An accumulation of readers

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…?

A poem in The New Criterion

Properly chuffed to report I have a poem in the June issue of The New Criterion! You can read it via this link.

The poster for my event in Madrid...

Here's the gorgeous poster that the Madrid Review have created for my forthcoming event...

The Madrid Review Live, Vinos and Verse with Matthew Stewart

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.

All the logistical details can be found via this link.

Another new poem in The Spectator

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.

A poem by Ricky Monahan Brown

I'm delighted to feature today a poem by Ricky Monahan Brown, taken from his recent pamphlet, Drawer of Letters (Broken Sleep Books, 2025).

The piece I've chosen is titled ‘Drawer’, so its significance within the manuscript as a whole is pretty clear. I don't tend to be a fan of poems that use the passive voice a lot, nor of poems that don't contain any main verbs. However, those two devices are actually used to terrific effect here, holding back narrative details that the reader is allowed to fill in, such as the identity of the protagonists. Meanwhile, progressively tweaked repetition is clearly a driving force, used deftly, moving us forward without any punctuation towards the poem's emotional core. 

I hope you enjoy it, and please consider visiting the Broken Sleep website (see here) to grab a copy of the pamphlet if you do...

Drawer

a drawer made of letters

letters made of lined paper
letters made of hand-cut paper
letters made of thick Egyptian sheets
letters made of translucent skin

letters bound by bulldog clips
letters secured by steely staples
letters gathered by woven strings
letters stuck by elastic gum bands

letters woken by a slashing pen
letters leavened by a smiling blot
letters smudged by a dragging hand
letters blurred by <illegible>

letters built by paragraph slabs
paragraphs formed from frilly sentences
sentences verbed into brief existence
verbs that describe a life

and a letter made of words
made of letters

like L
and E
and A
and V

Pablo García Casado translates a poem from Whatever You Do, Just Don't

Pablo García Casado is one of the finest poets in Spain. In fact, he's just won the prestigious Premio de la Crítica. As a consequence, I'm especially pleased that he should have selected a poem from Whatever You Do, Just Don't for publication in his Daily Poem feature on Facebook, Instagram and X. 

Moreover, not only has he translated it into Spanish himself, but he's also granted me permission to reproduce it here too. ¡Gracias, Pablo...!