Clifford Liles has won, been placed or shortlisted in many poetry competitions. His work has been published in magazines and he is currently preparing his debut chapbook featuring a thematic selection from his over sixty sonnets.
A Seamstress Considers her Options
A new poem explores the social impact of mass unemployment on an intimate scale. In the sonnet A Seamstress Considers her Options, I imagine a woman of the 18th century made redundant by the introduction of machines to her trade. But what else does this poem mean? What are the other possible readings? In this … Continue reading A Seamstress Considers her Options
Attention!
“Oi”, the dock worker stopped me, “where’s my money?”, his breath frosting out on “money” and stood solid before me in his grease-stained AC/DC T-shirt. This could be the first line of a thriller. It helps establish a setting without telling. It hooks the attention of the reader. Something that that may be difficult for … Continue reading Attention!
The Song of the Sonnet
For thousands of years poetry has endured as an oral expression, holding up a mirror to the human condition. From the early poets of ancient civilisations to a modern slam poetry session, the tapestry of sound rings out in performance. Spoken rhymes and rhythms facilitate poetry’s power to move. Between English poetry and Western music … Continue reading The Song of the Sonnet
2019 Summary
If you recall my last blog finished with a mention of breaking rules but in an informed way. At the last session of the SaveAs Writers monthly meeting, I read out my sonnet Seen Through a Prism of People. This was an example of a new form of sonnet that I have devised with a … Continue reading 2019 Summary
The Volta
A sonnet may juxtapose two contrasting ideas to generate interest or emotion. Where can you place this join? Right at the end might work, like a punch line in a joke, a big reveal. Shakespeare did this to such an extent the trick was named after him. In this blog, let’s look at where else … Continue reading The Volta
