under another sun

Poems and virtue Seem to have poems pouring out of me at the moment. As to whether they are good or not is a completely other thing. Though I am also hacking into older poems that have been half finished for ages and simply finishing them. Also reading the poems of Akhmatova today for an hour or so. Some lovely work, and a major poet who to my shame I have not really got to grips with, beautifully translated by Richard McKane. Otherwise a sluggish day, which even another trip to the gym did not fix. Arrangements flying about for a big get together in Brighton this weekend. Spoke to Anton today just after I had left the gym, on the important matter of calculating how many words could be formed from his own name without changing the order of the letters. A, an, ant, to, ton, tong, tonga, gal, etc. there are more if you include his middle name. I can't remember what that is as I type, but it's probably something like Adolf. Apparently my name was poor for this kind of thing, whic...

Raining poets in London Sleeping-pill assisted sleep made me feel much improved today, although still unaccountably edgy. But cut through things quickly, sent copies of Defenders off to an agent and to Shaun Shackleton at the Guernsey Press. Also contacted The Sussex Beacon about the CD project, went to see Adrian and Diane about photographs, taking in dozens of spangly high heels Adrain is shooting. Was made a lovely cup of coffee and had a nice chat with both. Off to London, plans changing at the last moment so took myself amid torrential rain to the poetry library in The Royal Festial Hall. Had a strange sequence of coincidences all relating to people I knew really well in the early 90s. Wandered over at random to pick up a copy of Acumen and it fell open at a poem by Rhona McAdam, an old friend. Next magazine I picked up it fell open at a review of the excellent iTuplips by Mario Petrucci, another old friend. Wandered aimlessly along the shelves and Tim Gallagher's Narcissus G...