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...!
Hugely privileged that renowned poet and critic Sheenagh Pugh should have written a terrific review of Whatever Yuu Do, Just Don´t. You can read it via this link, but here's a taster to whet your appetite...
...Brexit and its aftermath do not crop up much in UK poetry, but then few UK poets have this perspective on it...this is an unusual collection, from a viewpoint we do not often see, and correspondingly enlightening.
With no access to slots at major festivals, no wholesaler, no chance to get copies on shelves at physical bookshops, no distribution in the U.S. or Canada, no realistic retail prices on Amazon, no reviews in broadsheets or major print-based journals, Nell (at HappenStance) and I have now shifted going on for 250 copies of Whatever You Do, Just Don't. And I'm determined to ensure there will be plenty more sales of it to come over the next few years.
In this context, I'm inevitably left wondering just how many I'd have sold with any of the external commercial support network I've mentioned above. And, given that many significantly funded poetry publishers (who do have this sort of backing) have stated their average sales of full collections barely reach three figures, why aren't they flogging far more copies than me instead of far fewer...?
The book waits in the box. Maybe for a reading where someone might like the poems enough to grab it, instead of it having to be placed back in the poet's rucksack at the end. Maybe for the poet to get his finger out and share a poem from it on social media. Maybe for a birthday. Maybe for Christmas.
The book only wants a single pair of hands to stretch its spine and open it at last. It's asking you to pick it up and let its words wrap their legs round your heart...
Tim Love is a scrupulous reviewer, bringing an analytical, scientific eye to bear on the poetry he tackles. This is why I'm especially chuffed he should have reviewed Whatever You Do, Just Don't so positively on his Litrefs Reviews site (see link here).
Whatever You Do, Just Don't...Miss It! My September tour, that is, five readings in the space of six days. It would be great to see you at one of them...!
Kevin Bailey has generously written a terrific review of Whatever You Do, Just Don't for HQ Poetry Magazine, so terrific that I'm almost willing to forgive him for calling me Matt! Here are a couple of quick quotes... This is superb and engaging poetry - highly recommended and worth getting. As a poet-of-sorts myself, when I start to think ‘I wish I'd written that’, I know that the experience of engaging with their work is going to be a good one.
Thanks to Mat Riches' dexterity with his flash phone, here's a video of me reading a poem from Whatever You Do, Just Don't at the recent Rogue Strands event in London. My YouTube channel seems to be functioning very well as a way of reaching new readers, and I'd be grateful if you could subscribe...
I've had two new poems in The Spectator over the last couple of weeks. It's always good to place poetry in an outlet that reaches so many general readers, but I'm especially happy on this occasion, given that these are my first publications since Whatever You Do, Just Don't came out.
Thanks to Nigel Kent's generosity, there are two features about Whatever You Do, Just Don't up at his website. On the one hand, there's a "Drop-in", written by myself, in which I focus on one of the poems from the collection, which is also reproduced in the same article. And on the other hand, there's Nigel's exquisite review of my collection. Here's a quick quote, but you can read it in full via this link...
Stewart’s collection shows what can be achieved when a poet doesn’t ignore most people: when a poet engages with universal concerns in poems that are apparently artless yet finely crafted, in poems that are ambitious yet always accessible, relatable and meaningful.
Over at Fokkina McDonnell's Acacia Publications, I'm this month's guest poet (see this link) with three poems from Whatever You Do, Just Don't. One of them is titled Wendsday (sic, sic, sic!). Fokkina writes... "I admire the attention to detail, precision, and economy of Matthew Stewart's poems: so much between the lines…"
Here’s a visual taster of Whatever You Do, Just Don’t, 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…!
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. This is why I refuse to shy away from reminding you about Whatever You Do, Just Don't. You can purchase it here.
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.
Thanks are due to Matthew Paul for writing an exceptional review of Whatever You Do, Just Don't 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 this link.
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.
Neil Elder has written a perceptive and generous review of Whatever You Do, Just Don't for The High Window. Thanks to the editor, David Cooke, for commissioning and publishing it. You can read the article in full via this link (clicking on my name will take you straight to it), but here's the first paragraph as a taster...
Catching up on good stuff that's happened over the festive period: John Field has posted a gorgeously sculpted review of Whatever You Do, Just Don't over at Poor Rude Lines. Yet again, I'm grateful for his huge generosity. Here's a brief quote...
Matthew Stewart’s second collection, Whatever You Do, Just Don’t, 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.
And you can read it in full via this link.
The Poetry Society have chosen Whatever You Do, Just Don't as one of their Books of the Year. Thanks to Tim Relf for the recommendation...
Three poems from Whatever You Do, Just Don't are being featured today on iamb. Thanks to Mark Antony Owen for the invite. You can read my poems and listen to my readings by following this link. I hope you enjoy them!
Bob Mee, the former editor of Iota magazine and Ragged Raven Press, has kindly reviewed Whatever You Do, Just Don't on his blog. Here's a short extract... "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..." And you can read his piece in full by following this link.
