Toads revisited

Back in 2009, not long after having started Rogue Strands, I published a post titled "The Toad Work", in which I reflected on how my day job as an export manager and wine blender then fed into my poetry, on how writing was an escape valve that I kept separate from my work.

Much of that is still true, and events often remind me that working as a "professional poet" (teaching, leading workshops, etc) wouldn't suit me. Of course, I'm no less professional in my approach to my writing and in the readings I give than others who make their direct or indirect living from the genre. One emerging issue, meanwhile, is how poets who are scientists, workshop leaders, marketing managers, Creative Writing tutors, export managers, etc, etc, view each other.

In this context, I'm grateful to Mat Riches for pointing me in the direction of an article from The Guardian back in 2007. Written by singer Steven Adams, the piece reflects on his band's choice not to give up their day jobs, and you can read it here. How much of this could we extrapolate to the current poetry scene?

Martyn Crucefix on The Knives of Villalejo

I'm grateful to Martyn Crucefix for featuring the title poem from The Knives of Villalejo on Instagram the other day. He also highlighted the collection as a whole in the "Recent Reading" section of his website, stating...

"...Few recent books are as economical and delicately allusive as Matthew Stewart’s debut, The Knives of Villalejo, from Eyewear Publishing..."

You can read more here.

Paul Stephenson interviews me

Until this week, I hadn't realised just how much skill is involved in interviewing someone. Paul Stephenson, who has just published an interview with me on his blog, has led me through the process with engagement, sensitivity and awareness of my work to such a degree that he's enabled me to discover stuff about myself! And then there's his structuring of the piece and ordering of questions as he builds a story for his readers. All in all, he's taught me a lot!

Here's a brief snippet:

"...Paul: Where does the poem begin?

Matthew: My poems begin with the truth. They then reach out for an authenticity that lies far beyond the truth, aiming to generate a jolt of recognition in their readers."

To read the interview in full, just follow this link to Paul's site.

A Demand and a Promise

Being a HappenStance subscriber makes you feel part of a community: newletters turn up, full of chat, info and opinion, while a regular flow of pamphlets invites you to discover new names. And then there are the occasional surprises. Like the recent unexpected arrival of A Demand and a Promise, an essay by Helena Nelson, HappenStance editor. Subtitled A poetry manifesto, it's a six page text that homes in on a key issue in contemporary poetry: the lack of readers.

There are lots of thriving creative writing groups, M.A.s and Phds, lots of people wanting to be poets and seeking publication, lots of working poets who need students to keep their courses running and mortgages paid, lots of funding applications, but we're short on readers, and readers are our life-blood. Here are a couple of quotes from the concluding lines to Helena Nelson's essay:

"...If you want to write poetry, you can do exactly what you like. - just throw your text into the ring. But you will need readers, if the poems are to have a chance of being read and remembered. And a good and loyal reader is harder to find than a poet...."

"...Readers of poetry have lost confidence, and therefore poetry has lost readers. Many people don't know what to make of the current cacophony of alleged "poems" all competing for attention. Some wonderful pieces of writing get lost in the hubbub, and there are many bluffers. But if we could change the focus by looking at each poem as no more and no less than a demand for close attention, coupled with a promise of something durable and valuable, perhaps everyone would feel empowered..."

I'm at the front of the queue to sign up to Nell's manifesto. What about you?

Emma Lee reviews The Knives of Villalejo for London Grip

Emma Lee has written a generous and keenly attuned review of The Knives of Villalejo for London Grip, picking up on cultural and linguistic tensions that run through the collection, coming to the following conclusion:

"At face value, these are gentle poems that wear their craft lightly; but a second look reveals their identifiable truths. Like a good wine, Matthew Stewart’s poems have a long finish."

You can read the review in full here.

The Poets' Republic

The Poets' Republic is a relatively new print-based poetry journal from Scotland. Amid the mass of verse out there, it's always great to see a magazine that's clear on its aesthetic, poetic, political and social stance from the outset, as The Poets' Republic makes clear in its name and striking front covers, such as this one:

This cover is from Issue Five. I only picked up my contributor's copy a couple of weeks ago (my first publication of new material since The Knives of Villalejo came out) and I was pleased to see my work alongside the likes of Helena Nelson, Colin Dardis, Sally Festing and Marcia Mentor, etc.

The only current fly in the ointment is that I've just seen a post from The Poets' Republic on Facebook to the effect that Issue Five has already sold out! Still, it's definitely a magazine to bear in mind either for a subscription from Issue Six onwards or for a submission to that same issue when the window opens in mid-April 2018. You can read more on their website here.

Abegail Morley reviews The Knives of Villalejo

I've long admired Abegail Morley's verse and her site, The Poetry Shed, so I'm especially pleased and grateful to see her outstanding review of The Knives of Villalejo posted there today. While over at the Poetry Shed, I thoroughly recommend you have a lengthy browse through the treasure trove of original poems, features and reviews in its archive.