This month’s blog is a review of a poetry collection just published by the Winner of the Live Canon Competition 2020, Samuel Prince. The striking cover photograph pictures a cityscape at night in a torrential downpour, the headlights of the cars on the autoroute rushing to far-flung destinations. Some of these landscapes and people they … Continue reading Ulterior Atmospheres
Writing poetry
Arts and Crafts
“Dear Editor, I am writing to you from the pier at Brighton with the rough wind tugging at the sheets of this letter. Just a moment ago, I hurled a small brass key into the waves. It seals forever the desk drawer in my study holding all my works. Thus, I regret to inform you … Continue reading Arts and Crafts
Enclosing Rhymes
Previously, I laid some of the groundwork to discussing the rhyming structures in sonnets. To some, that will make this an interesting article. To others, they may have some recent paintwork that they’d prefer to watch dry instead. This month I’m going to cover some of the details, so stand by for some terminology. Some … Continue reading Enclosing Rhymes
Neither Rhyme nor Reason
For some, poetry is not part of their lives, perhaps being only a vague memory of reading examples at school. For some, it is an essential means of expression: exploring their feelings about a potential partner, the end of a relationship or of wonder at the natural world during their last walk. Welcome to readers … Continue reading Neither Rhyme nor Reason
The Promise of Magic
In these blogs focussing on sonnets, I have been encouraging you to try writing one for yourself. If you’ve already done that, what’s next? Just how good is that sonnet you’ve laboured over? Do not leave it unseen in a pile of papers or unread on your smartphone. Release it into the wild wide world … Continue reading The Promise of Magic
