No time this week (and I think writing this at 8.30m on a Monday should still be allowed to count as last week), so I’ll be brief.
I took my daughter to see boygenius at Gunnersbury Park yesterday. The day was a sort of mini festival with Soak, Ethel Cain, Muna ad boygenius playing.
For those unaware, boygenius are a “supergroup” (and a super group) of Phoebe Bridgers, Lucy Dacus and Julien Baker. I am a fan of all three in their own rights, and they’ve made two lovely records together that I commend to thee as well as 2 or 3 albums each that I also commend to thee.
I’d introduced Flo to Phoebe and Julien’s work a while ago and we were meant to go and see Phoebe Bridgers together last year, but it fell when I got the Covids, so I couldn’t go. Despite feeling like the oldest persons there by about 20 years the day was a wonderful day out with a nice sense of community and people looking out for each other.
I am writing all of this here as the last song on the boygenius album is called Letter To An Old Poet (they played it towards the end of their set yesterday). Obviously that has echoes of Rilke.
While I can’t make a leap from boygenius to Rilke, This week I have been reading issue 46 of The Dark Horse. To cut a long story short, it’s a tribute issue to Douglas Dunn in his 80th year, and a poem that pops up repeatedly in the contributors’ recollections and comments is Friendship of Young Poets—not sure this a a sanctioned link/publication of the poem, but have a look if you don’t know it. I didn’t, having only read Elegies and bits of Terry Street. I will be working my way through the lad’s catalogue now though.
After a week where there’s been some fractiousness in what we can loosely call “poetry world”, or at least a small corner of it, a line like “the friendship of poets,/ mysterious,[…]” seems apt enough for me, and a good place to end.
A reminder of the small announcement ahead of a bigger announcement
One thing to come out of the NWR thing is that they asked if they could make reference to my book’s title and release date. I am overjoyed to be able to say the book is called Collecting The Data and it will be out on 7th November. There will be a launch reading on the same day alongside some excellent poets.
More on all of this later, probably when I have a cover to show you and a link for ordering, but for now, get the 7th in your diary. See you there.
A Song that is in some vague way linked to something above
THE LAST WEEK IN STATS
HEALTH STATS
15K running. slow week running as long week at work. Must get back to a rhythm.
1 day without cigarettes…(fell off the wagon yesterday after 5 days)
0 days since drinking.
LIFE STATS
1 work planning afternoon
1 gig with Flo: Soak, Ethel Cain, Muna and boygenius
POET STATS
0 loose ideas/articles gathered
0 poem finished:
0 poem worked on:
0 poems committed to the reject pile
0 submissions:
0 withdrawal:
0 acceptances:
0 Longlisting:
0 readings:
0 rejection:
18 poems are currently out for submission. No simultaneous subs
94 Published poems
Reviews
1 review finished:Luke Samuel Yates
0 reviews started:
1 review submitted: Luke Samuel Yates
0 review to write: FINALLY!!!
READ/SEEN/HEARD/ETC
Music
r= Radio, A = Audiobook, P=Podcast. The rest is music
Rob Moose: Inflorescence
The Move: Looking On
Girl Ray: Prestige
Julie Byrne: Rooms With Walls and Windows
Sheryl Crow: C’mon, C’mon
The Archers (P)
Dropsonde Playlist
Gladie: Don’t know what you’re in until you’re out
REM: Monster
The Clientele: Strange Geometry, Suburban Light, The Violet Hour
Gladie: Safe Sins
The Wolfgang Press: Bird Cage Wood
Read
Graham Mort: Cusp
Poetry Wales
Jo Haslam: Lunar Moths
Luke Samuel Yates: Flemish Primitives
Watched
The Traitors
The Bear
Star Wars: Last Jedi, Rise of Skywalker
Look Around You
Crocodile Dundee
WWC: Spain Vs England
Ordered/Bought
Tickets to my friend Het’s play
Arrived
Kling Strip
Early Doors Beer
Luke Samuel Yates: Flemish Primitives
Robert Hamberger: Rule of Earth.
New Welsh Review
Wear The Fox Hat 
I THINK you forgot to give a location for your ‘Collecting The Data’ launch on the seventh of November. (That bit of data was missing.) So here’s a link, so that your thousands of fans can find the venue in due course and come along. They can collect a copy of ‘Collecting The Data’ later and get the boy genius to sign it:
https://www.happenstancepress.com/index.php/events
Pingback: Poetry Blog Digest 2023, Week 33 – Via Negativa