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| Some of our Stanza group at World Poetry Day in Lisbon |
Some of our Stanza group made it to the Belem Cultural Centre for World Poetry Day. I have to admit that it wasn't quite what we were expecting. The day was dedicated to a well known Portuguese poet called Mário Cesariny, (1923 - 2006), but maybe there was too much dedication! I was hoping to hear some young poets reading their own work but the ones I heard were all reading Cesariny. That said, it was an interesting day and there was a beautiful reading of a selection of Portuguese poets by the opera singer Jorge Vaz de Carvalho which I wouldn't have missed for anything. I also came away with a book by Cesariny, 'A Cidade Queimada' which has some of his collage poems that are fascinating. It was hard to know which events to go to, so maybe we chose some of the wrong ones but the venue was very busy with lots of poetry events for children which was inspiring.
Meanwhile I carry on writing, and my head is beginning to fill up with ideas again after a rather poor start to the year. I am back to those 'grabbing a notebook' moments which is exciting. I've been reading a lot of poetry, and need to update my list here. I loved The Occupant by Jane Draycott, as she has such a subtle way with form and I keep returning to Every Little Sound by Ruby Robinson. Her poems are very perceptive and she speaks to the reader with such directness.
