I didn't realise you were having another lean time, David. The leaving of Grimsby? But you're compensating by the huge amount of work you're doing with The High Window. That is becoming a great achievement.

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FYI David: https://www.writeoutloud.net/public/blogentry.php?blogentryid=68358

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A quick note to let you know I have mentioned your new book in a blog post, today.
https://francesmacaulayforde.wordpress.com/2017/06/16/after-hours/
Looking forward to a good read.

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It's a small world - at least where poetry's concerned. David.

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Hi Again David,
I established the first regular public reading event in 2005 after returning from Ireland and it ran each month until 2008. Yes, like many others, Jackson (relatively unknown in Perth) first read some of her words at my 'Poets Corner' monthly meetings at the State Library in Pages Cafe in 2008.
She is (these days) very involved in the poetry scene here in Perth, particularly the 'slam' events, I think.
I have retired after many years of serving on various writing committees including PCWC, WritingWA, FAWWA and having represented Poetry Australia as a poet in residence for 6 months at Burns Beach Cafe (my last gig). See my bio here: https://francesmacaulayforde.wordpress.com/about/
I shall order your book now and look forward to reading.
Best, Frances.

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G'day David,
Thanks for keeping me informed.
I've now contacted your publisher and asked how I can order a book to be sent to Perth, Western Australia.
Best,
Frances.

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Hi David,
Are you making a list of those interested in your book? Please add my name. As soon as you have more details about where I can purchase a copy, please let me know. May your muse always amuse.
Frances.

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Hi again David, just wanted to let you know I did as you said and checked out 'The High Window'. Congratulations , I enjoyed it and will check it often. I also mentioned the press in my Wordpress blog posting: https://francesmacaulayforde.wordpress.com/2017/01/26/wa-writers-festival/
Looking forward to reading more of you words.

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Pleased to 'meet' you, David.
'Your Chair' reminded me of my own Irish father and his favourite chair - which I'd not thought about... has now inspired. I enjoyed the close-up look and the dialogue at the end - all bringing him to life.
'Work Horses' was a clever (again) reminder of my dear old dad who could never, even after the war be accused of being 'out of work'. Again, you have inspired me to write about his heroic Pathfinder service which at the time was vilified and which he never talked about... then after his holding 3 taxi/bus driving jobs at once to feed my brother and Mum.
So thank you... I am very pleased to have made your acquaintance.

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Hi David, thanks. After just a week on this site I am very taken by the quality of work by poets like yourself. I aim to read more of your work. Best wishes, especially for 2017. Paul

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Many thanks David for your helpful info on The HighWindow Press. Very interesting, and I may feel inspired to take part, i'll give it some serious thought.

Ray

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Hi David, I have checked your online journal and mighty fine it is. Is this something you run yourself and/or contribute to? I would be very interested in submitting a hopefully suitable piece myself if that is possible. I am trying to spread my work and need to make a concerted effort, with a possible result in having a pamphlet at least to my name. If you have any helpful suggestions I would be grateful. You know by now my style as such I'm sure.

Regards, Ray.

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HI David, I'm so glad I raised a bit of fodder for thought on the Penguin poem - I wondered about the italics! I think it is thought provoking as it is and quite a nice image as if breath is to be scooped up from a bowl. A Milliganesque conception perhaps. Penguins do conjure up an intriguing sight and that consolidates the idea I feel. Always a pleasure to read your stuff.

Ray

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And now, for me, 'Ode to Martial Music' is absolutely fabulous.

Excellence has nothing to do with 'fame'. I think you should be 'famous', on a wide scale, even globally. Maybe that's why artists had/have patrons, to do the marketing. Since selling is equally as or more important than artistic talent.

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I have much to catch up with, but not today. Cheers. I hope Dubai was for pleasure.

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HI David I have just read Your Chair and Work Horses and thoroughly enjoyed the easy and thought provoking style of both. Being a furniture restorer (also a musician) I appreciate the affection engendered by old pieces like chairs, particularly Windsors , slightly stern I know, and the line gruff serenity is perfect. A pleasure and sense of confidence comes through them! In Work Horses I love the juxtaposition of past tense and present "I am watching."

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Cheers Dave for your appreciation of my comment. ;)

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I have 'studied' the philosophers so named entirely on my own, and also have ploughed through various 'proofs of God' with great interest. I have many philosophy books on my shelf, chiefly garnered from university 're-cyle stalls' and general second-hand book shops. Never having been 'organized for regurgitation' in a test situation, I have mainly a 'feeling' of these ideas, but an overview which has greatly enriched my thinking.

I have 'The Age of Belief' (The Medieval Philosophers) by Anne Fremantle right at my elbow, and a 1936 volume called 'The Testament of Man', a collection of works from very Ancient Times in All Cultures, many early ones from rocks and reeds. It is the commonality that blows my mind.

It's really fab to even broach such a subject as this without encountering a pained expression from the other person - I'm assuming.

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Re: Nothing - more like your ability to think, period. What does your Catholic upbringing have to do with it?

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Have gone through your work....i must say am impressd. It is just ...i like it: 'Your Chair' i love it

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David, thank you very much for your very kind words. I sincerely appreciate the link and I will follow that up in the near future.
(I confess to being a 'technophobe' and need to embrace social media).
On a different matter relating to your musical tastes, if you are ever in the West Country check out 'The Old Duke', King Street in Bristol. I feel you would love it.

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Hi David
I have just spent a delightful half an hour going through your Blog and Poetry samples. I found Work Horses was all heart and a wonderful read. I found that your love of Jazz and the Blues came at you through every line in your poetic musical tributes.
It was 30 minutes very well spent... and one I will revisit. Most enjoyable.

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David, I am so relishing these books of your poetry, especially since they are widely separated in age, experience and intent. It is a very personal look into yourself.

One thing was really funny. I was very taken with one poem and the apt description of 'rain ...... dissolving window'. I thought: "What an exceptional image - 'dissolving' is perfect." Then, a few days later, I read a different poem in the other book, and I recognized that this second poem was similar, sort of, to a previous one. Maybe just on a related theme. But then, the same 'dissolving window' jumped out and I laughed out loud. Of course, I had to scope the two books to find the other poem. It was insightful to compare the two, the younger and older man, years apart. But 'the dissolving window' wouldn't let go!

BTW, after the fact, I did notice your comment about re-doing some works for later publication. When is a poem ever finished!

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Happy new year to you too, David. Not sure I'll get to the Ariadne launch, but will try to make the Screech Owl one, date depending. Very impressed with your Grimsby poems in Penniless Press today. Have you got any more of those up your sleeve?

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Books arrived safely almost immediately. My computer wonked out just before sending you a message, and hasn't recouped until today (incorrect info from experts silenced my Christmas period - not a bad thing - and I was quite ill too, but better now. Better computer access - better me - what's not to like!) I will greatly enjoy your poems. Happy New Year!

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With great pleasure:

Cynthia Buell Thomas,
#3 Willow Tree Court,
Brooklands Rd., Sale'
Cheshire, UK
M33 3SE

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Yes, I had a poem about getting knackered while walking in the Peak District in the summer issue of Orbis, David. Not much else to report in that line just recently! Look forward to meeting up somewhere in the new year.

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Hello there - thanks for taking the time to
comment on my poem about the murder of JFK.
I've added to my opinions with comments to be
found on Simon Austin's poetry blog "Kennedy".
Oliver Stone's film was a tour de force of movie
making and whilst he may have not been able to
fill in all the gaps, I follow his belief that
Oswald was hardly a lone nut. JFK made very powerful enemies for a variety of reasons.
P.S. I note in your "bio" above you mention
"In The Distance" with a date "20011"!!
Now THAT'S the sort of immortality any poet
would die for (sorry!! :-))>

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Thanks for the link – that poem has a reference to the Beatles also. My education continues. As for the expression "Bag of Cats", I liked it enough to write a 'poem' about it.

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Yes, I thought I detected a flavour of MLK there. I was listening to a commemorative programme yesterday and suddenly heard the strains of Heatwave, which is in my all-time top 10, which probably has about 50 tunes in it!

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Mr Cooke- ''unfortunately the one I refer to isn't to be found anywhere so I couldn't post it.'' this is just not good enough. Tommy

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Thanks for the comment on 'Way Out By the Rapeseed Field' David. I certainly do have my own slant on things, that's a nice way of putting it I guess ;)

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David, thanks very much for your encouraging words on Hope Cross. Kind of you to say my writing is going "from strength to strength" - my walking certainly isn't! Keep us posted with your launch/publication date.

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I know exactly what you mean about chopped up prose. A lot of modern stuff is just that - with no thought to structure. Mine vary. Sometimes I can pay a lot of attention to structure but if I am telling a story it can become prosy. If it is something I want to perform, then I write it the way I will read it. I may post one that I've written recently in Iambic pentameter - I wrote it for a Christmas charity poetry anthology. It's about the local venue I attend - but also about what many performance poets have in common. No need to comment on it - it may be a bit old fashioned and not your cup of tea. It shows my version of Iambic Pentameter though.
It is good that we all have different approaches - it makes us question what we do and think things through. Thanks for having taken a look at mine - and having found some rythm in it :)

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I hadn't realised it was iambic pentameter. I must say - I don't get it when people change the natural order of words/sentence structure to fit a classical structure of poetry. It seems a bit like the tail wagging the dog - like enjambement gone mad. I tend to think that a structure should fit to the words, not visa versa. That's just my opinion though - plenty do it. It might be a good subject for a discussion thread...

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I see Steve picked up on the ending of Redundancy straight away. He is a more perceptive bloke than me, it's true. And it does seem clear now. I will try to allocate more time for the reading of poems in future, if possible.

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I did try and read about the later Roman empire, David, both Rome and Constantinople, but became became bewildered by the number of assassinated emperors. Just when I was getting interested in one he was bumped off. It seems to have been the only way of disposing of them.

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Wow - thanks for recent kind comments on my poems Dave (you're not wanting to borrow a fiver are you?;)

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Hi, David. I've been off-line for ages. Thanks for your comment on 'Considering Colour'. The last night of the Proms featured a poem by Wendy Cade or Code, about the orchestra, a child's view approach. I appreciated that it was in line with what I was trying to do with Colour, but I thought the verse was awful. And she was COMMISSIONED! - and presumably PAID! Oh, the pain. BTW, Colour is on the news this week with surveys being conducted with a COLOUR WHEEL, to ascertain the happiness level of Mancunians according to the colour of their choice. Am I en vogue or what! I enjoy hearing from you.

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Thanks for your comments on Bagni di Lucca, David. I see just above this another remark from me, about your trip to Australia. Maybe your wife will win another competition soon! Very interesting point you make about the clocks in Malta. Let us know when you're down south again on the poetry circuit ...

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Yes, I saw your fb link. I haven't watched it for a couple of seasons but I think I will this year. Summer's been such a wash-out weatherwise I can't wait for autumn now, and it seems a nice thing to watch snuggled up by the rayburn! As to credibility - my fave prog these days is Bargain Hunt. I record it to watch in the evenings when there's nothing on. (I was almost going to be on BH but I missed the phone call!) Going back to Strictly, I'm supporting Lulu - she's EVEN older than me (though she doesn't look it!) Good for her!!!

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Evening, David. How are you? Here's you, me and Mr Black all indoors on a Saturday night. Ah well. I did Hamlet at A level, so I know all about country matters, so to speak. Although, come to think of it, when I was that age ... never mind. I think quite a few people would know the reference - I'd hope so anyway! - and so I feared italicising it maybe overdoes the double entendre. Small thing, but you're right, I don't like italics. I always take them out of copy if they'e just there for emphasis.

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Hi David, thanks for your comment on Nectarine. Certainly heat-weariness, if not world weariness! I suppose it's about age, too. I'm always a little suspicious of poems I write on holiday about where I'm staying ... postcard poems, I call them. But I enjoyed doing it. Also enjoyed giving your poems from In The Distance a proper read while I was out there, too.

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I liked the poem immensely - it's my kind of poem. Humour in the face of adversity. Where would we be without humour? I also liked the way you didn't over do the pathos. It is always a difficult balance when you write about such things. It's always pleasant when you repost to see fresh perspective on it from new people - or just a re-appreciation by us oldies. :-)

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Re: WHISKEY -It was not a rant as I understand the term. And, yes, the ambivalence did come through - respect and annoyance in equal measure. So the decanting was sly, a bit of 'up your nose with a rubber hose'. I love it! I know a lady who has an aging Polish husband. For his personal health, she changed over years ago from real high-fat, high-spice Polish sausage (which he swore was the only sausage worth eating) to a turkey substitute which he enjoys immensely, still with comments about 'the real thing'. Not exactly your point, but close enough for me to greatly appreciate the humour of your poem.

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Thank you Dave for the comment on Visitation..just a little fun on my part :)

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Thanks for having a look at Out of Season, David. I don't think it's particularly successful because it's too personal, and that restricts it, although I'm fond of it, because of what it means to me. Your poems are better at communicating, one thought leading to another, giving them movement. They flow.

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Hi David - many thanks for taking the time to read and comment on Jacob's Ladder - do appreciate the kind words

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Hi David. Yes, thanks very much for your recent comments on the Betjeman poem and Touch Wood. Fair enough, if he's not your cup of tea. I was quite taken aback by the amount of affection he engenders. Of course, I feel a great bond because of his love of trains. Sometimes I find it difficult to write about anything else but railways!

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David, I'm not sure what I was on when I commented on Chalk this morning. Too fresh from reading the paper, I suppose. Like you,I love the idea of the Med emptying and refilling. I've always wanted to see the world with the plug pulled out and the oceans emptied for a few hours. Just to see what it looked like.

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