#ItsNotOk Sexual Abuse And Sexual Violence week 7th-13th February. Day Four. I will feature your published/unpublished poetry/short prose/artworks. Please include a short third person bio.
-Paul Brookes (Another dialect retelling of a Classical myth from my out of print “The Headpoke And Firewedding).
Bios And Links
Amazon Author Page
Sally Michaelson: Leeds to Bournemouth
*****
Sally Michaelson is a retired conference interpreter in Brussels. Her poems have been published in Ink,Sweat and Tears, Lighthouse, The High Window,The Banghor Literary Journal, The Lake, London Grip, The Jewish Literary Journal, The Seventh Quarry, Idler, Hevria, Lilith, Algebra of Owls, Squawk Back and Dreich. Her debut collection The Boycott was published by The High Window in April 2021
*****
Sally Writes:
‘I didn’t realize how much I wanted to write about Jewish hotels in Bournemouth in the 1960’s and my family’s ‘pilgrimage’ every summer. When I wrote the first poem ‘Leeds to Bournemouth’ memories of lavish food, stuffy lounges,colourful characters and my own discomfort came flooding back.I hope you’ll enjoy reading.’
*****
LEEDS TO BOURNEMOUTH
Dad fits a jigsaw
of suitcases and bags
into the bursting boot
of our Vauxhall Viva
wedging all four sisters
onto the backseat
perched on the pull-down
smoke from Dad’s Havana
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#ItsNotOk Sexual Abuse And Sexual Violence week 7th-13th February. Day Three. I will feature your published/unpublished poetry/short prose/artworks. Please include a short third person bio.
The above image is the front cover to Helen’s first volume of microfiction. “Windblown”. Her next volume will be called “Ink Spills”. I will be featuring microfictions from this over the week. Here is the second. Helen says of these:
The words in capitals are not titles as such; they are the prompts given in vss writing challenges. In brackets I have indicated the general theme of each piece.
-Paul Brookes
Bios And Links
Amazon Author Page
Facebook Author Page
https://www.facebook.com/helenlaycockauthor
Pillar Box Poetry
https://www.facebook.com/pillarboxpoetry
@helen_laycock
WEBSITES
Poetry
https://helenlaycock.wixsite.com/marbleintocloud
Short Stories/Flash
https://helenlaycock.wixsite.com/fiction-in-a-flash
Children’s Books
#ItsNotOk Sexual Abuse And Sexual Violence week 7th-13th February. Day Two. I will feature your published/unpublished poetry/short prose/artworks. Please include a short third person bio.
TRIGGER WARNING
-Helen Laycock
The above image is the front cover to Helen’s first volume of microfiction. “Windblown”. Her next volume will be called “Ink Spills”. I will be featuring microfictions from this over the week. Here is the second. Helen says of these:
The words in capitals are not titles as such; they are the prompts given in vss writing challenges. In brackets I have indicated the general theme of each piece.
-Helen Laycock.
A Tongue
Once a lass craved by a lad.
He lusts after her.
She is cold.
He forces himself on her,
He cuts out her tongue,
to stop her gab.
Sliced by his blade, he holds it with pincers.
Her tongue’s root quivers,
the rest lies on dark soil, writhes
and trembles, searches
for some sign of her.
She weaves the fact in purple design
on a white background, so her boss
sees what her mutilater has done
and moved by her rape
molds her into a feathered thing,
warm brown back, pale front, speckled
with lines of dark arrows that point to her head,
a tinge of golden brown on her breast,
belly almost white with a few small dark spots,
a bird who embroiders the fact of her pain
in the cup of her nest,
twigs, grass and moss, cemented
thickly lined with mud, dung, rotten wood,
mixed with leaves.
At the start she can only
call his name, nothing else
in short bursts twice,
clear and flute-like.
She is a dirsh, thrusher,
thirstle, throggle.
Come icy ground she smashes
the shells of snails
against a favourite stone,
picks at the foot,
as at a swollen tongue,
swallows the meat.
-Paul Brookes
Bios And Links
Amazon Author Page
The Wombwell Rainbow Interviews: Andrew Ray Williams
Andrew Ray Williams reading his poetry
-Andrew Ray Williams
is a poet living in Pennsylvania, USA. His work has been featured at Ink, Swear & Tears, Red Eft Review, The BeZine Quarterly, among others.
Poetry Website: andrewraywill.wordpress.com
General: andrewraywilliams.com
The Interview
When and why did you start writing poetry?
I began reading and writing poetry a few years ago as I was nearing the completion of my PhD at Bangor University (Wales). Prior to this, I would enjoy reading fiction and non-fiction, but I had never seriously engaged in poetry. In high school, I was introduced to the likes of Wordsworth, Dickinson, Frost, among others. However, at the time, I mistakenly assumed that poetry was nothing more than a hunt for meaning. In my mind, poetry seemed like a reader’s Rubik’s cube. It was not until I was an adult that I discovered my initial impressions were crudely mistaken.
In addition to teaching Christian theology, I also serve as a pastor of a church in Pennsylvania, USA. Oddly enough, my perspective on poetry began to change as I started to do more preaching on the Psalms in my local church. Reading and reflecting on these ancient poems drew me in, not only spiritually but literarily. How was I to expound on the Psalms with such little knowledge of poetics? This led me to read poetry.
Who introduced you to poetry?
As my story reveals, I really fumbled my way into poetry. But as soon as I became interested in it, I began reading voraciously. I soon realized that poetry was a gift I had been missing out on for far too long. I read William Shakespeare to William Blake to Walt Whitman. If I remember correctly, I believe it was Billy Collins’ popular anthology Poetry 180 that introduced me to contemporary poetry.
How aware are and were you of the dominating presence of older poets traditional and contemporary?
Poetry, like any other kind of literature, allows you to converse with the dead. One is not doing their due diligence if they are not becoming acquainted with at least some of the towering figures throughout history. Though I write almost exclusively in free verse, I very much enjoy reading older poets who utilize meter and rhyme. Writing poetry, I think, puts you in the company of many people who have come before you and will inevitably come after you.
What is your daily routine?
I wish I had a daily routine. Amid work and family life, I often must carve out time within a week to sit down, quiet myself, and write. I am not good at writing “on the go”. I need quiet and focused time. However, at the beginning of each week, between my personal and work schedules, I will always pencil in time to write. But, since I am currently contracted to write a non-fiction book, my poetry writing has slowed. However, next week I have already put a block of time in my week to focus on poetry.
What motivates you to write?
A few things. Many of my poems are birthed out of ordinary times with my wife and daughters. Even if they do not find their way into a poem, I am often inspired to write when I am with my family. Also, since I preach in a church setting and teach in a university setting, I find poetry helps relieve me of didactic communication. I find the form is not only beautiful but useful in expressing things I fail to know how to express otherwise. Finally, I write because I love the challenge. Poetic writing can be a great challenge. I enjoy wrestling with words, ideas, emotion, and ink.
What is your work ethic?
I am a self-starter and easily motivated, especially when it comes to writing. I write every week, with the only exceptions being when I am on vacation (and sometimes I will still write a poem). Even if I only have an hour in the week to write, I make sure I do it.
How do the writers you read when you were young influence your work today?
I grew up in “the south”—Texas, USA. However, now I live in Pennsylvania, USA, which is much farther north. People here tell me I have somewhat of a “southern-accent”, though I would never know it. I think writing works in a similar way. I know that my writing voice has been shaped by early influences, but I have little perception of how and to what degree.
Who of today’s writers do you admire the most and why?
Jane Kenyon was the first poet that I really adored. She often wrote brief lyrical poems that centered around place and ordinary life. I appreciate that her poems seem to always have perfect line breaks and I get the impression that no single word could be eliminated. Her husband, Donald Hall, who was also a poet has influenced me, though in other ways. His preoccupation with nature, countryside, loss, and death are themes I find compelling. Early on, he taught me that poetry need not be overly sentimental, though it certainly can be on occasion. Billy Collins taught me the art of being whimsical and talking directly to the reader. Lucille Clifton challenged me to say more with fewer words. Lately, I have been enjoying Philip Larkin (especially his whit) and have also delighted in reading R.S. Thomas’ work. Finally, I must also give credit to my mentor, Matthew M.C. Smith. He has and continues to help me become a better poet.
Why do you write, as opposed to doing anything else?
I love words like I used to love Legos. I enjoy building things out of them.
What would you say to someone who asked you “How do you become a writer?”
Read … A lot (2) Start writing (3) Seek out honest feedback (4) Keep reading
Tell me about the writing projects you have on at the moment.
At the moment I am publishing individual poems in an effort to build a bigger body of work. Once I can accomplish that, I aim to publish a small collection of poems. As I mentioned earlier, I am also currently I am writing a non-fiction book tentatively entitled, Reconstructing Prayer: Navigating the Complexity of Faith Through the Simplicity of Prayer. It should be released in early 2023 with Cascade Books.
Thank you for this opportunity to talk, Paul.
#ItsNotOk Sexual Abuse And Sexual Violence week 7th-13th February. Day One. I will feature your published/unpublished poetry/short prose/artworks. Please include a short third person bio.
Seven Question Interview:
The above image is the front cover to Helen’s first volume of microfiction. “Windblown”. Her next volume will be called “Ink Spills”. I will be featuring microfictions from this over the week. Here is the second. Helen says of these:
The words in capitals are not titles as such; they are the prompts given in vss writing challenges. In brackets I have indicated the general theme of each piece.
-Paul Brookes
Bios And Links
Amazon Author Page
#NationalYorkshirePuddingDay. I will feature your published/unpublished poetry/short prose/artworks. Please include a short third person bio.
-Peter J Donnelly
In this house they rise
Like doubloons
Or better still
Shaped something like
A sperm whales eardrum
They all are eaten
With gravy or syrup
With awe
And occasionally with stew
-Julie Corbett
The Buzz
“Where are the Yorkshire Puddings?”
a customer enquires, and to show
them where is the gravy to my brain.
“Have you got any custard?”
I point to the correct aisle
and get the jam roly poly in my stomach.
That shot of serotonin to the head,
lifts the day. I know where to find
what they want or need feels worthwhile.
-Paul Brookes
Bios And Links
-Julie Corbett
is a writer from East Yorkshire and writes about place and how it is remembered.
-Peter J Donnelly
lives in York where he works as a hospital secretary. He has been published in various magazines and anthologies including Dreich and Writer’s Egg. He has degrees in English Literature and creative writing from the University of Wales Lampeter. He recently won second prize in the Ripon Poetry Festival competition.
Poem, “The Wobbling Moon,” up in Roi Fainéant
“The world courses on
arhythmic heartbeats, now too fast, now too slow–“
Thank you to the lovely, lively editors at Roi Fainéant for publishing my poem, “The Wobbling Moon,” in this most recent issue. I’m eager to read the entire issue.
The Wombwell Rainbow 