tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-43341684704779602682024-03-12T20:15:27.320-07:00Rogue StrandsMatthew Stewart weaves his ways through poetryMatthew Stewarthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11050474652034142849noreply@blogger.comBlogger868125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4334168470477960268.post-84516591177321790542024-03-04T01:02:00.000-08:002024-03-04T02:30:27.645-08:00Scenes from a film, Nicholas Hogg's Missing Person<p><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="background: white; color: #1d2326;">‘</span><span lang="EN-GB">Cinematographic<span style="background: white; color: #1d2326;">’</span> or <span style="background: white; color: #1d2326;">‘</span>filmic<span style="background: white; color: #1d2326;">’</span> aren’t habitual adjectives when describing the vast
majority of contemporary U.K. poetry, but they provide an ideal point of
departure for discussion of Nicholas Hogg’s first full collection, <i>Missing
Person</i> (Broken Sleep Books, 2023).<br /></span></span><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br />In the above context, the last two
stanzas from </span><span style="background: white; color: #1d2326; font-family: inherit;">‘</span><span style="font-family: inherit;">Starring Role</span><span style="background: white; color: #1d2326; font-family: inherit;">’</span><span style="font-family: inherit;"> seem especially relevant:<br /></span><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br />Then a tea with the lads,<br /></span><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span> <span> <span> </span></span></span>the
ruffle-haired cub. I wander off<br /></span><span style="font-family: inherit;">from the gang — cue plaintive strings
(not too loud)<br /></span><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span> <span> <span> </span></span></span>as
I stand and stare from a new-build shell.<br /></span><span style="font-family: inherit;">A reviewer may write<br /></span><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span> <span> <span> </span> </span></span>that
this is rather mawkish,<br /></span><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br />the boy at a window<br /></span><span style="font-family: inherit;">in an empty home. What the critic<br /></span><span style="font-family: inherit;">has failed to gather, is how the man
will carry<br /></span><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span> <span> <span> </span></span></span>this
void<br /></span><span style="font-family: inherit; text-indent: 35.4pt;"><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span>into
every room he walks<br /></span><span style="font-family: inherit; text-indent: 35.4pt;"><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span>for
the rest of his life.<br /></span><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br />These lines read as a statement of
poetic intent. They’re comparing an individual person to a character, a fictional
scene to a supposedly factual event, highlighting the blurred lines between the
two, while they’re also anticipating a potential film critic/literary reviewer’s reticence at the
poem’s struck poses. And all this, of course, plays out alongside a reference
to an archetypal musical soundtrack for the event or film. Via these
references, Hogg is implicitly asking us questions. Are we reading a poem or
watching a film? Is it fact, faction or fiction?<br /></span></p><div style="text-indent: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit; text-indent: 47.2px;"><br />The endings in </span><i style="font-family: inherit; text-indent: 47.2px;">Missing Person</i><span style="font-family: inherit; text-indent: 47.2px;">
are particularly interesting. At first, they might often lead a reader
to suggest that they’re taking an easy way out of the poem. However, an
alternative conclusion presents itself once we view them as the closing shot in
a mini-screenplay. This is when they suddenly become loaded with the
connotations of Hollywood, toying with our expectations of life and cinema. One
such poem is </span><span style="background: white; color: #1d2326; font-family: inherit; text-indent: 47.2px;">‘</span><span style="font-family: inherit; text-indent: 47.2px;">Gun (With
Englishman)</span><span style="background: white; color: #1d2326; font-family: inherit; text-indent: 47.2px;">’</span><span style="font-family: inherit; text-indent: 47.2px;">:</span></div><span style="font-family: inherit;"><div style="text-indent: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit; text-indent: 35.4pt;"><div style="text-indent: 47.2px;"><span style="font-family: inherit; text-indent: 0px;"><div style="text-indent: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit; text-indent: 47.2px;"><div style="text-indent: 47.2px;"><span style="font-family: inherit; text-indent: 0px;"><br />I want to add a detail here, like
circling birds, or a dust devil swirl.<br /><div style="text-indent: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit; text-indent: 47.2px;">But, no. Just a fridge. And a target
with a heart</span></div><div style="text-indent: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">blown out.<br /></span><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br />In this extract, the first person
jumps from being a protagonist to taking on the role of the screenwriter. Or
even the director. At this point, the reader is made aware that the poem is blending
with a scene from a film, riffing on all those stereotypical plot twists and
images that the big screen imposes.<br /></span><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br />These cinematographic poems are by far
the most remarkable pieces in </span><i style="font-family: inherit;">Missing Person</i><span style="font-family: inherit;">. They stand out among the
other strong but less striking poems that make up the rest of this collection,
and are well worth the entrance fee to the book as a whole. Here’s hoping
Nicholas Hogg’s future writing continues to explore and mine their potential,
because they strike at the heart of a crucial issue in contemporary U.K. poetry
- the blurring of the poet and the first person – and they do so with terrific,
idiosyncratic insight. I recommend you read them for yourself!</span></div></span></div></span></div></span></div></span></div></span><p></p>Matthew Stewarthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11050474652034142849noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4334168470477960268.post-35129002073243097172024-03-02T10:05:00.000-08:002024-03-02T10:05:58.262-08:00Tasting Notes on YouTube<p><span style="background-color: white; color: #050505; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Thanks to my new YouTube channel, I’ve managed to upload the poetry film of <i>Tasting Notes</i> that we made back in 2013. The pamphlet might be out of print, but at least this gives the poems themselves a new lease of life…!</span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/IDfqijw3S1I" width="320" youtube-src-id="IDfqijw3S1I"></iframe></div>Matthew Stewarthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11050474652034142849noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4334168470477960268.post-10411156661259263592024-02-27T08:49:00.000-08:002024-02-27T08:49:33.291-08:00Meticulous observation, Jean Atkin's High Nowhere<p><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i><span lang="EN-GB">High Nowhere</span></i><span lang="EN-GB"> (Indigo Dreams Publishing, 2023), Jean Atkin’s new collection, is packed with implicit
and explicit sociopolitical ramifications that overtake the reader bit by bit,
poem by poem. At first sight, it might seem a disparate book, but is highly coherent
and cohesive, each section adding another layer to Atkin’s portrayal of a
planet in crisis.<br /></span></span><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br />This above-mentioned portrayal
sometimes addresses climate change directly, as in references to extinction (such
as to the Tasmanian Tiger) and a poem titled </span><span style="background: white; color: #1d2326; font-family: inherit;">‘</span><span style="font-family: inherit;">40.2 degrees</span><span style="background: white; color: #1d2326; font-family: inherit;">’</span><span style="font-family: inherit;">. And then it homes in on other negative impacts of human
activity, as in </span><span style="background: white; color: #1d2326; font-family: inherit;">‘</span><span style="font-family: inherit;">Earth’s
viral load</span><span style="background: white; color: #1d2326; font-family: inherit;">’</span><span style="font-family: inherit;">…<br /></span><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br />To understand viruses, consider<br /></span><span style="font-family: inherit;">how humans infest the earth.<br /></span><span style="font-family: inherit;">How each one wants only to live.<br /></span><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br />At other times, however, Atkin’s
approach is more indirect. One such example can be found in </span><span style="background: white; color: #1d2326; font-family: inherit;">‘</span><span style="font-family: inherit;">A wish on the Glynch</span><span style="background: white; color: #1d2326; font-family: inherit;">’</span><span style="font-family: inherit;">, which ends as follows:<br /></span><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br />…Wish for water<br /></span><span style="font-family: inherit;">say the millstones, wish for the
grain’s flow<br /></span><span style="font-family: inherit;">wish for bread, says the village<br /></span><span style="font-family: inherit;">bread and summer sunshine, bread and
ordinary snow<br /></span><span style="font-family: inherit;">bread ground for us by the Glynch
brook minnow!<br /></span><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br />In this case, the poem works in synch
with the rest of the book via its evocation of the loss of local roots and food
sources, hinting at the disappearance of a connection with the place where we
live rather than stating it outright.<br /></span><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br />And this last point takes on
additional significance once the collection’s focus shifts to Iceland, where
nature might appear eternal, but where modern development also intrudes, as in
the final stanza of </span><span style="background: white; color: #1d2326; font-family: inherit;">‘</span><span style="font-family: inherit;">Power
Lines</span><span style="background: white; color: #1d2326; font-family: inherit;">’</span><span style="font-family: inherit;">...<br /></span><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br />September, and I am being driven in
the rain<br /></span><span style="font-family: inherit;">past the new giants of Iceland, their
electric spell.<br /></span><span style="font-family: inherit;">I will keep listening in fear of the
future,<br /></span><span style="font-family: inherit;">in fear of the stories the pylons will
tell.<br /></span><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br />Jean Atkin’s poetry never rants.
Instead, it observes meticulously. On opening </span><i style="font-family: inherit;">High Nowhere</i><span style="font-family: inherit;">, we find
ourselves in the hands of a poet who trusts us to reach our own conclusions on
the back of her reportage. I dare you to finish reading this book and emerge
indifferent to the role of humans in the plight of the Earth. That’s the mark
of Atkin’s success.</span></p>Matthew Stewarthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11050474652034142849noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4334168470477960268.post-75274124446869465092024-02-25T04:13:00.000-08:002024-02-25T04:13:56.287-08:00A video from the London launch<p><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #0f1419; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Here’s a visual taster of <i>Whatever You Do, Just Don’t</i>, a video from the packed London launch in which I read a poem titled The Ghost of Tim Walker (with thanks to Flo, Mat Riches’ daughter, for shooting it). Enjoy…!</span> </span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="265" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/9W2wZCUXQlU" width="320" youtube-src-id="9W2wZCUXQlU"></iframe></div>Matthew Stewarthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11050474652034142849noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4334168470477960268.post-4085879941768442462024-02-20T03:06:00.000-08:002024-02-20T03:06:16.257-08:00Fire River Poets<p><span style="background-color: white; color: #0f1419; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">I'll be the Guest Poet for Fire River Poets on 7th March, reading from Whatever You Do, Just Don't. This is a Zoom event (open to all but requiring prior registration). More info on the Fire River Poets website via <a href="https://fireriverpoets.org.uk/2023/11/march-7th-2024-matthew-stewart/">this link</a>.</span></span></p>Matthew Stewarthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11050474652034142849noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4334168470477960268.post-24611539564480883692024-02-15T02:02:00.000-08:002024-02-15T02:02:41.329-08:00A clear-eyed approach to grief, Christopher Arksey's Variety Turns<p><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span lang="EN-GB"><i>Variety Turns</i> (Broken Sleep Books, 2023)</span><span lang="EN-GB"> is Christopher Arksey’s first pamphlet and is unusual in many ways. To
start with, it’s thematic in nature rather than following the time-trusted
route of providing an initial wide-ranging sample of the poet’s attributes.
This decision alone indicates the poet’s confidence in his own writing, which
also extends to a trust in his readers throughout these poems, never
forcing arguments or conclusions, instead allowing layered details to speak for
themselves.<br /></span><br />The pamphlet revolves around the loss
of a mother, tracking the process of her dying and then her family’s grief.
Such highly personal subject matter means it’s far too easy to conflate the
poet and the first-person protagonist, as is demonstrated by several of the
otherwise insightful blurbs that accompany the book. However, Arksey himself
refuses to fall into such a trap. One excellent example of his method is <span style="background: white; color: #1d2326;">‘</span>Grief<span style="background: white; color: #1d2326;">’</span>, which I’ll now quote in full (with thanks to the
poet himself for granting me permission to do so):<br /><br />Indescribable,<br />though I’ve tried.<br />Failing in my usual<br />way of stumped silence<br />or inarticulate babble.<br />The best I can offer:<br />a permanent resident,<br />neither seen nor heard,<br />though their presence<br />is felt everywhere.<br /><br />The poem combines self-deprecating humour with a clear-eyed, never maudlin attitude towards hefty
themes, all alongside an implicit reminder that poetry is art and artifice
rather than mere anecdote, as is reflected by Arksey’s explicit invocation of
metaphor. Moreover, he engages with the suggestion that elegies are renowned
for allowing the poet to overreach to express something that cannot be
expressed. Arksey’s afore-mentioned self-deprecation undercuts such an
approach, providing us with an implicit statement of poetic intent for the
pamphlet as a whole, standing against received wisdom.<br /><br />Both in approach and in execution, <i>Variety
Turns</i> introduces us to a fully formed voice. A quick glance at the endorsements
might suggest it’s a hard read, but Christopher Arksey’s light touch enables
him to dodge any accusation of sentimentality or self-indulgence. This is a
pamphlet that shows how pain can be turned into poetry without abandoning the
reader, and that’s a considerable achievement in the current poetic climate.</span></p>Matthew Stewarthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11050474652034142849noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4334168470477960268.post-75822503028824230692024-02-13T05:43:00.000-08:002024-02-13T05:43:26.928-08:00Copy by copy...<p><span style="background-color: white; color: #050505; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Copy by copy, every hard-earned sale of a poetry collection is an act of trust, a contract between the poet and the reader that reaches far beyond money. </span></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #050505; font-family: inherit; white-space-collapse: preserve;">This is why I refuse to shy away from reminding you about</span><i style="background-color: white; color: #050505; font-family: inherit; white-space-collapse: preserve;"> Whatever You Do, Just Don't</i><span style="background-color: white; color: #050505; font-family: inherit; white-space-collapse: preserve;">. You can purchase it </span><a href="https://happenstancepress.com/index.php/component/hikashop/product/47818-whatever-you-do-just-don-t" style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit; white-space-collapse: preserve;">here.</a></p>Matthew Stewarthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11050474652034142849noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4334168470477960268.post-54381200016427320332024-02-02T01:58:00.000-08:002024-02-02T01:58:43.225-08:00Matthew Paul reviews Whatever You Do, Just Don't for Wild Court<p><span style="background-color: white; color: #050505; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Poetry’s a long game, full of tough waits and disappointments, but all of them pale into insignificance on a humbling day when someone whose critical opinions you value, who never chucks compliments around like confetti, writes incredibly generous stuff about your book. This is one of those special days. </span></span></p><p><span style="background-color: white; color: #050505; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Thanks are due to Matthew Paul for writing an exceptional review of <i>Whatever You Do, Just Don't</i> for Wild Court, and thanks to Robert Selby for publishing it. Here's a quick quote as a taster, but you can read it in full via <a href="https://wildcourt.co.uk/measured-economy-on-matthew-stewarts-whatever-you-do-just-dont/?fbclid=IwAR1fN_SWcm_zIGL2IxU2ZpwrVLJvucGUK6JsBfmL9gAWI1rCwOHkva0foc0">this link</a>.</span></span></p><p><i style="background-color: white; color: #050505; font-family: inherit; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Without fanfare and with measured economy, Stewart impeccably, and unbeatably, encapsulates the impact of time and culture on the minutiae of everyday life as it both was and now is.</i></p>Matthew Stewarthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11050474652034142849noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4334168470477960268.post-15848843893858122912024-01-26T05:37:00.000-08:002024-01-26T05:37:20.371-08:00Neil Elder reviews Whatever You Do, Just Don't for The High Window<p><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #050505; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Neil Elder has written a perceptive and generous review of <i>Whatever You Do, Just Don't </i>for The High Window. Thanks to the editor, David Cooke, for commissioning </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #050505; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><a style="color: #385898; cursor: pointer;" tabindex="-1"></a></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #050505; white-space-collapse: preserve;">and publishing it. You can read the article in full via <a href="https://thehighwindowpress.com/2024/01/02/the-high-window-reviews-19/?fbclid=IwAR1mWvh_kkVl7Xv7InQM2xKAR_jBEv0W6iy0cxprnzygJm9GtFVTgB2Eyqg">this link</a> (clicking on my name will take you straight to it), but here's the first paragraph as a taster...</span></span></p><div class="x11i5rnm xat24cr x1mh8g0r x1vvkbs xtlvy1s x126k92a" style="background-color: white; color: #050505; margin: 0.5em 0px 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><div dir="auto"><span style="font-family: inherit;">"<i>Is it considered old-fashioned to produce eminently ‘readable’ poems? Pieces that are accessible and that directly communicate with the reader? If so, then Whatever You Do, Just Don’t is out of joint with the times, because the collection is one of the most ‘readable’ and translucent that I have read in a long time..."</i></span></div></div>Matthew Stewarthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11050474652034142849noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4334168470477960268.post-30330584994221722152024-01-21T04:13:00.000-08:002024-01-21T04:13:07.765-08:00Stephen Payne's new poetry blog<p>Stephen's Payne's not only an excellent poet but also an excellent critic. And by extension, his new poetry blog promises to be excellent too.</p><p>Given his scientific background, a lazy reader might be tempted to describe Payne's approach as forensic and thorough, but that would ignore his honed sensitivity. For instance, the first post on his blog is packed with both emotional and technical insight into Billy Collin's poetry. You can read it by following <a href="https://stephenpayne.net/2024/01/17/on-billy-collins-a-reading-of-snow/">this link</a>.</p>Matthew Stewarthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11050474652034142849noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4334168470477960268.post-72559558219929259952024-01-09T11:55:00.000-08:002024-01-09T11:56:34.783-08:00John Field reviews Whatever You Do, Just Don't at Poor Rude Lines<p><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: #050505;"><span style="white-space-collapse: preserve;">Catching up on good stuff that's happened over the festive period: John Field has posted a gorgeously sculpted review of <i>Whatever You Do, Just Don't</i> over at Poor Rude Lines. Yet again, I'm grateful for his huge generosity. Here's a brief quote...
</span></span></span></span><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: #050505;"><span style="white-space-collapse: preserve;"><br /></span></span><span style="color: #333333;"><i>Matthew Stewart’s second collection, </i></span></span><span style="background: 0px 0px rgb(255, 255, 255); border: 0px; color: #333333; font-style: italic; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><a href="https://www.happenstancepress.com/index.php/shop/product/47818-whatever-you-do-just-don-t/category_pathway-43" style="background: 0px 0px; border: 0px; color: #990000; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Whatever You Do, Just Don’t</a></span><span style="color: #333333;"><span style="background-color: white;"><i>, offers its own meditation on sun and shadow. Small observations on living between Spain and the UK, family life and, of course, the beautiful game, might seem unrelated but, as the collection unfolds, these elements pull together as a bitter-sweet meditation on love and loss. <br /></i></span></span></span><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: #333333;"><span style="background-color: white;"><i><br /></i></span></span>And you can read it in full via </span><a href="https://johnfield.org/2023/12/21/world-in-motion-matthew-stewarts-whatever-you-do-just-dont/" style="font-family: inherit;">this link</a><span style="font-family: inherit;">. </span></p>Matthew Stewarthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11050474652034142849noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4334168470477960268.post-40848205333710247032024-01-02T01:43:00.000-08:002024-01-02T01:43:12.975-08:00The Yorkshire Times' Books of the Year<div class="xdj266r x11i5rnm xat24cr x1mh8g0r x1vvkbs x126k92a" style="background-color: white; color: #050505; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><div dir="auto"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>Whatever You Do, Just Don't</i> has been chosen by The Yorkshire Times as one of their Books of the Year 2023. Thanks to Steve Whitaker, the literary editor, for his selection.
Here's a quick quote from the article...
<i>"...Whatever You Do, Just Don’t is as warming and as compelling as the fine Spanish wine that Stewart blends..."
</i><i>
</i>And <a style="color: #385898; cursor: pointer;" tabindex="-1"></a>you can read the feature in full via <a href="https://www.yorkshiretimes.co.uk/article/Book-Review-Round-Up---2023">this link</a>.</span></div></div>Matthew Stewarthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11050474652034142849noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4334168470477960268.post-37531538890235702482023-12-30T05:38:00.000-08:002023-12-30T05:38:07.376-08:00The Poetry Society's Books of the Year<p>The Poetry Society have chosen <i>Whatever You Do, Just Don't </i>as one of their Books of the Year. Thanks to Tim Relf for the recommendation...</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhk0Tsbav4s2zDCFvfj8U9nnR35rpjpiUkmUvVN4Jdn0PPWhTUP5J3Wv1kLbLsQm50-lOe6hxc2eRCMVyGAhLgQgoKSgS50Qn9z85SMQz5dBQ1ovkelFs5VkAhMLOFp8v5IiqN8rz4Rk-bYGalM6CZq8idrAqzcBgsXzL0ov7ZCNn9YJhlRfis3ik3W7wsf/s1080/Tim%20Relf.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1080" data-original-width="1080" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhk0Tsbav4s2zDCFvfj8U9nnR35rpjpiUkmUvVN4Jdn0PPWhTUP5J3Wv1kLbLsQm50-lOe6hxc2eRCMVyGAhLgQgoKSgS50Qn9z85SMQz5dBQ1ovkelFs5VkAhMLOFp8v5IiqN8rz4Rk-bYGalM6CZq8idrAqzcBgsXzL0ov7ZCNn9YJhlRfis3ik3W7wsf/w400-h400/Tim%20Relf.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><p><br /></p>Matthew Stewarthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11050474652034142849noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4334168470477960268.post-68685535545570084092023-12-15T01:57:00.000-08:002023-12-15T01:57:53.718-08:00Three poems on iamb<p><span style="background-color: white; color: #050505; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Three poems from <i>Whatever You Do, Just Don't</i> are being featured today on iamb. Thanks to Mark Antony Owen for the invite.
</span></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #050505; font-family: inherit; white-space-collapse: preserve;">
You can read my poems and listen to my readings by following <a href="https://www.iambapoet.com/wave/16-matthew-stewart">this link</a>. I hope you enjoy them!</span></p>Matthew Stewarthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11050474652034142849noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4334168470477960268.post-45488172180602906962023-12-07T00:41:00.000-08:002023-12-07T00:41:53.970-08:00On the future of funding for poetry in England...<p><span style="font-family: inherit;">The recent removal of funding from
Planet and New Welsh Review should shake English poetry publishers and
magazines to the core. Bearing in mind that this axe has been wielded by a
Labour-run administration in Wales, it’s a stark reminder of a bleak future for
business plans that are reduced to making applications to ACE, no matter who
might win the forthcoming general election, no matter what prior relationships
might have been built. How long will such funding bodies continue to sustain ventures
where the sales figures often total less than a third of the staff costs, and
that’s before we discuss non-existent profit margins?<br /><br />In this context, instead of simply
waiting for eventual, inevitable rejection, then panicking and scrambling to beg
individuals for help in a last-gasp survival bid, wouldn’t it be more sensible for
publishers and magazines to act in advance and reconsider their attitudes
towards the relative importance of sales when balancing their books (sic)? Several
excellent, self-sustaining models are already out there, after all, but such
outfits have had to commit fully to driving sales, and have taken time to build
a strong identity. It’s impossible to generate a core base of loyal customers
overnight.<br /><br />Rather than viewing funding as a
necessary, permanent prop, why not see it as a temporary boost that enables
magazines and publishers to target long-term editorial and commercial independence…?</span></p>Matthew Stewarthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11050474652034142849noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4334168470477960268.post-61420237245300660152023-12-06T05:39:00.000-08:002023-12-06T05:39:21.954-08:00Victoria Moul's poetry blog<p>Victoria Moul has a terrific poetry blog, titled <i>Horace & friends</i>, over at Substack (<a href="https://vamoul.substack.com/">see here</a>). </p><p>Her blog's terrific for two main reasons, the first being a deft combination of rigour and accessibility when dealing with complex issues of literary theory and practice. It's refreshing to encounter an academic who's willing and able to engage with readers from beyond the realms of university life.<br /><br />And then the second reason is its additional linguistic and sociocultural perspectives, thanks to her classical background and the time she's spent in France. This means that she's often able to cast fresh light on U.K. poetry.</p><p>All in all, <i>Horace & friends</i> is thoroughly recommended. It's already among my favourite poetry blogs...!</p>Matthew Stewarthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11050474652034142849noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4334168470477960268.post-71535063855729348752023-12-01T03:22:00.000-08:002023-12-01T03:22:19.946-08:00Dislodging preconceptions, Paul Stephenson's Hard Drive<p></p><p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="background: white; color: #1d2326;">‘</span><span lang="EN-GB">Long-awaited debut<a name="_Hlk152325585"><span style="background: white; color: #1d2326;">’</span></a> is a cheesy cliché in the poetry world, but it’s
actually true of <i>Hard Drive</i> (Carcanet, 2023), Paul Stephenson’s first
full collection, following three stellar pamphlets that had left readers
wondering how he might deal with a broader canvas. Throughout those pamphlets,
if anything had defined Stephenson as a poet, it was the feeling that his writing
was indefinable. Impossible to pin down, refusing to be pigeonholed, his principal
aim seemed to be a constantly evolving exploration of the genre’s
possibilities.<br /></span><br />The above backdrop is key to an
understanding of <i>Hard Drive, </i>which revolves around a series of elegies
for a partner. It’s often stated that elegies are ideal for poets to stretch
themselves and push their boundaries, due to the inherent attempts to capture
something that lies beyond the capacity for expression of human language. As a
consequence, they lend themselves perfectly to Paul Stephenson’s approach to
poetry. In these poems, his inquisitive method revolves around a continuous and
continual reinvention of itself, desperately thrusting into the indescribable
agonies of loss.<br /><br />One such example is <span style="background: white; color: #1d2326;">‘</span>Putting It Out There<span style="background: white; color: #1d2326;">’</span>. Here’s the first stanza…<br /><br />So here I am worrying myself to death<br />about commodifying your death,<br />arranging and sequencing your death,<br />curating the left and right pages of
your death,<br />deciding which parts of your death to
leave out…<br /><br />From the start, this poem finds
Stephenson playing with language but with utterly serious intent, toying with
the absurdity of its idioms such as <span style="background: white; color: #1d2326;">‘</span>worrying
myself to death<span style="background: white; color: #1d2326;">’</span>, which is
juxtaposed to death itself in the original meaning of the word.<br /><br />And then it implicitly challenges
the blurred roles of subject, speaker and poet, inviting us to question this
collection’s supposedly confessional nature, suggesting a difference between
factual truth and poetic truth, casting doubt on the poet’s own motives, underlining
that these poems move far beyond anecdote, claiming them as art.<br /><br />In other words, <i>Hard Drive</i> might
be a series of hugely affecting elegies, but it’s far more than that. The
collection rummages through the received wisdom of how the poet and the reader
are meant to interact, dislodging many preconceptions with great emotional
courage. I recommend you get hold of a copy - its echoes will linger in your
head and heart for years to come.</span></p><p></p>Matthew Stewarthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11050474652034142849noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4334168470477960268.post-51523334954343314532023-11-23T03:36:00.000-08:002023-11-23T03:36:18.836-08:00Bob Mee reviews Whatever You Do, Just Don't<p><span style="background-color: white; color: #050505; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Bob Mee, the former editor of Iota magazine and Ragged Raven Press, has kindly reviewed <i>Whatever You Do, Just Don't</i> on his blog.
</span></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #050505; font-family: inherit; white-space-collapse: preserve;">
Here's a short extract...
</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #050505; font-family: inherit; white-space-collapse: preserve;">
"The poems drew me into them slowly. It took me a little time to absorb their depth, given they are short, observant, precise, deceptively relaxed, often gentle in tone, and range between a sense of sadness and the need for amusement and fun..."
</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #050505; font-family: inherit; white-space-collapse: preserve;">
And you can read his piece in full by following </span><a href="https://bobmeepoetryandmore.wordpress.com/2023/11/16/whatever-you-do-just-dont-a-collection-by-matthew-stewart/?fbclid=IwAR3BUDmQSGQ1nOefvZc0ycihBJcKIq2yu9DBmtSGDKV-fJfnnGERsBcSKbc" style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit; white-space-collapse: preserve;">this link</a><span style="background-color: white; color: #050505; font-family: inherit; white-space-collapse: preserve;">.</span></p>Matthew Stewarthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11050474652034142849noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4334168470477960268.post-19636805245292562322023-11-20T00:54:00.000-08:002023-11-20T00:54:55.083-08:00Mat Riches' Collecting the Data<p><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333;">Bearing
in mind that I’ve seen all the poems in Mat Riches first pamphlet, </span><i style="color: #333333;">Collecting
the Data</i><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333;"> (Red Squirrel Press, 2023) at multiple stages in their
development, and have given feedback on every single one, from first draft to
reassembly after Nell’s ritual dismembering of words, lines and stanzas, there’s
no way I can rightly write a review of this book.<br /></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333;"><br />It
wouldn’t be objective or independent of me to do so, as most people know we’re good
friends. And then, such a supposed review might well also end up sounding like an extended blurb, as
I deeply admire the huge strides he’s made in his poetry over the last six
years. Mind you, talking of blurbs, here’s the one I wrote from the heart for his
back cover:<br /></span><span lang="EN-GB" style="background: white; color: #333333;"><br /><i>Mat
Riches is a specialist in the humorous use of the serious and the serious use
of the humorous, channelled through a playful but yoked relish for language.<br /></i></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333;"><i><br /></i>And on
that note, I feel it’s only right and correct that I should suggest you
immediately visit the Red Squirrel webshop (<a href="https://www.redsquirrelpress.com/product-page/collecting-the-data-mat-riches">see here</a>) and get hold of a copy
for yourself…!</span></span></p>Matthew Stewarthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11050474652034142849noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4334168470477960268.post-58354517106285488742023-11-19T04:54:00.000-08:002023-11-19T04:54:42.326-08:00"These poems are a joy to read"<p> The Yorkshire Times (with thanks to their Literary Editor, Steve Whitaker) reviews <i>Whatever You Do, Just Don't</i> <a href="https://www.yorkshiretimes.co.uk/article/The-B-Word--Whatever-You-Do-Just-Dont-By-Matthew-Stewart?fbclid=IwAR2cRYbHpCtLaFGhq-9Fh0bfds1EbDwaStUwuswFo8kE98_sSegRJQUWFSk">here</a>.</p>Matthew Stewarthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11050474652034142849noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4334168470477960268.post-62769580954198436612023-11-16T01:54:00.000-08:002023-11-16T01:54:36.107-08:00The Alternative Stories podcast<p><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #050505; white-space-collapse: preserve;">For your listening pleasure, be it on a lazy evening at home or as a distraction during your commute, here's the Alternative Stories podcast with me (via <a href="https://www.buzzsprout.com/411730/13941229">this link</a>), </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #050505; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><a style="color: #385898; cursor: pointer;" tabindex="-1"></a></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #050505; white-space-collapse: preserve;">featuring several poems from Whatever You Do, Just Don't, plus debate about poetry, Brexit, football and Spain...</span></span></p><div class="x11i5rnm xat24cr x1mh8g0r x1vvkbs xtlvy1s x126k92a" style="background-color: white; color: #050505; font-family: "Segoe UI Historic", "Segoe UI", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; margin: 0.5em 0px 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDsvewtGJYmJ_1QtQiz74A3g4zgreXx5SaPfCMDl4LSv52_5sTub9cDhtA5ChvEEcbskeXTp7XwMdHAi4GWuUIeW-MMOaz1u8iiPB7Ntp0vV_twUEx5u8lLDIb64m9kk-819x9-hjArqy7FDZfrYxdH6dufdGu-sh445gb5Ao2MfohxArU-ZRtxtb7C1ZZ/s1883/Alt%20Stories%20podcast.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1236" data-original-width="1883" height="263" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDsvewtGJYmJ_1QtQiz74A3g4zgreXx5SaPfCMDl4LSv52_5sTub9cDhtA5ChvEEcbskeXTp7XwMdHAi4GWuUIeW-MMOaz1u8iiPB7Ntp0vV_twUEx5u8lLDIb64m9kk-819x9-hjArqy7FDZfrYxdH6dufdGu-sh445gb5Ao2MfohxArU-ZRtxtb7C1ZZ/w400-h263/Alt%20Stories%20podcast.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><div dir="auto" style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></div></div>Matthew Stewarthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11050474652034142849noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4334168470477960268.post-85909132019893656582023-11-13T09:03:00.000-08:002023-11-13T09:03:22.384-08:00A sample poem on Creative Writing at Leicester<p><span style="background-color: white; color: #050505; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Can you imagine never having seen a banana till the age of ten...?!</span></span></p><div class="x11i5rnm xat24cr x1mh8g0r x1vvkbs xtlvy1s x126k92a" style="background-color: white; color: #050505; margin: 0.5em 0px 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><div dir="auto"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Creative Writing at Leicester (with thanks to Jonathan Taylor) are featuring today a poem about just this subject from Whatever You Do, Just Don't.</span></div></div><div class="x11i5rnm xat24cr x1mh8g0r x1vvkbs xtlvy1s x126k92a" style="background-color: white; color: #050505; margin: 0.5em 0px 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><div dir="auto"><span style="font-family: inherit;">I hope you enjoy it (see<a href="https://creativewritingatleicester.blogspot.com/2023/11/matthew-stewart-whatever-you-do-just.html?fbclid=IwAR3kmbycCAogzKClRcAEDRCpG9WpppAFfu7P55hQdCF6xi6hn-qwr0O8MjE"> this link</a>)!</span></div></div>Matthew Stewarthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11050474652034142849noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4334168470477960268.post-53716083022880249152023-11-12T04:34:00.000-08:002023-11-12T04:34:15.727-08:00Terrific review for Whatever You Do, Just Don't on London Grip<p><span style="background-color: white; color: #050505; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">A terrific review of <i>Whatever You Do, Just Don't</i> is now up at London Grip (thanks to Emma Storr for her scrupulous reading of my poems!).</span></span></p><div class="x11i5rnm xat24cr x1mh8g0r x1vvkbs xtlvy1s x126k92a" style="background-color: white; color: #050505; margin: 0.5em 0px 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><div dir="auto"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Here's a brief quote:</span></div></div><div class="x11i5rnm xat24cr x1mh8g0r x1vvkbs xtlvy1s x126k92a" style="background-color: white; color: #050505; margin: 0.5em 0px 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><div dir="auto"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>Whatever You Do, Just Don’t will raise important questions in your own mind as you read Stewart’s beautifully crafted poems. I can thoroughly recommend this collection.</i></span></div></div><div class="x11i5rnm xat24cr x1mh8g0r x1vvkbs xtlvy1s x126k92a" style="background-color: white; color: #050505; margin: 0.5em 0px 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><div dir="auto"><span style="font-family: inherit;">You <a style="color: #385898; cursor: pointer;" tabindex="-1"></a>can read the review in full via <a href="https://londongrip.co.uk/2023/11/london-grip-poetry-review-matthew-stewart/?fbclid=IwAR0CeyLdlu3cpf1xWg6kZ9nwjJRxYccESombTqonGgT3-U38bM_YKGSwWYU">this link</a>.</span></div></div>Matthew Stewarthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11050474652034142849noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4334168470477960268.post-74561070350189276982023-11-11T02:58:00.004-08:002023-11-11T03:13:16.785-08:00The best editor a bloke could hope for...!<p>At the launch with the best editor a bloke could hope for (with thanks to Clare Best for the photo)...</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFb0yG7L5SkHbWKuXr0DgMfyudF4JuqY_XjEk5nSIoN6UqKH39ScS9VAiDuqkTkpjSxJRekkNXNsifJT29emU43li7j1cuYjtMQbqkQPdEoPs3lB6wPWlFmJCx9VGKHxD7jhlwwfrqWDDRdJUL8SO1PmE0SdOjutAUfTEiSwgaYG5HxlUjbUOtrNKZTNrQ/s2048/Nell%20and%20me%20at%20the%20launch.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2014" data-original-width="2048" height="394" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFb0yG7L5SkHbWKuXr0DgMfyudF4JuqY_XjEk5nSIoN6UqKH39ScS9VAiDuqkTkpjSxJRekkNXNsifJT29emU43li7j1cuYjtMQbqkQPdEoPs3lB6wPWlFmJCx9VGKHxD7jhlwwfrqWDDRdJUL8SO1PmE0SdOjutAUfTEiSwgaYG5HxlUjbUOtrNKZTNrQ/w400-h394/Nell%20and%20me%20at%20the%20launch.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><p><br /></p>Matthew Stewarthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11050474652034142849noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4334168470477960268.post-58778366409497049602023-11-10T02:30:00.001-08:002023-11-10T02:30:19.364-08:00Who said there isn't an audience for poetry...?!<p>Here's a pic of our launch last Tuesday, packed with poetry lovers and newbies, all enjoying poems together..</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBXDGk3dl6_Gc54dug7pma5w3r3_QAD940nzTx19fkV2pMb3K4HxsZbFr8zaHd2d8PUXoXeoEAdiyzwy6wMauLJLSQuhfGoEt48V0RHlCdZXXKiN8q93gCN6X6YQq1T19g_mAaVy49JqZC8_TGXPNELIuwhnE7oKXIwNV85UbLnkMwfVUu3l447JqPlrD_/s2048/Audience%20at%20the%20launch.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBXDGk3dl6_Gc54dug7pma5w3r3_QAD940nzTx19fkV2pMb3K4HxsZbFr8zaHd2d8PUXoXeoEAdiyzwy6wMauLJLSQuhfGoEt48V0RHlCdZXXKiN8q93gCN6X6YQq1T19g_mAaVy49JqZC8_TGXPNELIuwhnE7oKXIwNV85UbLnkMwfVUu3l447JqPlrD_/w400-h300/Audience%20at%20the%20launch.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><p><br /></p>Matthew Stewarthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11050474652034142849noreply@blogger.com0