Poetry Drawer: Dust by Bruna Vitacca

dust

You start your life in mud.

You craft and learn new tricks.

Your spirit’s born in blood;

You hunt with rocks and sticks.

 

The day you lost your primal gills,

You worked with tools, you played with fire.

Good manners, words, fine motor skills

All techniques you must acquire.

 

Many wars and treaties later,

Paint your present like a painter.

Now you’re ready, swap the cavern

For the plastic house with pattern.

 

Earthly treasures please your pocket;

There’s nothing you’d not buy.

Tricks and lies live in your locket

Play your cards until you die.

 

Conquer new worlds! Your greatest ambition;

Greeting the nations became your new vision.

You live among stars, within iron and steel,

Competing and beating to find the best deal.

 

Oh, great deceiver, stir up passions!

Steal their lands and rob them blind!

Power games will be old fashioned;

Schemes and scams left far behind.

 

Your barren earth expels formations,

None of them are God’s creations.

You.

Too old to be human, too new to be rust;

Begin a new chapter before you are dust.

 

 

Easter Poetry Drawer: The egg is one of the most sophisticated products of the natural world by Helen Kay

 

egg

So Hen lays something

small and creamy perfect

as the sun’s slinging ellipse

certain as the shine of straw.

 

A Sistine hand collects, connects.

Sheltered by a green hedge,

Hen does not know the cosmic

supermarket stack of graded eggs –

 

free range, half range or barn –

does not know ballads

or builders breaking fields

or bald men cracking atoms.

 

She knows this egg,

this eye, this moon

and sea is the start

and stop of it all.

 

Easter Poetry Drawer: Efficient management of hens is vital throughout incubation by Helen Kay

 

chick

Sad we aren’t cluckmates anymore.

I hear that sickle tongue uproar.

 

Focused, she fasts on a lonely bed,

A tam’o shanter for five bald heads.

 

I see her steal my pearls, heel straw,

A miser swathing her fragile store.

 

Her eyes are deep wells. She needs

The alchemy of cracking seeds

 

To dandelion clocks. Tipped off the nest,

Today, she frets. Manster may know best,

 

But how she wails at the water bowl,

Twitching, scrambled, losing control.

 

When the seedlings have dispersed

We will play wormchew, spiderburst

 

And combwing, or perhaps it will be

My phase of the shellwarm lunacy.

 

 

Easter Poetry Drawer: Don’t be alarmed if a hen crows by Helen Kay

helen 2

I may have ended in these flower beds,

But I was farmyard born, grit-gut, half-bred,

Had seven broods and wore the crown,

‘Til Chauntecleer cropped up. I did stand down,

But never let him fully have his way.

I plucked along to his upstart assay.

A trochee – claws in – then a cretic,

Four crochets and a semibreve – pathetic,

And Mr Narcissus crowed on and on,

His scaly legs lit by the morning sun.

My theory is that’s why he’s now deceased,

But call me less a widow, more released.

This rooster crooning is a piece of cake.

Too much, of course, may make my red neck ache.

A few bars will suffice to pave my way,

A touch of primal scream to crack the day,

When hens are cocks and cocks are plucky hens

In a mixed up, shook up world of nearly men.

 

Lay lay lady crowla.

 

 

 

Easter Poetry Drawer: Never chase your chickens by Helen Kay

_RJE547

I wanted sitting ducks, dust-bathing.

My hands raked the air, erring.

Half-ruffled hens shook, shocked,

fled to shade, distressed, distrusting.

 

Watching, father said take time, tame.

Let the twitching hens come, calm.

Gently fold feather-fingers

to clasp pulsing bodies, buddies.

 

Now writing, I scribble, scrabble

to catch flighty thoughts, fight

to hold on. They elude, evade,

crouch in hedges aggrieved, afraid.

 

Envoi

Father’s echo comforts, confirms

not to chase chickens; luck follows fallow

times, melts on the mind, mine,

here to stay, not scared, stroked,

 

hatching memories that hold him close.

 

Easter Poetry Drawer: Never chase your chickens by Helen Kay

_RJE547

I wanted sitting ducks, dust-bathing.

My hands raked the air, erring.

Half-ruffled hens shook, shocked,

fled to shade, distressed, distrusting.

 

Watching, father said take time, tame.

Let the twitching hens come, calm.

Gently fold feather-fingers

to clasp pulsing bodies, buddies.

 

Now writing, I scribble, scrabble

to catch flighty thoughts, fight

to hold on. They elude, evade,

crouch in hedges aggrieved, afraid.

 

Envoi

Father’s echo comforts, confirms

not to chase chickens; luck follows fallow

times, melts on the mind, mine,

here to stay, not scared, stroked,

 

hatching memories that hold him close.

 

 

Easter Special: Inky interview with poet Helen Kay

DSCF0680

You have written a wonderful collection of verse called The Poultry
Lover’s Guide to Poetry. Can you tell us about your journey of writing the
poems and what inspired you at the time?

The pamphlet is inspired by my five silkie hens, but is also about childhood memories of my family keeping chickens. The first poem about never chasing your chickens caused me to think about how chicken poems could enable me to explore different themes in a new way. Some things I did not think of at first, for example, the gender issue and the role of my father.

You have also been working on poetry about dyslexia, being a tutor
yourself. Can you give us an example, or a snippet of a poem? What is it
about dyslexia that fascinates you?

So the first two lines of the dyslexia sequence could be this, but it may change:

in the beginning was a din of words

the lexical vomit of paint on salt dough

I think this sequence is a lot more emotional than the first one- I felt I have to write it. We all know what dyslexia is and lots of good things are being done to support dyslexic learners, but there are still many painful experiences and it can become overlooked. I also wanted to look at the creative potential of dyslexia and other ways of using language.

Being a Sylvia Plath fan, which poem would you choose and why?

Tulips. The way Plath responds to the kindly meant flowers in a negative, but creative way says so much to me about mental health.

Have you always written poetry from a young age?

Yes I have always scribbled poetry, though there were big gaps where other things, such as children, took over. At a recent school reunion a friend still had a school magazine with some of my poems in. I wrote my first hen poem when I was eight and can remember the first line: ‘a fluff or a puff is my silkie called Fairy’.

_RJE547

What is your creative space like? Do you have a study or write
on-the-go, or both?

We live in a small house, so my space is in bed with a netbook and a bag of popcorn or on the living room table. Being around my family keeps me grounded. I am a lark; my best writing time is between 5 and 8 in the morning.

What else do you care about? What themes keep cropping up in your
work?

I care about too many things, for example, I have written a few poems about what is happening in the NHS and other news items. I write about friends in hopes of healing pain or celebrating good things. People, and how they connect with places, are very important in my poems. Friends have to be beware that they might end up in a poem! I am also interested in environmental issues and the interface of town and country.

As a poet, you are perhaps very observant! What is the funniest
conversation you have overheard?!

I love conversations on trains, especially mobile phone ones, where you imagine the receiver. A few months ago, during one of those gales, I heard a drunk man on Wigan Station, telling his girlfriend that he wasn’t coming back and half an hour later he was saying he was catching the next train home. Odd how people spill out their emotions in public and how narratives, in this case, predictably, develop.

 Which other poets inspire you?

I am inspired by many contemporary poets: Judy Brown, Hannah Lowe, Helen Mort, Jane Weir, Mark Doty, Ian Duhig. Yeats is always special. There are so many good poets; some are there to challenge me and others just open my eyes to something or embody how I feel.

Tell us about one of the best days of your life.

Well one of the most exciting poetry things was when I won the Wigan Greenheart competition in 2012. I went to the ceremony and I did not know I had won. The prize was £1,000 which was mine to spend on poetry.

What plans have you got for the future?

.At the moment I am spreading my wings to do a small performance based on the chicken poems. I am also trying help develop local poetry groups. I help with the poetry strand of The Words & Music Festival held in Nantwich every year. I don’t tend to think of long term goals. As you get older you realise things just happen.

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Poetry Drawer: A Tang of Titian in the Roots? by Faye Joy

 

ging 2

You can taste defiance

in her voice

like the bitter tang of Seville

zest. Screaming,

‘I’m pale strawberry!’

 

Fierce barbs have echoed

down the years

resisting casual comments

that suggest ginger,

not Titian red like

 

Pre-Raphaelite muses.

Wide gooseberry grey pupils,

like the texture of heelscrape

on sphagnum  covered stones,

freezes them out.

 

Though she tries

to bleach the ginger,

the stray ends persist.

Not even dyed eyebrows

truly conceal, nor the bronzing

 

cream on cheeks and neck.

The ginger underlayers,

like a soft feline belly,

whisper down her nape.

Special Book Launch: Inky Interview: James L. Weaver

Poor boy

Today we’re joined by James L. Weaver, author of the adult thriller Poor Boy Road, the first in the Jake Caldwell series. Released this week – congratulations James! – it already seem to be a hit with readers.

Let’s start at the start! What were you like at school? Were you good at English?

I was a good student overall, but could have been excellent if I’d really applied myself. I did well in English when the subject appealed to me, but I vehemently hated Shakespeare and poetry and fared poorly in those areas. 10th Grade did result in my first true creative writing endeavour – some fantasy tale about a knight and a monster that is embarrassingly bad. I think it’s still stashed in my basement somewhere. I had a creative writing class in college at Kansas State University taught by a woman named Nina Hajda who was an aspiring writer herself. Her praise and encouragement helped spark the idea that I had at least some measure of ability.

Do you write full-time or part-time? Do you have a special time to write or how is your day structured?

I write part-time, usually between the hours of 10 pm and midnight. I have a full-time job, two active kids who keep my wife and I running around, and a handful of television shows I refuse to give up. I usually sit at our kitchen table with my laptop and write. Sometimes it’s a paragraph, sometimes a chapter, sometimes three or four chapters. There are times when I know what I’m spewing sucks and I give up for the night. I’d like to say I write every day, but it would be a lie. If I’m stuck on a plot point, I might let it stew for a day or two before the resolution reveals itself.

How do you think you’ve evolved creatively since the first thing you wrote?

I’ve studied the craft and read a hell of a lot more by people who do it well than when I started. I thought you could just sit down and pound out a story and the agents would come running! Maybe that’s true for the select few, but I learned a ton reading Stephen King’s book On Writing and Don’t Murder Your Mystery by Chris Roerden. I’ve learned that you can outline and plot all you want, but the story will take you where it wants go – fight it at your peril.

The book is part of the Jake Caldwell series, tell us a little about it?

I absolutely love authors who write about the same character in different settings and adventures. John Sandford’s Lucas Davenport, James Patterson’s Alex Cross or Lee Child’s Jack Reacher. I love finding the Easter Eggs they drop referring back to previous tales. You can read them as a stand-alone novel, but you grow with their characters and can’t wait for the next one to be released.

So, this is the first of the Jake Caldwell novels. The “sequel” Ares Road is set in Kansas City and will be a faster paced book. We’re targeting a 2017 release though I would love to get it out by Christmas. I’m tinkering with some plot ideas for the third book, but I love that I can literally take Jake and put him anywhere in the world in any circumstance and spin a tale without having to rely on what happened in the book before. I find that non-linear track very attractive.

Do you read much and if so who are your favourite authors? What book/s are you reading at present?

I try to read as much as I can because I think it keeps your writing fresh. There’s a handful of authors whose books I will either pre-buy or get as soon as they hit the shelves. In addition to Sandford and Child that I mentioned above, Stephen King is a must buy for me and I’m dying for Gillian Flynn to release another book. Her stuff is amazing.

I just finished an outstanding book called All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doer. Fantastic imagery and story-telling. I’m currently reading an advanced reader copy of A Falling Friend which is set for an April release from Lakewater Press.

If you could have been the original author of any book, what would it have been and why?

Ooooh, good question. You can’t tell, but I’ve been sitting here drumming the keyboard for a good couple of minutes trying to come up with a good answer. My favourite all time book would probably be The Stand by Stephen King so I’ll go with that. King is such a master of setting a scene and telling the tale that blurs the line between the natural and supernatural.

What advice would you give to aspiring writers? Do you have any tips for readers or advice for other writers trying to get published?

Step One: Find something you want to write. If you try and write what you think others will want to read, it will show.

Step Two: Write it, spend a little time pulling your hair out in the editing process, then put it away for at least a month or two. Then go back and rewrite it.

Step Three: Give it to someone who will give you an honest opinion. I wrote a blog on it several months ago, but you have to have multiple people who will tell you what sucks, what’s unbelievable, what’s awesome, what connected with them and what fell flat. Nothing’s worse than getting back your book and all they tell you was “It’s good”. That doesn’t help me!

Step Four: Polish from your reviewers’ feedback. Kill those darlings!

Step Five: Find an editor. Nothing’s worse than reading a book and having to edit it in your head. I’ve stopped many a self-published novel because I can’t get into the tale for mountain of little things a good editor would have caught.

Step Six: Start shopping for an agent or publisher. Just as you would with your novel, have someone you trust critique your query letter.

Step Seven: While you’re waiting for the pre-printed rejection letters to hit your mailbox or the agents not to respond at all, enter your work in writing contests. You’ll get great feedback and you never know what could happen or what doors it will open.

The most important thing is DON’T GIVE UP!

What about non-literary entertainment? What are your top rated television shows?

I love to work-out and run. As for TV, this can be a little controversial and I’m sure I’ll get a “How can you leave XYZ off your list?” But, my best all-time television shows are: The Walking Dead, Sons of Anarchy, The Shield, Breaking Bad, Friday Night Lights and Battlestar Galactica (the new one, not the campy 80s one). If you haven’t binge watched any of those, do so now…and buy Poor Boy Road so you have something to do while your Netflix or Amazon Prime is buffering.

Favourite All-Time Movie?

The Shawshank Redemption.

What can readers who enjoy your book do to help make it successful? How can readers discover more about you and you work?

Tell other people about it! Tell them you just read Poor Boy Road and it blew your socks off! Seriously though, if you like it, post a review on Amazon or Goodreads. If someone tells me about a book, I do look at the reviews and see what kind of feedback it’s received to see if I want to invest my diminishing free time on it. It also encourages the author to write more. We authors are a self-doubting bunch at times and need a little positive reinforcement to keep the juices flowing.

Shoot me an email at weaverbooks@gmail.com. Follow me on Twitter @WildcatJim2112. I do have another book out there called Jack & Diane – a coming of age tale that anyone who grew up in the 80s will enjoy and relate to. I also have a blog called weaverwrites.wordpress.com that I need to post more on.

Fantastic! Thanks so much, James. We’ll be sure to read and review Poor Boy Road as soon as possible.

If you want to purchase your own copy, here might be the perfect place to start Amazon.co.uk

 

 

Poetry Drawer: Space & Fate by Clair Chapman

chappers

Music rides over,
Air in this room,
It speaks to say,
It’ll be over soon.

A temporary feeling,
Sad, hollow days,
Will go quite soon,
Begin a new phase.

You’ll find a place,
Glue all the pieces,
Smile once again,
Rich as creases.

Soon home will be,
Beside him where,
I know I belong,
Just lying there.

Warm with love,
Bathed in light,
Glowing with heat,
In the dark of night.

Until that day,
I’ll rest in wait,
Time and destiny,
Space and fate.