Matthew Stewart weaves his ways through poetry
Pleasantly surprised to find my name on the cover of The New Criterion. I wish I could show it to my parents...!
Here's my new article on Pablo García Casado's exceptional poetry. It's just been published in the latest issue of The Madrid Review...
As I move ever deeper into the third
print run of Whatever You Do, Just Don’t, I find myself reflecting more and more on the complete
irrelevance and absolute significance of sales figures.
Sales are completely irrelevant to me as an objective or target, but on the other hand their growth brings
with it an accumulation of readers, who are by far the most important part of my
whole creative process. Without a reader’s enjoyment, my poems would seem
self-indulgent.
Then there’s the fact that no
favour trading or box ticking are involved in someone’s decision to sit down
with a collection, and engage with it. The gaining of a reader is by far the
greatest award that a poet can win.
I’ve come to believe that slow-burning word of mouth is the most solid, long-lasting way to build a reputation as a poet. Do you agree…?
Properly chuffed to report I have a poem in the June issue of The New Criterion! You can read it via this link.
Here's the gorgeous poster that the Madrid Review have created for my forthcoming event...
I'll be reading in Madrid on 27th May. As the guest poet at The Madrid Review Live's event, titled ‘Vinos and Verse with Matthew Stewart’, I'm looking forward to giving an outing to my more Hispanic and wine-related poems, while also taking part in a Q&A with James Hartley, the editor of The Madrid Review.
Chuffed to report that I have another new poem in The Spectator this week. You can read it on their website by following this link.
