Howdy Neil - why thank ya! Good night all round last night wasn't it? I've not seen you before in the Tudor - have you only just joined WOL?

I loved your 'Simon Armitage Lives in Stockport' poem - cracked me up :D

Hope to see you there again next month!

Take care x

Comment is about Neil Fawcett (poet profile)

Original item by Neil Fawcett

Sigh... Kath, Kath, Kath... You bleed my heart... Everytime I read your poems I just want to ensconce you in my arms and stroke your head with my peacegiving hand to make up for so many holes and hurts and other things. You bring out The Knight and Great Protector in me...

(I understand how that last line - the ultimate sting in the tail but also the tour de force of the poem - can be an offensive shocker for some women but I think you used that phrase deliberately as a metaphor for your self-imposed isolation and relationship sabotage. Correct me if I'm wrong).

With love & light,

Alan

Comment is about Hurt (blog)

Original item by Kath Hewitt

yeah but you kinda managed to write the poem i have had stuck in my head for three years :) all about firepits , pendle and how people communicate at a different level in a festival , that if we could bring into everyday society would make it richer for us all. everyone is a friend until they prove they are not worthy

Comment is about Laura Taylor (poet profile)

Original item by Laura Taylor

Hello lovely - aye, well you know the magic of Beat-Herder anyway doncha? Shame you weren't there this year - truly magnificent it was.

Comment is about Shoeless Carole (poet profile)

Original item by Shoeless Carole

this is special for me, beautiful stuff

Comment is about Scarlet Ribbons (blog)

Original item by Laura Taylor

Thanks folks - am thinking of an idea for performing it, so maybe at the next Tudor :)

Francine - this was inspired by the most recent festie we went to, Beat-Herder, in the lovely Ribble Valley, and the 'ambiance of fellowship' that you mention is at the core of it. There's a magic about the place and the punters that you just don't get anywhere else.

That pic btw is actually of the real deal Beat-Herder fire. It never goes out for the whole 3 days, and is the best festie fire I've ever spent time by. I'd like to credit the photographer as I found it on flickr - guy goes by the name of Alfred3000, and he has taken some of the best shots of that fire ever. Check him out on flickr and you can see more pics of Beat-Herder :)

Comment is about Scarlet Ribbons (blog)

Original item by Laura Taylor

That would be gin for me darling...

Glad you like the piccie. Was listening to Rachel Bond perform at the time. Didn't think I'd like the photo much till I saw that it was out of focus and over exposed LOL xx

Comment is about Anthony Emmerson (poet profile)

Original item by Anthony Emmerson

Harry , so please to come by this tonight. What a brilliant insightfull poem. thank you . Win x

Comment is about The Infinite Sadness of Time Passing (blog)

cheers Win- West Kirby :o)

Comment is about Memories make sense (blog)

Original item by Tommy Carroll

Some really fab descriptions here - like to paint night scenes myself in verse - they take on a momentum all of their own

Comment is about Nocturne (blog)

Original item by Kealan Coady

Grabs the reader's attention immediately with 'The flaxen flickers, shadow boxing'
Penultimate stanza was my fav but the whole thing is so atmospheric. Agree entirely with Laura and Francine's comments. A lovely poem.

Comment is about Poe (blog)

Original item by Marianne Daniels

Congratulations Alison. Excellent choice.
On a personal note - if any of you ladies would like to appear in one of my poems please let me know.....

Comment is about Shoes, Feet and all things Podiatric Competition Results (blog)

Original item by Isobel

Packed with such lovely images, my fav: Showers of fiery dust rising up Tiny pinpricks of glittery gold Like fairytale fireworks, glinting and gone'

Like Dave would love to have heard this read.

Thanks for the kind comments on Brown Sugar.

Comment is about Scarlet Ribbons (blog)

Original item by Laura Taylor

Sh*t! I meant "not knowing".

Comment is about Hurt (blog)

Original item by Kath Hewitt

Classy stuff, Kath.
Lovely simple rhythm. I seem to recall using "simple" to describe another of your poems. I mean it as a compliment - it seems to magnify the intensity.
If I had any reservation I'd agree with Laura about the last line. For me it also jarred a little by being too specific - I'd have preferred the mystique of knowing the cause of you discomfort.
I'm being picky, aren't I?

Comment is about Hurt (blog)

Original item by Kath Hewitt

Hi Tom

thx for comments on Solar Lentigo, I think you have highlighted the best bit. x

H

Comment is about Laura Taylor (poet profile)

Original item by Laura Taylor

Thanks Ann x

Comment is about Ann Foxglove (poet profile)

Original item by Ann Foxglove

You are right about the last line. I knew it at the time but i think i just couldn't be bothered to change it lol
Thanks for commenting xx

Comment is about Laura Taylor (poet profile)

Original item by Laura Taylor

Really beautiful poem. I loved it!x

Comment is about Svātantrya (blog)

Original item by Deborah Jordan Bailey

Yes well done Alison. A worthy winner indeed! And thank you Isobel for running it. (Running it - more foot stuff!!)

Comment is about Shoes, Feet and all things Podiatric Competition Results (blog)

Original item by Isobel

I sometimes think "we" are the very last person to be responsible for the making of "us". So much is down to chance and luck, good and bad. Great poem Keth!xx

Comment is about Hurt (blog)

Original item by Kath Hewitt

I love this!!!!!

Comment is about (blog)

Beautiful ambiance of fellowship... Love the title 'Scarlet Ribbons'

Favourite lines:

'Its internal life drives us to recite
The lines that connect us to each other’s souls
The courage and call, to charm, to enchant
Anke djé, anke bé: hallowing light'

Comment is about Scarlet Ribbons (blog)

Original item by Laura Taylor

Is your "new" photo your "Hmm, now where DID I put that vodka?" look?

Very pensive . . . :)

A.E. x

Comment is about Isobel (poet profile)

Original item by Isobel

Thanks for the comments

I see the point about `far cry` but it is about age...and it`s typographically prettier`
(every little helps)

Thanks again.

Comment is about The Infinite Sadness of Time Passing (blog)

Hi Anthony,

Thanks so much for your kind words about my poems. Just joined the site so it was a nice welcome! The collection they're taken from, 'In the Library of Lost Objects' has just been published. Great to have the work out there finally!

I very much enjoyed your poems also, particularly 'Visiting Neil.'

Good lucjk with your work and talk again I'm sure.

Noel

Comment is about Anthony Emmerson (poet profile)

Original item by Anthony Emmerson

Thanks for your kind comment Kate. You make me laugh and that's good, very good. Thanks.

Comment is about Kate Tym (poet profile)

Original item by Kate Tym

Brilliant, Laura. Hope you're doing it at the Tudor tonight.

Comment is about Scarlet Ribbons (blog)

Original item by Laura Taylor

this is stunning and must be a treat when read out loud.

Comment is about Scarlet Ribbons (blog)

Original item by Laura Taylor

Ohhh, so sad. I hate that passing of time when it does this. So simple, so brief, so heartbreaking.

Great poem

Comment is about The Infinite Sadness of Time Passing (blog)

mmmmMMMM - what an interesting poem. I like the ambiguity and twist that comes with the almost Christ-like step from water to land, but with that Satanic serpent-like flick of the tongue.

Great title - had to google it, also very interesting, and resonates strongly with me.

There's a quiet strength and power in this, that doesn't need to flaunt, or abuse...it just IS.

I love this

Comment is about Svātantrya (blog)

Original item by Deborah Jordan Bailey

Well done and congrats Alison!

Comment is about Shoes, Feet and all things Podiatric Competition Results (blog)

Original item by Isobel

This initially put me in mind of Iris Murdoch's 'The Bell', but then took another turn completely.

Out of everything I've read from you this is the one I like best so far. Incredibly evocative, can even smell the petrol (not often you see 'huffing' in a poem - nice truth detail).

Comment is about Nocturne (blog)

Original item by Kealan Coady

Loving the made up words in this, the sounds of them clunking and clacking against each other in that chaotic mental way. You've pretty much put in a poem what happens in my head when I lay it down on the pillow at night! Fantastic use of language.

Comment is about Ghostword Graveyard (blog)

Original item by Alan Morrison

Wooo - love this, especially these lines:


This flower grows better, the wetter the tears of human nature make the ground around her.

She catches the sun, the more that is done to her.



Really resonates with me this.

Comment is about Birth of a Rose (part1) (blog)

Original item by Amy McCawley

Indeedy - as Francine says, the epiphany is the important thing, only then can you move on, and hopefully find solace.

I loved almost all of this, but that last line jarred a bit...has connotations of the unmarried spinster aunt sorta thing. Something I've always detested.

Comment is about Hurt (blog)

Original item by Kath Hewitt

Oooo I love this too! Poe was a favourite of mine as a kid...I blame him for my long-standing fear of being buried alive! This is so rich with that sort of fear - brilliant!

Comment is about Poe (blog)

Original item by Marianne Daniels

I love this!
The eeriness... a grand imagination, or paranoia.
Third stanza is my favourite.

Comment is about Poe (blog)

Original item by Marianne Daniels

This is so deep... I think that many can relate to it in some sense, at some point in their life. You can be in denial about things, then one day you are hit with another perspective and you realise that you are not that person looking back at you deep down inside - the person you want to be - were meant to be. The epiphany can be the catalyst - it is up to you to change - to become your authentic self.


My favourite part:

'The more I paint my eyes
In shades of black and grey
The more I see the lines
Deepen everyday
They write the things I’ve done
They tell what I can not
They name mistakes I made
The ones that I’d forgot'

Comment is about Hurt (blog)

Original item by Kath Hewitt

Neil
I revisited Ex Tenebis Lux after your comments. and enjoyed it all the more the second time round.
I particularly enjoyed the faithful rhythm and I am always impressed by poets who can manage abab rhyming structures especially in such short syllabic constraints.
I suspect you know what you're doing at this poetry lark!

Comment is about Neil West (poet profile)

Original item by Neil West

Nice poem, Anthony. I like "leopard shade". I thought "the lake..." was a bit long - the lake shimmers diamonds upon your face?
This is a lovely line:
your wheat-field hair a sanctuary for the breeze?
Though I'd prefer just "for breeze" lose "the".

Comment is about Girl in a summer dress (blog)

Original item by Anthony Emmerson

Thanks for all your comments. Sorry I've taken a long time to get back.

Comment is about The Care Pathway For The Dying Phase (blog)

Hello Amy. I like the poem, it's a nice conceit, the vase of history.The rhymes don't smack you in the face, either. If you don't mind suggestions: the 3rd line is not adding a great deal.

This flower grows better, the wetter the tears of human nature make the ground around her.

She catches the sun, the more that is done to her.

"make" and "done" are fairly lifeless verbs.I'd prefer "water the ground around her"
and some alternative to done.Can't think of one!

Comment is about Birth of a Rose (part1) (blog)

Original item by Amy McCawley

I enjoy the theme here. Theres a vacant area in the literary scene for astronomical poetry, I try me best with it cuz iv'e always been a space enthusiast, theres nothing more interesting than an event horizon. Anyway yeah this was okay, lostingly i dont know about but i appreciate the effort of originallity

Comment is about Ghostword Graveyard (blog)

Original item by Alan Morrison

Hi John, I stand corrected, perhaps the title should be E Tenebris Lux - Out of Darkness Light? School boy error! It's a bit wordy but I think the sense I wanted to convey comes from 'In presentia of obscurum, illic vadum exsisto lux lucis' or 'In the presence of darkness, there shall be light'. The poem concerns itself with an ancient evil awakening - what do you think?

Comment is about John Coopey (poet profile)

Original item by John Coopey

Always enjoyable event. Relaxed, good-natured, unamplified. Only problem is the room is not large, so getting everyone in can be a problem.

Review is about Y TUESDAY POETRY CLUB on 5 Jul 2011 (event)

Thank you Val.

Comment is about DIAMOND LIL'S (blog)

I love your bio Neil..., Thanks x

Comment is about Neil Fawcett (poet profile)

Original item by Neil Fawcett

Its a wonderful poem Richard,there is so much I love about your poem it just rolls off my tongue so easily verse after verse giving out such strong pictures. Its a `Keeper` excellent. Thanks

Comment is about Tewit Nesting (blog)

Original item by C Richard Miles

I enjoyed your poem but the last verse IMO doesn't quite work its good without it.

Comment is about lenka (blog)

Original item by Steven Dark