Dear Blog

Yes, there is an excuse. Summer! A full house, lots of sheets to wash, food, food and more food. But also time for a poetry picnic with my Stanza group. We chose the one foggy day, but the sun came through and we sat in the Sintra hills discussing the poems we had tried to write for children (mine was too scary), and eating a hotchpotch picnic. It was wonderful!

I found time to write poems in the early mornings when our resident owl was just dropping off, and our resident children were still dreaming. There is something about the pressure of time that gets me inspired to write and I've been enjoying myself exploring 'moths'. They are becoming something of an obsession and I'm having fun with them.

I was very happy to see my poem 'Washi' published in 'Under the Radar', a poetry magazine that I think is great, and thrilled to be shortlisted in the 'Paper Swans Press' pamphlet competition.

I've been reading a lot and will add to my reading list here once I get back from holiday. There are some fabulous poetry books and pamphlets out there and my shelves can't get enough of them. I love autumn and that feeling of settling down to write, sort out, garden, tidy up, declutter. It would be great to sell the house but the viewings dried up over August so I think we're here for ever. I can think of worse places to be and I love the privacy we have in Sintra.

The family left this morning and now it's my turn to take a break. I'm off down the Danube tomorrow, that is, if it hasn't dried up.

There is no excuse...

for not keeping up with my blog... except to say...my writing got stuck and I got stuck with it. I was saved (once again) by a wonderful short online course with The Poetry School. It was 'The Ugliness Studio' and we were encouraged by Adam Crothers to use bad taste, bad form and bad language. It was exhilarating, the group was dynamic and responsive and I loved every minute of it. I never thought I would enjoy writing such wicked words but it was very liberating.

I went to the music festival at Aldeburgh again in June and was able to get to Shingle Street for a quick walk on the beach. I was happy to see that the shell line was still there, looking stronger than ever. I managed to repair a few spaces and it felt very special. I think it would be a great place to stay and need to look up a place to rent for a few nights. I would love to go back for Aldeburgh Poetry and am thinking about it. I get very frustrated not being able to go to readings and festivals in the UK. I think I lose a lot but not being able to meet and talk with other poets. 

The summer invasion is about the begin but I need a day to sift through my poems that need editing. Usually I manage to edit a few over the summer, when nobody is looking.

I'd like to enter the Poetry Society Stanza competition and need to think about the theme of 'walls'. I have nothing that fits but feel the urge to write something new. My Stanza group are meeting mid-August to have a poetry picnic in the Sintra hills. I was wondering what would make a poetic sandwich or perhaps I could make a nasturtium & lavender pannacotta!

Dia Mundial da Poesia

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.

Walking off the Winter Blues

Artists' Entrance Parque Mayer

Usually I write every day and have lots of ideas, but since Christmas I've been very stuck, despite Jo Bell's wonderful 52 project which got me off to a good start for the first few weeks. I've been reading a lot more to break the deadlock and found some wonderful poems in the latest Poetry Review which make me feel it is all worth while.

I've been trying to walk everyday (New Year's resolution) but it takes up so much time. I go to a different area whenever possible and have been going into Lisbon to explore a bit more. I've lived in Sintra for over 20 years but Lisbon still amazes me. It is a beautiful city and still feels 'authentic' unlike so many other European cities. I wanted to explore the Parque Mayer which was once the city's vaudeville park, built in the 1920's. There are plans for its restoration but I wanted to catch it before any work is done. It is gloriously dilapidated and cats roam freely around the space which is, for the moment, a paying car park!

Yesterday was our Stanza group meeting and finally I began to see the light with my writing. The group was so alert and active and just helped me to see where I was heading. I feel alive again!

I'm on two Poetry School online courses but haven't given them the time they deserve as a result of my winter blues. I will now change that. They are two very lively groups and I'm lucky to be part of them so mustn't waste this opportunity.

Meanwhile the almond blossom is out, the oranges this year are amazing, and my team won the pub quiz last night so what is there to moan about!

Another Year

Crib figures by Lulu Lockhart

Last night trees, cribs and decorations came down, not mine as I'm not very good at putting them up in the first place. The Portuguese can be very superstitious about leaving decorations up after 12th night. Usually I don't look forward to another year but this time I'm happy to dive into 2017. Maybe it's something to do with the wonderful sunshine we've been having in Portugal or the satisfying feeling of sorting out all my 2016 poems and opening a new file called 'New Poems 2017'. I wonder what will be in there by the end of the year.

I have no real resolutions except I've started Jo Bell's 52 project https://fiftytwopoetry.wordpress.com/ and will try to write a poem a week for as long as possible. I didn't let myself look at the first exercise until January 1st and I'm not looking ahead. I think it's more fun to be unprepared and it certainly makes the writing more spontaneous. The same way that I enjoy the picture prompts by Visual Verse and the one hour window to write a poem in - http://visualverse.org/

My reading is so random that I'm going to make a list on this blog of the books I read. I'm interested to keep track of how much I read. Looking at my shelves and my Kindle it's a lot but I have a terrible habit of dipping in and out of about 4 different poetry books at the same time. Maybe it's okay for poetry so not such a bad thing.

I've been checking out Poetry Festivals and wondering if I can fit any of them into my travel plans. I think I'd like to go to Ledbury as it looks wonderful and also back to Aldeburgh. I missed it last year and really regretted it. If I lived in the UK I would go to them all!

Stanza Group Poetry Reading

We had a great turnout for our Stanza Group poetry reading at the beautiful Déjà Lu bookshop in Cascais. The weather was horrendous with lashing rain and howling winds off the Atlantic, but we had a crowded room and it was a fun event. I'm already thinking about a venue for the next one. It needs to be bigger and it would be fun to combine it with music and art ...maybe?

I was in London last week and just blown away by Holly McNish at The Cadogan Hall. She is a wonderful poet and performer and reads with tremendous charm. She doesn't need to chuck in f-words to get attention, and I find her poems are sensitive and relevant.

I was also lucky enough to go to an editing workshop with Jane Commane of Nine Arches Press. I learnt more in those two hours than I thought possible and it was very valuable to me. So now to put it all to good use!

Super super-moon

We had a wonderful moon over Sintra except my camera is getting old and was unable to do it justice. The night before, I was in Lisbon on a beautifully warm evening. The sun was setting in a bright orange sky as the moon was just starting to rise over a new work of art by Joana Vasconcelos 'Pop Galo'.

On the poetry front I'm just coming to the end of Transreading Spain with The Poetry School, and it has certainly taken me out of my comfort zone but also stimulated my interest in poetry in translation. Yesterday, just by chance, a Portuguese friend from my stanza group translated a villanelle I had written a few years ago and sent it to me. It was so much more exciting in Portuguese! I don't know what that says about my version.

Next week I'm going to London for a few days and am going to a Self-editing workshop with Jane Commane at Free Word Centre. I also have tickets for Holly McNish Verse 1 at the Cadogan Hall. I heard Holly read at The British Museum for 'Alice' and have also been listening to her on Radio 4 and have become a great fan of hers!

I am now pushing the word around about our Stanza Group reading in Cascais on December 3rd and am sorting out my choice of poems. I hope it will be as successful as the last one which was great fun and very well attended.