Tag: Bean Baker

My Poetry World at the Start of the New Year

Writing

Last year, my focus was concentrated on selecting and editing poems for my new collection which is scheduled for publication in 2026. Most of the poems were worked on with my mentor-editor earlier in 2025. A few additions and substitutions have been slotted in, as I continued working solo on the manuscript. The final selection and ordering, with my editor, will be completed this year. It will be a collection that doesn’t shy away from challenges faced and difficulties overcome, and which seeks to resonate with people who have been similarly tested, and who have grasped for stability in tempestuous times, stormy waters. My hope is that readers will emerge buoyed up from shared experiences, celebrating victories, with eyes focused steadily on a brighter horizon. 

Gloucestershire Stanza, Bishops Cleeve Poetry Club

Another commitment last year was to build on my work as the Stanza Representative for Gloucestershire. This has included twice-monthly poetry reading, writing and critiquing workshops at Bishops Cleeve Poetry Club, near Cheltenham which I took over from Claire Thelwell in 2024.

“A group for poets at any level of experience. Beginners are very welcome, as are people who have been writing for a while. We aim to be supportive, relaxed … and good fun. Poetry Club is organized and run by Sharon Larkin, a published poet who is passionate about bringing people together to experiment, share, develop their ideas … and write good poems!”  

Poetry Club has flourished and has included well-published poets, a Critical Writing MA graduate or two, a PhD student, enthusiastic beginners and up-and coming poets … spanning a wide age range. We continued to meet at Bishops Cleeve Bookshop in the evenings until late summer before moving to nearby Bishops Cleeve Library, enabling more stock to be accommodated at the bookshop in the lead-up to Christmas. Poetry Club members opted to remain in the spacious surroundings of the Library but we continue to be indebted to Will Williams of Cleeve Bookshop for having allowed us to meet in his shop after hours, enabling us to establish the club and to try out various formats for the workshops. We enjoyed returning to the shop for the Christmas Party and David Aldred’s launch of ‘Histories from the Cotswold Edge’ in December, and we will undoubtedly continue to attend launches and book signings in the months and years to come. It is a splendid bookshop, with a genuine community focus, and a flourishing line of  ‘signed editions’.  Prose fiction and non-fiction workshops are set to continue in the Bookshop, led by Steven John.

Poetry Club has devised a workshop method that includes giving and receiving constructive critiques on each other’s poems, before reading 4 – 5 poems from an anthology. Members then choose one of the anthology poems, responding to its theme or/and form, as inspiration for their own work in the intervening two weeks, bringing the resulting poems for critique at the next meeting. This has proved a successful formula, well supported by emailed notes on the anthology poems, and suggestions for our own writing. However, nothing is prescribed, and poets are always free to bring along a poem in response to whatever has excited or interested them during the previous fortnight.

The anthologies used in the workshops included the Forward Prize Anthology for 2025, Bloodaxe’s ‘Staying Alive’ anthology and, latterly, the Forward Anthology for 2026. Feedback from a member of the group received just before Christmas included these encouraging words: “Last night’s meeting … was informative and entertaining in equal measure. I enjoy the supportive critique … thank you for your beautiful poems and thank you Sharon in particular for your selfless support to us all.”  That kind of feedback makes it all worthwhile. It is indeed a lovely group of kindly and appreciative poets.

Cheltenham Poetry Society, and the Annual Awayday

The well-established Cheltenham Poetry Society, of which I continue to be a proud member – and a former Chair – was ‘grafted into’ the Gloucestershire Stanza during 2025, with the agreement CPS members and current Chairman, Roger Turner. This will further encourage collaboration and joint ventures, including offering places to Poetry Club members at the CPS annual Writing Awayday in the Spring, as well as to the wider circle of friends and associates that Cheltenham Poetry Society has already established. It will also allow CPS poets who are also members of the national Poetry Society to enter Stanza competitions, and enjoy all the other benefits associated with Poetry Society membership. Several prospective CPS members have reached out, after spotting the Gloucestershire Stanza contact details on the Poetry Society’s website.

The CPS Annual Awayday in April 2025 welcomed 17 poets for a whole day of workshops at Ellenborough Park, a five-star hotel in the pleasant village of Southam between the Cotswold Hills and Cheltenham Racecourse.  The topical themes were Flora and Fauna, and the poetry-theory themes included (1) a consideration of space, and ‘intentionality’ in terms of punctuation, and (2) the sonic structure of poems, eg how vowel sounds can be selected to achieve a desired effect and increase the impact of a line. I enjoyed preparing material for the ‘animal’ and ‘intentionality/punctuation’ themes, while Roger led on the ‘plant’ and ‘weight of words’ themes.  I was delighted that Cheltenham Arts Council – thanks to Elisa – featured my article about the CPS Awayday in their Perspectives magazine in June, including the following photographs of the poets attending: David Ashbee, Robin Gilbert, Sheila Spence, Tony Bradley, Nick Heap, Catherine Baker, Gill Wyatt, Penelope Howarth, Penny Lamport, Christine Griffin, Iris Anne Lewis, Judith van Dijkhuizen, Kirsty Bradbury, Annie Ellis, Emily Wills … and Roger Turner and me.  Huge thanks to Jess, Lucy and David at Ellenborough Park for helping us stage the event and to keep things running along smoothly on the day.

Publication and Competitions, 2025

In April I was delighted to learn that three of my poems had been successful in The Yaffle Prize 2025, with one commended poem ‘Dread or Kindred’ and two long-listed poems ‘At the Repair Shop’ and ‘Reconstruction Worker’.  I’m looking forward to the publication of the Whirlagust 2025 anthology which will include my poems, alongside the winning, and other commended and long-listed poems. Huge thanks to the competition judge, Antony Dunn, and to Mark and Gill Connors of Yaffle Press.

Also in April, I was glad to discover that my poem ‘Flashback’ was in the long-list for the Yaffle’s Nest BOAT – Best of All Time poetry competition for poetry inspired by music. I’m looking forward to reading all the ‘BOAT poems’ in the forthcoming anthology. Congratulations to the winners, and to the commended and other long-listed poets. Thanks to judge Emma Purshouse and another big thanks to the Dynamic Duo, Gill and Mark Connors, for running the competition … and for everything they do for poetry.

I was very pleased that my poem ‘Flight Recorder’ which won first prize in The Black Box competition in Jack Caradoc’s Dreich magazine in 2022 featured again as a ‘Retread’ in Issue 3 of his new magazine, The Candyman’s Trumpet, in September 2025.  A big ‘thank you’ … twice … to Jack Caradoc. 

In August I was chuffed to discover that my double dactyl, celebrating Garry Kasparov, the chess player, was a ‘Double Dactyl of the Week’, selected by Andy Jackson who runs the excellent website. https://doubledactyls.wordpress.com/2025/08/14/double-dactyl-of-the-week-135/  
Then in November, my double dactyl on Boris Pasternak was selected for ‘Double Dactyl of the Week’ https://doubledactyls.wordpress.com/2025/11/20/double-dactyl-of-the-week-149/  
Russian names certainly lend themselves to the DD form.
Thanks, Andy, twice!

In the autumn, the What We Inherit from Water anthology was published by Yaffle Press, resulting from the Inaugural Yaffle’s Nest competition. I was pleased that my prose poem  Brookside was listed in the competition and is included in the book. Thanks again to Mark and Gill Connors. It’s a super cover for the super contents of this book!

By the end of the year, the draft of Gill Connors’ anthology Safety in Numbers was available, to the delight of the many contributing poets. I am thrilled that my poem ‘Battling On’ features in this ground-breaking book … a project which forms part of Gill’s PhD. I’m looking forward to the publication of this notable anthology in time for International Women’s Day in March 2026, and to the launch events and the surrounding publicity which is already building … apparently including a mention by Mark Connors in an edition of the BBC’s The Verb to be broadcast in February 2026.

Performances

On 31 August I was very happy to find myself co-headlining – again – with David Cooke on The Poetry Place on West Wilts Radio, thanks to Dawn Gorman who curates, co-produces and hosts the programme  https://westwiltsradio.com/shows/the-poetry-place-with-david-cooke-sharon-larkin-68-31-08-25/  This was a rerun of the programme first streamed in November 2021, and it also featured poems by Rosie Jackson, Ruth Sharman, Sue Proffitt, Pratibha Castle, Frances Anne-King, John Wheway, Verona Bass, Eileen Anne Gordon, and of course Dawn Gorman and co-producer Peter O’Grady. Thanks to Dawn, Peter and WWR.

On 28 October I spent a super afternoon with a lovely audience who listened attentively to my poems and appreciated my projected photos. With nearly two hours to fill, I was able to share 18 poems … and a whole slide-show of related photographs, with a break in the middle for tea and a chat with the lovely members of Evesham and District Pensioners’ Association. My poems ranged over music at school in Evesham, performing in nativity plays, poems about the Worcestershire village I grew up in, attempting to keep fit in one’s latter years, and poems about some of my favourite Cotswold villages, a flashback to that strange Covid year of 2000, and some poems about being a mother – and recently becoming a grandmother. Thanks to Ann and Andrew Dingley – my nephew – for inviting me. It was good to chat to several people about poetry, life, and memories held in common, especially from schooldays and childhood in the Vale. Such a friendly group of people and a superb venue!

On 31 October, I was very pleased to read a selection of eight poems at Cheltenham’s Poetry Cafe in the Library, thanks to Annie Ellis who organizes this popular monthly event. My themes were Visitations and Appearances, and ranged from the outskirts of New Delhi, to a future alien encounter on a British beach, to a construction site possibly in South America, possibly closer to home, to a Cheltenham Repair Shop, to doctors’ surgeries in Cheltenham and somewhere in Germany, to my son’s teenager bedroom, and finally to a site of archaeological and sociological interest … somewhere. There was a full house, all seats occupied, a warm welcome, a super friendly and attentive audience, and an all-round positive occasion with smiles from so many poet-friends. I renewed friendships with some lovely poets I hadn’t seen for a while, made new friends, and even sold some books! Excellent hosting plus super-efficient organization by Annie, and first-rate reception and venue thanks to Cheltenham Library and staff.

I was blessed on 22 December to have my poem ‘Something for Christmas’ read at a carol service in Llanfaredd near Llanfair ym Muallt (Builth Wells) in Powys. This was all thanks to my cousin Ruth who lives in the area and it was doubly pleasing because the church of Llanfaredd is important in our shared family history. It felt extra special to know the poem was read, and heard, in the parish church where my great grandparents are buried, alongside uncles, aunts and cousins, and collocated with the farm that continues in the family.

As the year neared its end, I very much enjoyed Yaffle’s Christmas Party on-line, with readings from the ‘Linger’ collaboration between Mark Connors, Liz McPherson and Sandra Noel … the first in Yaffle’s ‘Three Little Birds’ series. Other poets were invited to read two poems in the ‘open mic’ following the headline readers. I was pleased to be able to share my Christmas themed poems ‘A Seasonal Fabrication’ and ‘The Ins and Outs of Christmas’.

Endorsements, Reviews, Mentoring

In September, I was pleased to write and endorsement of David Elder’s collection ‘White Fox’ ahead of publication. It is an excellent collection which I heartily recommend.

In November, I had the pleasure of being asked to read a manuscript for a potential collection and to make recommendations for edits and ordering. I won’t name the poet just yet, but will fanfare the collection when it is taken by a publisher, which it is sure to be.  I’ll just thank the poet for entrusting her work to me for comment at this important stage of the manuscript’s development.

Anniversaries

December seems to be a month of  ‘poetry anniversaries’ for me. 12 December marked the seventh anniversary of the publication of my pamphlet ‘Interned at the Food Factory’ from Indigo Dreams. 15 December was the fifth anniversary of the publication of my collection Dualities from Hedgehog Poetry Press. Also, 6 years ago, saw the publication of the Cheltenham Poetry Society anthology ‘Poetry from Gloucestershire’, co-curated and co-edited by Roger Turner and me, and published by my Eithon Bridge imprint. Since then, Eithon Bridge has gone on to published other CPS anthologies: ‘Inspired by Music’ and ‘The Elements’, with Roger and me co-editing.

A sad anniversary also arrived this December, when poet-friends of Michael Newman recalled his sudden passing, late in 2024. He was not only a dear friend-in-poetry but foundational to the relaunch of Cheltenham Poetry Society last century, a former Chairman, and an indispensable and loyal member, over many decades. As the current Chairman Roger Turner says, Michael was an entirely benevolent influence in workshops and meetings. He was also a regular performer at monthly Poetry Café Refreshed events in Cheltenham. But, most of all, he was an inspiration and example to many of us in his quiet, faith-filled, family-centred, nature-loving, music-loving, poetry-filled life. We will continue to miss Michael in Gloucestershire, especially, but his influence and reputation ripple out beyond this town and county, reaching South, as a regularly contributor to the magazine of that name, and a familiar name in Indigo Dreams Reach magazine. His reputation as a fine poet spread westwards too – to the shores of Ceredigion and his beloved Borth. Danielle Hope of Acumen liaised with CPS ahead of including Michael’s poem ‘March Morning’ in edition 113 of Agenda, together with words of remembrance for a much loved and respected poet.

Other Activities

As well as poetry, my artistic endeavours in 2025 continued to include photography, mostly of the countryside and wildlife of the Gloucestershire/Worcestershire border, with occasional forays into Wales, and regular close-up photography of the Moon in its various phases. My photographs have appeared in several of the previously mentioned Cheltenham Poetry Society anthologies, as well as local calendars. This year, I was really pleased to be able to combine poetry and photography in the event in Evesham on 28 October.

Since the middle of 2024, I have also been trying my hand at drawing and painting, attending a weekly art class held at Elim in Cheltenham, run by Rose. And since mid-2025, I’ve joined another weekly class held at St Marks in Cheltenham, co-led by Jean and Gill. Both groups are supportive and friendly, the former specialising in water colour, the second majoring in acrylics. The Elim group held a summer exhibition in July, where over 100 paintings by the artists in the group were on display, the majority for sale with proceeds destined for Cheltenham Food Bank.

I had three landscapes and two animal paintings for sale … and a kingfisher painting based on one of my best wildlife photographs from the year. Here are the six exhibits of mine from that event: kingfisher, deer, fox and cub, winter scene, cottage in the country, and cottage in an imaginary landscape.

In addition, a variety of desk calendars have been produced for 2026, with thanks to Bean Baker of Elim. One of the calendars includes a watercolour of mine, and another of which includes three of my paintings. The subjects of these were a red squirrel, a robin, toadstools and autumn leaves. Thanks to Bean and Rose, and all other members of the Art Club for their friendship and encouragement.

The St Marks group also exhibits paintings at various times of year in the hall where we meet, which is widely used by other groups, notably Cheltenham Ballroom Dance School, and so these paintings get excellent visibility! I was pleased to have an acrylic painting in the autumn exhibition, featuring another squirrel, and two paintings in the Christmas exhibition: another robin, and a row of colourful Christmas stockings. With some trepidation, I look forward to next term, when the project for the next exhibition will be the human form and portraiture. Now, that will test my ‘beginner’s luck’!  The last session before Christmas took the form of a ‘bring and share lunch’ … and I was invited to share a poem, choosing a new poem, ‘Ways of Seeing’, which features an imaginary visit to an art gallery. It seemed appropriate and went down well with the other artists in the group.  I do love opportunities such as these … to combine the arts. Thanks again to Gill and Jean, and all the other members of the group.

All year, I have also enjoyed cryptic crossword sessions led by Melanie Branton over messages … and Zoom, where some real crossword whizzes come together to solve the ingenious puzzles created by Melanie. I was very much a novice to start with, much better at intuiting answers than actually working out the clues to point to their solution. But Melanie’s excellent hints and tips over the weeks and months, and especially the practice crosswords she provides, ahead of letting us have a go at ‘the real thing’ have helped a great deal. Melanie is very patient, encouraging and enthusiastic, and the rest of the group is friendly and supportive, with just the right amount of competitive spirit! Thank you, Melanie, and everyone in the group, for encouraging my latest hobby.

A Happy New Year

Well, that’s my round-up of 2025. Here’s to a productive, accomplished, fulfilled, rewarding, healthy and wholly positive 2026 … for us all, whatever our artistic endeavours, and however we spend our time.

A Round-up of 2021 …  or Poetry, in Spite of Everything

Continuing ‘a mission, against the odds’ might sound like an over-statement in the context of writing poetry, publishing and getting published, during a pandemic, but for many writers and publishers, it has been nothing short of heroic. Vanishing opportunities for meeting with kindred spirits, performing work and maintaining a ‘platform’ have, of course, been mitigated by the ‘mushrooming of Zoom’ – thanks to which, poetry readings, ‘open-mic’ opportunities, workshopping, mentoring and book launches have all continued to happen. These have in many cases provided national and international ‘stages’ in contrast to the pre-pandemic local poetry venues many poets loyally attended every month. Poetry podcasts, streamed events and spots on digital radio have also been growth areas. 

All very positive, but perhaps the bigger impact of the pandemic on the ‘poetry mission’ has been ‘mindset’ rather than ‘opportunity’. The lockdowns, with the isolation and loneliness for many, had a depressing impact for some, reducing productivity and the inclination to do anything other than slump. Mercifully, I have not spent the last eighteen months alone, as some fellow writers … the heroes amongst us … have done. I don’t know how I would have fared without Mr. L. Thank you, my love.  

Post-lockdown, justifiable caution of face-to-face events continued for the more vulnerable poets among us, and for all of us, socialising in-person, after so long, was met with mixed emotions … pleasure and anxiety, to greater or lesser degrees. Let’s hope 2022 will be better for us all.

Looking back at previous end-of-year reviews, it is clear that my productivity was lower in 2021 than in preceding years – even lower than in 2020, when we had stricter lockdowns, and more fear and uncertainty generally.  However, there have been a lot of ‘poetry things’ to be thankful for in 2021 … and a lot of ‘poetry people’ to thank …

Dualities in 2021

First of all, a big thank you to Mark Davidson of Hedgehog Poetry Press for including my collection, ‘Dualities’ (published in late 2020) in the bumper Hedgehog Poetry ‘goodie box’ sent out to subscribers in the first quarter of 2021. I was thrilled that my book was in such great company, along with Dawn Gorman’s & Rosie Jackson’s ‘Aloneness is a Many-Headed Bird’, Margaret Royall’s ‘Where Flora Sings’, Gaynor Kane’s & Karen Mooney’s ‘Penned In’, Patricia M Osborne’s ‘The Montefiore Bride’, Darren J Beaney’s ‘Honeydew’, Adele Cordner’s ’The Kitchen Sink Chronicles’, Damien B Donnelly’s ‘Considering Canvases With Boys’, and Jenna Please’s ‘The Underside of Things’.  

Next, I am indebted to Nigel Kent for the generous review of Dualities on his website in April 2021. This was preceded by an invitation for me to submit one of the poems in the book for Nigel’s ‘Drop-in’ feature. The two links are here:

https://nigelkentpoet.wordpress.com/2021/04/03/drop-in-by-sharon-larkin
Review of ‘Dualities’ by Sharon Larkin

I was very encouraged by comments received in 2021 from a former colleague who, having recently read Dualities, wrote: ‘Thoroughly enjoyed it. Some gorgeous imagery, delightful turns of phrase and the occasional construct I simply didn’t understand – which adds to the enjoyment. Great stuff. Thanks for sharing your talent!’ I was delighted that the imagery, turns of phrase … and the puzzles too … pleased this particular reader, whose judgement I very much respect.

Copies of ‘Dualities’ can be purchased from Hedgehog Poetry Press: https://www.hedgehogpress.co.uk/product-category/for-sale/hoglets/sharon-larkin/
or from my website https://sharonlarkinjones.com/shop

Poems in Magazines/e-zines and Anthologies

The year started well with Ink Sweat and Tears, taking my poem ‘Post-operative’ in January, thanks to the wonderful Helen Ivory. 

I wrote the poem ‘At the Foot of the Tree’ for Good Friday 2021, at the invitation of Elim Church, Cheltenham. Thanks to Bean Baker for creating the poetry film, with music, and uploading it to You Tube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xi3OUOR8LP8&t=38s and thanks to all the lovely feedback, especially from Sandra Kemp and Sheila Hurst in Cheltenham … and Elaine and Carri in Arizona!

Thanks to Visual Verse for taking three of my poems, in April, June and September 2021.

I was grateful to Veronica Aaronson for taking two of my poems for her anthology ‘Despite Knowing’ in support of a charity providing counselling for those in recovery from addictions. 

It had long been an ambition of mine to print-publish an anthology of poems celebrating fathers and fatherhood (see Good Dadhood, below). Now, thanks to Aurélien Thomas, I can let that ambition lapse because in 2021 he selected and edited  ‘To Dads – with Love’, illustrated/designed by JinQue RD and published by Ayo Gutierrez. I’m glad that some of my ‘Dad poems’ are in the book, along with poems by poet-friends Angela France, Michael Newman, Catherine Baker, Christine Griffin and Frances March … and many other poets, worldwide. I was pleased to be invited by Aurélien Thomas to write the foreword for the book. The resulting volume is a handsome one … available from Amazon https://www.amazon.co.uk/Dads-Love-Aurelien-Thomas/dp/B096TN7NN7

I’m always pleased when my love of poetry and love of Wales and Welsh coalesce. Thanks to photographer Ieuan Morris for including part of a translation I did of the poem ‘Melin Trefin’ by William Williams Crwys in Ieaun’s splendid book ‘Photographing Pembrokeshire’ (published, September 2021) and thank you to Victoria Bookshop in Haverfordwest for supplying me with a signed copy of the book. Copies are available from the publisher y Lolfa https://www.ylolfa.com/products/9781784617547/photographing-pembrokeshire as well as Amazon.

Another Welsh opportunity came in September when I  was contacted by Ennyn, a community interest company based in Ceredigion, delivering bilingual educational art workshops in schools and communities. They commissioned a folk singer, Owen Shiers, to compose and sing a sung version of the poem ‘Y Border Bach’, another poem by William Williams Crwys, which I have translated and which Ennyn found on my website https://sharonlarkinjones.com/…/another-crwys-poem…/.  My translation is to appear on the Ennyn website, alongside a recording of the song. 

I’m hopeful that one of my poems shortlisted for Hedgehog Poetry’s  ‘Looking Out, Peering In’ competition, will be included in the anthology at some stage.

Readings given … and in prospect

February brought my first opportunity to read in 2021, thanks to Veronica Aaronson who invited my to share poems in two 10 minute slots, along with Frances Corkey-Thompson, at Poetry Teignmouth at the Mill, via Zoom, on 23 February. There was a lovely audience on-line, with wonderful sets from Frances and an excellent ‘open mic’. A big thank you to Veronica for making it all happen, expertly organizing and sensitively hosting such a welcome opportunity for poets to present their work to an audience during the lockdown. The first and last poems I read were the first and last in my Dualities – Two Old Sticks and Firewords – seemed to go down best at the event. And one of the additional benefits of Zoom is that comments in chat are quick to copy before shut-down, so that responses to individual poems can be captured … valuable feedback!

I was again grateful to Veronica Aaronson for including me in the zoom launch event for the anthology’ Despite Knowing’ (see above) which took place in October. I was glad to read one of my poems from the book, in excellent company alongside a large contingent of contributing poets, including poet-friends Stella Wulf, Marc Woodward, Oz Hardwick, Vivienne Tregenza, Rachael Clyne, Kevin Reid, Hannah Stone and Jenny Robb. 

Now I am looking forward to attending a live launch event for ‘Despite Knowing’ at the Pavilions in Teignmouth in May 2022, Covid permitting. Thanks again to Veronica Aaronson for this invitation.


Another opportunity to share a poem or two on Zoom came thanks to Josephine Lay, at a reading for International Women’s Day on 8 March, joining with 17 other women poets, sharing one of our own poems, and one by another poet. I was pleased to share one by Christina Thatcher, whose work I very much enjoy. 

Two opportunities came to read on The Poetry Place, West Wilts Radio, thanks to Dawn Gorman. The first of these was an ‘open mic’ opportunity in August, when I shared three short poems on the programme at which Penelope Shuttle and June Hall were the guest poets. The second, exciting, opportunity came in November when I was a guest poem on The Poetry Place with David Cooke, with another great band of poets at the ‘open mic’. Thanks again to Dawn Gorman for The – wonderful – Poetry Place on West Wilts Radio


Publishing

I opened the Good Dadhood on-line poetry project for submissions on 1 April, publishing poems at the rate of twice a week until Father’s Day in mid-June, I’m proud of what Good Dadhood has become over its three ‘editions’ (2017, 2020. 2021) and the response from poets has been uplifting … in terms of the quantity and quality of poems submitted, often accompanied by photographs of or with Dads. It has been so good to have an opportunity to celebrate fathers and fatherhood in this way. You can read the poems and see the photos here: https://wordpress.com/home/gooddadhood.com  Thanks to the following poets for their contributions in 2021: Angie Holden, Sarah J Bryson, Suzanne Iuppa and Val Ormrod, Mark Connors, Ben Banyard, Zoë Siobhan Howarth-Lowe, Helen Kay, David Callin, Rodney Wood, Neil Elder, Janet Dean, Hannah Mackay, Carmina Masoliver, Hilary Robinson, Maggie Mackay,Kate Jenkinson, Finola Scott,George Colkitto, Catherine Baker,Peter Raynard, Rachael Clyne, Tom Kelly, Susan Castillo, Greg Freeman, Louise Warren, Jenni Wyn Hyatt.

My biggest publication project of the year came in the last quarter of 2021, with ‘Inspired by Music’, a new anthology from Cheltenham Poetry Society and Gloucestershire Stanza, which I  published through Eithon Bridge Publications in November.  Produced in just 12 weeks from the submission deadline to collecting the books from the printer, the anthology features 57 poems by 17 poets, with 25 carefully selected images to accompany the words. It was good to gather together with a dozen of the contributing poets at Pittville Pump Room in Cheltenham in early December, to collect copies, catch-up, and have an outdoor Covid-safe celebratory coffee together. Thanks to all the poets: Kathryn Alderman, David Ashbee, Catherine Baker, Annie Ellis, David Gale, Gill Garrett, Robin Gilbert, Chris Hemingway, Sharon Larkin, Iris Anne Lewis, Michael Newman, Stuart Nunn, Gillian Ridley-Wells, Belinda Rimmer, Sheila Spence, Roger Turner, Judith van Dijkhuizen; an especial thanks to Roger Turner for co-selecting/co-editing and to Stroudprint for first-rate printing services. Thanks to Mr L who helped enormously with proof-reading. Thanks to Oz Hardwick, Mark Connors and Mark Blayney for providing endorsements for the book. Further information and ordering info are here: https://eithonbridge.com/anthologies/

We still haven’t officially launched ‘Inspired by Music’ … or, indeed. our previous anthology ‘Poetry from Gloucestershire’, the launch for which had to be cancelled in early 2020 because of the pandemic.  I hope we will have opportunities to read from both books during the coming year.  We are open to offers!

Workshops attended

Thanks for Mark Connors (again) and Gill Lambert for their great Wednesday Wordship workshops on Zoom which I joined in the last quarter of 2021. 

And thanks to Angela France for her excellent workshops I attended while they were on Zoom in 2021 with other members of the Women Aloud group: Penny Howarth, Judith van Dijkhuizen, Frankie March, Gill Garrett, Christine Griffin and Catherine Baker. 

Thanks to so many poets for their poetry friendship, especially local friends Belinda Rimmer, Catherine Baker and Gill Wyatt.

Looking ahead

Thanks to Sarah L Dixon for the invitation to be part of her Quiet Compere event in August 2022, 

and, again, thanks to Veronica Aaronson for the possibility of reading a poem at the live launch of ‘Despite Knowing’ in Teignmouth in May.  

As ever, I am open to other reading opportunities!

Poetry Thanks and Praise, 2020

This blog article aims to record my appreciation of the many wonderful ‘people in poetry’ I have met and worked with over the past year. I would like to thank each and every one of them for their extraordinary efforts in a year when we have all had to overcome immense challenges simply to handle everyday life. To achieve anything additional to getting through each day has required greater determination, patience and flexibility …  and more creativity and ingenuity in finding new ways of doing things.  So thank you to everyone in the world of poetry who has helped anyone to find ‘an outlet for their output’ during a year that seemed determined to lock everyone in and close everything down. Thanks for your resilience and energy … in spite of everything.

Publications and Launch Events

Firstly, huge thanks to the hard-working and astonishingly innovative publisher, Mark Davidson of Hedgehog Poetry Press https://www.hedgehogpress.co.uk for all he does to publish pamphlets and collections, to inspire and encourage new writing through competitions and challenges and via the unique ‘Cult’ and a new Weekly Book Club, tirelessly promoting poets’ work by social networking and newsletters. Without Mark’s determination, quick thinking and kindness, my collection Dualities would not have gone to print in the autumn, in a thin sliver of time between lockdowns. Thank you, Mark … and thank you TJ Books, Padstow. I was thrilled to take delivery of my ‘box of books’ and it was lovely to see the Cornish language featuring on the package: Gwrys yn Kernow – Made in Cornwall. https://www.hedgehogpress.co.uk/product/sharon-larkin-print-edition/ 

Thank you to Oz Hardwick, Angela France and Pat Edwards for reading the manuscript of Dualities and providing such insightful and quotable words of endorsement.  Thank you too, Michael Newman, David Ashbee and Catherine Baker for timely reviews after the book came out. (I’d naturally welcome more reviews if you, dear reader, are so inclined!) https://sharonlarkinjones.com/2020/10/14/dualities-reception/ https://sharonlarkinjones.com/2020/11/

Thanks to Stroudprint in Gloucestershire for doing a great job printing the anthology of poems and photographs, Poetry from Gloucestershire, which I collated and co-edited with Roger Turner and published under my Eithon Bridge Publications label in January. http://EithonBridge.com/anthologies Thanks to the other eleven contributing poets from Cheltenham Poetry Society: Roger Turner, Michael Newman, David Ashbee, Stuart Nunn, Robin Gilbert, Gill Wyatt, Sheila Spence, Belinda Rimmer, Catherine Baker, Annie Ellis, Alice Ross. A big thank you to Alison Brackenbury and Angela France for words of endorsement for the book, and to Tom Hadfield of The Local Answer for a two page spread promoting the anthology. https://tinyurl.com/ycb8mu98

Thanks to Helen Hewett of Suffolk Anthology Bookshop in Cheltenham https://theanthology.co.uk/ and Ian Nicholson at Alison’s Bookshop in Tewkesbury https://www.alisonsbookshop.co.uk/ for taking copies for sale in their bookshops. A launch event at Suffolk Anthology and an illustrated reading from the book at Wotton Under Edge Arts Festival in the spring had, alas, to be cancelled because of the pandemic but we are hopeful of opportunities to do (illustrated) readings from the book in 2021.

Thank you to Leo Boix and Nathalie Teitler, editors of Magma 76 (the Resistencia issue) https://magmapoetry.com/archive/magma-76/ for publishing my poem La Trinchera https://magmapoetry.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/Magma-76-Contents.pdf and for the invitation to read at the launch via Zoom. It was exciting to be involved in this international event … a highlight of my year.

Thank you to Brett Evans and Phil Robertson of Prole Magazine for publishing a cheeky poem Another Proposal (one of my ‘Middlemarchian sonnets’) in Prole Issue 30. https://www.prolebooks.co.uk  Prole is a rare treasure of a magazine, not least in no-nonsense content … and actually paying royalties for contributions.  

Thank you to Andy Jackson and Bill Herbert for so swiftly providing a home for pandemic poems: Postcards from Malthusia, at New Boots and Pantisocracies … and for publishing my poem Noli me Tangere on the site on 9 April https://newbootsandpantisocracies.wordpress.com/2020/04/09/postcards-from-malthusia-day-thirteen-sharon-larkin/

Thanks to Ziggy Dicks of Gloucester Poetry Festival for giving my poem Noli Me Tangere another airing in the GPF’s Pandemic Poetry anthology. I also had a stanza in a collaborative poem in the same anthology (more information later in this blog). Thanks to Ziggy too for the 10 November Zoom launch of Pandemic Poetry, when I had the pleasure of reading my poem with 25 other contributing poets. Copies of the book, in hardback and softcopy, are available here: http://www.gloucesterpoetryfestival.uk … profits going to charity.

Thank you to Claire Walker and Holly Magill for taking another of my pandemic poems, Herd Mentality, for Atrium on 10 April https://atriumpoetry.com/2020/04/10/herd-mentality-sharon-larkin/

Thank you to Helen Ivory for taking my pandemic poem Waiting for Ink Sweat & Tears on 27 April http://www.inksweatandtears.co.uk/pages/?p=21737

Thank you to Tracy Gaughan for taking three of my poems Green Turtle, Conspiring for Beginners and The New Circadians, for Abhaile, at The Blue Nib on 24 July https://thebluenib.com/three-poems-by-sharon-larkin/

Thank you to Paul Brookes for including my poem At the Apple Orchard Clinic for Eating Disorders in the International Mental Health Day feature at The Wombwell Rainbow. Paul does so much to promote poetry and poets; it’s good to have the opportunity to reciprocate here … in modest measure. https://tinyurl.com/yyfxlacd

Thank you to Visual Verse for taking the following poems during 2020:
Synoptic Accounts https://visualverse.org/submissions/synoptic-accounts/,
Gearing Up https://visualverse.org/submissions/gearing-up/ and
Reports to Mission Control https://visualverse.org/submissions/reports-to-mission-control/

Thank you to Edwin Stockdale and Amina Alyal for including my sonnet The New Middlemarchian in An Insubstantial Universe published by Yaffle Press in collaboration with Leeds Trent University (an anthology in celebration of George Eliot’s bicentenary).  Thanks too for a very enjoyable launch event via Zoom – a wonderful tribute to a wonderful novelist. https://tinyurl.com/y9dl5l2t

Thank you to editors Rebecca Bilkau and Gill Lambert for including another sonnet, entitled Lessons Learned in the anthology Bloody Amazing and to Jane Burn for the amazing illustration for the book’s cover … also for all the extra work Gill did to dispatch copies to contributors. A wonderful collaborative effort by Dragon Yaffle publishing.  Thanks to Gill too for two launch events over a weekend 17/18 October in order to accommodate the many contributors to this fine, and long overdue, anthology … so many brilliant, powerful, pain-filled poems from brave and sensitive poets. https://www.bloodyamazing.co.uk/the-anthology

Thanks for all the poets who rose to the call for poems for Good Dadhood on line (March to June 2020): Alwyn Marriage, Wynn Wheldon, Sarah James, Veronica Aaronson, Kevin Reid, Luke Palmer, Sarah L Dixon, Beth McDonough, Simon Williams, Rachel Burns, Paul Waring, Catherine Baker, Susan Taylor, Roger Turner, Sanjeev Sethi, Aaron Williams, Charlie Markwick, Z D Dicks, Maggie Mackay, Hilary Robinson, Steven Kedie, Sheila Jacob, Patricia Ace, Zoe Mitchell, JLM Morton and Jenni Wyn Hyatt.
The poems represent another major contribution to an already substantial Good Dadhood on-line anthology of poems celebrating fatherhood. https://gooddadhood.com

Thank you to Aurélien Thomas for taking my poem What Passes Between for a forthcoming print anthology of Fatherhood poems.

Thanks to Bean Baker for taking my poem The Well for the You Tube channel of Cheltenham Elim. Thanks too for providing the sensitive musical accompaniment for the video, and thanks to Bean’s mother for the excellent drawing of the well, which she develops as the video progresses. I was very pleased to be involved in this collaborative project. Thanks also to Dave Wellington for encouragement, kind words and posting my poem Pentecost on the Elim Website.

Other Poetry Events

I was grateful to The Rising Sun Hotel, Cleeve Hill, Cheltenham, for inviting me to put together an event to celebrate Burns Night on 25 January 2020.  What started out as being a quartet of poets turned out on the night to be simply a duo … including Jonathan Muirhead who took the train up from Swindon just for the occasion.  I was very grateful to him for providing an essential Scottish authenticity to what would otherwise have been a much less convincing event! Alas, this was to be the last occasion I would see Jonathan, which causes me to look back on 25 January with great sadness, as well as huge appreciation for his talent and kindness. I was devastated in August to learn that Jonathan had passed away. Terrible, shocking news. Jonathan was a warm, kind-hearted, gentle person and, after our Burns night reading, I had envisaged many more evenings of poetry performances in his company. Sincere condolences to Jonathan’s family; his many poetry friends will deeply miss his talent, kindness and warmth.

Poetry Café Refreshed was held in January and February.  Thank you to Roger Turner for hosting on the night, and to Vickie Godding who owns and runs Smokey Joe’s in Cheltenham, for accommodating the monthly event for the last five years. Thank you to Jinny Fisher (the guest poet in January) and David Briggs (guest poet in February) for travelling to Cheltenham to appear at Refreshed and for giving the audience such powerful and enjoyable readings. Unfortunately, live events had to be cancelled after February, including guest readings by Raine Geoghegan, Ziggy Dicks and Mary Gilonne in March, April and May respectively. However, I now have an opportunity to thank the stalwarts in the audience of Refreshed over the last five years … including Gill Wyatt, Michael Newman, Catherine Baker, Chris Hemingway, Annie Ellis, Marilyn Timms and Howard Timms to name just a few of the many Gloucestershire poets who supported Refreshed month by month. Thank you, too, to those who came from, time to time … and especially those who travelled from further afield when they were able eg Nina Lewis, Kathy Gee, Claire Walker, Holly Magill, Ian Glass. Your support was much appreciated by Roger, me … and, especially, the guest poets.

Thank you to Josephine Lay for inviting me to be one of the headliners for the event Raised Voices for International Women’s Day in March, just before lockdown, alongside Angela France, Alby Stockley, Sharon Brown, Tish Camp, Zoe Brookes, Annie Ellis, Carol Sheppard, Drea MacMillan, Halima Malek, Iris Anne Lewis, Jennie Farley, Julie Allan, Juliette Morton, Maggie Clutterbuck, Marion Feasey, Tanya Feasey, Emma Lord and Kuma San. Around 60 people attended, and proceeds from the event went to The Nelson Trust, a women’s charity devoted to addressing addiction and all that stems from it. Thanks to Josephine for organizing the splendid event, at St Mary de Crypt, Gloucester.

Thank you to Gary D for inviting me to co-headline at Piranha Poetry, at The Ale House in Stroud, just before lockdown in March.  It is another poignant memory that Jonathan Muirhead was booked to headline too, but could not make it on the night. Much appreciation to Ziggy Dicks for stepping in and sharing the stage on the night.  Thanks to Gary for putting on such a professional and entertaining event, augmented with musicians and a strong open mic crowd. Thanks too to Susie Roberts for her warm welcome on the night.

Thanks to Charlie Markwick for giving me the opportunity to try Zoom for the first time in March, in anticipation of ‘real life’ events transferring to on-line platforms.

Thank you to Helen Ivory and Martin Figura for their Live from the Butchery events via Zoom.  I thoroughly enjoyed the occasion on 9 May, which featured excellent readings, discussion and fun! It was lovely to see so many poet friends gathered together.  

It was great to hear Helen Ivory read again at the Ledbury Poetry Festival’s Salon via Zoom on 12 June and to enjoy the open mic poems – with such diverse voices. Thanks to Chloe Garner who was brilliant at hosting the Ledbury Salon sessions via Zoom.

Thank you to David Ashbee for inviting me to read some poems from Dualities at the launch of his book Poems from the Mind Shop on 28 October, organized by his wonderful publishers Donall and Janice Dempsey (at Dempsey and Windle). It was a very enjoyable and well-run Zoom event. Thank you to David, too, for inviting me to join the Holub group of poets that used to meet at The Anchor, Epney, in Gloucestershire until moving onto Zoom. I enjoy the mix of music and poetry at these events which are well-run by David. Finally, thanks to David for selecting one of my poems, Two Christmases, for the Christmas edition of readings for BWBF – British Wireless for the Blind http://www.bwbf.org.uk/player/?url=http://www.bwbf.org.uk/localtns/cotsvalemag/TOPD_playlist.pls

Many thanks to Damien Donnelly – a fellow poet published by Hedgehog Poetry … hence a ‘hoglet’ … for inviting me to read on his Eat the Storms poetry podcast, episode 6, on 10 October https://open.spotify.com/episode/2rDglwxlGAGQFmAJ4elXr3?si=VyRer88IRJ2QVYsVK5RhXA  These innovative weekly podcasts, in which Damien so generously provides a platform for fellow poets, are very much appreciated.

Thank you to Mark Connors and Gill Lambert of Yaffle Press for WORD CLUB events.  They have a lively, informal style of hosting that makes the events a friendly place in which to enjoy hearing and sharing poetry. The excellent guest poets on 1 August were:  Julia Webb, Alison Lock and Natalie Scott.  I had heard Julia read previously, at Poetry Café Refreshed in Cheltenham … and especially love her poem We is in the bank.  A strong open mic included Jinny Fisher, Sarah L Dixon and Oz Hardwick whom I have also had the pleasure of hearing at Poetry Cafe Refreshed. It was also great to ‘meet’ Kevin Read who has been a long-standing Facebook friend to so many of us. It was also a great opportunity to hear poets I’d not met before, including Adrian Salmon whose poems inspired by music were enthralling. A super night all round. I was doubly grateful to Mark and Gill for inviting me to read from Dualities and my pamphlet Interned at the Food Factory (Indigo Dreams 2019) at the WORD CLUB on 28 August, co-headlining with Jinny Fisher and Tony Hill.

The Quiet Compère event organized by Sarah L Dixon, co-hosted with Kevin Reid, on 16 September was another wonderful Zoom event, which also included Sam Loveless, Math Jones, Chris Hemingway, Neil Laurenson, Nina Simon, Stuart Charlesworth, Anna Tuck, Hannah Stone, Steve Pottinger, Rose Condo, Ken Evans, Carolyn O’Connell, Anna-May Laugher. A strong body of poets with a variety of voices and themes … from a wide geographic area. I was so happy to have been included.  Thank you, Sarah and Kevin!

Looking ahead, thank you to Veronica Aaronson for the opportunity to read some poems at an on-line event being held by Teignmouth Poetry Festival in February 2021.

Poetry Communities and Support Networks

Thank you to Paul McGrane who until relatively recently ran the Poetry Society’s Stanza network throughout the UK, providing inspiring leadership and effective communication. Following his retirement from the position, he will be much missed for his enthusiasm, good humour and positivity.

Thank you to Alison Brackenbury for her kind, gracious, ‘poetry presence’ in the county … and splendid photographs too. Thanks to Michael Newman for being a steadfast, positive and encouraging poetry influence in the area. Thank you to both Anna Saunders and Ziggy Dicks for their energy, and undaunted efforts on behalf of Cheltenham and Gloucester Poetry Festivals during this difficult year. 

Thanks to Simon Williams for running Poem a Day (April and September) on Facebook and to Jo Bell for running Try to Praise the Mutilated World providing a prompt a day during the pre-Christmas lockdown … and thanks to everyone who participated and commented on each other’s poems.

Thanks again to Angela France for inspiration, encouragement and information on publication opportunities, and thanks to a great group of local women poets sharing constructive feedback on work. Thanks especially to Judith van Dijkhuizen for efficiently setting up meetings and Zoom sessions, as well as thanks to Penny  Haworth, Christine Griffin, Catherine Baker, Belinda Rimmer, Kathryn Alderman, Gill Garret and Frankie March. And thank you to Frankie for coordinating our collaborative poem for inclusion in the GPF Pandemic Poetry anthology (see above).

Thank you to Roger Turner and members of Cheltenham Poetry Society’s writing group: Michael Newman, David Ashbee, Stuart Nunn, Robin Gilbert, Sheila Spence, Catherine Baker, Gill Wyatt and Alice Ross for feedback on poems in meetings early in the year, then via email. Hoping the writing group will be able to hold regular meetings again some time in 2021.

Thanks to Helen Dewbery and Chaucer Cameron for sharing their Poetry Film knowledge and expertise in the course we set up on Facebook. Originally, this was planned as a real-life event for Cheltenham Poetry Society, and under the banner of the Gloucestershire Stanza, but the pandemic offered an opportunity to move the course on-line and thus attract UK-wide interest. Thank you to everyone who participated, and congratulations to those who produced some fine poetry films, including Kathy Gee, Frankie March, Kathryn Alderman and Pat Edwards. Apologies for the film-makers’ names I have missed here; the content from the Facebook group was deleted on closing the project so I can’t go back and check who posted films to the group!

Thanks to Colin Bancroft for his brilliant Poets Directory which provides a platform for poets to advertise their publications, magazines, events, submission opportunities and so much more. https://poetsdirectory.co.uk

Thanks to the 18-strong group in Gloucestershire who have agreed for Cheltenham Poetry Society to continue holding their payment for the Annual Poetry Awayday at Dumbleton Hall which had to be cancelled last May.  Thank you to Dumbleton Hall for rescheduling us for May 2021.  We hope the Awayday can take place then.

Thanks to Angela France for her invitation to Belinda Rimmer and me to co-headline at Buzzwords in Cheltenham last summer, and thanks to Phil Kirby for Belinda and me to be guest poets at Writers at the Goods Shed in Tetbury last Spring. Both these events had to be cancelled because of the pandemic but we hope they might be possible some time in 2021.