Poetry October (and into November)

There's been a few poetry  happenings lately. My copy of the mental health poetry anthology 'Night Sweats of the Spirit', from Maitri Poetry, arrived from America, with my poem in it. It's the first time I've had a poem published over the ocean, I think, and in a chapbook, rather than a pamphlet. (I'm liking the nomenclature.)

I also received my contributor's copy of 'Obsessed with Pipework', stuffed full of interesting poems.

Elsewhere, I belatedly discovered another of my poems had been shortlisted for a poetry competition, the original notification having never reached me. This involved a mad scramble to video the poem for the prize-giving, which was on a work day rather than its usual Sunday, and which, with only a few days to spare, caused much kerfuffle. Then ... renewed radio silence, and that was that. All things considered, I would have preferred just to get a telephone call saying your poem was shortlisted but didn't win a prize. I'm yet to be convinced that the injection of suspense into announcing the results of poetry competitions is a useful thing. They aren't  the same as TV talent shows, and the whole experience made me long for the year I won the main prize in this particular competition, a long time ago now, when I got that phone call telling me the good news and descended on the literature festival, held in a small city in Somerset, to collect my award. A much more pleasant experience all round.

I can't post the video recording of the poem here as that would count as publication and it has yet to find its place in the world. Nevertheless, a short-listing to add to the two long-listings and the second prize my new set of poems have garnered this year is encouraging, and makes the dreary terror of submitting a little more palatable. 

And right now the boot is on the other foot, as I'm currently judging poems that were entered in Indigo Dreams Autumn Poetry Competition. I'm looking forward to finding out who the writer of the winning poem is, once they've all been read and reread and given a suitable measure of consideration. 

The thing about book launches - at least this is what happens at mine - is that they tend to go unrecorded, as I'm so focussed on the reading, I don't think to take any photos, or ask anyone else to. So I always try to photograph other people's, in case they're like me.  I had the honour of reading at the launch of Hannah Linden's insightful and compelling pamphlet (or chapbook) 'A beautiful open sky' last night, and took a few pictures for the record. It was organised by Satellite of Love, and held in their new venue, the Lightship Theatre on the The John Sebastian in Bathurst Basin, a marvellously atmospheric setting. 

MC and guest poet, Helen Sheppard

Guest poet Tom Sastry

Guest poet me - I didn't take this photo, Rachael Clyne did

The celestial audience of All Saints Night

Hannah Linden getting ready to read  her first set

Hazel and Andi

Guest poet Melanie Branton

Helen guest-poetting

Hannah

The journey into town from my home - all eight miles of it - had taken an hour and forty minutes, thanks to the foul weather, roadworks on several key routes, and specifically the closure of Redcliffe bridge for repairs, which was longer than the trip I made to read in Exeter at the end of September. Afterwards, walking back across the new cut in torrential rain to where I'd parked my car left me literally soaked to the skin. But it's a measure of how lovely an evening it was that I just didn't care.