Why don't I enter poetry competitions?

Because I don’t enjoy reading the crowd-pleasing poems that tend to win.

Because competitions implicitly and involuntarily encourage poets to write crowd-pleasers.

Because I write poems that are apparently simple, that accumulate layers, that would never stand out in a mass of fireworks.

Because I don’t write to win competitions. I write for my potential readers. I write for the conversations that individual poems strike up among themselves and with those readers in the context of a magazine or a collection.

What about you...?

A comparison between poetry and wine

A first thing the poetry business and the wine trade have in common: the best way to end up with a small fortune in both poetry publishing and winemaking is to start off with a large one. In part, this is because winemaking is often a highly personal project, just like poetry publishing, and people thus often do stuff that makes little business sense.

And then there’s the question of personal taste: I don't like big, oaky wines from Ribera del Duero. I do admire them in technical terms when they're well crafted, but I can never bring myself to enjoy them. Same goes for certain types of poetry.

Mind you, taste changes over the years, of course. I now can't stand certain wines I used to love, and have become a big fan of others I never appreciated in the past. Same goes again for certain types of poetry.

And what about wines that in objective terms might not be exceptional but fit a context perfectly? Or I associate them with a special moment, person or place? Same goes for certain poems.

And one last, extremely positive point: how do so many different styles of wine survive on the market, so many different interpretations of every grape variety and every terroir? Because there are so many different tastes. And all for them are valid. Same goes for the huge range of poetry that's written and read.

A few thoughts on poetry reviewing in the current climate

In light of Helena Nelson's request for views on writing and reading poetry reviews (see this link), here are a few reflections on my own attitude towards reviewing in the current climate.

On the one hand, I write reviews not as blurbs or puff pieces but to promote the poetry I love by engaging with it, explaining just why it enthralls me. I try to get my hands dirty with the inner workings of a collection's engine, hoping to enlighten the reader and encourage them to buy the book.
And on the other, I read them to find books I might want to buy. Or to find a new perspective on a collection I've already read. There are certain reviewers whose taste I trust and respect, from whom I learn loads. One thorny issue I would like to highlight is my growing feeling that social media's tribal pile-ons are making it more and more uncomfortable to write reviews with a critical element. And then this is combined with the trend of poets who view their book as an extension of themselves, as a means of self-expression. Even mild criticism consequently becomes a personal affront...

Only 12 months to go...!

As of today, only 12 months to go till my second full collection comes out with HappenStance Press.

I’m still chipping away at the ms, adding a poem here, removing one there, tweaking a line, adjusting a stanza, pondering a comma, looking forward to sharing the book with you in November next year…

What drives you to write and then attempt to publish your poetry?

The grappling with craft to turn it into art?

Your self-worth? Your self-expression? Your sense of identity?

Likes and shares on social media? 

Your Mum? Your muse? Your mentor? Your need for a job in C.W.? Funding? Prizes? Publication? 

Is your poetry simply for yourself? If so, why do you bother to seek publication? For a sense of validation?

Your readers? But who are they? Where are they? Why might they want to read your poems? How might you reach them? Do you care about them? 

Poems to make you smile and make you think

Over at The Friday Poem, they're running an series of features about poems to make you smile and make you think. And then, of course, to ponder the relationship between poetry and humour.

In today's slot, I look at Maria Taylor's ‘Hypothetical’, which is ace. You can read the poem itself, along with my take on it, via this link.

The Frogmore Papers' 100th Issue

The Frogmore Papers is one of my favourite poetry magazines. In fact, it's accompanied me pretty much throughout my poetic life. Looking back through my records before writing this blog post, I noticed I first had a poem in its pages in Issue 57 back in 2001. That was followed by another in Issue 68 (2006), a third in Issue 76 (2010) and two more in Issue 81 (2013).

Jeremy Page, as well as being the journal's founder and long-time editor, is also an excellent poet, so it's a privilege whenever he chooses my work for publication. As a consequence, I'm especially pleased to have a further two poems in the brand-new commemorative 100th issue alongside the likes of Simon Armitage.

You can get hold of a copy for yourself at The Frogmore Press website (see this link), but here's the gorgeous cover by way of a taster...