A Hand full of Favorite books from this the . first Covid 19/20/21- year . — jamesgray2

Ok maybe a big armful, or a large table full, or let’s just say five of my favorite books all with lots of images and long long descriptions. 353J Alberto da Castello Rosario della gloriosa Vergine Maria 1585 469J   Rabanus Maurus. De Laudib[us] sancte Crucis opus. 1503 500J Petrus de ROSENHEIM {Ars MEMORANDI.] Rationarium Euangelistarum 1502 263J Institutio Astronomica: Galilei Galilei Nuncius Sidereus; et […]

A Hand full of Favorite books from this the . first Covid 19/20/21- year . — jamesgray2

Review: Undermined by Danny Mellor, at Cluntergate Community Centre 03/10/2021 — iamhyperlexic

As soon as I heard that Red Ladder Theatre Company was putting on another play at Cluntergate Community Centre in Horbury, I ordered the tickets (GBP5 each). My only reservation was that the last Red Ladder play I saw at this venue was a very tough act to follow. This was balanced against the fact […]

Review: Undermined by Danny Mellor, at Cluntergate Community Centre 03/10/2021 — iamhyperlexic

Wanderlust by Ben Banyard — The Poetry Shed

Wanderlust There’s a table in a corner of the officewhere we deposit the treats we bring backfrom our travels; trips to the seaside,summer holidays to Spain and Greece.I remember when Max went to Vietnam,brought back delicious peanut candywhich she said was handmade.She’s been all over, India and Cambodia,Thailand a few times, Australia,lots more places I […]

Wanderlust by Ben Banyard — The Poetry Shed

The English Strain and Bad Idea by Robert Sheppard: A Review — Elliptical Movements

The English Strain, Robert Sheppard, Shearsman. 2021, ISBN: 9781848617469, £12.95 Bad Idea, Robert Sheppard, Knives Forks and Spoons Press, 2021, ISBN: 9781912211746, £11.00 ‘What is badly needed at the present moment is some small Malherbe of free verse to sit on the sonnet and put it out of action for two hundred years at least. […]

The English Strain and Bad Idea by Robert Sheppard: A Review — Elliptical Movements

Cut Flowers by Harriet Tarlo (Guillemot Press)

tearsinthefence's avatarTears in the Fence

The enthralling collectionCut Flowersby Harriet Tarlo cleverly combines form and content in hybrid structures in which the horizontal lines intersect with a vertical reading. This form allows different possibilities that coexist at physical and conceptual levels. The poems are also beautifully illustrated by Chloe Bonfield, though they were not created in collaboration with the artist. In her previous works, Tarlo collaborated with many artists. For example, in the exhibition ‘A Fine Day for Seeing’ at Southwark Park Galleries she worked with Judith Tucker in reference to the artwork ‘Dark marsh: silvered out’ (2021) in relation to her poem ‘Winter Saltwort’. The illustrations in this collection strongly express the essentiality of the writings, whose style is a minimalist one:

cut flowers why would they when

it came to itlasting longer

long daysbefore dawn sees

a fair lightcrows & robins upright

on the walllook out, learn to travel in

deep…

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#folktober. Day Four. Jenny Greenteeth. She inhabits mostly still waters, enticing children into the water by having a green mat across the water. I welcome poetry/short prose/artworks.

Day Four – Jenny Greenteeth

I, Ginny Greenteeth

I, Ginny Greenteeth invite all of you,
boys and girls to dance and play on this green
mat, I’ve laid out especially for you.
Look how the sun shines on it. The wild sheen

invites your feet to press upon it, fetch
football to its wonderful pitch, not
scuffed up and muddy but fresh and fine, stretch
your legs, leap on this cool turf goal spot.

Don’t read those old, battered out of date signs.
Don’t listen to uncool mam and dad bleat
to you about playing safe. Where’s the fun time
in that? Risk it for a biscuit. Compete.

I will take you where you can play all day.
Step on this duckweed, don’t do as they say.

-Paul Brookes

Down By The Sea

Dayglo buoys cavorting
in the swell of a passing rib
splashing riotous colour
scattering raucous gulls

Selfie snapping girls
in Primark fluorescent fashions
strut and preen along the prom
for tombstoning boys
who are already gone
to claim the adulation…
Their prize…
from the grockles whose eyes
can’t believe the sight they are seeing
as an empty plastic bottle
whirls wildly…
in the centre of a circle of ripples
where moments before
a young boy punctured the meniscus
on his way to the other side

Attention seeking lights
flash bright actinic blue
splashing electric highlights
on the pale faces of the silent crowd

-Peter Roe – August 2019

Bios And Links

-Peter Roe

lives in Bridport on the Jurassic coast. He is a prize winning performance poet, artistic, autistic, computer geek and technology nerd. A former Bard of Dorchester and host of Bridport spoken word night Apothecary. Founding editor and publisher of the Jawbone Collective. A self confessed nerd and technology junkie who likes to shatter peoples misconceptions about Aspie computer geeks! In July 2021 Peter was Highly Commended for his forthcoming collection “About Time”. He has been published in ‘Siren Poets’ in 2020. Short listed In Blandford Poetry Prize 2019, Runner up in Bridport Short Story Slam 2018, Finalist in the Apples and Snakes South-West Slam 2018, long listed in ‘Writing Without Limits’ for The Yeovil Literary Prize 2017 and winner of The Western Gazette Best Local Writer 2017. He has been widely published online and in print. Has two published collections of poetry. His debut poetry collection ‘Technology Bytes Back’ (2018) comes from that place where technology meets people and the inevitable mayhem that follows. His second collection “i’m in Love with My Barista” came out in July 2019 to coincide with a series of Fringe events. and show ‘Jawbone’. His fringe event ‘North Verses South’ for 2020 was postponed…

#folktober. Day Three. “Freybug”. A monstrous black dog size of a small calf said to prowl country lanes. Fact checkers see no black dog but a spectre. I welcome poetry/short prose/artworks.

Day Three – “Freybug”

https://writinginmargins.weebly.com/home/fact-checking-the-freybug

Freybug
“Be not afraid of fray-bugs which lie in
the way.” so English martyr describes me
1555. I’m a frightening
obstacle to overcome. Popery

railed against, authority imprisoned
him, requested he recant, he refused.
They ordered him burnt He welcomed
hugged stake said it was cross of Christ. And loosed,

” Welcome Everlasting life!” Not afraid
of me when he met me in various
ways. Burnt February of year he made
mention of me his words always pious.

Some say I’m reason, today’s way who blocks
fanaticism, shows easy paths plot.

-Paul Brookes

#folktober Day Two. “The Erl-King”. Today’s poetry/short prose/artwork theme is “The Erl-king”. I will feature all contributions on today’s blog post. Who will the Erl-king entice today?

Day Two – The Erl-king

KONICA MINOLTA DIGITAL CAMERA

KONICA MINOLTA DIGITAL CAMERA

Statue depicting the Erlking in the ancient graveyard of Dietenhausen, in Keltern, Germany.

This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported license.

Erl-king


Hear the gust music my air blows through this reed?
Inhabits your ear, delights all your senses.
A new birdsong, fresh animal track, beads
a sprightly beat, warm summer days, tenses

new sugar tastes on your tongue, blood hums your bones.
Now you see me, in rich purple, rare blue.
Your mouth opens, I reach out, touch your grown
laughter, imprison your youth in situ.

I am your first child who needs shelter, hugs,
clothes, your patience and long conversations.
I am your elderly parents that tug
at their recall more and more frustration.

Enticed by freedom find yourselves in chains.
I laugh and play a sprightly flute on your pains.

-Paul Brookes

#folktober. Day One. The Green Man. Today’s poetry/short prose/artwork theme is “The Green Man”. I will feature all contributions on today’s blog post.

Day One. The Green Man

Villard de Honnecourt- Sketchbook Green Man

Page from the Sketchbook of Villard de Honnecourt

  • Author: Villard de Honnecourt
  • Source: Sketchbook of Villard de Honnecourt (about 1230)
  • MS. 19093 French Collection, Bibliothèque Nationale, Paris (No. 1104 Library of Saint-Germain-des Prés until c.1800)

The Green Man in Autumn

-David Russell Mosley

Autumnal Green Man


Spiders thread my lips lightly together.
My leaves become their actual colours
and fall from my face, red, yellow, ochre.
My voice rustle of green leaves is no more.

I am the scent of ripe apple and pear.
I am the rain on sodden bark, slow time.
My days shorter, dark sooner, light rarer.
I am burning leaves. Face of Harvest time.

After the fires, my mouth nose and eyes spout green
shoots, new leaves bud and grow on my barkskin.
I flourish once more. An aspect of dream.
Memory of ice. Warmth without, within.

In stone, wood or paper I decay lose
definition, but still my image grows

-Paul Brookes

Bios And Links

-David Russell Mosley

is a poet and theologian living in Washington state. When not teaching or writing, David likes to wander in the woods, drink a good scotch, and smoke a pipe.

Drop in by Ross McGivern

Nigel Kent's avatarNigel Kent - Poet and Reviewer

I’m particularly pleased to invite, fellow Open University Society Poet, Ross McGivern, to reflect on a poem from his inspirational Fragments and Stages.

As is customary I confess my indecision as to which poem I should present and how the heck would I write about it. Pity the poor poem! First they witness fellow darlings killed and then look on as I pick a teacher’s pet. But here we: A Respite of Bluebells.

‘we navigate paths studded by ferns’

I am unsure if this is my favourite from or indeed representative of Fragments and Stages as a whole. I suspect this stems from how long I have spent with the poems and how I view it conceptually, especially as I have lived with it since 2016. I never intended to write a collection of poems about this subject – I found the thought of doing so exploitative, but…

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