Auckland

I've just landed in New Zealand after hours of flying. Later today I'm flying to Dunedin in South Island to go Eco trekking. Today's blog is an experiment to see how it works on my ipad.
I bought a pay-as-you-go sim card, although the guy in the first shop said that they were sold out in the whole of N.Z. Panic set in...shop number 2 had no problems.

I love writing on planes. I had hours without being disturbed and have drafts for 3 poems. I've gone back into free verse and am trying syllabics. I enjoyed going back into writing the way that comes to me more naturally...I think these poems are a bit crazy...but there you go!

I hope to be able to sort out how to post photos from my iPad so I can put up some of this trip. I'll be in N.Z. for 3 weeks.

Sonnets again...

Whoever told me to write sonnets has a lot to answer for. If the rhyme is right, the volta is in the wrong place, if the volta is right, the rhyme is wrong. There is a domino effect...change one word and the whole poem has to change. I'm not ready to give up yet...
Meanwhile Sintra is basking in winter sunshine, which means a drought must be on the way.

Hockney at the RA

I'm still reeling from the impact of this fantastic exhibition. Hockney is inspirational in the way he is continually experimenting with colour, medium, film etc. His exploration on The Sermon on the Mount, (after Claude) is a window into the way he works. His notebooks show what a great draughtsman he is and his ipad pictures make me want to have a go, although I can't draw to save my life. Try and get tickets if you can as this is a wonderful event and will lift those winter blues.

...the way of most resolutions!

Time seems to have flown again and I've been writing a lot of sonnets and villanelles. Now I'm delving into prose poetry and reading Rimbaud. I can't believe that he was writing in the 1800's and that his work is still so contemporary. We had a 'lively' discussion about prose poetry at the latest poetry workshop; the grey area between prose and poetry. It's a discussion I enjoy. I'm now writing a prose poem about waking up inside a jelly...maybe time for a rest.

Resolution!

Another year and another set of resolutions to break. I've been trying to write in blank verse which I found hard at first but now find I'm getting addicted to the form.
We had a great poetry workshop in December based around William Carlos Williams and his Red Wheelbarrow. For January's meeting we are meant to be writing imagist poetry. It is certainly harder than it looks but I'm having fun with it.
Happy New Year everyone!

Villanelle etc

I can't believe I haven't written in my blog for so long. I had to write 6 poems in two weeks for my course and I wanted to write in forms. I tried 2 ghazals, a pantoum, a villanelle, a sestina and two sevenlings. The pantoum and the sestina gave me my worst headaches. I found the sestina fascinating to write, and although my first attempt is very pathetic, I shall be trying again. The pantoum kept me awake for hours at night as I tried to make something of it. Eventually I stripped it right down to the minimum and it seemed to work much better. I now wait for my tutor's response!

Sylvia Plath's Drawings

I flew into London yesterday afternoon and went straight to a fascinating show of Sylvia Plath's drawings at The Mayor Gallery in Cork Street. These sketches show a glimpse of another aspect of her personality. Her presence was very powerful in these snapshots of her life and I felt honoured to be there. Among the pen and ink drawings there was a beautiful cat titled Curious French Cat, views over the rooftops of Paris, bottles of wine, old stoves and the trappings of everyday life. It's on until December 17th so there is plenty of time to visit!