The Dels

It’s been quite the week at work, and it’s left me bereft of much energy for anything else, so this will be brief.

Mid-week I attended a reading put on by the folks at Seren, Jonathan Edwards and Gillian Clarke both read wonderfully, as well as a host of open mic folks. I had totally missed the invitation to take part in the open mic, so missed my chance to say I’ve shared a bill with those two. One day perhaps!! I am at least two books behind on Gillian’s work, so I’d best do something about that.

I do miss reading aloud to people. I can’t imagine we’ll be doing a Rogue Strands night for a while yet, sadly, but I have bagged a slot at a Zoom-based evening of poetry that’s been organised by my local beer shop. A perfect combination for me, I reckon…Who knew, but one of the chaps that works there is also a poet.

Friday night, I watched Derek Mahon, The Poetry Nonsense on BBC two. I am ashamed to say I don’t know much about Mahon, other than how well he is/was respected. I have a selected Mahon by my bedside ready to read, so I will get there eventually, but he came across as an interesting if troubled soul in this doc. I think, however, it was leaving a lot more out about the man. I guess that may come out when I get to the poems.

I think the doc will be on the iPlayer for a while yet..get yerself over there and get it watched.

However, before I bugger off to get on with cooking dinner I shall leave you with a quote from a book that is t the top of my reading pile, eg I am reading at the mo…It’s also another Derek, the mighty Derek Walcott. I saw this opening to one of his poems last night and it seems apt for the world as it stands at present.

“The starved eye devours the seascape for the morsel
Of a sail.

The horizon threads it infinitely.”

They are the opening lines from ‘The Castaway” and have made me desperate for the smell of salt in my nostrils, they’ve made me desperate to get back to the coast of Norfolk, but I’ll settle for something outside of the streets of Beckenham.

Christ, I want to go to Walcott, Derek.

THE WEEK IN STATS

23.5k running – Given I wasn’t actually planning to run this week I will take that. I even went out this morning just as Storm Darcy was sending down the first snowflakes. Next week I start training properly, so this week was good to keep a foot in the game.

0 day of 2 x 7-minute workouts, but the above means I don’t feel so bad

80 days of insults between my friend and me on Twitter. He started it.

1 x rejections: Spelt

0 x acceptances

1 poem worked on: Berlin

0 poems finished:

1 new Submissions: Poetry Wales

33 poems currently out for submission

58 Published poems*:

44 Poems* finished by unpublished

31 poems* in various states of undress

554 Rejected poems* Eg I’ve decided they are not good enough

0 Reviews* written. 2 still to do though, so must crack on

1 month, 1 week without cigarettes..Minor crack midweek, but it doesn’t count

0 days without drinking. Cracked with 4 hours to go last Sunday. I loved it.

1 more week that I’m not having an affair with Eva Green

* To date, not this week. Christ!!

TITLE GIVEAWAY

Wonky Furniture

READ/SEEN/HEARD/ETC

Read
Derek Walcott: Selected Poems
Poetry Salzburg
Kae Tempest: On Connection

Music
Barry McGuire: Star Folk
Fiona Apple: Fetch The Bolt Cutters
Easy love: Wander Feeler
Siouxsie & The Banshees: Hyaena
Sonna: We Sing Loud Sing Soft Tonight
Dodgy: What Are We Fighting For?
Do Make Say Think: Stubborn Persistent Illusions, The Whole Story of Glory
Math & Physics Club: I Shouldn’t Look As Good As I Do
Mazes: Ores & Minerals, Wooden Aquarium, A Thousand Heys
Chick Graning: MT
The Chemical Brothers: Born In The Echoes, Come With Us, Dig Your Own Hole, Do It Again, Electronic Battle Weapon, Exit Planet Dust, Further, Loops of Fury, No Geography, Push The Button, Surrender, Theme From Velodrome, We Are The NightDust
Black Country, New Road: For the first time
One Little Plane; into The Trees
Sun June; Somewhere
Kikagaku Moyo: Masana Temples

TV/Film
Ted Lasso E7-10
Call My Agent S1 E2-4
Derek Mahon: The Poetry Nonsense

Zooms, etc
Seren First Thursday Reading Featuring Jonathan Edwards, Gillian Clarke and Open Mic

Radio/Podcasts
The Archers
Poetry Planet; With Charlotte Gann

Arrived
The latest issue of Stand
Steven Blyth books x 2 – sent back to me

Ordered
Nothing