London

 

Bowl by Leonora Lockhart with words
from my poem 'Loop'

I've been in London for 4 weeks now and it has been wonderful to catch up with my children and grandchildren who I hadn't seen for 6 months. I just managed to miss the need to quarantine when I arrived but was quite prepared to do so. London feels like a very different place and I'm not sure I like being here much. For me to say that is a rare thing. I was born and brought up in London and have always considered myself as a Londoner, but for the first time ever I find it depressing. I'm very careful where I go and find it so strange to dodge people on the pavements and am avoiding taking the underground. There are lots of boarded-up shops which is sad. 

On a high note I now have copies of my pamphlet 'Unfolded' which will be published in a few days. I would love to share 'Unfolded' with live readings, but that is out of the question for now. 

I am fighting with a new pc which has just downloaded my thousands of photographs in duplicate! I'm also fighting with this blog as the interface has changed and I can't find anything.

I go back to Portugal in two weeks time and am looking forward to it. I shall be loaded down with my pamphlets and all the books I've managed to buy to help me through winter. I'll probably self-quarantine when I arrive just to keep everyone safe.

I have all sorts of ideas for poems, another pamphlet on the go and also a poetry/art project so I feel happy about that and will enjoy the challenges.

Summer Reading

Unfolded for Proof Reading!

 It looks like Blogger is going to go modern. It's all very well but I'll need to get to grips with a new interface which will take time! Today's photograph wouldn't move to the centre until I added a caption. It was also very large so obviously all that is changing.

The proof for Unfolded arrived a few days ago. I put some quiet time aside and read through it very carefully so I hope that I didn't leave any errors. I also got my husband to proof read it. He's a very good proof reader, but not so hot on poetry, but between us I think we sorted everything out. There were only some miniscule things to change like putting in italics, changing commas, etc.

I've been reading some wonderful poetry pamphlets: Cyanic Pollens by Isabel Galleymore, not only lovely poetry but another beautiful publication by Guillemot Press. The back cover is stunning. The Girl Who Cried by Charlotte Gann I read through twice in one sitting and was completely enthralled. It is a powerful but gentle book and I loved it. The third pamphlet I've just read was Navigations by Nancy Campbell. Nancy was the Canal Laureate last year and I heard her read at the launch of this pamphlet. Well, after that reading, I couldn't resist ordering a copy from Happenstance. I've managed to read a lot during lockdown but if my bookshelves were groaning before, they are now positively bulging. The good thing is that I've had time to clean the shelves of years of dust!

Unfolded

I'm so happy I can now reveal the cover and title of my pamphlet. The beautiful cover is by Alice Parker and I love it. The clouds of lockdown certainly lift a little whenever I look at it. Launch month is September and getting closer - I can't wait.

I attended a wonderful Zoom reading by Rebecca Watts for her new collection 'Red Gloves' (Carcanet Press) and immediately bought the collection on Kindle. I'd much rather have the actual book, but the post is taking so long to get to Portugal and I didn't want to wait, as her poems were so inspiring and so full of light and air.

We managed a 'real people' Stanza meeting in my garden and shared a picnic lunch. We worked really hard and did some good critiquing. In some way, we seemed to cut out the padding and just went in for the kill, and it worked really well. Our masks were a bit of a problem for reading our poems but we managed okay and it was great to get together again. 

My family were due to fly here from the UK tomorrow but all that has now been cancelled. Instead of making beds I'm making poems! A very different summer to previous years :-(

I'm still trying to get to grips with Instagram and am not posting any more pictures on there until my feed is looking a little bit more professional. At the moment it's a complete mess but (promise to self), I WILL sort it out.

Where are we now?

This catch-up has taken a very long time. Little did we all know what was lurking in the wings when I wrote my last post in February? We were in London in mid-March when things started to look bleak, so returned early to Portugal. We self-isolated for 14 days after our flight, just to make sure we were safe, and so was everyone around us. I started to relax a bit after that but had been scared we might have caught it. Luckily we are keeping well but still being very careful.

The poetry world has been amazing in lockdown. I've never attended so many readings, workshops etc, mostly on Zoom. We now have our Stanza meetings on Zoom and it's working well. Meanwhile my pamphlet is with my publisher Maytree Press and I've had a sneak view of the cover, which I'm in love with. It's as if the artist has got inside my head through the poems.

I've learnt to set up a very simple website, which I will improve on as I learn more, and I'm also learning how to manage Instagram. The next step is to think about how I'm going to launch my pamphlet which is due out in September. I had lots of ideas for readings etc, but will have to re-think my strategy.

Strangely, I've been writing a lot of poems and have had to stop doing jigsaw puzzles which were becoming addictive. I've just opened a new one today after weeks of resistance, as I need a poetry breather...which won't happen, I know!

Catch Up!

Chapel of Virgins, São Roque Church, Lisbon

Having signed off in November saying I would be back in a week, I have to admit to failure. I got caught up in an event for Time & Tide (Arachne Press), and another event linking poems and photographs for an exhibition in Cascais. This was all at the time of our Stanza reading, followed by Christmas etc. I think my school report would read (and usually did), 'Could do Better'.

I've been having fun putting my pamphlet into order for publication in September by Maytree Press. I keep changing the order of the first two poems, but love the way the poems all seem to connect and chat to each other. I really enjoy the whole process.

I'm happy that I'll have a poem published in Magma's Resistencia issue in the Spring, a theme close to my heart. I've also had a poem accepted by Poetry Birmingham Literary Review, with some helpful editing suggestions by Suna. I'm always grateful to get editing advice and admire any editor who takes the time and trouble.

I feel the year has started well on the poetry front and I seem to be writing more than ever at the moment. The picture above is of the Chapel of Virgins in Lisbon.  Skulls swathed in fabric that looks like ruby dusters, are displayed on velvet cushions. It is decidedly spooky. São Roque is in one of Lisbon's most beautiful churches and I've been trying to write about these skulls and their bizarre altar.

Debut Pamphlet & Aldeburgh Poetry Festival

I'm excited that my debut pamphlet will be published by Maytree Press in the Autumn of 2020. I have a title but am hanging onto it for now! My brain has gone into overdrive with plans for poems, readings etc, but there is a long time to go!

I had a wonderful time at the Aldeburgh Poetry Festival. I went with my niece, another Olivia, who is now writing poetry. We became known as Olivia&Olivia, which I think would be a great name for a fashion label! For the last few years I've been going on my own, and this was much better. We had a great time.

Maria Isakova Bennett led a workshop on sewing and poetry. She makes the most beautiful hand sewn covers for her Coast to Coast to Coast poetry pamphlets which inspired me to have a go. I won't post the photo of my effort here, well not yet. I also read a poem in the Peter Pears Gallery for the launch of Maria's Aldeburgh edition, where I had a poem about the otters I had seen in the summer on the Isle of Skye. I was recorded reciting it on the beach, which was a new experience. I haven't heard it yet, but I know a dog barked in the middle of it.

I will write more about Aldeburgh next week, as today our Stanza group are giving a reading in São Pedro do Estoril and I need to get prepared. More of that later next week as well.

I bought a huge amount of books & pamphlets at the festival and will have a wonderful time reading them. There were so many wonderful readings that it was hard to resist the temptation. I think I need some new shelves ...

One Year Has Flown

What can I say? A year has passed since my last posting (hangs head in shame) - I've written lots of poems, published a few and have some good news in the offing... 

My Stanza group are busy writing poems for our poetry reading in Estoril in November. It seems to take a lot of organisation. Publicity, printing, organising a venue etc. It's good fun and everyone gets stuck in to help.

I'll be at the Aldeburgh Poetry Festival again this year and have a poem in Maria Isakova Bennett's special Aldeburgh anthology of 'Coast to Coast to Coast', so I'll be reading in the Peter Pears Gallery. I'm also going to Maria's workshop that morning 'Poetry and Textiles'. I'm looking forward to it. I used to do a lot of sewing so the idea of sewing my poems really appeals to me, and Maria's work is beautiful.

I've read a lot of books ... oh yes a LOT! I have many favourites: Girl by Rebecca Goss, So Many Rooms by Laura Scott, Reckless Paper Birds by John McCullough, Rock, Paper, Scissors by Richard Osmond, and the amazing Deaf Republic by Ilya Kaminsky. Living between two countries, my books go backwards and forwards and end up all over the place, so it's hard to keep track of them.

A short catch up after a year but I'll 'do better next time'

Happy Writing!