Free Verse: The Poetry Book Fair is a huge success story

I remember vividly the first time I visited Free Verse: The Poetry Book Fair. That was back in 2012, the fair's second year, and I launched Tasting Notes there together with a wine tasting and tapas of Ibérico ham.

Since then, the event has gone from strength to strength. In 2012 there were about fifty exhibitors. This weekend, at the 2016 Fair, over eighty publishers were present, with even an evening at a nearby pub tagged on for good measure!

What makes Free Verse: The Poetry Book Fair so special and such a huge success story is that it provides pretty much the only physical proof of the existence of a national poetry community. Moreover, its organic growth is based on the graft of a team of volunteers. Nowhere else do so many U.K. presses, editors, poets and readers come together on an annual basis to celebrate the vitality of our poetry scene. Long may it continue!

Chrissy Williams' new poetry blog

Chrissy Williams is an excellent poet and the director of the Poetry Book Fair. Such a point of departure would already make her new poetry blog worth a look. However, if we add in the fact that her writing is fun to read while also thought-provoking, the blog's becoming extremely interesting. Moreover, if we top this off with a terrific post comparing her work at comics conventions (as an editor) with her experience of the afore-mentioned Poetry Book Fair, then it's fast turning into a necessity. Here a quote to give you a flavour of what I mean:

"While I love the idea of secret caves filled with poetry gold, more people need to know about them if they're going to survive. I don't want to live in a cave. I want a better map."

You can read her fascinating post in full here.

Free chocolate!

That's simultaneously a terrific offer and a call for the stuff to be liberated from its maker!

In other words, HappenStance Press are launching their new anthology, titled Blame Montezuma, in a cocoa-fuelled splurge that entails giving away chocolate fish with the first 25 orders to be received for the book via their website (see link here). You'll even be able to try the chocolate in situ if you manage to make it along to the launch at Free Verse 2014: The Poetry Book Fair in London (at the Conway Hall) on 6th September.

I very much recommend this second option, as there are also numerous other events going on as part of the fair, while the HappenStance slot will include an additional launch alongside the chocolate: D.A. Prince will be reading from Common Ground, her second full collection, which is packed with excellent poems that creep up and then never leave you.

As for Blame Montezuma itself, it's a lovely book, and not just in terms of the cover:

There's a wide variety of poetic takes on chocolate inside. I'm delighted to have a piece included among offerings from the likes of Hilary Menos, Alison Brackenbury, Stephen Payne, Clare Best, Roy Marshall, etc, etc.

I think a few Christmas-gift quandaries might just have been resolved...

The price of poetry?

Part One of the launch of Tasting Notes was a great success. About 50 people attended the reading at Free Verse on 8th September, followed by a constant flow of interest on the Happenstance stand throughout the day. I carved ham, poured wine and talked poetry non-stop for six hours!

In fact, we sold a lot of books. This was no doubt partly down to our special offer of providing a free glass of wine and plate of ham with every purchase from the stand, not just of my book. A number of people remarked on how it made them think again about the way we value and price stuff. What does four pounds buy you? A lovely poetry pamphlet or a drink in London? Customers at Free Verse weren't forced into that choice, as we sent a fair number home with a warm vinous feeling inside them and a book to read afterwards.

It was a wonderful day, the chance to showcase poetry I believe in, to promote an excellent, commited publisher. And now I'm looking forward to the second stage of the launch! More on that over the coming days.

Double launch for Tasting Notes

I'll be launching Tasting Notes in two very different sets of surroundings in the very near future.

First off, I'll be giving a reading from it at Free Verse: The Poetry Book Fair this coming Saturday (8th September) at 11 a.m.. I'll be appearing alongside Marion Tracy, who'll also be launching her new HappenStance pamphlet, and you can see the whole programme of readings here. It looks like being a terrific day out for poetry lovers, especially once you see the extensive list of exhibiting publishers.

What makes this launch different is that there will be free Zaleo wine and Ibérico ham for anyone who comes along. I'll be carving the Ibérico ham myself, so it's sure to get rather messy! If you can't make it to the reading itself, we'll also be on the Happenstance stand all day afterwards with that ham and wine, plus a very special offer that should encourage you to buy lots of books from the best poetry pamphlet publisher in the whole wide world!

If the London launch is in a poetry-world setting with wine and ham alongside, the second launch of Tasting Notes is taking place in a wine-trade context with lots of poetry on top, all thanks to Emma and Ben, my partners and friends at Bat and Bottle wine merchants.The invite reads as follows:

"Ben and Emma Robson, partners of Bat and Bottle, cordially invite you to

Tasting Notes

An evening of wine, poetry and jamón ibérico de bellota, presented by the
poet and blender Matthew Stewart.

Uppingham Theatre, Stockerston Road, Uppingham LE15 9UD
Wednesday 3rd October 7:30pm

Tickets are £5 each and available online at batwine.co.uk search ‘Tasting
Notes’ or call 01572759735"

I do hope you can make it along to one of these launches. As you can see, they promise to be somewhat unusual!

Free Verse 2012: The Poetry Book Fair

Here's a date for your diary: this year's Poetry Book Fair will be held on Saturday 8th September at the Candid Arts Trust Galleries in London. You can already view the extensive list of exhibiting publishers on their website, with the full programme of readings to come in the next few days.

I'll be attending and participating with HappenStance, bringing a couple of surprises with me! More details in due course...