The thrill of it all: a big night out with the Best of Manchester Poets
Having never been to a book launch before, I wasn’t sure what to expect. All I knew was that I was really excited about attending and reading, but most of all, utterly thrilled that the editors thought one of my poems good enough to be included in the book, as it seems to me that the Best of Manchester Poets, published by Puppywolf, carries a certain amount of kudos. Write Out Loud members are...
14th December 2011
The Parrots of Villa Gruber Discover Lapis Lazuli: Julian Stannard
Julian Stannard's Parrots, published by Salmon Poetry, is the third volume of a trilogy, set mainly in Genoa where the poet lived and taught for years. The title poem concerns the narrator's occupation of a flat high in the roof of a tall building and a rooftop lookout where “unlikely parrots vi...
7th December 2011
Calendar boys: Write Out Loud at the naked launch
It’s not often a girl gets to watch a man strip whilst tucking into cheese and grapes, washed down with fine wine… so when Julian Jordon suggested that Joy France and I should take a trip into Manc...
24th November 2011
A view of Japan: essence of the haiku spirit
Joy Change, Judy Kendall, Cinnamon Press
"We are never the turning tide, the deathless ones,
who live upon the edge of time, ablaze
with song, unravelling your dreams."
(Prologue to...
27th September 2011
THE DRIER THE BRIGHTER - reviewed by Cynthia Buell Thomas
In ‘The Drier The Brighter’, Judy Kendall acknowledges foremost her thanks to the teachings of Buddha. We reasonably expect, then, that some of her writing will be in the metaphysical vein, symboli...
6th June 2011
Was Wizard worth watching? - a review
What happens when a popular performance poet works up a wizard idea? Magic materialises! Or does it?
Dominic Berry, that ubiquitous, powerful presence on the Manchester spoken-word scene, last ...
6th June 2011
What do you get if you cross a cat with a weazle? A: |cat x weazle x sin (theta)|, where theta is the angle between
What a honky-tonking, stonking
Poetry performing, barnstorming
Guitar-strum, maelstrom,
Meek and haughty
cello and piano-their-forte
All-singing, all-words-dancing,
Dynamic,...
5th March 2011
Doing the Standing Still
I remember going to a poetry reading at the Bluecoat, in Liverpool, a few years back. Gordon D Henry was reading and there was a Q&A session after. The first question asked from the audience left...
5th March 2011
