Visiting customers today in Cáceres...

Visiting customers today in Cáceres...

Just like the best songs need a few plays before their ear worm gets into your head, so decent poems benefit from a few reads.

Poets and publishers rip through books far too quickly these days. Collections require time to find their readership. And a slow burner lives far longer than a sparkler...

If we don't use our small poetry presses, we'll lose them. This is why I refuse to flinch or shy from asking you to purchase a copy of Whatever You Do, Just Don't, my second full collection.

Here's a sample poem from the book. Just drop me a DM and I'll sort out a signed copy for you...

If you're up for a copy, just drop me a DM and I'll sort one out for you (U.K., Ireland, mainland Europe, Canada and Oceania)...

Poets, if they're lucky, end up having signature poems. But they don't choose them for themselves.

Instead, certain poems take on lives of their own once they're published. The Last Carry is one such example. When I first posted it here, I didn't have a clue it would reach so many people...

As parents, we're supposed to remember the first time we did stuff with our kids, but the last time is equally as significant, if not more.

This poem is from Whatever You Do, Just Don't (HappenStance Press, 2023), my second full collection...

Copy by copy, every hard-earned sale of a poetry collection is an act of trust, a contract between the poet and the reader that reaches far beyond cash. This is why I refuse to shy away from reminding you about Whatever You Do, Just Don't.

Drop me a DM and I'll sort out your signed copy for you...

I only want a single pair of hands to stretch my spine and open me at last...

It was a tough time for him. Though he then had a decent spell at WBA later on in his career. Of course, all these lower league players had to get other jobs once their careers in football were over.

Certain numbers accompany us through our lives, connected to our memories of people and places, of significant events. What numbers remain with you decades later? And why?

This poem is taken from Whatever You Do, Just Don't (HappenStance Press, 2023), my second full collection...

I absolutely recommend this book.

Thanks, Kendall! Glad you enjoyed it!

I enjoyed "Starting Eleven", not least Tony Lange, though I'm still on my first directionless meander through the book.

Thanks, Richard! Tony was a great goalie. I gather he went on to work for British Rail. That's the nature of these lower-division heroes.

Just like the best songs need a few plays before their ear worm gets into your head, so decent poems benefit from a few reads.

Poets and publishers rip through books far too quickly these days. Collections require time to find their readership. And a slow burner lives far longer than a sparkler...

This is us right now, clearing our house of nearly 33 years...

This poem from Whatever You Do, Just Don't is for anybody who's had to clear a house, who's found objects that must have had significance for someone no longer here to tell their story....

This is a poem about the B word. About the Hostile Environment. About those bl**dy flags.

It's taken from Whatever You Do, Just Don't, my second full collection. Drop me a DM if you'd like a signed copy...

This is a poem of loss, taken from Whatever You Do, Just Don't (HappenStance Press, 2023)...

What's it like to return to your home town years after leaving?

This poem from Whatever You Do, Just Don't finds that nothing's changed. But then everything's changed too...

The emotional significance of objects sends ripples through our lives, which is why this is often my final poem when I give a reading.

It's taken from my second full collection, Whatever You Don't, Just Don't. If you fancy a signed copy, drop me a DM and I'll sort one out for you...

Libraries are transformative. In fact, Farnham Library saved me. Kept me afloat when I was being bullied at South Farnham Middle School in the 1980s.

This poem from Whatever You Do, Just Don't is my homage to it...

There's already one signed copy heading to a reader in Bedford tomorrow morning. Will yours be joining it...?!

There's already one signed copy heading to a reader in Bedford tomorrow morning. Will yours be joining it...?!

Subs OPEN. 1 poem or flash fiction. Word doc + bio for Issue 8 out June 8 (World Ocean Day). Free to submit.
Convocatoria ABIERTA: 1 poema o microrrelato. Word + bio. Número 8: 8 junio. ¡Gratis!
INFO: themadridreview.com/submissions
#writing #writers #poet #poets #poetry #submissions

When we cleared the house after my nan died in 1990 we found this photo. Waiting for the village carnival procession at St Day in Cornwall in 1963. That’s me in the white shirt & bow tie with my nan on the left. One of my most treasured possessions.

In a sum it was lower case, but on a ticket or stamp it was invariably capitalised, as in this case. In fact, I have the actual tickets stating 5D in my possession.

In a sum it was lower case, but on a ticket or stamp it was invariably capitalised in the sane size as the number, as in this case. In fact, I have the actual tickets stating 5D in my possession.

I was often told that something had cost ten bob, for instance!