Words Unlimited

Book of The Month - February 2013

This is a gem of a book. I could have chosen it simply for its cover illustration, artwork suggestive of both an old Shell Motoring Guide and an I-Spy Book.

Richard Mabey, esteemed nature writer, has been keeping an eye on the weather, but this is not simply a chronicle of floods and heatwaves. Turned Out Nice Again is most engaging when Mabey reflects on the relevance of weather to narrative.

There is, of course, the larger narrative of climate change – are we losing the plot? Mabey tops and tails the book with thoughts on this. In between he gets down to micro-climates, the particularity and localness of British weather.

Our position in the path of the Atlantic storm belt and next to a large continental mass, means we never know what’s coming next. Turned Out Nice Again looks at how we live with the weather in our daily lives - something we all have in common. The weather, Mabey suggests, is a ‘kind of common language.’ And, being so changeable, it ‘affects our bodies, our moods, our behaviour, the structure of our environment.’ Apparently, during periods of low-pressure hospital admissions increase, there are more strokes and phantom limb pain at such times.

Weather is both a physical reality and integral part of our imaginations. Changeable and often memorable it has a powerful effect on our emotions. The stories that we choose to tell about ourselves are often woven around weather.

How many of us have personal stories about the summer of 2012 – wettest since records began – flooded homes, wedding guests drenched, allotment crops drowned?

For novelists, extreme weather can provide an over-arching metaphor. Among recently published books you'll find Instructions For A Heatwave from Maggie O'Farrell and Fish Change Direction In Cold Weather by Pierre Szalowski.

I was pleased to come across this in Mabey's book: Britain’s greatest ice-storm occurred on 27 January 1940 when ‘cats were iced to branches and birds killed in flight as their wings froze solid.’ That fact could well suit a scene in my current work-in-progress.

It’s a gem of a book in every sense. The size of the cover image here is somewhat misleading. This is a pocket-sized book of 90 pages. Though I enjoy reading certain books on my Kindle, and am a keen fan of poetry Apps for my ipad, Turned Out Nice Again, is evidence that there’s still plenty of scope for the physical book.

Newspaper Taxis - London Launch

Looking forward to this Friday evening when I’ll be reading my poem, ‘Ringo Hated Onions,’ at the London launch of the anthology, Newspaper Taxis, published by Seren.

Delighted to find my poem in such distinguished company – others in the book include: Simon Armitage, Carol Ann Duffy, Elaine Feinstein, Peter Finch, Adrian Henri, Philip Larkin, Lachlan Mackinnon, Roger McGough, Sheenagh Pugh, Jeremy Reed and Carol Rumens.

Featured in The Guardian's What to read in 2013, the anthology tracks the influence of the Beatles’s creativity on successive generations, with poems that respond to songs, events and much more. Further details, here.

Do come along for the reading and buy a copy. It’s all in a good cause as royalties are being donated to Claire House Children's Hospice, serving those children and young people of Merseyside with complex medical needs since 1998.

I'm not sure how many of the poets will be reading on Friday, but I'm pretty sure Philip Larkin won't be among them. Hope to see some of your there:

The Betsey Trotwood, Clerkenwell, London

Friday 15 February 8pm

Troubadour Triumph

To the Troubadour last night for an amazing evening. This was no ordinary poetry reading, more an event of spontaneous spoken word. What We Should Have Said, re-invigorates what an evening of poetry can be.

On stage three poets – Liz Lockhead, Liz Berry and Julian Stannard – were joined by musician Huw Warren on keyboard and improv philosopher, Stuart Silver.

Not much is planned. One poet reads, a theme or a mood is picked up and the next poet comes to the mic. The music falls in with the rhythm of the words, the first poet might return to speak, or Stuart Silver might pop up with a surreal anecdote or wry observation.

Last night, one theme that was explored you might call, ‘education’, but it was nothing Michael Gove would recognise. Each performer, in their different voices, offered alternative curricula, subversive ways of knowing.

No doubt about it, this is the kind of event where, well, you really had to be there.

Liz Berry, teacher and unofficial patron saint of schoolgirls, is a huge talent and a perfect   choice for such an event. Her black country accent, and seductive tale-telling was at the heart of the evening. I'm looking forward to her first full collection. Meanwhile, she has a pamplet with Tall Lighthouse. 

 

Orkney - New Amy Sackville Novel

 

Congratulations to Amy Sackville, her much anticipated second novel, Orkney was published yesterday by Granta. It promises to be as rich a read as her first book, The Still Point, which was shortlisted for several awards and won the John Llewellyn Rhys Prize. My copy of Orkney has just arrived - more on that in a future post. Meanwhile, here’s a glimpse into Amy’s writing life.

Last Chance To See

If you haven't already seen the exhibition, Formerly, at The Poetry Library in London, you've got until Sunday.

Why is it worth seeing? Aside from the excellent poems, photographs and support material it's a great example of how to 'commission' yourself. Poet Tamar Yoseloff set herself the challenge to respond to 14 photographs in 14 Sonnets. You can read the full story here

Do you always need to wait for inspiration to strike? How might you commission yourself to write a group of poems?