Richard Meier's After the Miracle

My second full collection, Whatever You Do, Just Don't, was supposed to be HappenStance Press' last major publication, though Nell left the door ajar in case something special came up. Well, it did, in the shape of Richard Meier's new book, After the Miracle, out now and born from a huge sense of vital urgency.

In these poems, apparently simple words portray a maelstrom of life events. They provide a lesson in how to meet intense experience head-on, and turn it into art. 

I can't ethically review Richard's book, due to the fact we're now stablemates, but I very much recommend it to you. You can get hold of a copy via the HappenStance webshop (see here). It won't disappoint. 

Tariffs on poetry

I might have expected the wine trade to be affected by tariffs (and it certainly has been), but I didn't bargain for their impact on my poetry sales. Over the last few months, I've found a lot of new readers for my books in the U.S. via social media platfroms such as Bluesky, However, all that's now vanished overnight due to those darned tariffs!

Right now, there's no way to post a book from Europe to the U.S. with any decent guarantee that it will reach its destination safely and without extra charges. A big blow for the likes of me, but also for many small publishers who were already struggling enough before this extra stumbling block... 

Wells Fountain Poets

On Monday 20th October, I'll be the guest poet at Wells Fountain Poets in Somerset. The venue is The Kings Head and proceedings will get underway at 7pm. If you're in the area, it would be great to see you there...!

A new poem in The Oxonian Review

I have a new poem in The Oxonian Review. It's titled  ‘Garbanzos Viudos’ (i.e. ‘Widowed Chickpeas’), and you can read it here.

Our next Rogue Strands poetry reading...

With a stellar line-up that would grace any of the top poetry festivals in the country, our next Rogue Strands Poetry Reading is in London on 22nd October at the Devereux Pub, proceedings kicking off at 6.45p.m.. Our featured poets are Hannah Copley, Jonathan Davidson, Fiona Larkin, Philip Hancock, Mat Riches and myself. We'd be delighted if you could join us...!

Three recent poems in The Spectator

Delighted to report that I've had another three recent poems in The Spectator over the past few weeks. Yet again, I'm grateful to their poetry editor, Hugo Williams, for his support of my writing, and to Clare Asquith for her work in the background. 

Poetry on Bluesky

So far, I can't recommend Bluesky enough for poetry. Over the past few months, it's enabled me to connect with a lot of poetry people who were new to me, while also finding a whole host of additional readers from beyond the poetry bubble. One excellent example has been the reception for my poem ‘The Last Carry’, first published in The Spectator and then included in my second collection, Whatever You Do, Just Don't (HappenStance Press, 2023). As of today, it's garnered well over 600 likes and more than 100 shares, all along with numerous generous comments from readers. This is the nearest I've ever come to going viral! In fact, not a week goes by without a trip or two to the post office for me with books that I've sold via Bluesky. From my experience, it's really worthwhile in terms of finding a new audience for my poems, though perhaps the most significant bit has been the lovely people I've encountered on there...!