audiences, or reading them aloud at home, and hope that anyone who wanted to read something could do so without fear of being either talked at, down to, or addressed in a jargon clearly meant for a specific crowd.<br />
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<b>In the writing you are doing, which authors influenced you most? </b><br />
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Like most writers, I love so many authors (both classic and contemporary) that it’s hard to narrow it down. I think the biggest influence on my poetry and storytelling has been the Orkney writer George Mackay Brown. He wrote novels, stories, poems, a column for his local paper, libretti, dramas and work for festivals. He could catch how people spoke, vibrant imagery of time and place and was fascinated by blurring boundaries between chronological periods. And his images are so vital, instead of saying someone was hungover he describes them as having a mouth ‘full of ashes’, lipstick imprinting a man’s cheek becomes ‘red birds’ – magic!<br />
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There are so many contemporary poets I admire, and I like those such as Emma Lee and Andrew Graves who are always experimenting and pushing the boundaries of what they do. Simon Armitage, Mark Goodwin, and John Hegley make me question how I write and what I can learn from people experimenting with language. Carol Leeming makes me think of how I perform and how I can do more, as do Ian Macmillan, Benjamin Zephaniah, and others. John Cooper Clarke, obviously, has an unmatchable status as performer and writer, I’ve always loved watching, hearing and reading him. I think it was Mark E. Smith of <i>The Fall </i>who said he didn’t wholly trust people who didn’t like John Cooper Clarke, and I think that’s sound (oh, that, and Elvis, too).<br />
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In prose, I’m still a huge fan of Dickens, as I think he tells such memorable stories full of such vibrant oddities. I did a PhD thesis on Djuna Barnes, and still find her work extraordinary. One book that I’ve found my most re-read is an anthology by John Sampson called <i><a href="https://amzn.to/2XVNT9i" target="_blank">The Wind on the Heath</a></i>, about gypsies and published in the nineteen twenties. The stories and poems in it sing.<br />
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Likewise, I write a lot of ghost stories and am a huge fan of the form, loving E. Nesbit, Mary E. Braddon, Dickens, M.R. James, Ian Blake, and Susan Hill. Stars all. I think ghost stories are hard but worth it and reading around the genre helps you know your way around the structures of it. I swap ghost stories with Scottish writer, Ian Blake, and we enjoy a correspondence over the genre.<br />
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Sally Evans who edited <i>Poetry Scotland</i> has been a huge influence on my work, reading techniques, and has inspired me as a poet. Her poems do so much within economic lines and lingering images and I’ve never met anyone so welcoming and generous to her fellow poets. For years she and Ian King ran the <i>Callander Poetry Weekend</i> and it was a joy to attend and perform at that. <br />
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Lastly, I love European writing, and have always considered myself blessed as a writer to be part of Europe. The culture which includes writers as diverse as Balzac, Marco Vici, Hugo and Colette is an ever self-enriching one, and we have been fortunate indeed to be part of that. <br />
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<b>How have your own personal experiences influenced your writing? </b><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMttlvT9Zl1uuqzHEZynnWz7ibcrJ62SWA_hfns1UUaQQ5dHTm6UWWRd6P51seJZhv4gdpU4KCwKaL7vj4acg_R5liau6SROkAoecz2GBVVK-AHR3MNzISeqb3L9udPotrNtNkl_phbL2i/s1600/Leicester+2084.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="499" data-original-width="333" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMttlvT9Zl1uuqzHEZynnWz7ibcrJ62SWA_hfns1UUaQQ5dHTm6UWWRd6P51seJZhv4gdpU4KCwKaL7vj4acg_R5liau6SROkAoecz2GBVVK-AHR3MNzISeqb3L9udPotrNtNkl_phbL2i/s320/Leicester+2084.jpg" width="213" /></a>I think even if your telling of a certain story doesn’t seem connected to your own life experience, that experience will be embedded in this somewhere. Sometimes stories come directly from my family history, places travelled or lived in, or people met. Other stories might seem removed from the above, but actually- have elements of my experience in them. <br />
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Occasionally I write from a current event, and it’s true that living in ‘interesting times’ (a polite way of saying that you turn the news on every night wondering what on earth could have happened today) these ‘event’ based poems grow in number. Over the past year I’ve written poems as responses to the disaster of Brexit and about how lack of empathy leads people to disregard what’s happening to fellow human beings in front of their noses.<br />
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Even a poem based in the nineteenth century (‘The Boy Acrobat’s Villanelle’ published in <i><a href="https://amzn.to/2XZ019l" target="_blank">Leicester 2084 AD</a></i>) ended with an image of twenty-first century child migrants, children whose Dickensian plight can only be ignored via a spectacular lack of empathy.<br />
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<b>What are your main concerns as a writer? </b><br />
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Like most writers, I want to tell a story (whether in poetry or prose) well, and make the reader feel that the read was worth it. I also like putting people and places before the reader that come from my own growing-up, family stories, and local legends. I became aware in my late teens that my Grandma’s language, her bit of Nottinghamshire, and the world she grew up in, was vanishing. Like George Mackay Brown’s Orkney, I wanted to get some of it down before it went all together.<br />
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When I was writing my three volumes of stories set in variety, I had a desire to make the reader’s emotional response to the short fictions similar to those they’d get in a theatre – a story might bring a lump to your throat one minute and make you laugh in the next. <br />
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As with all such techniques and concerns, writers just have-to keep going, and I know whatever I’ve planned the story might well have other ideas. During the variety stories, an old lady, Grandwem (a cross between my Grandma and Great Aunt, plus some others) was going to be a minor character. She had other ideas and became the mainstay of all three books, the glue holding the family together. <br />
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In my current novel, the plan I’d made crashed and burned as a minor character did something awful as I wrote, and I had to go back and revise the whole first part of the book! Like painting, I love the unknown element that creeps in when you write, making me think of the old blues adage: ‘Make God laugh, tell him all your plans.” <br />
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<b>What are the biggest challenges that you face? And, how do you deal with them?</b><br />
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I think for writers, challenges can be divided into practical working challenges, and aesthetic challenges.<br />
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The second category includes the obvious thing of being true to your ‘voice’ and the stories and poetic narratives you want to tell. In other words, it’s easy to become distracted from your purpose, think there are more fashionable things you could be writing, or forget why you wanted to tell a certain story in the first place. I’ve found it very useful to stop from time-to-time and ask: ‘why did you want to write this?’ I also find Robert Graves idea of ‘the reader over your shoulder’ very useful. Imagine someone looking at your work ‘over your shoulder’ – ask ‘what will they get out of it?’ If the answer is ‘not enough’ then that’s the time for a re-write or re-vision.<br />
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The first category I mentioned - the practical working challenge - may cover several bases. How much money do you need to earn to keep writing? Where does funding come from? How much time a week do you spend actually-writing? Is this time enough? <br />
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Due to current events, arts funding is going to become tighter, outreach for writers lessening as they are excluded from European opportunities, and I foresee writers who flourish will be previously established, have to work many more hours to stay afloat, or have private incomes and connections. <br />
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Reading information from literary bodies already indicates as much. I hope I’m wrong, and that writers beginning as I did from ordinary schools and backgrounds will have opportunities similar to mine. But I think most writers from state schools will struggle more, and that all writers will face challenges we couldn’t have seen prior to 2017. The challenge is (to mis-quote a US President) to do it because it is hard, to do it because it is there – to do it because that’s what you do. And (to misquote a US boxing legend) if you do what you love, strive to be the best at it you can be.Ambrose Musiyiwahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12325345242865418582noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4151287227576220188.post-83815498215881860362019-07-17T10:31:00.000+01:002019-07-17T10:31:00.567+01:00Interview _ Gareth Calway<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYJhjo24oTrugbF7Ho6Xv1smTJg_ptWVXky2nHPmLBavlcEtLjUZ2d43vKL_oMo3gmRGFNzIyCsme-dglMOr4QnhUwBgFItV-WRdk8IKLRqD9xugy4SjSDX3TkQrc9DU7Ho4lN_u85xusX/s1600/Gareth+Calway.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYJhjo24oTrugbF7Ho6Xv1smTJg_ptWVXky2nHPmLBavlcEtLjUZ2d43vKL_oMo3gmRGFNzIyCsme-dglMOr4QnhUwBgFItV-WRdk8IKLRqD9xugy4SjSDX3TkQrc9DU7Ho4lN_u85xusX/s320/Gareth+Calway.JPG" width="240" /></a></div>
<a href="http://www.garethcalway.co.uk/" target="_blank">Gareth Calway</a> is a published poet, novelist, playwright, lyricist and member of folkband, the <a href="https://thepenlandphezants.bandcamp.com/" target="_blank">Penland Phezants</a>.<br />
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His works include <i><a href="https://amzn.to/2lLD38x" target="_blank">Doin Different</a></i> (Poppyland, 2016) and <a href="https://amzn.to/2lL8Iqv" target="_blank"><i>Bound for Jamaica</i></a> (Collins, 2012).<br />
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Like Eric Idle and John Major, he resented his birthday (March 29) being stolen for Brexit Day 2019. <a href="https://youtu.be/yZnhn_I6hXk" target="_blank">These poems</a> are his revenge.<br />
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His poems have also been featured in <i><a href="https://www.amazon.co.uk/Bollocks-Brexit-Anthology-Poems-Fiction/dp/1916459331/ref=as_li_ss_tl?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=ZTV99M46BKX1BCQ8Y82C&linkCode=sl1&tag=leicreviofboo-21&linkId=33cb2e6fb8148f6bf3886dcf1121b16f&language=en_GB" target="_blank">Bollocks to Brexit: an Anthology of Poems and Short Fiction</a></i> (CivicLeicester, 2019).<br />
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In this interview, Gareth talks about his writing:<br />
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<b>When did you start writing? </b><br />
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At school (late 60s, early 70s). I started by imitating lyrics by 'thinking' groups and artists like the Beatles, Dylan, Leonard Cohen and Hendrix, self-publishing these as lyrics sheets on mock-up fantasy albums by my own fantasy band. At the time, the hippie movement seemed all to my youthful and optimistic mind to be embarked on a search for 'the answer' (many were but some weren't) and I honestly didn’t distinguish much between writers I was studying at school (like Wordsworth and DH Lawrence), rock bands and Biblical prophets and psalmodists.<br />
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I was motivated to write such portentous lyrics by a would-be gnostic yearning to express and share wisdom, which I was constantly trying to imbibe from poets and lyricists and which interested me much more than mundane life in a teenage wasteland. In truth, of course, I knew very little about life and most of what I read or listened to was beyond my experience or understanding. Not all, though, and as a writer I was regarded by my contemporaries as a sincere and enigmatic 'seeker' after something, if no-one was quite sure what, and by the older generation as unsettling and vaguely dangerous.<br />
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<b>How did you decide you wanted to be a published writer?</b><br />
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I loved the engagement of 60s and 70s folk/rock performers (the folk protest scene, Beatles, Dylan, Elvis Costello etc) with their audiences through words that spoke to and mobilised their generation. I also loved learning the history of English Literature at school and assumed that writers like Chaucer, Shakespeare and the Romantic Poets were just earlier versions of such a protest scene. I wanted nothing else than to be part of that, to perhaps one day be listed among the artists who had spoken to and influenced their time. <br />
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At University I contributed to the undergraduate writing magazines available and afterwards began contributing to such journals as <i>London Delhi Poetry Quarterly</i>, <i>Encounter</i>, <i>Footnotes</i>, <i>Anglo Welsh Review</i>, <i>New Welsh Review</i> etc and (usually with less success) entering poetry competitions. <br />
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<b>How would you describe the writing you are doing now?</b><br />
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Musical, with a unity of sound and meaning - often using forms (like the folk ballad, the rap, the sonnet and the Urdu ghazal) that can be put to music and sung and/or dramatised like an actor's lines.<br />
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<b>Who is your target audience? </b><br />
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I would like to connect with young, modern, diverse, multicultural Britain as well as my own generation i.e a contemporary folk audience and to be a 'word on the street' at least as much as in the classroom. <br />
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I think poets that matter are those with a vision of who we really are and can be. <br />
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I am a poet of Britain, which I love (i.e as a patriot who loves his country rather than hates everybody else's country: not every so-called 'patriot' makes that distinction sadly!) very much including the fact that we have always been defined, diversified and continually improved by embracing peoples and influences from 'abroad'. For example, I write using the Persian ghazal (albeit in English translation) more than any other form and this connects me with the ancient, Eastern tradition of love poetry it embodies as well as its exciting modern re-definitions in fusions of Eastern and Western psychology and culture in Britain, India and everywhere in between. <br />
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A language and a literature defines a land: we need a new one to reflect the 'internationally-connected', 'global-embracing' Britain we can become and writing that speaks this kind of 'English' can help to create it. Rooted here, in our unique landscape and history, but speaking beyond to our diverse selves and the world. The 'canon' of English Literature was never narrow anyway – Chaucer, the Father of English Literature is a vibrant new creole of Anglo-Saxon, French, Italian languages and traditions etc. The Tudor sonnet was from Italy (and originated in the Persian ghazal). A poet can help forge and express a new 'national consciousness', help to expand how we think, in the very opposite way from which some politicians - speaking what Orwell would call Newspeak - narrow it down.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhShzOmRgeSxzrNR2DkZvOSh8fYwAwVqbVtFoXnrvbH6AWmzypvXkT67vuqwdp1uDwsAdJlekLxgUAgbuaaSKmANZA2bVhtrI_ExdgrMcRYJN_Q4hYkcFK7xa2VMuYSWPlvLoQNSz2kzMFU/s1600/Gareth+Calway%2527s+notebook.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhShzOmRgeSxzrNR2DkZvOSh8fYwAwVqbVtFoXnrvbH6AWmzypvXkT67vuqwdp1uDwsAdJlekLxgUAgbuaaSKmANZA2bVhtrI_ExdgrMcRYJN_Q4hYkcFK7xa2VMuYSWPlvLoQNSz2kzMFU/s320/Gareth+Calway%2527s+notebook.jpg" width="320" /></a><b>What steps are you taking to connect with the audience you would like to reach?</b><br />
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I do most of my poetry performing at folk festivals (and folk clubs) arts centres, museums, history groups, village halls, churches etc - often though not always with and in a touring band - so I have a folk-musical audience more than a 'poetry reading' one. <br />
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Folk club audiences tend to be older; folk festivals have a range of ages. I reach a more diverse and international (including a younger) audience by posting my work online … I have regular listeners, viewers and readers in India, America, the Near East, Australia etc as well as in British cities ... and through radio appearances and/or recordings played on the radio (BBC as well as internet radio stations). <br />
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The internet is one way of overcoming my geographical semi-isolation from the more obvious and diverse centres of artistic exchange; another is a willingness to travel and tour. It would definitely be easier poet-wise to be in a diverse modern 'happening' city but rural Norfolk does have the compensation of being earthed in the rhythms of country life and the seasons and a lot of untold or under-told stories to tell, if not always the places to tell them in.<br />
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<b>In the writing you are doing, which authors influenced you most? </b><br />
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Hafiz, John Donne, Shakespeare, Chaucer, TS Eliot, Yeats, UA Fanthorpe, Leonard Cohen, Bob Dylan, Elvis Costello and the tradition of the folk ballad because they craft their verse with their minds at full stretch but always from an aching heart and don't forget to tell stories to the tavern, and be (like Hafiz) part of national life "from the road sweeper to the university don." <br />
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I also like Dante’s assumption that poetry is a vocation, that the poet can construct a panoramic vision (which, in his case, embraces all of European civilisation in an attempt to embrace the whole of human experience.) His Universe is driven by Love - which the poetry both philosophises upon and actually manifests in passages of heartfelt lyrical intensity and in the terza rima form imitates Italian speech patterns and chats and chants by turn in a heightened but still natural way. This ambitious role for the poet still seems a measure to which modern poets, in a very different world, can aspire, helping to combine our much greater diversity with a sense of shared humanity and combat our tendency to social fragmentation and atomisation. Oddly enough it was James Joyce’s modernist rejection of Dante as the Catholic model of the artist, replacing it with Joyce’s own epiphanic view of art as a ‘priest of the imagination- i.e a modernisation of Dante’s own vocation- that appealed to me. <br />
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Without such an aspiration for our art as a wondering, seeking, delighting, sense-making adventure, poetry would be merely entertainment or crossword puzzle clever. (Not that there’s anything wrong with either of those as part of the larger artistic role: we could all have done with more comedy in the Divine Comedy! )<br />
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<b>How have your own personal experiences influenced your writing? </b><br />
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I have always seen poetry as a wrestle with self, other, heart, head, form, music and meaning towards self-knowledge and self-expression, the expression of - or making conscious of - a vision. But humour, comedy and not taking oneself TOO seriously are also part of that. I try to balance satire with forbearance and, if I fail, to at least make my 'victims' die laughing.<br />
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I want to make people think about the human condition, feel deeply and laugh at human absurdity. I want words to sing and carry emotion, to be a solace in themselves but also to motivate anyone who hears them to be lifted and encouraged into making the world a better place.<br />
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I don't like the way 'serious' poetry has developed a reputation for being so difficult that now even English teachers avoid it. I learn mine by heart and perform it like theatre - or with my drum or my folk band as the lyrics to our songs - to try to connect with audiences before they put a barrier of "oh God this is poetry" in the way of letting it touch, amuse or inspire them. In other words, getting poetry back to its roots in music and feeling and spirit as well as ideas and complexity.<br />
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I believe poetry is a calling not a business; the true poet seeks his or her soul not how to market it.<br />
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<b>Do you write every day? </b><br />
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I write every day. I don't have sessions as such. Poetry is always working away either at the back or front of my mind.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibHp5JUdPEK5ZkY1KGAaKZC-XxQZsrhV6E6pRS8SunOCWhQ5YFd6_9jwzvtUjBhaON30QqVr_IL-TxcliZTG6CzFKZB0dycalLru6Jz-7bKe231hc45tDEOYJ2n90PTRMxvkd2P5aTlYR3/s1600/Some+of+Gareth+Calway%2527s+books.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1067" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibHp5JUdPEK5ZkY1KGAaKZC-XxQZsrhV6E6pRS8SunOCWhQ5YFd6_9jwzvtUjBhaON30QqVr_IL-TxcliZTG6CzFKZB0dycalLru6Jz-7bKe231hc45tDEOYJ2n90PTRMxvkd2P5aTlYR3/s320/Some+of+Gareth+Calway%2527s+books.jpg" width="213" /></a><b>How many books have you written so far? </b><br />
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One comic novel, <i>River Deep Mountain High</i>, set in a state school in the Welsh valleys, 1968 - present, a requited but long unconsummated love story, Bluechrome, 2008. <br />
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One short novel for children, <i><a href="https://amzn.to/2lL8Iqv" target="_blank">Bound for Jamaica</a></i>, about the Atlantic slave trade, Collins, 2009.<br />
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<i>Cromwell's Talking Head</i>, a dramatic monologue 'spoken' by Oliver Cromwell, Diggers 2012. <br />
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Various educational books for secondary school English, most notably for Classical Comics (Study Guides about Jane Eyre and the Canterville Ghost) and as series editor / writer of the best selling 8 book "Aiming at Progress in..." series which is the only publication which ever earned me any real money! Collins, 2009. <br />
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Nine books of poetry: <br />
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<i>City Zen</i>, self-published pamphlet 1982, Zen snapshots of inner city Gloucester; <br />
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<i>Coming Home</i>, 3 sections: dramatic monologues of mineral, vegetable, animal stages of evolution (free verse); of historical moments (various historical forms); of spiritual planes of consciousness (ghazals) King of Hearts Publishing, 1991; <br />
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<i>Britain's Dreaming</i>, Frontier Publishing, 3 sections: Boudicca's revolt against Rome as a sort of Greek tragedy in classical, lyrical and 'punk' verse; poems about industrial decline in the Eastern valley of Wales; mystical ghazals, 1998; <br />
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<i>The Merchant of Bristol</i>, a Tudor sonnet sequence about a 16th century Mayor of Bristol who smuggled leather and grain to Iberia and wine from it. The Day Dream Press, 2004; <br />
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<i>Sheer Paltry, Bristol City Football Club, 2004</i>; football sonnets, chants and personal accounts of being a fan; <br />
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<i>The House on the River</i>, sonnets and free verse telling the story of Norwich from primeval to present through one house on a river; King of Hearts Publishing, 2004, <br />
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<i>Exile In His Own Country</i>, Bluechrome, 2006, a 'best of' collection of all previous; <br />
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<i><a href="https://amzn.to/2lLD38x" target="_blank">Doin Different</a></i>, 39 New Ballads from the East of England, folk ballads telling the story of Eastern England notably Norfolk through historical figures and ordinary folk, Poppyland, 2015; <br />
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<i>6 Degrees of Separation; 7 Degrees of Love</i>, Sheriar Press, 2016, mystical ghazals, sonnets and villanelles about a life following the Indian mystic Meher Baba.<br />
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<b>What is your latest book about? </b><br />
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<i>6 Degrees of Separation; 7 Degrees of Love</i> is about the 'calling' of poetry as a spiritual vocation and a path to perfect happiness through desperate trials.<br />
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I was working on the book from 1979 to 2016 in terms of its individual poem content ... it's a lifelong achievement and story. The final stages or conceptualisation or refining as a collection larger than the sum of its parts took about 3 years.<br />
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The book was published in America by Sheriar Press in 2016. Some whole sections had appeared in my earlier collections … like <i>Coming Home</i> and <i>Britain's Dreaming</i> ... Sheriar gave me the chance to put all my 'spiritual' ghazals and poems in one book as a coherent statement, as a sort of odyssey through inner space. <br />
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The fact that the publisher is based in America and that my connection with them is distant and online is a disadvantage in some ways but they sell more than my other poetry books to a targeted audience there so it may actually be an advantage not to be physically involved in marketing it myself.<br />
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<b>Which were the most difficult aspects of the work you put into the book?</b><br />
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I am not a fundamentalist and yet the book deals with fundamentals - God, spiritual questing, death, divine love, who we are beyond the physical world etc - so I find it a challenge to address these issues without losing the tavern audience. <br />
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It would be easy to lose touch with real readers by sounding 'religious' instead of engaging with the real issues of our times, which religious language has become alienated from. A bit like waging a crusade in the name of one's God instead of the much much more difficult task of actually practising the love all Faiths repeatedly prescribe as the cure.<br />
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<b>Which aspects of the work did you enjoy most? </b><br />
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I love crafting metaphysical words, phrases and ideas into the fiendishly difficult rhyme and metre of the ghazal (or the Petrarchan sonnet) form, wrestling all that profundity into something simple and musical and heartfelt as possible. <br />
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I love speaking the resulting 'magical' patterns aloud by heart or having a musician sing and play them. I enjoy this because it's making conscious and easy the wisdom I think we all have and when it communicates to listeners, it's bliss. <br />
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The truth is simple but only some pretty intense metaphysical work mastering words, ideas and form can make it so (says he, paradoxically, but then our life itself is paradoxical.)<br />
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<b>What sets the book apart from other things you've written? </b><br />
<br />
This is an interesting question because I think it's because it's all in the present. Much of my work is historical in one way or another, even if only the history of my own life, and it's often set hundreds of years ago. <i>6 Degrees of Separation; 7 Degrees</i> seems to inhabit an eternal present stretching away beyond the past and the future.<br />
<br />
This book is also more intensely personal than much of my work - I more typically invent characters, living in history - and yet oddly more universal as well. <br />
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I hadn't really realised this until you asked.<br />
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<b>In what way is it similar to the others? </b><br />
<br />
I like working in tight 'musical' forms and metres: the discipline and need for economy helps me distil a lot of feeling. <br />
<br />
By nature, I am garrulous, discursive and excursive - always trying to make sense and with a lot of words flowing out – so, the discipline of such form is vital.<br />
<br />
<b>What will your next book be about? </b><br />
<br />
Nursery Rhymes - the way they often record real events in history in a gnomic, epigrammatic way. I will explore this with a show with my folk band, the Penland Phezants.<br />
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<b>Two of your poems, “Tommy's 100th” and "Breck's Isle" are featured in <i><a href="https://www.amazon.co.uk/Bollocks-Brexit-Anthology-Poems-Fiction/dp/1916459331/ref=as_li_ss_tl?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=ZTV99M46BKX1BCQ8Y82C&linkCode=sl1&tag=leicreviofboo-21&linkId=33cb2e6fb8148f6bf3886dcf1121b16f&language=en_GB" target="_blank">Bollocks to Brexit: an Anthology of Poems and Short Fiction</a></i>. What would you say the poems are about?</b><br />
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“Tommy's 100th” was one of those out-of-the-blue experiences where I knew as soon as it started that a poem was going to result. I was at a village memorial, rain and leaves gusting everywhere - the 100th anniversary of 1918 - wondering if there's a moment when remembrance becomes ossified into something else, not so much a grateful salute to the fallen as a perpetuation of dead grievances.<br />
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Brexit seemed very much in the air and little remembrance, for example, of those huge parts of Europe with which we were allied though both World Wars, Polish airmen at the Battle of Britain etc etc, or of all the Commonwealth nations who had rallied to defend this land. "The Europe we won (against extreme nationalism) then didn't want" sums up the tragedy of all that for me.<br />
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"Breck's Isle" comes from a King Arthur sequence - the Arthur myth (myth defined as <i>an eternal present beyond the past and the future</i>) records the seismic moments when Britain has been invaded and heroically defended but has also absorbed all we've been invaded and enriched by: Saxons, Normans and everything since. For example, Lancelot is both the Celtic god Llugh and the much later Norman knight Lancelot du lac. <br />
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We should have more confidence in Britain to cope and grow with age-old change and diversity and learn the mythical lesson of Vorgigern King of Little Britain who tried to shut it all out and perished. We don't live in a vacuum; Britain is greater in Europe than isolated from it. Breck and his isle is my modern mythical version of Vortigern.<br />
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<b>How have the poems been received? </b><br />
<br />
With laughter (notably the <i>Daily Mail</i> font line) and with acknowledgement of the <a href="https://youtu.be/yZnhn_I6hXk" target="_blank">'greater' patriotism</a> the poems expresses; the rejection of the Farage-fake-running-scared patriotism which is so destructive of our national interest...<br />
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Also, acknowledgement of the attempt to embrace the whole nation including the Brexit side of the argument and a greater patriotism (a love of modern, diverse, inclusive Britain) that is harder to do than simply asserting a counter-credo to Farage/Bojo et al.<br />
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<b>Why is it important for poets to speak up on social, political and related matters?</b><br />
<br />
Because I think poetry, unlike much of our politics, will naturally tolerate nuances and contradictions and express them honestly - even sometimes when the author him/herself may 'think' he/she is doing something else. As Yeats said, out of the argument with others we make rhetoric or politics; out of the argument with ourselves, poetry.<br />
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<b>In your view, what do anthologies like <i>Bollocks to Brexit </i>add to poetry and public discourse?</b><br />
<br />
They give everyone a say - including many that are often unheard or have uncomfortable things to say, things that demand your consideration or human allegiance rather than simply your vote. They present a human face to all sides of the story.Ambrose Musiyiwahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12325345242865418582noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4151287227576220188.post-9202993861595593052019-07-15T10:31:00.000+01:002019-07-15T10:31:12.197+01:00Interview _ Katherine Cleave<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<a href="http://kcleave.com/" target="_blank">Katherine Cleave</a> is a Fine Artist living in Barnes. Since graduating from Goldsmiths College, her artwork has been displayed at several London galleries and events. Her work presents an ironic play of words, phrases and images juxtaposed to create a lively stage on which to probe reality. Recent work includes a small collection of poems.<br />
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In this interview, Katherine talks about her writing:<br />
<br />
<b>When did you start writing?</b><br />
<br />
I started writing during my Thesis in the final year of my BA in Fine Art and Theoretical Criticism. I had based my work on a comparison between the playwright, Luigi Pirandello and the Fine Artist, Jannis Kounellis. The work required a leap of faith but I wanted to show that, in essence, it is not the medium that is important, but the message. I consider myself an artist: sometimes I paint, sometimes I write – with varying degrees of success!<br />
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<b>How would you describe the writing you are doing?</b><br />
<br />
I write poetry. The abstract nature appeals to me and I love the collaged effect of words and sounds seeking to convey a moment/emotion/concern. I enjoy playing with a tale, told from a humorous angle with dark undercurrents… the bitter aftertaste is what attracted me to writing.<br />
<br />
This year, I decided to put a couple of poems in for some competitions and anthologies purely to access a new audience and I was curious to get some feedback. I googled ‘Poetry Competition 2019’ and then selected a couple of entries based on subjects that interested me. One competition was entitled ‘About Time’ for the Roger McGough Poetry Prize and the other was a call for poems and short fiction on the theme, ‘<a href="https://conversationswithwriters.blogspot.com/2019/01/bollocks-to-brexit-poetry-microfiction.html" target="_blank">Bollocks to Brexit</a>’, edited by Ambrose Musiyiwa.<br />
<br />
<b>Who is your target audience? </b><br />
<br />
In all honesty, I’m not sure I have written enough to be able to answer this question. As with most art, I suspect it is more a case of certain works appealing to different people depending on their individual experience or interests.<br />
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<b>In the writing you are doing, which authors influenced you most? </b><br />
<br />
For a while, Haruki Murakami’s work entitled <i><a href="https://amzn.to/2jPbwT3" target="_blank">Killing Commendatore</a></i>, felt as though it was written for me alone to the point that I intend to recreate the painting as described if only to recreate that feeling. <br />
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I often listen to audible books during dog walks since I find it frees my mind to paint the characters and their world to such a degree it feels as though I am there – away from the words on the page. <br />
<br />
I also love the juxtaposition of time in David Mitchells’ books and I was also influenced by the conversational tone of Diana Evans recent work, <i><a href="https://amzn.to/2lkVYqq" target="_blank">Ordinary People</a></i>. <br />
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Recent membership of The Poetry Society has also proved inspiring and I always look forward receiving my quarterly <a href="https://poetrysociety.org.uk/publications-section/the-poetry-review/" target="_blank">Poetry Reviews</a>.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTCq5kaimdeulWhBSYkCD2Fwrarnn5U2ZkBYH9p0e904N5MwZzI-705SwFL9tbR5jxRgQd2QkDtNqLnYpohAB97VSabyPGUWcOCmpurRjSJR3O_Bu7fDR5hlGQC_FrEFIRfm_DJwwQPPIq/s1600/KCleave_SeeNoEvil_SpeakNoEvil.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1290" data-original-width="1500" height="275" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTCq5kaimdeulWhBSYkCD2Fwrarnn5U2ZkBYH9p0e904N5MwZzI-705SwFL9tbR5jxRgQd2QkDtNqLnYpohAB97VSabyPGUWcOCmpurRjSJR3O_Bu7fDR5hlGQC_FrEFIRfm_DJwwQPPIq/s320/KCleave_SeeNoEvil_SpeakNoEvil.jpg" width="320" /></a><b>How have your personal experiences influenced your writing?</b><br />
<br />
I recently retold a story from my past, which made me laugh out loud although revisiting the past as an adult, inevitably involved confronting the serious consequences of my past actions. I found the experience both refreshing and rather disconcerting. <br />
<br />
I also discovered that when I get too precious with part of a painting, unable to go forward or back, a ‘painters block’ as I call it, re-channeling those thoughts into writing has proved to be a successful compromise to an artistic stalemate.<br />
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<b>What are your main concerns as a writer? </b><br />
<br />
I am fascinated by several themes such as the creation and appraisal of art; the individual within society; concepts surrounding time; fragility of health; death and masquerade. <br />
<br />
I invariably approach a sensitive topic employing humour and farce. Both the creation and analysis are much more enjoyable plus it offers a casual stage from which to deal a hefty blow when the audience is relaxed. <br />
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My biggest challenges are, if I am honest, developing a strict regime to write regularly and, more importantly, to actually DO something with it. (I am exceedingly good at creating things for no other reason than the satisfaction of doing it.)<br />
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<b>Do you write everyday? </b><br />
<br />
I do not write every day but I do find myself sitting at my computer several times a week when the mood takes me. I tend to have left it to within a couple of hours of collecting the kids, and then dare myself to rush my thoughts out in the premise that I will ‘tidy up’ the poem later. Sometimes the rewrites are radical sometimes minimal. Some are canned before they see the light of day.<br />
<br />
My poem, ‘Timeline’, was published this year in <i><a href="http://www.artsrichmond.org.uk/ar-event-detail.php?id=174" target="_blank">About Time</a></i>, an anthology of shortlisted entries from the Roger McGough Poetry Prize published by Arts Richmond. Another poem entitled ‘Exit, Stage Right’ was published in <i><a href="https://amzn.to/2jPMxyW" target="_blank">Bollocks to Brexit: an Anthology of Poems and Short Fiction</a></i>, edited by Ambrose Musiyiwa and published in 2019 by CivicLeicester.<br />
<br />
<b>What are you working on at present? </b><br />
<br />
My current project is a collection of around 30 of my poems with accompanying artwork entitled <i>Thought Threads</i>.<br />
<br />
Although the majority of the poems were created or revised in the past 6 months, it has taken me approximately 1 year to put the collection together.<br />
<br />
I intend to publish <i>Thought Threads</i> this summer through self-publishing with KDP on Amazon. <br />
<br />
I like the idea of the immediacy of self-publishing despite the fact that it lacks the marketing angle or the support of an editor. Maybe that will become more relevant in time when I have a greater body of work but for now I am more interested in having a physical volume with which I can gain feedback.<br />
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<b>Your poem, ‘Exit, Stage Right’ is featured in <i><a href="https://amzn.to/2EOjpiB" target="_blank">Bollocks to Brexit: an Anthology of Poems and Short Fiction</a></i>. What would you say the poem is about? </b><br />
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I wrote 'Exit, Stage Right' as a satirical take on Brexit. I wanted to capitalise on the them-and-us in society; the polarised black and white extremes from what is invariably a position of ignorance. I am particularly frustrated with the ‘I support this side and I’m sticking to it regardless’ pack mentality in politics. The endless repeating of meaningless empty catchphrases such as ‘Brexit means Brexit’, ‘Leave means Leave’ etc. has become an increasingly desperate mantra. I picture my poem read by a beery, aggressive, Shane Meadows character crossed with Johnny Rotten as he drunkenly slurs the words to ‘Road Runner’ having ‘forgotten the words’. Sadly the anthem ceases to be amusing when it could signify the financial ruin of many people and the unfortunate rise of racism in our country; hence the rather sad, deflated repetition at the end, ‘Here we go, here we go, here we go’.<br />
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<b>How have the poems been received?</b><br />
<br />
I live in London so it’s hardly surprising that most of the poems in the anthology went down very well (although doubtful if the same could be said for our MP Zac Goldsmith, who I am told, has also received a copy!) On a more serious note, despite Brexit being a tentative subject for many families, I was heartened to see we could still all laugh and enjoy the poems, which has since broken the ice and served to heal a few unspoken rifts in the process.<br />
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<b>Why is it important for poets to speak up on social, political and related matters?</b><br />
<br />
In order to both understand why we feel a certain way and in order to comprehend a different perspective, it is essential to have discussion. Various art forms provide a useful stage to have that communication in a non-threatening environment. The abstract nature of poetry allows observations to be subtly hinted or bluntly stated or even just offer an alternative version of reality to that expressed on various media platforms. <br />
<br />
Politics can divide but there is no reason why it should. It is important to listen objectively in order to fully understand why someone has voted the way they have or feels the way they do. It is invariably the polarisation in society that has led people to lash out in anger – often in a ballot box with dire consequences.<br />
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<b>In your view, what do anthologies like <i>Bollocks to Brexit</i> add to poetry and public discourse? </b><br />
<br />
The anthology acts as a sponge, soaking up the thoughts and feelings felt by many but voiced by few. It felt cathartic to be involved in the process and hopefully the combined musings of several writers can channel some of that dissent to make people question our current political crisis and it also highlights the ‘them and us’ which is both mirrored in public discourse and on the streets. <i>‘We can’t solve problems using the same kind of thinking we used when we created them’</i>, as someone wise once said.Ambrose Musiyiwahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12325345242865418582noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4151287227576220188.post-53652410064355845212019-07-12T10:31:00.000+01:002019-07-12T10:31:02.719+01:00Interview _ Trefor Stockwell <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<a href="https://amzn.to/32mrBRt" target="_blank">Trefor Stockwell</a> studied English at Bangor University, and has recently completed his PhD in Creative Writing. He now lives on the Isle of Anglesey where he concentrates on writing and performing poetry. Currently he is working on a novel.<br />
<br />
In this interview, Trefor talks about his writing:<br />
<br />
<b>When did you start writing?</b><br />
<br />
I have always written but have taken it much more seriously since University.<br />
<br />
My writing efforts are of an eclectic nature: poetry, prose and the occasional article. My audience is anyone who finds my work interesting. Primarily though I write for myself, and if others then enjoy it that’s a bonus.<br />
<br />
I have never really wanted to be published for the sake of it, but it became an expectation when I started to do post-graduate work on creative writing.<br />
<br />
<b>Which writers influenced you most?</b><br />
<br />
The writers who have influenced me most are: Angela Carter and Salman Rushdie both of whom were cited in my PhD thesis on creative writing. <br />
<br />
I not only enjoyed their work for its unique, and sometimes quirky, approach to subject matter, but also it inspired my own approach to the situation I found myself in: at the time I was living in a small Bulgarian village, and was at the time the only Westerner in the valley. Although I was made welcome, I still sensed a feeling of isolation. I was also struggling to come to terms with the changes to the country - this was in the early days of transition to the EU and a change from a centuries old agrarian to a more capitalist society. My writing needed to reflect this change, and the fact that my presence - no matter how sympathetic I was to the culture - was leaving a cultural footprint: the villager were researching me just as much as I was them. My work, therefore, grew increasingly more Magical Realist in nature. <br />
<br />
<b>How else have your personal experiences influenced your writing?</b><br />
<br />
I think all writers are influenced by events in their own lives. In my own case I have always tried to convey a left wing political message in my work. I also find that the loss of a loved one in a tragic accident led to some rather dark and cathartic poetry. Both of these elements are to be seen in my poetry collection, <i>Life, Love, Politics and Other Silliness</i>.<br />
<br />
<b>What are your main concerns as a writer?</b><br />
<br />
My writing is becoming increasingly more political, this is especially so in my poetic efforts. This has become more so since the advent of the Brexit debate and the increasing drift toward extreme idealistic national politics. I have become alarmed with the similarities to the situation in 1930s Germany. Poetry is my way of expressing those fears. <br />
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<b>Do you write every day?</b><br />
<br />
I write on most days but do allow myself time away from the keyboard. My biggest challenge is self-discipline; I try to allocate myself a certain amount of time each day and treat it like a job. <br />
<br />
I find I must force myself to start, but then find that once I do it’s even more of an effort to stop.<br />
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I have published four works: A novel: <i>Clerical Errors, Secular Lies</i>; two short story collections: <i><a href="https://amzn.to/32nuSA4" target="_blank">Bread and Wine</a></i> and <i>The Tales of Ivan Levsky</i>; one poetry collection: <i>Life, Love, Politics and Other Silliness</i>.<br />
<br />
What is <i>Life, Love, Politics and Other Silliness</i>?<br />
<br />
It is a poetry collection.<br />
<br />
It was written over a number of years. The more personal aspects of the collection were the most difficult to write, but also the most rewarding and cathartic. The collection was published by Dorogoy Press/LuLu in 2018. I completed all the layout work myself. <br />
<br />
The main advantage of this, is that I can order as and when required and also sell through Amazon.<br />
<br />
<b>One of your poems, ‘When We Weren’t Looking’, is featured in <i><a href="https://amzn.to/2S4aAXm" target="_blank">Bollocks to Brexit: an Anthology of Poems and Short Fiction</a></i>. What would you say the poems are about? </b><br />
<br />
‘When We Weren’t Looking’ was written in response to my growing concerns about where our country is heading since the referendum. It was written very recently, and reflects on the fact that our own apathy appears to be allowing the unspeakable to come about by stealth. It is also about my own fear that the referendum has been the touchstone to a release of national xenophobia and a right wing agenda that harks back to a golden age which in truth never really existed. In my opinion the only way for us as a nation to reunite is take the whole thing back to the people - either as a people's vote, or through a people's assembly. <br />
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<b>How has the poem been received?</b><br />
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Difficult to say, but it appears to have found favour with audiences. Why this is, is again, difficult to say, but either they approve, or are very kind – probably a mixture of both.<br />
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<b>Why is it important for poets to speak up on social, political and related matters?</b><br />
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It has always been important for people in the arts to speak out. Quite often artists, writers, musicians and the like are the first to notice the defects in society, and are possibly more trusted by that society than the political leaders,<br />
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<b>In your view, what do anthologies like <i>Bollocks to Brexit</i> add to poetry and public discourse? </b><br />
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Anthologies such as <i>Bollocks to Brexit</i> allow disparate views to be broadcast more widely rather than relying on the mainly biased opinion of the media, or the meaningless sound bytes of the political class: 'strong and stable' and 'Brexit means Brexit' are two examples of slogans that are completely without meaning, yet are repeated over and over again, until they become perceived as absolute truisms, this is aided by a media that is in the main controlled by the very rich, and entirely influenced by the need for profit.Ambrose Musiyiwahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12325345242865418582noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4151287227576220188.post-19980818279812054082019-07-10T10:31:00.000+01:002019-07-10T18:58:41.833+01:00Interview _ Sarra Culleno<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<a href="https://www.facebook.com/sarracullenopoetry/" target="_blank">Sarra Culleno</a> is a London-born, Manchester-based UK poet, a mother of two and an English teacher.<br />
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She writes about issues that include children’s rights, motherhood, identity, technology and politics. Her work has been published in magazines and anthologies that include <i>Les Femmes Folles</i> (‘Lost in my DMs’, ‘Song of the Young Mother’ and ‘Phone Phantom Pantoum’), <i><a href="https://threedropspoetry.co.uk/" target="_blank">Three Drops</a></i> (‘PMT Virelai’), <i>Hidden Voices</i> (‘Hansel and Gretel, the Woodcutter’s Children’) and in <i><a href="https://amzn.to/2S4aAXm" target="_blank">Bollocks to Brexit: an Anthology of Poems and Short Fiction</a></i> (CivicLeicester, 2019).<br />
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In 2019, Sarra was longlisted for the Cinnamon Press Pamphlet Prize and appeared as a featured poet at HerStories Festival, Celebrate Whalley Range, and That’s What She Said (For Books Sake).<br />
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Readings can be found on her <a href="https://www.youtube.com/user/sarra1978" target="_blank">YouTube channel</a> and through her <a href="https://www.instagram.com/sarracullenopoetry/" target="_blank">Instagram</a> and <a href="https://twitter.com/sarra1978" target="_blank">Twitter</a> profiles.<br />
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In this interview, Sarra talks about her writing:<br />
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<b>When did you start writing?</b><br />
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I've always written, but only started sending pieces to publishers this year.<br />
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I'm an English teacher, so I have taught the nuts and bolts of poetry for sixteen years. My two children are now old enough for me to have a hobby which led me to performance poetry and spoken word events.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeCs4BoOigrcfrUkUEgXyuYavHk-Se9ioL-Fqiq2NtQYDEUO6v5Xyrzxp1Fo9PT0SrIah52O73A4EnxMnPMF9tSA8Y3vvBr9SpZZsL1Ax7kZVmSnMWh-RyqGZ8-KCNVF64pSo_D6Hokvk1/s1600/Terza+Rima%2527s+Woke+Blog.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="528" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeCs4BoOigrcfrUkUEgXyuYavHk-Se9ioL-Fqiq2NtQYDEUO6v5Xyrzxp1Fo9PT0SrIah52O73A4EnxMnPMF9tSA8Y3vvBr9SpZZsL1Ax7kZVmSnMWh-RyqGZ8-KCNVF64pSo_D6Hokvk1/s320/Terza+Rima%2527s+Woke+Blog.jpg" width="176" /></a><b>How would you describe the writing you are doing?</b><br />
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It's a mixture of formal and blank verse, on themes of dual heritage identity, motherhood, monogamy, the education system, gender, and politics.<br />
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The motherhood poems are autobiographical, as are the dual heritage identity poems. I'm of Iranian-Irish descent which did not seem particularly interesting or unique to me until I left London in my twenties.<br />
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My poems on the education system are rooted in my experiences as a classroom teacher and mother of primary school age children.<br />
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I hadn't realised the impact Sylvia Plath had on my writing till recently. I can see the influence of her cadences and extended metaphor. Hafsa Aneela Bashir, more recently; her bravery is raw and visceral which made me braver when writing about painful personal experiences such as post-natal depression.<br />
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<b>What are your main concerns as a writer?</b><br />
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My main concern is producing a finished poem, but I can't stop tinkering with syllable counts, metre and so on even after I've sent them off! I'm very badly organised, so I do not keep track of what I've submitted where... Sooner or later a publisher is going to get very cross with my simultaneous submissions!<br />
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<b>What are the biggest challenges that you face? And, how do you deal with these challenges?</b><br />
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Rejections are hard to take, but it's an unavoidable part of writing. It's also a chance to ask myself what I can improve.<br />
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<b>Do you write everyday?</b><br />
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I can't write everyday. I have a demanding full-time career and two small children. I get my ideas while driving home. Before I get out of the car I scribble them into a notebook. Once the children are asleep, I'll do my research and choose a suitable form which I hope will enhance the meaning or topic. Finally, I'll sew it together and then review it in a day or two. Then the tinkering starts... And never stops!<br />
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I'm writing my poetry collection at the moment. I started it in February and I'm still working on it now. I have about forty poems I'm happy with and many more I've cut. When I have about eighty, I'll submit it for publishing as a book rather than a chapbook. An early draft of it was longlisted for the Cinnamon Press Pamphlet Prize this year. I hope I've improved on it since then.<br />
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When I've finished, I'll submit it to small presses based in the North West and London as it will be easier for me to be involved in launch events. The types of publishers which I think would be a good fit, would be women-focused and known for releasing titles exploring gender.<br />
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<b>Which aspects of the work you are putting into the poems do you find most difficult? Why do you think this was so? </b><br />
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I ended up scrapping all my spoken word poetry from publishing submissions, and I will not usually read my more formal poetry at performance events. I love both for different reasons, but only a few of my poems cross over. I've tried to include a number of accessible poems in my collection, which are not in the least oblique or literary, hoping this will broaden appeal. I've recorded readings for some of these on my YouTube channel.<br />
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I most enjoy writing poetry when an idea emerges of its own accord, and writes itself. It's depressing when there's a "drought", though. <br />
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I'm looking forward to the school holidays to start the writing flow off again.<br />
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<b>One of your poems, ‘Terza Rima's Woke Blog’ is featured in <i><a href="https://amzn.to/2YRCMj3" target="_blank">Bollocks to Brexit: an Anthology of Poems and Short Fiction</a></i>. How did the poem come about? </b><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhixPKZ-kGBgy3Pfctna5G-VMjAkJsWUPdLKWsYPCPdAJ3xKtupZyRPBVLDecbCfmpCtlP2sN1yybsfVFhH4GXBbNN7-DoLgl7xxJbNzw9pn8PJ1brQ-KpuXJ5agEXtA8H0Nr6TCVuoEFx1/s1600/Wilson+and+Bollocks+to+Brexit+an+anthology+of+poems+and+short+fiction.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="528" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhixPKZ-kGBgy3Pfctna5G-VMjAkJsWUPdLKWsYPCPdAJ3xKtupZyRPBVLDecbCfmpCtlP2sN1yybsfVFhH4GXBbNN7-DoLgl7xxJbNzw9pn8PJ1brQ-KpuXJ5agEXtA8H0Nr6TCVuoEFx1/s320/Wilson+and+Bollocks+to+Brexit+an+anthology+of+poems+and+short+fiction.jpg" width="176" /></a>I wrote ‘Terza Rima's Woke Blog’, for my pupils and younger colleagues. Neither can build any stability into their futures, and yet they are the hardest working and most conscientious people that I know. I feel their generation is forsaken. <br />
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Advertising agencies were employed to peddle Brexit and manufacture consent. Marketing companies know that facts will not sell products, but that emotions sell a brand. There needs to be awareness raised for both sides, that referendums are opinion polls, not unbreakable contracts. Perhaps this is where poets could help.<br />
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<b>Why is it important for poets to speak up on social, political and related matters?</b><br />
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It's important for everyone to speak up. But if you have an unusual way of saying it, it's to your advantage. <br />
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My worry is that Brexit is what Chomsky might call "a Roman Game of Circus" designed to incite a very narrow but impassioned debate involving both left and right, to distract us all from what is really going on: the stripping of human rights to bring our workforce in line with China and India, and to colonise our publicly owned assets in the TTIP deal. Chomsky, in his explanation of how we are kept passive, puts it better than me, when he says in <i><a href="https://amzn.to/2XBzcgi" target="_blank">The Common Good</a></i>, "Limit the spectrum of acceptable opinion, but allow very lively debate within that spectrum..."<br />
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<b>In your view, what do anthologies like <i>Bollocks to Brexit</i> add to poetry and public discourse? Why does this matter?</b><br />
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As a reader, I prefer anthologies as you get a broader perspective on a theme, and experience multiple forms and styles. <br />
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Politically, art resonates better than facts, figures and debates. And if Brexit proved anything, it's that people follow their hearts. Not their minds.<br />
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The TTIP deal was debated a lot on social media before the referendum - it has vanished entirely since. The debates on public services, spending, living standards, and many other pressing issues are silenced now too. Brexit is the greatest political distraction ever contrived. It was never a possibility or even a yes/no question. It's important for anyone who realises this, on the left AND the right to reach people still arguing about a non-starter distraction. We still have to protect our hard won rights from the greedy, who will happily turn us into an impoverished, enslaved, poisoned and hateful nation.<br />
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Brexit is “a non-starter distraction” because it was invented as a Roman Game of Circus, purely to divert debate from other issues. It is an impossibility, but while we all argue about it, our civil rights and public assets are being stripped under our noses. It is useful for the government to prolong their inevitable admission that it was never going to happen, as this cultivates a climate of fear and apathy, which controls everyone (those of us already impoverished, and also anyone left who realises however little we have can be taken away). I believe they will push the deadline forward each time it arrives until they eventually admit they had no intention or means to take the eggs out of a cake which is already baked. So to speak. Ambrose Musiyiwahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12325345242865418582noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4151287227576220188.post-23361968739607831852019-07-08T10:31:00.000+01:002019-07-08T10:31:02.668+01:00Interview _ Paul Francis<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<a href="http://www.paulfranciswrites.co.uk/" target="_blank">Paul Francis</a> is a prolific, versatile poet, living in Much Wenlock. He has published two collections, <i>Various Forms</i> and <i>5-string Banjo</i>, and a range of topical pamphlets. He is active on the local circuit of poetry readings and has been placed in six national poetry competitions.<br />
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In this interview, Paul talks about his writing: <br />
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<b>When did you start writing? </b><br />
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I wrote my first poem at the age of ten and haven’t stopped since.<br />
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There wasn’t a clear moment where it could be said I decided I wanted to be a published writer. I’ve always read, so I’ve thought of writers as important, and writing as a worthwhile activity. It’s a natural step from there to think, “Why not me?”<br />
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<b>How would you describe the writing you are doing?</b><br />
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Varied, enjoyable, most of it transitory.<br />
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When I write, I don’t start from the audience. I start from the writing and then go looking for the audience. For most of what I do, the immediate audience is other writers who go to poetry events around the West Midlands. <br />
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Sometimes it reaches beyond that, through a series of accidents. I discovered a week ago that the leader of an Orkney Ramblers holiday I went on in 2014 has been reading my Orkney Sonnets to his recent customers. Totally gobsmacking, but good to know.<br />
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<b>Which authors influenced you most?</b><br />
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Shakespeare, Shelley, George Orwell for a start. Shakespeare and Shelley (‘Ozymandias’) for the sonnets, Shelley (‘Masque of Anarchy’) and Orwell for the politics.<br />
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The range and intensity of Shakespeare’s sonnets have always impressed me – there’s so much you can find in this apparently limited form. ‘Ozymandias’ is terrific. It came out of a challenge between Shelley and a friend – write a sonnet about a recent visit to the British Museum. It’s a powerful, well-organised sonnet that proceeds towards its conclusion, getting better all the time BUT it also plays around with the formal rhyme scheme. It’s not simply three four line chunks with a couplet tacked on to the end. <br />
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‘Masque of Anarchy’ is a great poem. short lines, tight rhyming and controlled anger all the way through. <br />
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What I like about Orwell is the aim for clarity – look hard, but keep what you’re writing as clear and simple as you can. <br />
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<b>How have your own personal experiences influenced your writing?</b><br />
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I was brought up in a very pleasant middle-class home. Lots of books, time for reading, supportive parents etc. <br />
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It was only when I went to Raymond Williams’ lectures, and then started teaching in a Nottinghamshire mining town, that I registered how differently many people lived – and what a rough deal a large proportion of the population got from those who were in power.<br />
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This is really far too big to take on in this context. It’s about social class and money and power, and the recognition of how they operate in society. <br />
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Has there been a change from when I started teaching till now? How long have you got? I’ve written two books about this, <i>What’s Wrong with the National Curriculum?</i> and <i>The Best Policy? Honesty in education, 1997-2001</i>. <br />
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<b>What are your main concerns as a writer?</b><br />
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Making topical, political subject matter the content of poems which are good in themselves, not just a rant.<br />
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I have regular arguments with poetry friends about what poems can and can’t do. My view is hugely ambitious – poems can convey information, develop arguments etc... I need to work on the text, so as to convince sceptics that I might have a point.<br />
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<b>What are the biggest challenges that you face?</b><br />
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Not huge. I’m retired, and have a pension. It’s a comfortable life. I write what I want to, and nothing hangs on what happens to it. I like trying to write different kinds of stuff.<br />
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The challenges I face are largely technical. I like regular forms, but recognise the current hostility to full rhyme and iambic pattern. One challenge is to try to face the potential criticism of those elements without sacrificing them – keeping the sense and the movement as active as possible. <br />
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<b>Do you write everyday?</b><br />
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Most days. Sessions aren’t formal, and might be short. I’m lucky that I write fast, and always have plenty to write about.<br />
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<b>How many books have you written so far?</b><br />
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I wrote three books about education, and various packs of educational materials.<br />
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I’ve written an autobiography and a novel, and have had three collections of <a href="http://www.paulfranciswrites.co.uk/plays" target="_blank">plays for schools</a> published (by Edward Arnold and CUP).<br />
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I’ve self-published two main collections of poems (<i>Various Forms</i> and <i>5-string Banjo</i>), and fifteen pamphlets of various kinds.<br />
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My latest pamphlet is <i>In the Dark</i>, about social media during Brexit. It’s just over a dozen pages. Actual writing time, a few days. Research and thinking about it, nearer three years.<br />
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<b>Which aspects of the work did you enjoy most? </b><br />
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I love manipulating information, ordering material – with this pamphlet, putting together the reference notes, sorting through the piles of (yes, actual paper) cuttings was a real buzz, and the actual writing itself, finding key images, hearing a phrase arrive in my head, which has the right sound. <br />
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<i>In the Dark</i> is very gritty – closely tied to the actual details of the Brexit debate – not appealing material for many readers; but, the pamphlet is accessible, easy to read and has a very clear position. I’m not coy about saying what I’m for and against.<br />
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<b>How did you find a publisher for the pamphlet? </b><br />
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I’m a huge fan of self-publication, provided it’s done right, i.e. thought about, thoroughly checked, seen by critical eyes before publication. Given those conditions, it’s quick and cheap. Though, obviously, it can also be self-indulgent and a waste of everyone’s time. <br />
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<b>What are you working on next?</b><br />
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<i>Sonnets with notes</i> will be published later this year. What’s different about it is that there are notes on each of the fifty sonnets, but they’re deliberately printed on the same page. To some that will be horrifying, but I compare it to poetry readings, where the commentary of poets on their work is often illuminating, leading to a deeper appreciation of the work. My gamble is that by giving more importance to the notes, I potentially increase readers’ chances of enjoying the poems. <br />
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<b>You have two poems, ‘The Pitch’ and ‘Maverick’, in <i><a href="https://amzn.to/2Jkpchv" target="_blank">Bollocks to Brexit: an Anthology of Poems and Short Fiction</a></i>. What would you say the poems are about?</b><br />
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‘The Pitch’ is about the damage of Brexit, to both sides. It adapts the Romeo and Juliet story, of two lovers divided by their feuding families, to the Brexit division between Remain and Leave.<br />
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I think Brexit has been a disaster, but that’s not simply because I’d have liked the result to be different. We’ve all suffered from the poisoning of the atmosphere, and these two young lovers are both casualties. Their death is a tragedy, but so is the future we face – uncertainty, expense, no clear gain achieved by massive upheaval. <br />
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‘Maverick’ is about Arron Banks – I don’t think we look anything like closely enough at how the Leave campaign was run, and why it worked. It’s not just that they told lies, it was the way they told them. We have to learn from that, as active citizens who can’t simply rely on the media to tell us what’s happening. <i>The Daily Mail</i> picked the BBC as one of the heroes of the Brexit campaign, and that’s a pretty damning indictment of their unwillingness to ask tough questions, and thoroughly investigate the promises that were made. We have to be sceptical and well-informed, if we’re not going to be seriously misled - as we were in this campaign. <br />
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<b>How have the poems been received?</b><br />
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Generally, reception has been favourable. For years I was told that people don’t want to hear or read poems about politics. I don’t think that was true then, and I’m certain it’s not true now. Total strangers often come up at poetry readings to thank me for reading stuff about what’s on the news. Some people are allergic to rhymed poems, and I can see / hear the sneer start to form, but in performance the rhymes and the rhythm have their own appeal – especially to non-poets!<br />
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<b>Why is it important for poets to speak up on social, political and related matters?</b><br />
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Because we’re citizens, and we need to share, and be together. Those feelings of outrage, anxiety need to be expressed – that’s how we get a better future.<br />
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<b>In your view, what do anthologies like <i>Bollocks to Brexit</i> add to poetry and public discourse? </b><br />
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It’s tricky, because we’ve been – deliberately – divided into tribes. Not many leavers will pick up this book. If they do, will they be impressed, let alone convinced? I doubt it. But it does help our morale. <br />
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As one of the participants said, I’m sure there’ll be leavers, with their own poems, and a different anthology might try to mix the two, provide a portrait of a range of views. But that’s some way down the road, and a much tougher ask. For the moment, this is a start, and it’ll do. Ambrose Musiyiwahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12325345242865418582noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4151287227576220188.post-57541446329214389262019-07-05T10:31:00.000+01:002019-07-05T10:31:07.496+01:00Interview _ Deborah Harvey<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<a href="http://deborahharvey.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">Deborah Harvey</a> is a Bristol poet and novelist and is Co-director of <a href="https://theleapingword.com/" target="_blank">The Leaping Word poetry consultancy</a>.<br />
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Her poems have been widely published in journals and anthologies, and broadcast on Radio 4’s <i>Poetry Please</i>. Her fourth poetry collection, <i>The Shadow Factory</i>, will be published by Indigo Dreams in summer 2019.<br />
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In this interview, Deborah talks about her writing:<br />
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<b>When did you start writing?</b><br />
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I started writing poems and stories when I was a young child and continued throughout primary school, but at secondary school the emphasis shifted onto learning for the purpose of passing exams, rather than exploring any creativity we might have, and eventually I stopped writing altogether. <br />
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Then, decades later, when I was struggling to raise four children and my marriage was falling apart, I had a very vivid, urgent dream, which seemed to me to be saying that unless I found a way of expressing myself, something important in me would die. So there I was, knowing I had to write poetry but not even sure what a poem was. <br />
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I started to write what came, though, and to read poetry too, and gradually the process became less agonising. <br />
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<b>How and when did you decide you wanted to be a published writer?</b><br />
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My life’s ambition, even during all the years when I wasn’t writing, was to take up an eighth of an inch on a bookshelf somewhere, so being published was always going to be something I would pursue, despite being an introvert by nature. <br />
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I also believe that all writing, but especially poems, only really achieve their potential when they are in the mind of the reader; poetry is essentially a collaborative art, so sticking your neck above the poetry parapet is essential for the development of your work. <br />
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I found my publishers, Ronnie Goodyer and Dawn Bauling of <a href="https://www.indigodreams.co.uk/" target="_blank">Indigo Dreams</a>, by winning a competition they were running with publication as its prize, back in 2010. My fourth collection, <i>The Shadow Factory</i>, will be published by them this autumn.<br />
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<b>How would you describe the writing you are doing?</b><br />
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I love the unique relationship with time that poetry has; how you can be walking along a line in a poem and fall through a hole into a whole new era or universe even. I’m mostly exploring that notion at the moment and it’s a fertile, imaginative place to be. <br />
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I write for anyone who feels they are on the edge of things, watching. I’ve always struggled to fit in with the expectations of others, and events in my life have only reinforced that sense of being on the outside of things. It might be painful at times, but I think it’s a useful situation to be in for a writer.<br />
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<b>Which authors influenced you most?</b><br />
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Being brought up in the Methodist tradition meant I was exposed to poetic images, language and cadences for several hours every Sunday from a very young age. I used to love the call and response of psalm reading, and hymns were great because I got to stand on the pew and sing words I didn’t understand but which were mysterious and conjured pictures in my head – fiery cloudy pillars, chariots rising into the sky, all that sort of stuff. So the poets of the Old Testament and Charles Wesley have a lot to answer for.<br />
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Similarly, my father would take me to the library every week as a child, but left me to my own devices when it came to choosing books, so I often ended up with stories for older children or young adults that I could read but couldn’t fully understand, and that’s when the imagination comes into play. It’s the same approach you need to adopt when you’re reading poetry; a willingness to bring your own experiences to the poem.<br />
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As for poets themselves, there’s Alice Oswald, Kathleen Jamie and Stanley Kunitz for the way they capture nature; Charles Simic for his startling imagery; Neruda for always taking the reader with him on his huge associative leaps; Raymond Carver for his story-telling; Heaney and U A Fanthorpe for their unremitting humanity; Carol Ann Duffy for her surety of touch; Tracy K Smith for her startling depth and breadth; Leonard Cohen for sounding like God; I could go on.<br />
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<b>How have your own personal experiences influenced your writing?</b><br />
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Most poets I know have led tumultuous lives and write as a means of turning their experiences into stories that make sense to them; finding a way to express yourself creatively is a hugely healing act. I’m no exception. <br />
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<b>What are your main concerns as a writer?</b><br />
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Are my poems any good? Will anyone want to listen to me wittering on? And when I’m not writing, will I ever write a poem again? ... the usual stuff. Although I think self-doubt is an important part of creativity. If you start getting cocky or churning out poems for the sake of it, that’s the time to really worry. <br />
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<b>What are the biggest challenges that you face?</b><br />
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Time management. Balancing the need to earn a living, and be a mother and a carer, and publicise my work, with actually writing the stuff. <br />
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<b>Do you write every day? </b><br />
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The nature of my day jobs means that most days I have no routine. This makes setting aside a length of time to write without interruption difficult. Luckily, I tend to write poems out of the corner of my eye, so as long as I have a notebook and pen to hand, I can still work on them as I go along. In that respect I’m like my grandmother, who also wrote poems; she raised eleven children between the wars, including triplets, and was run off her feet but she always kept a scrap of paper and a pencil in her apron pocket to jot down lines of poems as they came to her.<br />
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Even if I can’t write every day, I try to do something that will feed into my writing, whether it’s reading poetry or prose, walking somewhere new or in a place that has resonance for me, doing a bit of research, going to hear another, better poet read, watching starlings in the garden. Then, even if I’m stuck in discouragement, at least I can tell myself I’m cobbling together a ladder to climb out. <br />
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<b>How many books have you written so far?</b><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhx87mni65u2GHfQeYGYLjB6r7NR5gB6OWEuV1-ATo1MYu37kWfI2clHfSCoMNrK46DE8ARcw8wUi2K5F2bch5yIJXa5-YDVfVSgZ1Rx-VaYoZEQxLJ_FZsiC9qtLOShLdHk1bBjRuPTgIC/s1600/Breadcrumbs.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="818" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhx87mni65u2GHfQeYGYLjB6r7NR5gB6OWEuV1-ATo1MYu37kWfI2clHfSCoMNrK46DE8ARcw8wUi2K5F2bch5yIJXa5-YDVfVSgZ1Rx-VaYoZEQxLJ_FZsiC9qtLOShLdHk1bBjRuPTgIC/s320/Breadcrumbs.jpg" width="204" /></a><i><a href="https://amzn.to/2JjqeKI" target="_blank">Communion</a></i> – poetry collection, published in 2011 by Indigo Dreams Publishing<br />
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<i><a href="https://amzn.to/2xqFC2b" target="_blank">Dart</a></i> – a historical novel about a family living on Dartmoor during the Black Death, published in 2013 by Tamar Books, an imprint of Indigo Dreams Publishing<br />
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<i><a href="https://amzn.to/2Jam20W" target="_blank">Map Reading for Beginners</a></i> - poetry collection, published in 2014 by Indigo Dreams Publishing<br />
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<i><a href="https://amzn.to/2FSqW0t" target="_blank">Breadcrumbs</a></i> – a memoir of a marriage in poetry, published in 2016 by Indigo Dreams Publishing<br />
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<i>The Shadow Factory </i>- poetry collection, to be published in autumn 2019 by Indigo Dreams Publishing<br />
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<b>What is your latest book about?</b><br />
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My father died last year so quite a few of the poems in <i>The Shadow Factory</i> concern themselves with childhood, the passage of time, the ageing process, and death. I think it’s the poet’s job to be clear-eyed about things we as humans don’t always want to acknowledge and I’ve tried to do this without being depressing. The darker sequences are offset by more surreal poems of the imagination, a sequence based on Leonora Carrington’s portraits, and my poem 'Oystercatchers' which won the 2018 Plough Prize Short Poem competition and is a small redemption all on its own.<br />
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When I finish putting the book together, the poems in it will span four or five years, although most of them will have been written in the last two years. This is because if I write a poem that doesn’t quite fit the theme of the collection I’m engaged in writing, I’ll keep it back for inclusion in a later collection, as long as it still holds up.<br />
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<b>How did you choose a publisher for the book?</b><br />
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<i>The Shadow Factory</i> will be published in the autumn of this year; I don’t have a date yet but it’s soon.<br />
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My publishers have shown me great loyalty, which I am glad to reciprocate. A close and respectful working relationship makes the editing process far less fraught than it might otherwise be, and everyone is happy with the end result. <br />
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<b>Which aspects of the work you put into the book did you enjoy? </b><br />
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I love the whole process of writing, editing and publishing my poems; I also enjoy taking them out into the world, and reading them.<br />
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I was about to say that nothing quite beats that moment of inspiration, but actually, that’s not the case; I’m most moved when people tell me that a certain poem of mine touched them or connected with their lives. In a way it stops being your poem at that point and takes its place in the world. <br />
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Many poets use their stories to feed their work, and I’m no exception. The important thing is to leave enough space in each poem for the reader to inhabit it with their own personal experiences, because only then does a poem become relevant. <br />
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<b>What sets <i>The Shadow Factory</i> apart from other things you've written?</b><br />
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My poems are all in my voice; I also think there’s a certain sensibility that permeates all of them, and sometimes I detect echoes of and responses to earlier work that have come through subconsciously. I like to think my poems are getting better the more I read of other people’s work, the more I go to hear great poets read, and the more I write. <br />
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<b>What will your next book be about?</b><br />
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Apart from a doomed attempt to escape in the 80s, I’ve lived in the same city all my life and have amassed stories, family anecdotes and memories, old photos, historical snippets, the voices you hear in the queue at the bus stop, the way places change and people come and go, but the city remembers how it always was and keeps re-creating itself in that image. The past in the present. I want to write all that. <br />
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<b>What would you say has been your most significant achievement as a writer?</b><br />
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I’ve been very fortunate: I’ve won some prizes, I’ve had a poem read on Radio 4’s <i><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Poetry_Please" target="_blank">Poetry Please</a></i>, and my books take up more than an eighth of an inch on my bookshelf, but the most significant achievement is making connections with people who read my poems and who are kind enough to tell me. I can’t really ask for more than that. <br />
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<b>Two of your poems, 'Yes, there will also be singing' and 'So says the owl' are featured in <i><a href="https://amzn.to/2Jkpchv" target="_blank">Bollocks to Brexit: an Anthology of Poems and Short Fiction</a></i>. How did the poems come about? What led you to write the poems and to present them in the form that they take? </b><br />
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I was politicised as a teenager in the 70s, through the Anti-Nazi League and Rock Against Racism, and if anything I’ve moved further to the left over the years, not least because of the monumental battles I and my disabled children have had to wage over the years to secure them the education and benefits they need. I’m also fiercely in favour of freedom of movement and multiculturalism, so the thought of being trapped on this island with racists, homophobes and ableists who attack anyone who isn’t like them is appalling.<br />
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For a long time I’ve wanted to channel some of my political feeling into my poetry, but I’m not a declamatory poet and I don’t really write invective. With the two poems in <i>Bollocks to Brexit</i>, I found a way of making a political point by referring to earlier historical events in one and a late medieval painting in the other, thus underscoring how progress isn’t linear, and how we are in the process of repeating the mistakes of the past. <br />
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<b>Why is it important for poets to speak up on social, political and related matters?</b><br />
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A poem, like a song, a play or a painting, might reach someone when rhetoric fails. I come from Bristol and you can’t deny the political impact Banksy has had. Poetry is our national art form and poets have been given the ability to communicate in an especially resonant way; it’s up to us to rise to the challenge also. <br />
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Shelley claimed that “poets are the unacknowledged legislators of the world”. I think that’s a bit of an exaggeration, but in times of crisis all artists have a responsibility to respond as best they can. And this is certainly a time of crisis, and not just because of Brexit. We are reaping what Thatcher sowed, and it’s the younger generation who are suffering the most. Ambrose Musiyiwahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12325345242865418582noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4151287227576220188.post-7097647303535413372019-07-03T10:31:00.000+01:002019-07-04T21:05:05.266+01:00Interview _ Ceinwen E. Cariad Haydon<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Ceinwen E. Cariad Haydon lives in Newcastle upon Tyne, UK. She writes short stories and poetry and has been widely published in web magazines and print anthologies. <br />
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She graduated with an MA in Creative Writing from Newcastle University in December 2017.<br />
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In this interview, Ceinwen talks about the work she is doing:<br />
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<b>The Wombwell Rainbow states that you believe <a href="https://thewombwellrainbow.com/2018/10/28/wombwell-rainbow-interviews-ceinwen-e-cariad-haydon/" target="_blank">everyone’s voice counts</a>. Please elaborate.</b><br />
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Traditionally, a narrow group of men has controlled which writing is published, which narratives and voices are heard. This produces skewed accounts and neglects to progress the articulation of the true range of human experience. <br />
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Literature has played a big part in investing the norms of the dominant group with high value, and by reference the majority of people are ‘othered’ because they will not/do not/cannot conform to or share these. The ‘others’ are therefore perceived, and often perceive themselves (due to social conditioning), as ‘less than’. <br />
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Things are changing, but not fast enough, in my view. Everyone has a valid and interesting story to tell. As a reader and as a writer I am concerned to listen and celebrate people’s differences. <br />
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In workshops, I support individuals to express their unique stories and creativity through the written and spoken word. Many people have characteristics that lead them to be marginalised and silenced by the mainstream, and the education system has insidiously groomed them to feel that they and their experiences do not count. These are the very voices that everyone in our communities should be able to hear, acknowledge and value.<br />
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<b>Currently you are developing practice as a creative writing facilitator and are working with hard to reach groups. Which groups are these? What makes them hard to reach? As a creative writing facilitator, what do you do with them, and why is this work important? Why does it matter? </b><br />
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At the moment, I am mainly working with people living with dementia and their carers, and also with other groups of elders. These individuals are from a variety of backgrounds, but all experience elements of ageism. Many have learnt to be quiet and compliant, in the belief that no-one would want to listen to them. <br />
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Workshops concentrate on imagination rather than memory as this values the present moment in their lives and avoids the anxiety that can manifest when the emphasis is on retrieving memories. Clearly, memories do come to the fore, but this remains within the control of the person and is not sought by someone external.<br />
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The work provides opportunities for creativity, social connection, agency, validation and fun. It is wonderful to see people’s personalities blossom within the group, along with their stories.<br />
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In some circumstances, if they consent, I ‘harvest’ their words and order/frame them into a poem. I do not alter their verbatim expressions, but might pare some words back, introduce refrains or re-order lines. These pieces remains their work, I am merely the scribe. There are moments of joy and recognition when people hear their poems subsequently. <br />
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I also use the ‘Timeslips’ group story telling method. People respond to an image, often quite an unusual one that speaks to the imagination. I ask open questions and accept the answers offered unconditionally, (embracing even contradictory ones). In this way a short story develops. This is read back at the end and a title is chosen. Each person has their own copy a week later.<br />
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In the past, professionally, I have worked with survivors of abuse, offenders, people experiencing mental ill-health, young mothers and many others. I hope to widen my area of practice as a facilitator to include people who have lived with challenges of this sort.<br />
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In terms of access to groups, I use existing networks, often set up for other purposes, and offer taster sessions. Then, if there is interest, I develop a scheme of work after consultation with those involved and their representatives. Breaking the silence and creating a space in which people can communicate and connect openly can led to self-generated support networks of great value.<br />
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<b>In 2018, not only were you highly commended in the <a href="https://thebluenib.com/the-blue-nib-poetry-writing-contest/" target="_blank">Blue Nib Chapbook Competition</a>, you were also shortlisted for the <a href="https://www.hedgehogpress.co.uk/2018/10/26/nicely-folded-paper-competition-results/" target="_blank">Neatly Folded Paper Pamphlet Competition</a>, and won the Hedgehog Press Poetry <a href="https://www.hedgehogpress.co.uk/2018/08/12/songs-to-learn-sing-the-winners/" target="_blank">Songs to Learn & Sing Competition</a>. Can you say something more about this and what you are doing to build on this success?</b><br />
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As a late starter, I didn’t have a large body of work when I commenced my MA in Creative writing in 2015. I also started the course as a prose writer and emerged a poet. Since then I have submitted individual pieces widely and have had acceptances amongst the inevitable rejections. My next step is to aim to achieve publication of a pamphlet or collection. I am due to have two chapbooks published in the next few months, and this represents a next step towards my goals. <br />
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I find that I sometimes submit work prematurely, in my enthusiasm, and I am still learning how to edit effectively.<br />
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<b>Your work has also been featured in a number of print anthologies. Can you say something about the work and the anthologies?</b><br />
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Some of the anthologies that I have been featured in are political in nature and focus on an individual issue. These include:<br />
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<ul>
<li><i><a href="https://amzn.to/2xvmtfq" target="_blank">Planet in Peril</a></i>, Fly on the Wall Poetry, 2019; and</li>
<li><i>The Poets Speak Anthologies</i> [‘And’ Vol.1, ‘More in Common’ Vol 2, ‘Water Rights Vol. 3, ‘Pandemonium’ Vol. 4 and ‘In or Out’, Vol 5.], Jules Poetry Playhouse, New Mexico, 2017/18</li>
</ul>
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The subject of <i>Planet in Peril</i> is self-evident, <i>The Poets Speak Anthologies</i> were published in response to the election of Donald Trump.<br />
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In my work I try to balance the immediacy of threats, an implied or explicit call to action and hope. Humans are very resourceful and if we can use these talents well, I believe we can change our destinies for the better. However, currently we are leaving things very late in the day.<br />
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I have been published in other anthologies and printed magazines, and my work has been varied, often more introspective.<br />
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<b>In 2018, one of your poems, ‘No Woman is Indispensable’ was published in <i><a href="https://amzn.to/2YvrAbl" target="_blank">Write to Be Counted: an Anthology of Poetry to uphold Human Rights</a></i> (The Book Mill, 2018). What inspired the poem? What do you hope the reader will take from the poem?</b><br />
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This dystopian poem expressed my distress about the undervaluing and abuse of girls and women. Although it is stark, it does not seem to fall far outside of the bounds of possibility and, in some societies, parallel practices are, or have been, present. <br />
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I have two daughters and a teenaged granddaughter, and I cannot bear to think of how their life trajectories might be curtailed or derailed by structural sexism or the misogyny of individuals.<br />
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<b>Another of your poems, ‘March 2019, SOS’ is featured in <i><a href="https://amzn.to/2FOPN5i" target="_blank">Bollocks to Brexit: an Anthology of Poems and Short Fiction</a></i>. What would you say the poems are about? How did the poem come about? </b><br />
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In my poem I try to balance feelings of desperation with hope. I recognise the ruptures and cumulative costs caused by the Brexit process, and see the way it has torn the fabric of our communities, but I hope that one day this mess will be consigned to history and people will have moved on towards the interests of the <i>many rather than the few</i>. I intend to sow disquiet because energy is needed to avoid the worst outcomes, but also to avoid a ‘nothing left to lose’ tone. <br />
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The worst outcomes would include the fragmentation of communities, a closing off of life opportunities for ourselves and our children, a rise in poverty, an increase in tribalism (and its correlate – violence), hostility towards those different from ourselves, the breakdown of civic society, further polarisation of power and wealth, the lethal poisoning of our planet and the triumph of fascism.<br />
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However, it is critical that we don’t underestimate our personal power, especially when we act collaboratively with others. Hopelessness and despair are the fastest routes to foster the very things that we might dread. Impotent apathy is not an option if we want to survive the challenges of our times – those that are global and those on our street.<br />
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<b>Why is it important for poets to speak up on social, political and related matters?</b><br />
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Everyone who has gleaned some understanding of current environmental risks should use their means of communication, their art and their humanity to alert others to the hazards that encircle us. This includes alt-right politics, global and personal insecurity, climate change, unfair distribution of resources, oppression of difference, gender inequalities, persecution or denial of human rights to people with protected characteristics and other systemic abuses of power.<br />
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Poetry, in particular, engages both the emotions and cognition of readers in subtle yet powerful ways. Alternative perspectives can be introduced and generated before hostile defences come into play. To “tell the truth but tell it slant”, as Emily Dickinson advised allows for human to human contact and, therefore, transformation, as awareness is extended.<br />
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<b>In your view, what do anthologies like <i>Bollocks to Brexit</i> add to poetry and public discourse? And why does this matter?</b><br />
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People have always needed stories, whether historical or imagined, through which to learn and to celebrate their humanity. Poetry tells stories and/or explores internal narratives whilst leaving space for the reader to relate to the content on their own terms, drawing on their own experiences.<br />
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The public have been so ground down by the mainstream media’s reporting of Brexit and connected issues that hearts have hardened. This has resulted in people living in silos with their own prejudices and preconceptions. <br />
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Poetry has the potency to ventilate and stir, which has the potential to join people together rather than rip them apart. Without this, public discourse becomes sclerotic, polarised and driven by narcissistic individuals who have accessed the means to control the state and the flow and nature of information. They are frequently mendacious and careless of the common good. <br />
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All this matters because our survival as individuals and, by extrapolation, the survival of our communities and our earth, depend on all of us developing increased awareness and a sense of fundamentally shared lives. The consequences of negligence and self-seeking nationalism will be visited upon every one of us.Ambrose Musiyiwahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12325345242865418582noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4151287227576220188.post-89205157493160709832019-07-01T09:30:00.000+01:002019-07-17T14:22:04.240+01:00East Midlands poetry catalogue<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEMu3T4JiiU0dYd27akAh54w9Noz_HmhJ8R3rut7DvSGyubYVMroQpo45eBD8Tvjg_65Bvl1rwKLYoXR2YRluwF5PKMuzuYUV9VCWr8WD4iJH7fdva242glx9gOCyPlqeZclxwLK1E9kBH/s1600/east+midlands+poetry+library+_+logo.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="749" data-original-width="977" height="245" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEMu3T4JiiU0dYd27akAh54w9Noz_HmhJ8R3rut7DvSGyubYVMroQpo45eBD8Tvjg_65Bvl1rwKLYoXR2YRluwF5PKMuzuYUV9VCWr8WD4iJH7fdva242glx9gOCyPlqeZclxwLK1E9kBH/s320/east+midlands+poetry+library+_+logo.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
As part of efforts towards setting up the <a href="http://conversationswithwriters.blogspot.com/p/east-midlands-poetry-library.html" target="_blank">East Midlands Poetry Library</a>, we are putting together <a href="https://docs.google.com/document/d/1PgFhTta4sv1fXmeAkooMLTduR8XKiRsLo2-5ER0jSUs/edit" target="_blank">a catalogue of East Midlands poets</a> and their work.<br />
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Are there East Midlands poets you know of who should be on <a href="https://docs.google.com/document/d/1PgFhTta4sv1fXmeAkooMLTduR8XKiRsLo2-5ER0jSUs/edit" target="_blank">the list</a>? Can you add them to <a href="https://docs.google.com/document/d/1PgFhTta4sv1fXmeAkooMLTduR8XKiRsLo2-5ER0jSUs/edit" target="_blank">the list</a>?<br />
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We are also aware that Black, Asian and ethnic minority poets are under-represented in how the literary landscape in the East Midlands is imagined. Do you know any Black, Asian and ethnic minority poets who should be on the list as well?<br />
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If you are a poet, in addition to adding your name to the catalogue, please also respond to the questions <a href="http://conversationswithwriters.blogspot.com/p/contact-us.html" target="_blank">accessible here</a>.Ambrose Musiyiwahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12325345242865418582noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4151287227576220188.post-64289563568970819382019-06-12T22:23:00.003+01:002019-06-13T00:08:25.923+01:00Interview _ Andrew Button<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgj1YZq7GU8wB2Mx_WCfujfexCMMc4Ra_yc9aqJmBMrewFAlm8-vmMnzmQS6sbPKa9EMlqdY6RExnScAkvgZk_vtvhlCgjE1NpJDrlGeTSfAPfxZugqeQl3fVNHKrQjNyRa3sRiH8mptuX6/s1600/Andrew+Button.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgj1YZq7GU8wB2Mx_WCfujfexCMMc4Ra_yc9aqJmBMrewFAlm8-vmMnzmQS6sbPKa9EMlqdY6RExnScAkvgZk_vtvhlCgjE1NpJDrlGeTSfAPfxZugqeQl3fVNHKrQjNyRa3sRiH8mptuX6/s320/Andrew+Button.jpg" width="256" /></a>Andrew Button is from Market Bosworth and has had poems published in various magazines including <i>Orbis</i>, <i>Staple</i>, <i>The Interpreter’s House</i>, <i>Iota</i> and <i>Ink, Sweat and Tears</i>. <br />
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His pamphlet, <i>Dry Days in Wet Towns</i>, was published in 2016 and a first full collection, <i>Melted Cheese on the Cosmic Pizza</i> in 2017 by <a href="http://erbacce-press.webeden.co.uk/andrew-button/4592871542" target="_blank">erbacce press</a>.<br />
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In this interview, Andrew talks about his writing:<br />
<br />
<b>When did you start writing?</b><br />
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From the age of fourteen I always wanted to be a writer. The late Liverpool poet, Adrian Henri, was an early inspiration. He was invited to my school to encourage pupils to write and perform their poetry. From the ensuing workshop sessions, an anthology of our poems was published and presented at a performance evening for parents. I suppose I started writing seriously for magazine publication in my early twenties.<br />
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Adrian Henri and a very supportive English teacher convinced me that I had a talent for writing poetry and it progressed from there. This is going to sound like the stereotypical writers struggle, but from my early twenties I worked at my poems diligently, sent them off to magazines and got the majority of them back with a polite no thank you. Undeterred and buoyed on by minor successes, I persevered.<br />
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<b>How would you describe the writing you are doing?</b><br />
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I aim to write poetry that is both amusing and thought-provoking. My poetry is observational, anecdotal and ironic and mostly drawn from the world around me. I like to see myself as a poetic eavesdropper! My sources of inspiration range from quirky news stories and themes (woodlice, horses in McDonalds, a man obsessed with roundabouts), popular culture and occasionally my own life experiences.<br />
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My target audience are adults who want their sense of wonder and amusement to be engaged. To write poems that are stepping stones for adult lives and experiences often drawing on common cultural reference points. Subconsciously, I have always written for an adult audience. <br />
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<b>In the writing you are doing, which authors influenced you most? Why did they have this influence?</b><br />
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There are so many poets I admire. I love the imagery of Keats, the evocations and language used by Larkin. The humour of Roger McGough, Adrian Henri, Ian McMillan and Simon Armitage. The wit and poignancy of the Scottish poet, Liz Lochhead. I like Paul Farley (<i>The Boy From the Chemist is Here to See You</i> is a marvellous collection). I know a lot of local poets that deserve greater attention like Maria Taylor, Geraldine Clarkson, Jayne Stanton and Roy Marshall, all of whom I would recommend. When I attend an Open Mic event, I am one of those people who always buys somebody’s new book!!<br />
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The irony is that Ray Bradbury’s descriptive prose has been the biggest influence on my development as a writer. Appropriately, one critic described his work as the ‘poetry of the ordinary’. Another element of his writing that has inspired me is his ability to communicate a sense of wonder. That sense of wonder that children have and many lose in adulthood. I read somewhere that to be considered a well-rounded adult you need to retain a slice of that sense of wonder. Ray Bradbury captured it, bottled it and released it through his writing to millions of people all over the world. I tried my hand at writing short stories when I was younger but quickly began to realise that the poem was my chosen form of literary expression – or rather, it chose me!<br />
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<b>How have your own personal experiences influenced your writing?</b><br />
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For a long time I wrote poems that were mainly observational and not about me. However, even in these poems I have realised that some of the aspects of my life and experience has seeped into them unconsciously. Recently, however, I have been drawing on personal experiences and in some cases, events that happened a long time ago. For example, there is a poem in my first full collection about a bicycle accident when I was seventeen! I think that as a writer, ideas for poems or stories often float to the surface many years later.<br />
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<b>What are your main concerns as a writer?</b><br />
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As I have stated before, in my writing I am striving to make people laugh and ponder. I tend to be preoccupied with the themes of obsession, eccentricity, the minutiae of life, nostalgia and popular culture (especially music, art, literature and cinema).<br />
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I believe that as a poet of one my greatest challenges is to convince people that poetry is for sharing. Poetry should be given out with prescriptions, by the milkman, with school dinners. Poets should be parachuted into offices and shops, banks and supermarkets because there are still masses of people who think poetry is a foreign language and not for them. For me, getting out and reading my poems in as many public venues as possible is the way to meet this challenge.<br />
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<b>Do you write everyday? </b><br />
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I think it is very important to get into a ‘writing routine’. I am fortunate in that I work part time. So, I set aside every Tuesday and Thursday morning for writing. Setting aside time regularly on a weekly basis is crucial. It is vital to keep the ‘writing muscle’ working. The very act of getting something down on paper helps the creative process. It is like a potter shaping his piece of clay. Even if inspiration is deserting me, I will revisit a poem that I am unhappy with or research a subject that is currently preoccupying me. That helps to kick-start the poetry brain. Reading a book and listening to music often lead me somewhere with a phrase or a lyric that catches my imagination. As my greatest influence, Ray Bradbury said, ‘Keep writing. Don’t stop.’<br />
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<b>How many books have you written so far? And how did you find a publisher for them?</b><br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJbm77p8mmRu-PFReR1va0SOt76dXGoRjoXp-0c7lYBpz3At2sMF0Fs5KkF_mH9dge3ufaaOOIGke3evHXSVW1UMjzV8vk4NFh0ueC3TCx8u2UZC4TQfOJSG3Pt5keYPmr6GzAHRwy6BOP/s1600/Dry+Days+in+Wet+Towns.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJbm77p8mmRu-PFReR1va0SOt76dXGoRjoXp-0c7lYBpz3At2sMF0Fs5KkF_mH9dge3ufaaOOIGke3evHXSVW1UMjzV8vk4NFh0ueC3TCx8u2UZC4TQfOJSG3Pt5keYPmr6GzAHRwy6BOP/s320/Dry+Days+in+Wet+Towns.jpg" width="222" /></a><i>Dry Days in Wet Towns</i> (a poetry pamphlet), erbacce press, Liverpool, 2016.<br />
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<i>Melted Cheese on the Cosmic Pizza</i> (first full poetry collection), erbacce press, Liverpool, 2017.<br />
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In 2016, I entered the erbacce poetry competition and my runners up prize was to have a pamphlet published (<i>Dry Days in Wet Towns</i>, erbacce , Liverpool, UK, 2016).<br />
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<i>Melted Cheese on the Cosmic Pizza</i> was published in Liverpool in November, 2017. Well, in truth, some of the poems were originally hatched back in my late twenties, but many have evolved into what you see in the book.<br />
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<b>How would you describe <i>Melted Cheese on the Cosmic Pizza</i>?</b><br />
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The best way to describe what the book is about is to use quotes from the back cover: <br />
As Siobhan Logan (another Leicestershire poet) wrote on the back of my book:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
Like a poetry jukebox, quirky titles invite you to spin their tracks. Button's poems swerve from the apocalyptic to the domestic, from cosmic to comic, on the flip of a coin; rhymes pinging with wit and sudden pathos. Clocks, bereavement, mislaid love, B-sides, a rent-collecting Lowry and star-hopping Elvis, all jostle to leave you humming their tune, thumbing a knock-out phrase long after they're played out. Stack up those dimes and settle in; you won't be short-changed here.</blockquote>
<b>Which aspects of the work you put into the book did you find most difficult?</b><br />
<br />
To be honest, I did not find any part of the process difficult. I submitted a batch of poems to my publisher who then made the final selection of titles to be included. The editing was minimal and in fact the front cover design and quotes for the back cover took the longest time to organise.<br />
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<b>Which aspects of the work did you enjoy most?</b><br />
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Seeing the final front cover and the arrangement of my poems was the biggest thrill. It still is. The dream becomes a reality. <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXw82NZJaEkbbfBKpH3Z_TLNu9wO5hcTpISO2jV7pjktDXUTDaZrdJJ9wL-E8k48JcZQ89zjcBpdmXt1PEhz4I8sIN1IPYAL65cWC1iC4bwfS2TFeV5G5DYL4nx9hWyH2pXGQIYHZvcANy/s1600/Melted+Cheese+on+The+Cosmic+Pizza.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXw82NZJaEkbbfBKpH3Z_TLNu9wO5hcTpISO2jV7pjktDXUTDaZrdJJ9wL-E8k48JcZQ89zjcBpdmXt1PEhz4I8sIN1IPYAL65cWC1iC4bwfS2TFeV5G5DYL4nx9hWyH2pXGQIYHZvcANy/s320/Melted+Cheese+on+The+Cosmic+Pizza.jpg" width="268" /></a></div>
<b>What sets <i>Melted Cheese on the Cosmic Pizza</i> apart from other things you've written?</b><br />
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It was my first full collection and for that reason it will always be a special moment in my writing career.<br />
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<b>In what way is it similar to the others?</b><br />
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It has established the themes, style and voice introduced in my fledgling pamphlet.<br />
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<b>What would you say has been your most significant achievement as a writer?</b><br />
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To date my most significant achievement as a poet has been to have my first full collection published and to take it out on the road at various poetry open mics throughout 2018 and into 2019. As a poet you have to be visible. From a young age I always wanted to make people laugh. It’s a drug but a very desirable addiction. Writing anything humorous is a challenge and precarious. It is so easy to overdo it. One conclusion I have come to is that there is a lot of humour to extract from real life situations. I hope that comes across in my poetry. My raison d’etre as a poet is to write poems that make people laugh and think, and often at the same time. <br />
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<b>What will your next book be about?</b><br />
<br />
I am currently working towards my second poetry collection and am aiming to submit a manuscript towards the end of 2019 / early 2020.<br />
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<i>Details of Andrew Button’s books can be found on the <a href="http://erbacce-press.webeden.co.uk/andrew-button/4592871542" target="_blank">erbacce press website</a>.</i>Ambrose Musiyiwahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12325345242865418582noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4151287227576220188.post-79146610951813960092019-06-07T09:00:00.000+01:002019-06-07T09:00:04.382+01:00East Midlands Poetry Library<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEMu3T4JiiU0dYd27akAh54w9Noz_HmhJ8R3rut7DvSGyubYVMroQpo45eBD8Tvjg_65Bvl1rwKLYoXR2YRluwF5PKMuzuYUV9VCWr8WD4iJH7fdva242glx9gOCyPlqeZclxwLK1E9kBH/s1600/east+midlands+poetry+library+_+logo.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="749" data-original-width="977" height="245" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEMu3T4JiiU0dYd27akAh54w9Noz_HmhJ8R3rut7DvSGyubYVMroQpo45eBD8Tvjg_65Bvl1rwKLYoXR2YRluwF5PKMuzuYUV9VCWr8WD4iJH7fdva242glx9gOCyPlqeZclxwLK1E9kBH/s320/east+midlands+poetry+library+_+logo.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<span style="background-color: white; color: #666666; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , "trebuchet" , "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px;">The </span><a href="https://www.facebook.com/EastMidlandsPoetryLibrary/" style="background-color: white; color: #bb2188; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", Trebuchet, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">East Midlands Poetry Library</a><span style="background-color: white; color: #666666; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , "trebuchet" , "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px;"> is coming soon.</span><br />
<br style="background-color: white; color: #666666; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", Trebuchet, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px;" />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #666666; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , "trebuchet" , "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px;">Coordinated by groups and individuals that include </span><a href="https://www.youtube.com/user/civicleicester" style="background-color: white; color: #bb2188; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", Trebuchet, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">CivicLeicester</a><span style="background-color: white; color: #666666; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , "trebuchet" , "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px;">, </span><a href="https://conversationswithwriters.blogspot.com/" style="background-color: white; color: #bb2188; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", Trebuchet, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">Conversations with Writers</a><span style="background-color: white; color: #666666; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , "trebuchet" , "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px;"> and others, The Library will be like the National Poetry Library but based in Leicester in the UK.</span><br />
<br style="background-color: white; color: #666666; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", Trebuchet, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px;" />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #666666; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , "trebuchet" , "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px;">The Library will have a particular bias towards poets and poetry from or on or inspired by the </span><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/East_Midlands" style="background-color: white; color: #bb2188; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", Trebuchet, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">East Midlands</a><span style="background-color: white; color: #666666; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , "trebuchet" , "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px;">.</span><br />
<br style="background-color: white; color: #666666; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", Trebuchet, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px;" />
<b style="background-color: white; color: #666666; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", Trebuchet, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px;">What you can do:</b><br />
<br style="background-color: white; color: #666666; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", Trebuchet, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px;" />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #666666; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , "trebuchet" , "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px;">● If you have any suggestions on how we can make the library happen or if you have ideas on what the library can become, please email: </span><a href="mailto:amusiyiwa@googlemail.com" style="background-color: white; color: #bb2188; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", Trebuchet, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">The Librarian</a><span style="background-color: white; color: #666666; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , "trebuchet" , "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px;">.</span><br />
<br style="background-color: white; color: #666666; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", Trebuchet, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px;" />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #666666; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , "trebuchet" , "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px;">● If you are you a poet, a publisher or a poetry events organiser based in the East Midlands, please get in touch, say hello, give us a wave.</span><br />
<br style="background-color: white; color: #666666; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", Trebuchet, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px;" />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #666666; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , "trebuchet" , "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px;">● If you would like to be featured as part of The Library, please answer the questions </span><a href="https://conversationswithwriters.blogspot.com/p/contact-us.html" style="background-color: white; color: #bb2188; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", Trebuchet, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">found here</a><span style="background-color: white; color: #666666; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , "trebuchet" , "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px;"> and send your responses to us. (We will feature your responses on Conversations with Writers initially, and include the responses in East Midlands Poetry Library materials once The Library is up and running.)</span>Ambrose Musiyiwahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12325345242865418582noreply@blogger.com0