Congrats to Rogue Strands alumni and my fellow Red Squirrel, Suzanna Fitzpatrick, for winning Newcastle University’s 2024 Chancellor’s Poetry Prize.
More importantly, get well soon Sheila Wakefield.
Earlier this week, I discussed attending an Arsenal game at Highbury years ago—I’m pretty sure it was Blackburn in the FA Cup, and how we saw the actor Paul Kaye in the beer garden of a pub afterwards. Imagine, then, my surprise a few minutes ago when I walked into the living room to see my wife watching Shardlake – featuring one Paul Kaye. Spooky.
My long term reader(s) will know how I like a tenuous connection here. So buckle in as we (sort of) have another coming up
I’ve been thinking about getting myself fitter, and more organised. The first part is being addressed by running more and I bought some weights to try and help with the rest of that…There are some shirts I would like to be less snug, to not “fit where they touch” as my mum would say (and still does). I need to work out a routine to work out but I plan to be “ripped” by the summer. I suspect the weights will gradually end up as stuff gathering dust, but for now I am hopeful of them becoming useful…
On the second part, last week I wrote down all the drafts and notes I had laying about in order to get a sense of what I have to work with. It’s a start, I’m not sure I’ll get to the rest of my life for a while, but it seemed to kick start two new drafts, so I’m happy there.
I’ve also been thinking about old poems that could be worked on to revive what could have been a good a good idea with bad execution. One such poem is one called ‘Souvenirs’; it’s about accumulated stuff, old coins, postcards, things slung in drawers as keepsakes, etc. It was written as a much younger man, and I think I could do it more justice now, but I’ve shifted that back down the pile as a result of reading this week’s chosen poem.
I told you I’d won a copy of Will Burns’ natural burial ground a while back (and that this lead to Pear Rust appearing in Caught By The River. Well, I’ve been reading natural burial ground in the last week or so, and knew straight away I’d want to feature one of Will’s poems here. His writing is the sort of nature writing that I’d love to be able to master. Despite being a country lad, I’ve lived in London for so long now I think I’m more urban than rural…the countryside hasn’t leaked into or appeared in my work as much as I’d like. I’ve not quite got the edgelands into my work in the same way either. This is not to say that is all Will does, far from it, but when reading a new writer I am simultaneously reading for enjoyment and education…the ‘how do they do that?‘ part. It’s also fair to say that the poem I’ve chosen isn’t one of his ‘nature’ poems.
Let’s have the poem and then the connections.
Things
Life isn’t stuff,
Or so you might say, after your year
Of during over, cataloguing, clearing
Someone else’s clutter.
We’ve already too much,
Or too many—books, say, or bottles—to bear.
At the same time (and so little of that!) fearing
For who exactly will deal with all of this ‘us’
We’ll leave behind when we’re no longer here.
+++++++++++++++++
Shared with permission of Will Burns. Taken from natural burial ground, published by Corsair Poetry, 2024.
There’s a glorious matter of factness here, but also a deceptive simpleness to it. Beneath the surface there is the incredible impact of loss, of going through someone else’s belongings. Add to that the feeling of ageing, of worrying when it will become your turn to have your belongings sorted through, separated into piles for charity shops, keeping, binning, etc.
The poem hits a little more this week after seeing a presentation at work about the squeezed middle age, how we are raising children and supporting ageing parents (This is not new news, but I was reminded of it), my mum has been telling me of late how she is sorting through stuff and clearing out old stuff at her bungalow—the box of photos that’s been in the loft for ages is next, apparently. And last night a friend of mine told me he’d finally sold his now departed parents’ house after two years. I recall him sorting through all their stuff a couple of years ago. Another friend lost his dad this week, and while the sorting is a while off yet, it’s still on my mind.
Beyond all that, look at how the poem works. The rhymes of ‘clearing’ and ‘fearing’, and ‘year’ and ‘bear’ speaking to each other between stanzas, and the way the final line adds weight to that “conversation”. I love the “us” in the penultimate line. It could possibly have ended on “this”, but the ‘us’ is there mainly to get us to the final line, but the inverted commas and the emphasis of breaking the line after “us” helps to reinforce the idea that the things we accumulate aren’t us… Will we allow the half-rhymes of the ‘much’ and ‘stuff’, and clutter vs ‘this ‘us”? I think we should.
And, at the same time as the poem is doing all of this reminding us it’s what we remember of life and how we are remembered that count, it also manages to chuck in aside to remind us that time is short. Not bad for 9 lines.
Now, when I wanted to share a poem from Will’s book, I contemplated the one we have, and another couple. One of these was ‘River Rise’, which is a tribute to the late, great Mark Lanegan. I’m sure you’re well aware of Mark’s history as singer in Screaming Trees, and his subsequent work as a solo artist/collaborator with anyone that would have him. And with a voice like his, why wouldn’t you? You can read ‘River Rise’ here. You should go and listen to Mark on the song the gave the poem its name.
I also nearly chose Will’s poem ‘Dolphins’ because a) it’s ace, and b) it mentions Beth Orton’s cover of the Fred Neil song. That song is found on Beth’s Best Bit Ep, and I have long loved that record, and Beth’s version has the much missed Terry Callier* on too. This live version is lovely.
But no, we went with the above poem. However, it was a close run thing..River Rise nearly got the nod because on Thursday evening I met a newish friend to go to a poetry reading**. Before the reading we went for a drink and I found out that Mike had been in a band. He said you’ll not have heard of them, but when he told me they were called Embassy, I assured him that I had heard of them, and that I recalled their work appearing on a cassette (remember those) that came free with Melody Maker (remember that) alongside a song by The Afghan Whigs***.
You’ll be aware how much I love the Whigs…And you’ll, of course, be aware that Whigs singer/band leader Greg Dulli was close friends with Mark Lanegan. And that they worked together in a band called The Gutter Twins, as well as on Greg’s side project, The Twilight Singers.
And then when you factor in that today is the 7th anniversary of The Whig’s In Spades album, and that I gave a copy of The Whigs’ last album How Do You Burn to another mate called Mike a couple of weeks ago. And the title How Do You Burn was given to Greg by….Yes, Mark Lanegan…Well, quite frankly I don’t know how I resisted the connection.
Now go, buy Will’s books. Listen to Mark Lanegan, Beth Orton, The Afghan Whigs, The Twilight Singers, and then whatever else you fancy. Buy Harry Man’s books and those of the other readers (or whatever others you fancy). Have an excellent Bank Holiday.
*Terry’s What Colour is Love album is one of the first records Rachael played me when we met **coughs** years ago.
**It was the launch of Harry Man’s new collection, Popular Song. Harry, and the other readers were all excellent (Tiffany Anne Tondut, Michael Brown****, Tom Weir & Matt Bryden ). I bought far too many books…I regret nothing.
*** I may be mis-remembering this, but don’t let that get in the way
**** I note Michael is working on a PHD about John Glenday, and I really want to read that.
Songs that seems appropriate
THE LAST **Cough** WEEKS IN STATS
HEALTH STATS
15K running. All running. Knee improving! Runs have been pain free. Early days, but encouraging..Just need to get my lung capacity up. Third 10K since October today + 5 yesterday. Weather and work, etc curtailed more this week
1 x work outs to build some core strength.
1 days without cigarettes…
0 days since drinking
1 bouts of insomnia
LIFE STATS
1 Pecha Kucha-style presentation at work
1 BBQ with friends yesterday – brave…
1 reading watched in town with excellent people
1 trip to see Battersea Power Station today. Bit too retail for me now, but the inside looked amazing (shops aside)
POET STATS
0 loose ideas/articles gathered:
0 poem finished:
2 poem worked on: CIA Handbook, Faith
0 poems committed to the reject pile
Submissions:
Acceptances:
Longlisting:
0 readings
0 reading attended:
Rejections: Propel
19 poems are currently out for submission. 1 simultaneous sub
108 Published poems (including what’s in the book)
0 book sold
3 poems written and finished this year
1 batch out for 52 weeks…I note it’s only 32 weeks past the deadline they say, so that’s fine.
REVIEWS
0 review finished:
0 reviews started:
0 review submitted:
2 reviews to write:
READ/SEEN/HEARD/ETC
Music
r= Radio, A = Audiobook, P=Podcast. The rest is music
Lucy Rose: This Ain’t the way You Go Out
Bully: SUGAREGG, Losing
My Morning Jacket: Z, MMJ, It Still Moves
Booker Ervin: The Space Book
Oren Armbachi: III
My Bloody Valentine: Loveless
The Archers (P)
Neil Young; Hawks & Doves, Zuma
The Cure: Disintegration (Christ, it’s 35 years old this week), ANNIVERSARY
Craig Finn Podcast (Scott Levene and Mat Osman) (P)
Blind Boy Podcast: Donal Ryan (P)…This is a great hour and a half on creativity and voice
The National: Laugh Track
Kieth Jarrett: GI Gurdjieff, Sacred Hymns
Camera Obscura: Look To The East…
Dropsonde Playlist
Jessica Pratt: Here Is The Pitch, On Your Own Love Again
Mark Lanegan: Whisky For The Holy Ghost
Beth Orton: Weather Alive
Read
Eleanor Catton: Birnham Wood
Michael Laskey: Tightrope Weddings
Rory Waterman: Come Here To This Gate
Watched
Blue Lights
Fargo
Batman: Dark Knight Rises
Ordered/Bought
Harry Man: Popular Song
Tom Weir: Ruin
Michael Brown: Right of Way, Where Grown Men Go
Matt Bryden: The Glassblower’s House
Some black trousers
Lavinia Greenlaw: The Vast Extent
New DMs
Arrived
New DMs
Vik Pickup: the Omniscient Tooth Fairy
Lavinia Greenlaw: The Vast Extent
Wear The Fox Hat 