Off The Charts

Running out of steam sure takes it out of you.

Jury service came to an end this week, and it was hard work…It’s not a case I want to discuss now that it’s over, but suffice to say it wasn’t a very pleasant one. I think we, the jury, made the right decision in the end, and my conscience is clear, but even so.

I’m writing this with some sort of jet lag running through my veins. I thought I was ok after yesterday’s Tier 4 announcements, but I can’t have been as I couldn’t sleep last night, so I am somehow functioning (as best as I can) with about 2 hours sleep under my belt.

I am very pleased I am now off work until the new year; I feel like the cumulative effects of the stresses and strains of this tear and then my time in court have utterly wrung me out, and that a long break is what’s needed. The Xmas shopping has been done, 99.9% of it wrapped and ready. Just one thing to arrive and wrap and it’s all done.

Despite me actually getting cards from a couple of people that I never get cards from, I’ve not sent cards this year – perhaps we should have, but it just didn’t seem important.

Charts n grafs ( a nod to Grandaddy)

I’ve seen a few ends of year posts floating about this week, and some debates about the idea of increased submissions, aiming for the magic 100 rejections etc. I think if you want to go down that road that’s fine, but it’s not for me. It was discussed well and far more intelligently on Robin Houghton & Peter Kenny’s podcast, Planet Poetry, and so I’d urge you to listen to that, but then I’d urge you to listen to it anyway. I’ve not played the latest one yet, but that’s tomorrow’s job…

However, I did start doing its last year, so I’m carrying on now. An acceptance last week means I have now equalled my acceptances for 2019, which had been a record year, so I think that counts as a good. I’d like to think in some way this post is also tempting the gods and that the remaining subs (30 poems across 7 locations) will come in with acceptances now just to mess up my charts *Prays*.

What’s interesting (to me) is that it’s the same number of acceptances with a significantly lower number of poems sent out and to fewer places (36 vs 47, uncharted), but the success rate has increased from 9% to 12%…

I’d like to say this has something to do with me boxing clever about my subs and the quality of my poems increasing, and I hope that’s true, but I can’t say that as it’s not for me to say. I think I’ve certainly aimed at some places I didn’t think I’d get in, and on most occasions I was correct, but there were a few where it was a hit and hope and I “connected”. More of that in 2021 please, but I suspect it will only get harder.

THE WEEK IN STATS

39.2k running – I’ve re-adjusted my annual target, so I can’t ease off. 52K more to do between now and the end of the year to hit 1000 miles.

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

0 x rejections: All good.

0 x acceptance

0 poems worked on.

0 poems finished:

0 Submissions:

0 Reviews written and submitted. 3 to do though, so must crack on

1 month and 6 days without cigarettes…I think. If we discount last week, and let’s do that

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

TITLE GIVEAWAY

Wrapping Paper
Tinsel Your Soul

READ/SEEN/HEAR/ETC

Read
Nothing…absolutely nothing

Music
Dezron Douglas & Brandee Younger: Force Mature
Late Night Final: A Wonderful Hope
Paul McCartney: McCartney I, McCartney II, Memory Almost Full
The Idle Race: The Birthday Party
Laura Veirs: My Echo, Warp & Weft, Carbon Glacier, Year Of Meteors, The Lookout, July Flame

TV/Film
BSG S4 E7-8
Queen’s Gambit E5-7
Battlestar Galactica S4 E6-8
Fear of Walking Dead S5 E1-5

Zooms, etc
The North #64+65 launch
Laura Viers Patreon Gig

Radio/Podcasts
The Archers

Arrived
A record for Flo
My mate Mike’s Xmas Present
Kostya Tsolakis – Ephebos

Ordered
A record for Flo
My mate Mike’s Xmas Present

(T)weedy Posts

A swift post this week…A week of being on jury service has somewhat spannered me, and also left me with almost no idea what’s going on around me.

Luckily, before the flurry of publications last week, I’d seen this article from Jeff Tweedy (He of Jeff Tweedy – solo performer, Wilco, Uncle Tupelo, etc fame*)

I think it’s definitely worth reading the whole article. It’s a five minute read, tops, but I very much like this section on Craft vs Inspiration.

“Let’s talk more about what we call “inspiration”. It’s overrated. I believe that you have to invite inspiration in. I’ve found that most people who have a fulfilling life in art are, like me, the people who work at it every day and put the tools of creation in their hands frequently, who not only invite inspiration in but also do it on a regular basis. Instead of waiting to be “struck” by inspiration, they put themselves directly in its path. Pick up a guitar, and you’re much more likely to write a song. Pick up a pencil … etc.

There’s little doubt in my mind that because I do so much of that planned, methodical thinking in which I put the tools of inspiration in my own hands – a guitar, a pencil, a computer – I’ve trained my subconscious to always be working a little bit. Because I’ve already cleared the pathway and tended that pathway, kept it open and remained receptive to it, by practice.

But beyond that, once you get started, how much is inspiration and how much is craft?”

Hopefully I can put myself back in the path after next week.

* I note he’s also released a book of poetry called Adult Head, but musicians and books of poetry don’t tend to make comfortable bedfellows, so I’m not going to attempt to read it.

THE WEEK IN STATS

51.3k running – Sorted and gone beyiond weekly target, sorted and gone beyond annual target. December half marathion sorted. Now to rest for a couple of days..

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

0 x rejections: All good.

0 x acceptance –

0 poems worked on.

0 poems finished:

0 Submissions:

0 Reviews written and submitted. 3 to do though, so must crack on

1 month and 6 days without cigarettes…I think. If we discount one blip, and let’s do that

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

TITLE GIVEAWAY

Astral Turf

READ/SEEN/HEAR/ETC

Read
Daniel Bennett: West South North North South East

Music
Booker T & The M.Gs: McLemore Avenue
Trembling Blue Stars; Broken by WhispersEITS Live
Sir Lord Baltimore: Kingdom ComeLee Fields & The Expressions: Big Crown Vaults Vol.1
Laura Veirs: My EchoJessica Pratt: On Your Own Love Again
Wilco: Ode To Joy

TV/Film
The Undoing E2-6
Fear The Walking Dead – S5E1
The Queen’s Gambit E1-3

Zooms, etc
ITV Audiences Xmas Party
Finished Creatures Issue 3 & 4 launch (assuming it goes ahead as I’m writing this—such as it is— a day early)

Radio/Podcasts
Planet Poetry #2+4

Arrived
Orbis 193-194
Mike Barlow x 4
Box of Beer from the lovely folks at Research Bods
Part of R’s Xmas present
Flo’s Xmas Present

Ordered
Mike Barlow x 3
Kostya Tsolakis: Ephebos
Flo’s Xmas present
Gift for R

It’s (almost) the End of the (working)Year (as I know it) and I feel finest

Leonard Bernstein!!!

Last week was something of a busy week, I have almost no idea what happened in the world outside at all…something about vaccines and Brexit. A combination of impending Jury Service in Croydon next week (who is being sentenced here??) and the need to use up holiday days at work meant that the Friday just gone was technically my last day at work for this year. This meant a “mega-fuckload”* of work needed doing in order to get things wrapped up. I think I’ve done most of it, and I will still need to be checking in on things in between sentencing old ladies to the death penalty for minor traffic offences**.

It feels very odd to be done for the year with three weeks to go, but I guess I’m not. I’ve still got to go to court, etc, but after the last 9 months at home and the breakneck pace of work since then, I’m quite looking forward to having to actually get up and go somewhere, even if it is Croydon***.

The manicness of it all has meant that I was thoroughly remiss in not mentioning that the lovely Ben Banyard was kind enough to invite me to send him a poem for his new series/feature on his blog called Finest. The idea being a poet sends in what they think to be a great piece of work, or something they feel has been overlooked.

I went with something more akin to the latter. Ben, as I’m sure you know, used to run Clear Poetry, and Clear was one of the places that first accepted my work. One of the poems Clear accepted was a poem called Slarver (Norfolk for talking a load of old shite, and nearly the title for this site, fact fans). The story behind why I chose to give Ben Slarver again is on the site, so get yourself over there. Do read the others, there are some fascinating and heartbreaking stories. Also, keep your eyes peeled for his latest collection, Hi-Vis which should be out next year.

The manicness also meant that my plans/routine/lockdown ritual/whatever of writing for 30+ minutes before work also went out of the window this week, so while I’ve not so much as looked at a poem this week it has been a good week for publications.

The lovely ladies, (Holly and Claire – wonderful poets in their own right) at Atrium published my poem Sparklers at the start of the week. Sparklers is a poem that has been hanging around in notebooks in one form or another for about 20 years. It took the chance seeing of a work colleague on a train station platform (they were standing on a platform going one way, I was behind the glass of a train going the other way) to jumpstart what eventually became this version.

I sent this to Atrium last year and it came back with a note saying how much they liked it, but it felt like it needed to be published in December and they were full for December 2019. I sat, patiently and waited until earlier this year to send it, and some others, in again. This time they were powerless to resist, and I am very grateful. Not least because they publish so many great poems – the Angela Readman poem before mine is awesome, but also because it gives me a chance to use this picture.

Spud, you like?

Later in the week the publishing gods kept on giving, as the Winter issue of The High Window was published, featuring two poems of mine: ‘Selling The Trampoline’, and ‘A Short Survey’. I’m still working my way through it at present, but there are some wonderful poets surrounding me. Simon Richey is one – I have his collection ‘Naming The Tree’ on my shelves, and there’s a poem of his that caused me to buy it. I wish I could remember what it was, but I loved it and it wasn’t in the book, so I hope he gets a new collection out so I can hopefully be reminded.

Both of the poems of mine are ones I really like, Trampoline feels like more of a summer poem to me, but A Short Survey is one I wanted to get right, somehow combining the day job with my writing. I think it’s a vein to explore further, but I’m not going to force it. Both these poems took several drafts and rethinkings to get to this stage.

As ever, come for my poems and stay for the others.

The final gift from the poetry gods this week has been what I think is the fastest ever move from a first draft to final draft to acceptance. I finished the second draft of a poem last week, and after running it by a voice I trust, I sent it off yesterday for consideration towards a chapbook/anthology. I woke up to the acceptance email this morning. While the idea for the poem came in the middle of this summer, I didn’t write anything until two weeks ago, so that’s positively sprinter-level stuff for me.

In a week (if you squint and don’t look at the date of Ben publishing ‘Slarver’) where two places I’ve been published before have taken poems, it’s worth noting that another of the first places to take my work has reached a milestone.

Happy 25th anniversary to Snakeskin Poetry. I think George was the first to take a proper poem of mine back in 2013, my poem about a Knife Thrower’s Assistant. (I’ve subsequently re-written this poem, but having just looked at it again I can see it needs more work before sharing it). He’s also taken another poem in the last couple of years about a person that can’t stop growing…

What an achievement staying open for 25 years is, so congratulations to Snakeskin, and may they continue to keep shedding skins and growing.

Finally, I’d like to draw your attention to the annual tradition of Matthew Stewart’s list of top poetry blogs for 2020 (in his opinion). I’m very honoured to be included for the second year running, but I think the bit I always look out for is the new additions, and Matthew’s highlighted a couple I think I will be reading for a long time.

Have a look over here for the full list. It’s not in order of importance, but I’m saying I won it.

* Technical term
** Obvs, I won’t. Just life sentences
***Just joking, as much as I dislike driving through**** Croydon I don’t mind the place.
**** I like driving back out even more

THE WEEK IN STATS

22k running – Didn’t make my weekly target, but felt the need to sleep in today. 35K to go to hit my entirely arbitrary goal of 1500 Km for the year.

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

0 x rejections: All good.

1 x acceptance – 1 poem

0 poems worked on.

0 poems finished:

3 Submissions: Spelt and Dreich

1 Review written and submitted. 2 to do though, so must crack on

29 days without cigarettes (and one blip on Friday night)

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

TITLE GIVEAWAY

Klaus Gnomic
Avant-Garden Centre
Fly-Tipping By JR Hartley

READ/SEEN/HEAR/ETC

Read
Daniel Bennett: West South North North South East

Music
Matthew Halsall: Sending my Love, Oneness
Taylor Swift: Folklore-The Long Pond Sessions
Grandaddy: The Sophtware Slump, Sumday, Under The Western Freeway, Just like The Family Cat, Last Place
Cafe Racer: Shadow Talk
Explosions In The Sky: Live, The Earth Is Not A Cold Dead Place, How Strange, Innocence
Great Lake Swimmers: ST
Greg Dulli: Random Desire
Hop Along: Painted Shut
Hurray For the Riff Raff: The Navigator
Ian Broudie: Tales Told
J Mascis: Elastic Days
James Iha: Be Strong Now
Josh T Pearson: Last of The Country Gentlemen
The Orielles: Silver Dollar Moment
The Beatles: Abbey Road, The Beatles, Beatles For Sale, A Hard Day’s Night, Help, Let It be, Magical Mystery Tour, Non Album Singles, Please Please Me, Revolver, Rubber Soul, Sgt Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band, Yellow Submarine
The National: Alligator, Boxer
Postal Service: Everything Will Change
Kaitlyn Aurelia Smith: Mosaic of Transformation
Jeremy Cunningham : The Weather Up Here
British Sea Power: Open Season
Sae Higashi: Klangfarben

TV/Film
The Boys: S2E8
The Undoing E1
The Christmas Prince (NB Flo’s choice, utter bobbins)

Zooms, etc
PBLJ #5 Launch

Radio/Podcasts
The Archers
Planet Poetry #1 and 2

Ordered
A running hat

Arrived
Finished Creatures #4
Orbis 194
Mona Arshi: Dear Big Gods
Poetry Wales #57
A running hat

Darth’s Grandbag

I woke up this morning(for the second time*) to the sad news of Dave Prowse’s death. Yes, Darth Vader (and the Green Cross Code man) has left us, having looked upon us with his own eyes one last time.

I know his own voice wasn’t used in Star Wars, and instead, we got the wonderful deep tones of James Earl Jones, but Vader (and therefore Prowse) has been a part of my life for a long time—pretty much since I was born.

As an aside, my friend reminded me of this work of over-dubbing genius earlier.

I’m not particularly big on cinema. I don’t really know what I’m talking about and wouldn’t claim to be well-watched by any stretch of the imagination. I watched a lot of films as a youth, but nothing particularly highbrow. We had a VHS player my uncle had given us (he’s bet his boots on LaserDiscs being the format winner) and that came with 20 tapes…One of which was Return Of The Jedi, but there was also Kelly’s Heroes, Where Eagles Dare, Midnight Express and Poltergeist. I didn’t understand Midnight Express at all (I was about 10), but the other three I loved and they have stayed with me. Two of my oldest friends did fall for cinema in a big way and became obsessed, but I stuck with music and books.

It was interesting to see, then, this week this post by Jess Mookherjee about the crossover between poetry and cinema, and in this case between Interstellar and Dylan Thomas. We’ll skip over the representation of poets in films and also films about poets.

It’s also giving me the chance to do a little bit of self-promotion for a podcast I’m part of with my friends Simon and Jon (mentioned earlier). The podcast is called Grandbag’s Funeral, and the idea is we link films together in a sort of six degrees of Kevin Bacon way, and, while in this latest episode we did feature Kevin Bacon, we won’t use him as a link because that’s kind of cheating.

Other Platforms are available

The latest episode sees us discussing Tremors, Big Trouble In Little China and Robert Altman’s Short Cuts. All three are excellent films in their own ways. It was a joy to discuss them, it’s not always the case with these discussions—for example, the episode where we discussed Dune was a “joy”. Short Cuts feels especially pertinent at the moment, a city in lockdown because of an unseen menace, tensions boiling over within families, etc…

However, the reason for bringing it up, beyond the self-promotion (and please note as the non-cinephile, I am there largely to play the idiot to Jon and Simon’s much considered and experienced voices) is that Short Cuts is based on the writings of Raymond Carver and draws from his poem, Lemonade. I don’t know much about Carver’s work, and even less about his poems, but I know his poem ‘Late Fragment’ and that seems like enough of a reason to keep digging.

Despite it being over 3 hours long (and I genuinely believe there should be a law against that) I highly recommend this film (and the others as well). And that you read Jess’ article. Oh yeah, and listen to all of the eps of Grandbag’s Funeral.

To make things a bit more cinematic, one of the poems I’ve been working on this week is based on/inspired by a scene from Blade Runner.

THE WEEK IN STATS

35k running – Made my weekly target…and 57K to go to hit my entirely arbitrary goal of 1500 Km for the year.

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

0 x rejections: All good.

1 x acceptance – 2 poems. (Fingers crossed, I won’t know for definite until the mag is published), This brings me to 14 accepted poems for the year, but I won’t make the charts yet…

3 poems worked on. Family Secrets, Fishing Exercise and the Blade Runner one. Title TBC on that one

2 poems finished: Family Secrets and Fishing Exercise

2 Submissions: TLS and New Statesman

0 Reviews written and submitted. 3 to do though, so must crack on

24 days without cigarettes…I think. Certainly haven’t this week. Weird, barely even thought of it. Maybe, just maybe this is the time…

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

TITLE GIVEAWAY

Astral Turf

READ/SEEN/HEAR/ETC

Read
Poetry Birmingham Literary Journal #5
Under The Radar #26

Music
Pixies: Live At Brixton 2.06.04
P.g. Lost – Oscillate
Phoebe Bridgers: Copycat Killer
Ride: Nowhere
The Elgins: The Motown Anthology
Howlin Rain: The Alligator Bride, Magnificent Fiend, Mansion Songs, The Russian Wilds
Luke Abbott: Translate
The New Pornographers: Whiteout Conditions, Twin Cinema
Brett Anderson: Black Rainbow, Slow Attack
Jeff Tweedy: Love Is the King, Showbiz Kids (OST), Together At Last, Warm, Warmer
Jessica Pratt: Quieter Signs
Jim Ghedi & Toby Hay: The Hawksworth Grove Sessions
The Hold Steady: Heaven Is Whenever
Kiasmos: ST
Matthew Halsall: Salute To The Sun, Colour Yes
Jacqueline Du Pre & Dame Janet Baker: Elgar Sea Pictures Op.37
VA – If I Had A Pair Of Wings: Jamaican Doo Wop Vol.3
Grateful Dead: From The Mars Hotel, Aoxomoaoa

TV/Film
The Boys S2E2-4
Battlestar Galactica S4E5
New Girl: S1 E12-15

Zooms, etc
A day long course on Advanced Semiotics

Radio/Podcasts
The Archers

Arrived
An end cap for Flo’s curtain rail
Stand 18.3

Ordered
Nothing

A tangentially linked song this week. Vangelis was in Aphrodite’s Child and he wrote the theme music for Blade Runner, but this is an epic bit of kit

Interested Parties

For the last couple of months, I’ve been carving out a minimum of half every weekday morning to work on my poems. I’ve enjoyed the time to focus (albeit initially with a slight annoyance that it took me 6 months of lockdown to get into this rhythm, but I’m over that now) and to a degree, I’m reaping some of the benefits in the sense of having written at least 5 poems I’d say are among my best (so far) and have revisited some older ones to improve them. One of the newer ones, while declined by a big mag (and editor/poet I have long been a fan of), came very close to publication.

Adding to that a lovely day yesterday and today celebrating my wife’s birthday, and coupling all of that with getting two of the five reviews I have to write out of the door this week has meant that a stressful and mentally demanding week has, on balance, been a good week.

However, it was when Rachael came upstairs to my little office midweek that the best bit of the week happened. She saw me writing a draft of a poem I’ve had floating about for years. I thought it was done but I went back to it to see if I could get it ready in time to submit to a web journal that had a limited submissions window. I didn’t manage to finish it in time, and the poems I did send were declined this week too, but that’s by the by.

Rach came up, placed a cup of tea by my notepad and saw the handwritten draft with my near illegible to anyone other than me handwriting on. When I draft I use stress (/) and unstressed (\) symbols to make sure I’m on the right track. It helps keep track of syllable counts (other methods are available and perfectly valid, of course). She looked at the scratches and scribbles, the crossings out and the symbols and declared in her most-matter-of-fact-way, “You just make marks on the page”.

I guess because the act of writing itself is very unglamorous, all that staring and then scribbling, then crossing out and staring some more, all that “burnt toast as Margret Atwood has it in the intro to one of her Selected Poems ( I have posted about it before, but can’t find it the noo), etc make it hard for a people to get a sense of what’s going on when we’re writing.

I know Rach is a cheerleader for my work and is pleased when I have any kind of success, but beyond that, she’s very hands-off. And I don’t for one second believe she (Rach, not Peggy Atwood) was being dismissive of my work, although for a second it sounded that way, however it did get me wondering how other people’s significant others see their work and/or process.

Do they take an interest, do they walk in while you’re working, do they leave you be to do it?

THE WEEK IN STATS

28k running – Slower week, but needed after last week’s excesses…

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

2 x rejections: All good.

3 poems worked on. Family Secrets

0 poems finished: See above

0 Submissions:

3 rejections: AOP, Spectator and Frogmore

2 Reviews written and submitted. One published

17 days without cigarettes…I think. Certainly haven’t this week. Weird, barely even thought of it. Maybe, just maybe this is the time…

1 Podcast Published The latest ep of Grandbag’s Funeral. It’s a good one where we talk about Short Cuts, Tremors and Big Trouble In Little China

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

TITLE GIVEAWAY

It’s Fabuluesday
We’ve All Been Ether
An Explosion In A Diary Factory

READ/SEEN/HEAR/ETC

Read
Maria Taylor: Dressing For The Afterlife
Matthew Stewart’s review of Maria Taylor’s Dressing For The Afterlife
Declan Ryan: Fighters, Losers
Ambit #241

Music
Brian Eno: Film Music
Pearl Jam: Backspacer, Binaural, Big Fish OST, Gigaton, Lightning Bolt, Merkinball, No Code, ST, Riot Act, Singles OST, Ten, Vitalogy, Yield, Live in New York 01.05.16
The Kandinsky Effect: ST
Mazzy Star: She Hangs Brightly
This Is the Kit: Off Off On
Kitchens of Distinction: Folly
Jonny Greenwood & VA: inherent Vice OST
Rahsaan Roland Kirk: The Case of the Three-Sided Dream In Audio Colour
Lucinda Williams: Happy Woman Blues
Doves: The Universal Want
Phoebe Bridgers: Punisher
El Ten Eleven: Tautology 2
Margo Price: That’s How Rumors Get Started
Erland Cooper: Hether Blether
Jason Isbell & the 400 Unit: Reunions
Lou Rawls: Silk & Soul
R.E.M: Monster
Mary Lattimore: Silver Ladders
Lake: RoundelayNadia Reid: Out Of My Province
Taylor Swift: Folklore
Sons of Kemet: Lest We Forget What We Came Here To Do
EOB: Earth

TV/Film
Masterchef
The Boys S1 E5-8, S2E1
Battlestar Galactica S4E 4-5

Zooms, etc
Grandbag’s Funeral

Radio/Podcasts
The Archers

Arrived
R’s birthday presents
Under The Radar

Ordered
A part to fix Flo’s curtain rail

Theme From Magnetto

My closest friend is always rebuking me for forgetting or misremembering stuff. I’m talking to him later on and I fully expect to be reminded of some detail from our shared past I’ve not remembered.

I don’t know about Eugene (He’s not called Eugene, by the way), but I pretty certain I’m missing a gene that allows me to remember things. I struggle to recall e.g. the scores of football matches from ten years ago (eg Ah, yeah that game where Eddie McGoldrick scored a glancing header in the 94th minute to clinch the game, etc*), or, for that matter, what I was going to say when is started this post. Did I come in here for my slippers? I don’t have slippers, so why would I do that?

I also struggle to remember poems or lines of poetry. I’d be dreadful if ever asked what’s your favourite poem, etc. I’m not saying the work of people that I’ve read is not memorable, I absolutely love it when I’m reading it and the sense of what I’m reading stays with me, but the actual lines are trickier. Even my own work is often a blur (and that’s possibly for the best). Is this the internet and the like making my short term memory rubbish? Who knows, but I’m pretty sure it was shocking before the internet became mainstream.

(Yes, I am old enough to remember this time…Flo is incredulous about this when I tell her. It wasn’t around when I was school or University for that matter, but I can remember using it for book orders after that when I worked at Bertram’s. Better stop with the brackets now)

Anyhoo, imagine my surprise this week when a poem came straight to mind, albeit not the actual lines immediately, but let’s not quibble.

I decided to start Tuesday off nicely, R had woken up in a bad mood and so I headed out to fetch us both a “fancy coffee from that new place” (NB, if you’re in Beckenham check out Shotsmiths). On the way there, I had Radio 4 on the car stereo and caught the start of a series called Nature Bang. Yes, it was me being lazy to drive there, but I was thinking about getting the coffee back while it was still warm.

Anyhoo, the episode was called Dog Poo and the Challenge of Navigation. I was nearly put off, not by the title, but the relentless cheeriness of the two presenters (Becky Ripley and Emma Knight). Not to cast aspersions on them, I’m sure they are lovely, but it was a bit much at that time of the day. However, I kept going and early doors the conversation was steered towards Sun compasses, Magnetoreception, and the way dung beetles can navigate by starlight.

And my tiny little mind went

NB Twyla was the unsung hero of this show

Not only was I reminded that I was convinced I did something similar when I used to get myself home from our village pub after a lock-in (or Friday as we liked to call it), but an actual poem leapt into my mind. And not just a poem, but a whole bloomin’ book.

See if you can guess how I made this amazing leap.

Image taken from the Cinnamon Press Website

I’m pretty sure I bought this book on a whim at a Poetry Book Fair a few years (5??) back, but I was reminded immediately of the wonderful first (and subsequent lines) line of the title poem.

Look at that for a first line. The last three syllables are all strong, but the iambics of “I track my treasure home on star beams, hide” (my italics) are lovely. However, what I love about this poem the most is the ending, not just the what is said, but also the what is said of being grateful for what we find, for what might turn up.

As far as I can tell, Sarah Watkinson hasn’t got any other collections or pamphlets out there, but I’m grateful for this one. Also, her website has what I assume is new work on there that I’m looking forward to working through.

It’s also worth noting the radio show mentioned homing pigeons and that Maggi Hambling has been in the news this week. Just sayin’.

Not sure what, but I’m just sayin’ it anyway.

*NB I can’t be sure Eddie McGoldrick ever scored a glancing header or in the 94th minute to win a game, but just be pleased I remember Eddie McGoldrick.

THE WEEK IN STATS

60k running – Solid increase on last week thanks to a half marathon run yesterday and for remembering I can actually run during daylight this week, so some 10ks at lunchtime.

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

0 x rejections: All good.

3 poems worked on. Lucky Foot, Shipping Container, Masks

3 poems finished: See above

2 Submissions: And Other Poems (It’s ace to see this back) and The Telegraph Poetry Comp.

10 days without cigarettes…I think. Certainly haven’t this week. Weird, barely even thought of it. Maybe, just maybe this is the time…

1 Podcast recorded (Although at the time of writing it hasn’t been, but in theory the latest ep of Grandbag’s Funeral is happening tonight)

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

TITLE GIVEAWAY

Power Supplies
Flamingos

READ/SEEN/HEAR/ETC

Music
His Name Is Alive: Patterns of Light
Jonathon Wilson: Dixie Blur
Eels: Earth To Dora, Blinking Lights And Other Revelations
The Fall: Imperial Wax Solvent
Pearl Jam: Yield
The Stranglers: The Raven
Gazelle Twin: Pastoral
Second Hand Poet: An Avenue of Honest News
Caspian: Live At Larcom, On Circles, Live At Old South Church, Dust & Disquiet, The Four Trees, Hymn For The Greatest Generation
The Luxembourg Signal: The Long Now
Laura Benanti: ST
Adrianne Lenker: Instrumentals
VA: Can’t You hear Me? 70’s African Nuggets and Garage Rock from Nigeria, Zambia and Zimbabwe
Gwennifer Raymond: Strange Lights Over Garth Mountain
Katy J Pearson: Return
Mono: You Are There, Nowhere Now Here, One More Step And You Die
National: Alligator, I Am Easy To Find
Ana Roxanne: Because of a Flower
The Flamingos: Flamingo Serenade
The Felice Brothers: Tonight At The Arizona

TV/Film
The Boys S1,E3
BSG S4E1-4
Short Cuts
Tremors
Big Trouble In Little China

Zooms, etc
Grandbag’s Funeral

Radio/Podcasts
The Archers
Nature Bang

Arrived
Mum’s Xmas present
Rach’s Birthday presents

Ordered
Mum’s Xmas present
Arch’s Birthday presents

Read
Maria Taylor: Dressing For The Afterlife
Robert Tombs: The English & Their History
Benjamin Cusden: Cut The Black Rabbit
Cathy O’Neil: Weapon Math Destruction

Theme from (Mag)Netto

Working in broad brushstrokes: let me tell you how, man

Glossolalia (very much the prattle part)

Having alluded to the similarities (or lack thereof) between writing and painting and decorating a couple of weeks ago, the chance again presented itself this weekend to either further extend a crap metaphor or to at least rub salt in the original’s wounds. or both.

(BTW, thanks to Matthew Paul for his suggestion of a poem about painting and decorating by Roger Garfitt. I’m still on the hunt for more.)

Having done all of the prep work a couple of weeks ago, we did the painting of the walls last weekend—well, my wife did a lot of it and I did the last of it when Flo and I got back from Norfolk on Monday.

Let’s really give this metaphor a kicking shall we. If the prep work is the research and possibly the notes for a first draft, then the painting is the actual graft of writing the poem. The walls are the first and second drafts, the cutting in and ceiling (assuming it’s two colours) are the nth draft and then getting closer to a finished product. You’ve covered all the big ground, you’ve got your form and message working in unison.

If, and it’s a big if on an extension pole, we are prepared to accept any of that (and I can’t say I blame you if you choose not to), then this weekend was the final stages: the gloss work. I have spent the weekend taping up and then glossing a lot of woodwork.

I’m going to liken this phases to the putting the final touches to a poem (or story, etc). This is where small words and changes matter, where you change from the roller to the brush, then a smaller brush still (do write in if my technique sounds off) for eg the tops of skirting boards, corners etc. Words come in, words come out. A line is removed here, a stanza is tightened up, a comma comes in, an em dash replaces a semi-colon and then the semi-colon goes back. Until finally, you’ve covered everything.

You dip your brushes in White Spirit, you crack open a beer (other options are available) and tidy away the kit/press ctrl+P. You let things dry. How long you choose to let it dry is up to you. For the avoidance of doubt, I’m saying don’t send the writing out straight away. It always does it well to sit for a while.

And when the paint is dry, or the ink has settled, you remove the masking tape to see what you have and if all is still well.

If there are no drips, no missed bits then you re-hang the pictures, put the coat rail back up, put things back, etc.

This is where you send your poem, etc out into the world.

Christ, I’d love to find myself getting the rollers out soon. And I do mean work on a poem. I’m not picking up the actual rollers again for at least another month. That said, there’s still work to do on the gloss front..and sadly that does mean actual painting.

Media Planning vs Writing Advice

Have a read of a few of these. They are from a post called Know your Enemy. I found them at Andrew Hovel’s excellent blog recently. They are just a selection of them as I didn’t think it would be fair to reproduce them all. However, there’s a link at the bottom of this section to the full set. Before that though, I want you to see if you can work out if they’re either

a) advice for writers
b) advice for media folks/planners
c) a bit of both/neither

1. Short-cuts and impatience. Excellence requires effort, you can’t get to wonderful without breaking through OK. 
2. Distractions. You’re at your most potent in the Flow state, thinking without thinking. Slack, WhatsApp, ‘got a sec?’ all get in the way. 
3. Fear. It’s easier not to try because failure, rejection, they all sting. The people that really change things have been hurt multiple times, they’ve learned to love the scars of war wounds, still afraid, yet do it anyway because when you’re scared you’re on to something.
4. Chasing popularity. People find new thinking uncomfortable, they hate change, more afraid than you are. Find a way to disagree, but try not to be too disagreeable. I never said this was easy. 
5. Not wanting to judged in case you look stupid. When pour all of yourself into your work, it’s not just the work being judged, you are asking for approval of you. Fortune favours the brave. 
6. Ego. You are not all powerful, you are good, but until you can accept what your weaknesses are, you can’t work on them and find wonderful. Ego means you can’t accept feedback – you need someone else someone to tell you where you’re going wrong. There is a fine line between this and committee, but I think we’re agreeing none of this is easy.  Nothing worthwhile is. 
7. Not asking the hard questions. This is part of fear, we hate asking questions we fear the answer to. The answers can hurt, but at least you know. This goes for far more than work by the way. Be prepared to bleed. 
8. Caring what other people will think. Get the feedback, love the feedback, but make up your own mind. Don’t second guess everyone, the toughest committee is the one in your mind. 

Please go here and read the rest of Andrew’s post. Whether the answer is a, b or c doesn’t really matter. It’s definitely worth reading the rest of his posts. And for his love of tea.

THE WEEK IN STATS

25 press ups and 12-15 sit ups a day so far, and some days there were up to 20 Squat Thrusts

15.5k running – The 0.5 is very important. Better than last week. yesterday was some hard hill work.

0 poems finished – In fact 0 poems even looked at. A short working week and a lot of painting saw to that.

0 poems accepted, 0 poems rejected. It’s a delicate balance

0 submissions – See above

6 x feedback to a friend on their poems. I love watching a draft of someone else’s work come together. Seeing what they take on board, what’s ignored and why… That’s a post at some point…*Take a note, Riches – you said you’d do this 3 weeks ago*

2 reviews written and subbed. One to go and then I’m taking some time off that to concentrate on my own work.

1 of those reviews published – Rob Selby’s ‘The Coming Down Time’ is now up at London Grip

1 day without cigarettes…and then…Fits and starts, yeah!!

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

TITLE GIVEAWAY

The Voyeur of the Dawn Treader
Be Gin again. 
Pack Your Raybans
Stationery Run
Boris Karloff’s Cooling Off
Everybody’s doing the Low Commotion
A Kindness Tribute Act
Login La Vida Loca

READ/SEEN/HEARD/ETC

Music
Jaga Jazzist – Pyramids
The Beths – Jump Rope Gazers

Doves
Some Cities
Lost Souls

My Morning Jacket – Red Rocks 08/02/19

Dinosaur Jr 
Beyond
Farm
Give A Glimpse of What Yer Not

Dexy’s Midnight Runners – Don’t Stand Me Down
Tanya Donnelly & The Parkington Sisters – ST

Gwen McCrae
Rockin’ Chair
Something So Right

The Handsome Family – Milk & Scissors
Kathleen Edwards – Total Freedom
Bill Frisell – Valentine
Taylor Swift – folklore
Kate Rusby – Hourglass

Hangouts/Video Calls/Zoom/Etc (not for work)
None this week

TV/Film
Cardinal S2 E6, S3 E1-5
Friday Night Dinner, S1 E1-5
Kelly’s Heroes

Radio/Podcasts
The Archers (2 episodes of the epoch catch up. I’m not mid-July now. It’s still annoying as fuck…

Arrived
Roger Garfitt – The Action & Selected Poems
Martha Sprackland- Citadel  
A footrest from work

Ordered
Roger Garfitt
The Action
Selected Poems

A pair of trousers from Howies

Read
Connie Bensley – A Leg To Stand On – New & Selected Poems
Ross Wilson – Letters to Rosie
Elizabeth Bishop – Complete Poems (Geography III and uncollected Poems section)
Rowland Bagnell – A Few Interiors

Spooky, this only just sprang into my mind when I wrote the title of this post. Weird, having listened to the majestic Dexy’s earlier in the week.

IAMB WAVING, NOT DOWNING PINTS.

Busy weekend back in Norfolk seeing loved ones and loved friends. Far more important than blogging.

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A post shared by Mat Riches (@matriches)

All I will say is that you should read Iambapoet – Wave Three is out. Chock full of lovely people and great poets.

Do it.

THE WEEK IN STATS

25 press ups and 12-15 sit ups and 15-20 back curls a day so far

20.5k running – The 0.5 is very important. Better than last week as it includes my first 15K for months.

0 poems finished –

0 poems accepted, 0 poems rejected. It’s a delicate balance

0 submissions –



.75 reviews written- It got too hot

1 days without cigarettes…and then…Fits and starts, yeah!!

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

TITLE GIVEAWAY

Bear With Me I Have A Bear With Me

READ/SEEN/HEARD/ETC

Music
Kingmaker
Eat Yourself Whole & B Sides
Everything Changed – Disc 3

Mark McGuire – Earth Star Musick
PG Lost – Yes I Am
VA – Piccadilly Sunshine, Pt11 – British Pop Psych and Other Flavours
The National – I Am Easy To Find
Grassella Oliphant –  The Grass Is Greener

Echo & The Bunnymen
The Fountain
Evergreen
Meteorites
What Are You Gonna Do With Your Life?

Eddie Vedder – Ukulele Songs
Ride – Going Blank Again

The National
Alligator
Cherry Tree
Juicy Sonic Magic 
ST
Sad Songs For Dirty Lovers
Sleep Well Beast

Lambchop
Is A Woman
AW Cmon
Damaged
Democracy
FLOTUS

The National – Alligator

Hangouts/Video Calls/Zoom/Etc (not for work)
What We Read Now: Alan Buckley/Rishi Dastidar/Claire Cox – Hosted by Jennifer Wong
Greg Dulli Livestream Gig

TV/Film
Cardinal S1 E3-5


Radio/Podcasts
The Archers x 2

Arrived
Pretty sure nothing has arrived this week

Ordered
Roger Garfitt – Selected & The Action
A Painting by my friend John

Read
Rob Selby – Coming Down Time

And there’s the rub…

You’ll be pleased to know that Flo’s novel continues apace…I suspect it may well be the best thing written by a Riches ever. More news as it arrives.

That said, I was quite pleased with this

Been commissioned to work on a Weeble’s autobiography. It rights itself.

— Mat Riches (@matriches) August 1, 2020

Generally, I quite like to find something that’s happened during the week, make some spurious connection to it and the act of writing whilst warbling on for a few paragraphs…insert a pun or two and, et voila…It’s not rocket science, this stuff. It’s also quite likely not useful either, but on the scale of Rocket Science to useful…hang on, that assumes rocket science isn’t useful—I’ll hang up my market research spurs…bang goes the day job. Bugger. (Can you see the warbling happening before your very eyes?)

Where was I, ah, yes..connected warbling..!

This weekend has largely been spent doing the prep work for some decorating work. I can no longer put off the work my wife has decided we need to do again, and so I’ve spent my time rubbing down woodwork, filling holes and all of the stuff that goes on behind the scenes of painting. Between that, and a nice long walk today, I’ve not had much time to ponder on what to write here (no change there then…).

From today’s walk at Poleston Lacey. Now I think of it, it does look like someone trying to do the cutting in round the ceiling.

And then it occurred (Christ, am I some idiot version of Carrie Bradshaw?) to me that is the act of writing similar, that there’s lots of prep work going on in the subconscious or more blatantly in the act of research, etc before getting the pen to paper? Line breaks as cutting in…

And then I realised that this is an awful idea. And so I’ve stopped doing that. It really would be utter gibberish (more so than this).

Although, I would now like to read some poems about the act of decorating? Has there been/are there any painter and decorator poets?* If you can think of any I’d like to hear about them.

There was a guy called Freddie The Fox who drank in a pub I worked in in my ear 20s. He never showed me any poems…or even mentioned poetry at all to be fair, but he did have a quiff, so y’know…

* I will accept plasterers too. That’s plasterer poets, not plastered poets…There are plenty of those.

THE WEEK IN STATS

25 press ups and 12-15 sit ups a day so far

20.5k running – The 0.5 is very important. Better than last week.

3 poems finished – Post-Surgery Club and the two new things called ‘Ingratitude’ and ‘Wetsuit’.

0 poems accepted, 0 poems rejected. It’s a delicate balance

3 submissions – To Poetry Wales, Atrium and an anthology publisher called Acid Bath Publishing.

1 x feedback to a friend on their poem. I love watching a draft of someone else’s work come together. Seeing what they take on board, what’s ignored and why… That’s a post at some point…*Take a note, Riches – you said you’d do this last week*

0 reviews written or subbed. I’m working on a new one though

1 days without cigarettes…and then…Fits and starts, yeah!!

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

TITLE GIVEAWAY

Worn Regards
Another Day, Another Dolour
Are Ornaments Useful?
An Unsolvable Thought Meets An Unaskable Question
Placing An Ouborous Around An Omphalos

READ/SEEN/HEARD/ETC

Music
Ruth Copeland  – I Am What I Am
James Blackshaw & Lubomyr Melnyk – The Watchers
Bobby Hutcherson -Color Schemes
Courtney Marie Andrews – Old Flowers
John Cale & Terry Riley – Church Of Anthrax 
VA – Next Stop..Soweto Vol.2: Soultown R&B, Funk and Psych Sounds from the Townships 1969-1976
The Band of Holy Joy – Neon Primitives
The Jayhawks – Rainy Day Music
Inventions – Continuous Portrait
Suzanne Vega – ST

Cowboy Junkies
The Caution Horses – After reading Charlotte Gann’s post and it triggered a memory of Thirty (not 39) Summers
Lay It Down
Miles From Our Home
Remnin Park
Sing In My Meadow
The Wilderness
Nomad Series #5: Extras
One Soul Now
Open
Open Road

Laura Veirs – My Echo
VA – Psych Funk Sa-Re-Ga!
Phoebe Bridgers – Punisher
Throwing Muses – Red Heaven
Warren Zevon – Bad Luck Streak in Dancing School
Harkin – ST
Pearl Jam – Gigaton
Caspian – On Circles
INXS – Shabooh Shoobah

Hangouts/Video Calls/Zoom/Etc (not for work)
What We Read Now: Alan Buckley/Rishi Dastidar/Claire Cox – Hosted by Jennifer Wong
Greg Dulli Livestream Gig

TV/Film
Cardinal S1 E3-5
FA Cup Final

Radio/Podcasts
The Archers x 2

Arrived
Pretty sure nothing has arrived this week

Ordered
Sam Gardiner – The Night Ships
Decorators Caulk
Sandpaper
Poetry Wales Subscription

Read
Rob Selby – Coming Down Time

Mangoes on a walk

We went for a walk earlier as a family, round Downe, following in the footsteps of old Charlie Darwin and it was glorious.

Resident idiot

Can I resist a They Might Be Giants reference later?

I say all of this and post these photos not because I have run out of things to write here…oh no, but because while walking round earlier a couple of things happened.

1. I had an idea for a poem. I suspect it will turn into nothing, but having listened to our Laureate interview Chris Packham earlier about nature poetry (and punk rock) in the week I was half-attuned to the idea of writing a nature poem.

I reckon this subject for a post on its own, but for someone of countryside stock nature is not something I write much that about. I don’t know why. To be fair, punk rock doesn’t feature either, but we are concentrating on Nature poems (albeit briefly).

2. The other thing I noticed was that I had the time to notice this. (This was actually a line in an old poem – “You notice you have the time to notice this” – I can’t remember where the line breaks went or what the poem was called, but I may have to dig it out of the rejects folder).

The point is that this week has been the first week since the start of lockdown when I’ve been able to take a foot off the gas. Work has been quieter as a few projects are off and doing their thing for a bit before I need to tune back into them and thanks to a sore left knee I’ve not been running so much. This, and the fact I have massively reduced the to be reviewed list means that I’ve had the chance to do some of my own writing for the first time in about a month and a half. I know it’s not important in any scheme of things (whatever scale of grandness you choose to use), but it does feel good to be back at it.

And the drafts have happened. Some of this is more fully-fledged ideas gathering pace as they get closer to finished, but shockingly, there are two whole new poems being worked on this week. Both are ideas that have percolated for a while (a year or more), but given the paucity of work recently this is a flood. If I add that to the notes I’ve rescued from my email drafts and notes apps then I am a happy man. I like it. It’s almost productive.

Although, not as productive as my daughter. Two days ago she started mapping out her first novel in a series. It seems to have a vampire and witch theme—oddly, she’s been watching a lot of vampire and witch-based stuff on TV, but who cares about the theme; I’m just waiting to be able to retire off the back of the proceeds.

THE WEEK IN STATS

1 friend announcing she’s having a baby. Go on Beth and Matt!! Oh they grow up so fast

25 days of 25 press ups a day challenge completed. (and kept going)

3k running – Very poor, short run on Tuesday and felt my left knee afterwards. . I had loads of plans to do a long run this weekend too, but I’ve enjoyed not running…Still miss it though. Back to it next week. Knee-willing

3 poems worked on – Post-Surgery Club (drafts 8-11) and two new things called ‘Ingratitude’ and ‘Wetsuit’. We’ll see.

0 poems accepted, 0 poems rejected. It’s a delicate balance

1 submission – To The North. We’ll see.

2 x feedback to a friend on their poem. I love watching a draft of someone else’s work come together. Seeing what they take on board, what’s ignored and why… That’s a post at some point…*Take a note, Riches*

2 reviews. Two written and subbed.

1 review published. I was very pleased to be the first to review Suna Afshan’s ‘Belladonna’ for London Grip

3 Bottles of Chilli Sauce arrived from out of nowhere.

1 days without cigarettes…and then…Fits and starts, yeah!!

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

TITLE GIVEAWAY

Gone To Seed In A Beautiful Pea Green Boat
Chap Hop is Shite
I Haven’t Got Time For Latency

READ/SEEN/HEARD/ETC

Music
Social Distancing Distortion Playlist – Matt Berninger
Laura Veirs – The Lookout
Veruca Salt – American Thighs
Karl Marx – Stasi Acid
The Lilac Time – No Sad Songs
Seals & Crofts – I and II
Laraaji – Sun Piano

Stornoway
The Farewell Show Live At New Theatre, Oxford
Bonnie
Bonnie Unplugged
Tales from Terra Firma
You Don’t Know Anything
Beachcomber’s Windowsill

PJ Harvey – Dry
Poltergeist – Your Mind Is A Box (Let us Fill It With Wonder)
VA – Turds on a Bum Ride Vol1&2
Taylor Swift – folklore
VA – Documentary Sequences Vol.1
Major Lance – Major Lance’s Greatest Hits Recorded Live At The Torch
The National – High Violet

Rilo Kiley
Take Offs And Landings
Under The Blacklight
ST

Jenny Lewis
On The Line
The Voyager

The Four Seasons – The Genuine Imitation Life Gazette

The Beths
Jump Rope Gazers
Future Me Hates Me

Laura Veirs – Carbon Glacier
Margo Guryan – Take A Picture

Hangouts/Video Calls/Zoom/Etc (not for work)
0

TV/Film
Mrs America E1-2
I May Destroy You E1

Radio/Podcasts
TMS – Monday
The Poet Laureate Has Gone To His Shed – Simon Armitage

Arrived
Alice Oswald – Nobody
Matthew Francis – Mandeville
3 x Chillis Sauces (produced, of all things, by the drummer from Snow Patrol). Sent to me by my mate Paul Grey.

Ordered
Black Cab Coffee
Matthew Francis – Mandeville

Read
Connie Bensley – Finding a Leg to Stand On: New and Selected Poems (Must remember who recommended this)

Nope, not They Might Be Giants