Tag Archives: poetry

Poetry Month 2012. 19: The Blackbird

It’s my birthday. I’ve said before that I don’t really like Ted Hughes’ poetry. Birthday Letters is an exception. It’s an immensely powerful collection. It carries a heavy weight – everything you know and “know” about Sylvia Plath, her life, … Continue reading

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Poetry Month 2012. 18: La carte postale

Ahren Warner is 26, his first book-length collection is Confer, published by Bloodaxe, but several of its poems are also contained in his earlier Donut Press book, Re:. I bought this on a whim when I bought Apocryphya, as I … Continue reading

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Poetry Month 2012. 17: Circus Pony

This is from Heidi Williamson’s debut collection, Electric Shadow, I find its treatment of marriage and children interesting.      Circus Pony      Each evening after school you met      like lovers. You angled offerings      through the tired wire fence –      she accepted as … Continue reading

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Poetry Month 2012. 16: The Sari

I mentioned yesterday Duffy’s anthology Out of Fashion. Like Answering Back, it invites contemporary poets to submit a poem on a theme, and choose a poem on the same theme by a poet from another time or culture. However this … Continue reading

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Poetry Month 2012. 15: Cousin Coat

I took two books downstairs this morning to flick through and find a poem to share. They were Sean O’Brien’s The Drowned Book, which won both the Forward Prize and the TS Eliot prize in 2007, and another anthology edited … Continue reading

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Poetry Month 2012. 14: Treasure Arcade

I somehow missed this at the time, but Jon Stone, for Poetry Day 2011, wrote a sequence of poems, Treasure Arcade, on the theme of games. The next two paragraphs are copied straight from the book, in way of explanation. … Continue reading

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Poetry Month 2012. 13: from Apocrypha

Apocrypha is a pamphlet by A B Jackson, published by Donut Press. It’s a tenner for 21 poems in a lusciously produced vo lume, which you can buy directly from the publisher. The word apocrypha refers to books of the … Continue reading

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Poetry Month 2012. 12: On the Day that you were Born

I haven’t got round to ordering anything from my massive Easter list yet, so don’t feel too naughty adding Kathryn Simmonds’ Sunday at the Skin Launderette. I share with you this cheerful gem:      On the Day that you were Born … Continue reading

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Poetry Month 2012: 11. The Customer’s Complaint

By John Hegley The Customer’s Complaint In the caff swapping some of her spaghetti for a bit of his moussaka she considered what a benefit it was having a partner when you both wanted the same two separate meals on … Continue reading

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Poetry Month 2012: 10. Recipes for Marriage

By Carol Rumens Recipes for Marriage In the days when we made our own yoghurt, Perpetual motion seemed within our power. The recipe was simple, but it worked. We stirred a few live drops, the ‘natural’ sort, With scalded milk … Continue reading

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