Tag: Jack Caradoc

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.

Poetry Thanks and Praise

A Gradual Return to Normality or Will Things Ever be the Same?

In 2022 social activities, and real-life poetry events, hesitated back into calendars. Meanwhile, streamed readings, podcasts, and workshops, Zoom launches and open mics continued to flourish … welcomed by poets who were, or are, less mobile, or for whom face-to-face meetings continued to be unwise or unappealing. The huge advantages of virtual events are well acknowledged: national and international audiences for poets’ work, greater diversity of input and output at workshops, and exposure to a much wider range of poetics and cultural traditions. It’s all about extended reach. For some, the climbing stats for Covid, flu and streptococcal infections, as 2022 drew to a close, encouraged another ‘retreat from real life’ … and on-line activities are continuing to save the day. Clearly, a hybrid approach to events is here to stay.

Now for my personalised list of thanks ­and praise for 2022.

Competitions

In March, I was thrilled to hear that I had won first place in the Dreich ‘Black Box’ competition, for which many thanks to Jack Caradoc of Dreich, and congratulations to all the commended and shortlisted poets. My prize arrived speedily and safely: a huge box of Dreich publications, and a book bag and pen, all in a splendid Black Box decked out with a super white bow. The icing on the cake was the ‘Black Box’ anthology of the winning and shortlisted poems, including my poem ‘Flight Recorder’. Black Box Anthology.

My next competition success was not a poetry prize, as such, but thanks to Intrigue and Mosaic in Stroud for the lovely fedora I won in a competition run by the shop. It might not have been a poem that won it for me, but it was carefully chosen, artfully arranged words! I’ll be wearing the hat to poetry gigs when I have the opportunity! Thanks to the lovely person in the shop who helped me to decide which colour to choose, and who took the in-store photo.  And thank you to my friend Sheila Macintyre who not only tipped me off about the competition but met me in Stroud in June for a super catch-up over lunch, after I’d picked up the prize.

Poems Published: in Anthologies, Magazines and On-line

My poem ‘Keyboard Warrior’ made it into the ‘At the Edge of all Storms’ anthology from Dreich in July. I loved the striking cover. Thanks again to Jack Caradoc, and to Cara L McKee. The anthology can be ordered here: At the Edge of all Storms

Five of my poems were published on-line in the ‘Lothlorien Poetry Journal’ in April. They can be read here Lothlorien Poetry Journal. A big thank you to editor Strider Marcus Jones, and thank you, especially, for the overwhelmingly positive words from in his confirming email. Such an enthusiastic and appreciative message from an editor is heartening and gladdening! Unusually for me, the poems all had a fantasy/sci-fi flavour: ‘Receiver’, ‘Reverie’, ‘In Transit’, ‘Visitations’ and ‘Managed Invasion’. Another thank you to Strider for including my work in Vol 11 of the Lothlorien Poetry Journal – ‘Windmills of the Mind’ – a beautiful book, with poems by many poets I admire, published in August, and available to purchase here: Lothlorien Poetry Journal Volume 11

Thanks to Robert Garnham for including my poem ‘Lent in a Time of Coronavirus’ on the ‘Spilling Cocoa Over Martin Amis’ website in April … a super platform for poetry that dares to be humorous, even in plague-ridden times! My poem can be read here: Spilling Cocoa

On a related (pandemic) theme, thanks to Ben Banyard in May 2022 for publishing my poem ‘Dawn Chorus, May 2020’ on-line in ‘Black Nore Review’. Read it here: Black Nore Review 

Thanks to Stewart Watkins for publishing another five Covid-related poems of mine in his ‘Pandemic Poets’ anthology in August. It’s full of powerful responses to the pandemic, and available to purchase here: https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B0B7QJPMR8/ref=dbs_a_def_rwt_hsch_vapi_taft_p1_i3

In October, I was pleased to find that I had a couple of clerihews in the second volume from Smokestack Books ‘More Bloody Clerihews’ – thanks to Andy Jackson and George Szirtes.  This has now joined Volume 1, ‘The Call of the Clerihew’ (2019) on my bookshelf (where a handful of mine previously found a home). The latest volume is available to purchase here: More Bloody Clerihews

Thanks, again to Andy Jackson, for publishing my offering entitled ‘Tolstoy’ for week 2 of his Double Dactyl website Double Dactyl of the Week on 24 October.  I love this form, and will be writing more.

Many, many thanks to Gill Connors and Rebecca Jane Bilkau of Dragon Yaffle for including my poem ‘Elementary Inventory’ in the anthology ‘Up the Duff’ published in November.  I am very grateful for the inclusion of this poem which is a particularly important one for me personally. Thank you both for all your hard work on the publication of this book, and congratulations to all the other contributing poets.

As a photographer, I find that many of my poems originate from a visual stimulus, so I’m always very happy to have a visual prompt every month from Visual Verse … and happier still when one of my poems is selected for the website, along with those of many poetry friends, including Angi Holden and Finola Scott to name just two. Thanks to Visual Verse for providing these stimulating challenges every month and thanks to the editors for including the following poems of mine on the website during 2022:

‘You will go down to the sea again’ January 2022 You-will-go-down-to-the-sea-again/

‘Down the Tubes’ June 2022 down-the-tubes/

‘First Class Mail’ November 2022 first-class-mail

Another of my poems ‘An Egyptologist’s Funeral Plan’ is scheduled for publication in the forthcoming ‘Gods and Monsters’ edition of ‘Here Comes Everyone Gods and Monsters issue’

Translation

I am always delighted when I manage to merge my love of Wales and Cymraeg with my love of poetry. An opportunity came as a result of being contacted in 2021 by Nicky and Elin of Ennyn, a community-centred, arts-based company based in Ceredigion, delivering bilingual educational workshops in schools and other communities. They commissioned singer Owen Shiers to sing the poem ‘Y Border Bach’ by William Williams (Crwys) and I had previously translated the same poem which Ennyn tracked down to my website: another-crwys-poem-translated. In 2022 my translation appeared on the Ennyn website for their Dolau Dyfi project, alongside a beautiful recording of Owen Shiers singing the song yn Gymraeg, and lovely photos of the singer! https://www.ennyncymru.com/owenshiersdolaudyfi

Of all the things I do in poetry, this has to be high on the list of things I’m most proud of being involved with, not least because Ennyn is based in Ceredigion, very much the land of my forefathers.

Reading at Events

Thanks to Veronica Aaronson for not only including a couple of my poems in the ‘Despite Knowing’ anthology in 2021, but for including me in the readers for the associated event at Teignmouth Poetry’s Mini Festival in May 2022. I have huge appreciation for Veronica’s vision for the anthology, and her hard work in curating and editing the poems and seeing the project through to publication. It was good to meet Veronica at the event and also to connect with other readers and participating poets at the festival, including Rosie Jackson and Hélène Demetriades (an opportunity for me to buy signed copies of their books!)  It was also good to catch up with other poet friends, particularly Simon Williams, Tom Sastray, Rachael Clyne and Hannah Linden.  I was honoured to read the poem ‘One Day Clean, and Counting’ by Hannah Stone during the festival, and my own poem ‘At the Apple Orchard Clinic for Eating Disorders’.  Much appreciation to all the poets and organizers of this lovely festival. Poetry Teignmouth Festival 2022

Thanks to Sarah L Dixon for her hard work on the Quiet Compere tour, 2022.  Her planning began early and was thorough and well-detailed; I learnt as early as February that I would be included later in the year, on one of the virtual sessions … and this came to fruition in August when I took part in one of the Zoom editions of the Quiet Compere. quiet-compere-stop-6-zoom

Much appreciation to Sarah for her multi-venue, in-real-life and virtual tour, throughout a demanding year, including a new full-time job … and being a fantastic Mum to Frank.

Collaborations: Running Workshops, Editing and Publishing

My long-standing association with Cheltenham Poetry Society sprung to life again, after a two-year pandemic hiatus, with the Awayday in May – day-long writing retreat at Dumbleton Hall. This was the eighth CPS Awayday, which had been annual event pre-pandemic. As always, I enjoyed working with CPS Chairman, Roger Turner, on the design and content of the day’s workshops on the theme of ‘The Elements’. The material included projected images, sound recordings and the text of poems by a variety of poets including Simon Armitage, Sylvia Plath, Philip Gross, Nigel McLoughlin, Rebecca Gethin and Holly Bars. We are delighted to have received 100% satisfied feedback from the attending poets after the Awayday, confirming that the workshops had helped with their writing and that they would like to do something similar in 2023.  We must thank staff at Dumbleton Hall for another memorable Awayday, particularly Emily, the events coordinator. Dumbleton Hall

Over the summer, Roger and I co-selected and edited poems submitted by the Awayday poets, for inclusion in an anthology of poems and photographs on themes of earth, air, fire and water. ‘The Elements’ was published in November, as a joint Cheltenham Poetry Society and Gloucestershire Stanza venture, by my outfit, Eithon Bridge Publications. Thanks go to all of the poets attending the Awayday and submitting excellent poems for the anthology: Robin Gilbert, Iris Anne Lewis, Penny Howarth, Christine Griffin, Belinda Rimmer, Gill Garrett, Annie Ellis, Sheila Spence, Penny Lamport, Catherine Baker, Gill Wyatt, Alice Ross, David Ashbee, Michael Newman, Stuart Nunn, and of course Roger. Particular thanks go also to Kevin Woodward of Wheatley Printers Wheatley Printers in Stroud, Gloucestershire, who patiently worked with Roger and me through the process of setting the text, positioning photographs, finalising the cover design, and then the printing and finishing of the book. We were delighted with the resulting volume of 59 poems by 17 poets, and over 30 photographs. Thanks are also due to David Clarke and Rona Laycock who were generous in their words of endorsement for the cover, and additional words to help us publicise the book which can be purchased through Eithon Bridge Publications: Eithon Bridge The Elements.  Below are some photos of the poets with their copies.

Attending Workshops

It was also good to reconvene during the second half of the year for monthly meetings of the CPS Writing Group. Thanks to chairman Roger Turner’s securing of a new venue, and thanks to all the Writing Group members for their helpful critiques and fine poems: Roger Turner, Michael Newman, David Ashbee, Stuart Nunn, Robin Gilbert, Sheila Spence and Gill Wyatt.

Later in the year, I was pleased to join a new fortnightly face-to-face group, Cleeve Poetry Writing Club, led by Claire Thelwell.  Many thanks to her for her enthusiasm and commitment, and also especial thanks to Will Williams of The Cleeve Bookshop for allowing us to meet in his wonderful bookshop after hours.  It’s the perfect venue, and a lovely group of poets.  Thanks too to Jo Bell … again … since we are drawing on her book ‘52: Write a Poem a Week. Start Now. Keep Going’ (Nine Arches, 2015). I think this is the fourth time I have been drawn back to 52, after its ground-breaking initial run by Jo back in 2014.  It is a timeless source of inspiration, available from the publisher: 52 at Nine Arches

In 2021 I began attending Mark Connors’ and Gill Lambert’s (now Connors!) Wednesday Wordship sessions on Zoom … and these continued through 2022. A previous blog post records my gratitude to them for all the good things that I have experienced personally from this dynamic poetry duo.  Thanks to Yaffle

Assisting in a Competition

Not only did my ‘oeuvre’ grow by some twenty poems during the Wednesday WordshIp workshops, but I was honoured to be asked by Mark and Gill to offer my opinion on the short-listed poems in the 2022 Yaffle Competition, and to put them in order of the Top Ten, as I saw them. There was such a high standard that it was a challenge putting the ten poems in order of perceived merit. Having done so, I was delighted to learn subsequently that my recommendations aligned very closely with Mark’s and Gill’s own assessment – particularly in identifying the winning and commended poems. I was delighted that Mark and Gill used some of my comments on the poems in announcing the results. Yaffle Competition Results Congratulations to all the long-listed, short-listed, commended and highly commended poets and especially to winners Sue Burge (first), Ian Harker (second) and Holly Bars (third). And am pleased that one of my own Wednesday Wordship poems ‘You Knit’ will be included on an ‘honorary’ basis  in the Whirlagust III prizewinners anthology. Thanks again to Mark and Gill Connors for an excellent poetry year.

Reviews, Written and Received

Another result of the collaboration with Mark and Gill was that I was asked by fellow Wordshipper, Holly Bars, to review, and write a cover endorsement for her debut collection ‘Dirty’ from Yaffle Press, launched in November and on sale here: Dirty It was a privilege to get to know Holly through Mark and Gill’s Wednesday Wordship sessions on Zoom in 2021/22, and an honour to be asked to write a response to her astonishing debut collection. Holly is definitely a poet to watch.

In August I was delighted to receive a 5 Star review on Amazon for my collection ‘Dualities’ (Hedgehog Press 2020):  ‘Skilful poetry, a delightful collection of accomplished writing.’  Thanks to Ozymandias!

Finally, a big thank you to South Poetry Magazine South Magazine and especially Anne Peterson for the positive review of the ‘Inspired by Music’ anthology of poems and photographs edited by Roger Turner and me, and published on behalf of Cheltenham Poetry Society by Eithon Bridge Publications in November 2021. The review appeared in issue 66 of South Magazine in October 2022. The idea for an anthology inspired by music came from a desire for a project, for CPS poets, during the hiatus between the 2019 and 2022 Awayday writing retreats. The positive review for this anthology was most welcome! ‘Inspired by Music’ can be purchased through Eithon Bridge Publications: Eithon Bridge anthologies

Looking Forward

Overall, 2022 felt like a year of slowly getting back to something approaching ‘normal’ … whatever ‘normal’ is nowadays, but I hope 2023 will begin to feel like a leap forward, a change of gear, an acceleration towards goals still unfulfilled!

A happy, productive and successful 2023 to all poets, everywhere … and good health and prosperity to all people, wherever they happen to be.