under another sun

Off to London this afternoon to meet Amanda in the Salisbury, almost at the end of her six week trip to the UK, Poland and Germany. The good ol' gin palace looking a treat, and lovely to catch up with Mandy in meatspace. Heard about her trip to Germany for a vast games fair where she shared a stand and sold some of her games. Sounds like a different world. Stupidly I forgot to take a photo for this blog. Boo. Amanda off to see Bob Dylan, and I slipped off to Cork Street where Tamar Yoseloff was having the launch for her New and Selected poetry collection called A Formula for Night in the Redfern Gallery. She gave a short and excellent reading to a packed room and signed my copy. Nice to say howdy to a few poets and chat to Nancy Mattson about the Canadian election, and meet an interesting woman called called Nancy Campbell, who has been spending lots of time in Greenland and writing poems about it. Home on the train reading poems from Tammy's book and really liking them wh...

Off then at the crack of dawn, feeling sweaty and wretched up to Red Lion Square where the annual poetry book fair was being held. I stupidly left my phone in my study so missed calls and so on. Wheeling a case heavy with cards and stuff to give away on the Telltale stand. Not feeling well, but I  managed to enjoy the day. Said hello to a few people I know, and have nice chats with Sarah Barnsley and Siegfried Baber and Robin -- made it so much better being in a gang. Said hello to some old acquaintances such as Tamar Yoseloff, and Nancy Mattson, even Dinah Livingstone, who did not remember me but (naturally) remembered  my old palTim Gallagher, and lots of people I vaguely recognised. Also chats with people on their stands, one told me I looked like a radio personality. Later he came up to Siegfried and I grabbing a sandwich in the park, and told us he had a head injury. Nice friendly guy. But the world of English poetry in London is a strange aquarium. It made me think o...

A few chores this morning, and chats with Betty before boofing up to the smoke this afternoon to do a poetry reading in The Poetry Cafe with Robin, Sarah Barnsley, Tammy Yoseloff and Sue Rose. Arrived in good time with Tammy and Sue already there, went downstairs and started organising the microphone and chairs. Not long after I returned upstairs, when Kev Holmes, a friend from Warwick University who I had not seen in the flesh since then, simply turned up larger than life from the mists of time. Not seen him in the flesh for over 30 years, so it was quite a surprise.  He'd not changed much in has manner or indeed his face. The readings were interesting. We also had a reader from the US, Laura Donnelly who I'd invited at the last moment. Sarah read really well, and with some emotion. Robin read brilliantly, and Sue and Tammy, who had struggled out of her sickbed to be there were both excellent. I read first and kicked off with two poems entirely from memory, which went down w...

Took delivery of some bedroom furniture today, hefted in by two muscly men. A spectacle Beth regretted that she missed. Brian sprawled on the bed curiously calm through the whole thing. When they were cooing over him, I said with a laugh that his name was Brian. The most alarmingly muscled man then said that, actually, he was called Brian, he said that his Serbian wife laughed at him until he told her to look up the meaning of his name. Strong apparently, and King in Serbian. I stood corrected. A kitchen lunch with Beth. Beth: pitta bread filled with bacon and eggs, me: miso soup with noodles and fish fingers. Lorraine and Beth are appalled by the fish fingers, but I maintain they are a nice side dish to a miso soup. Then to London to a poetry reading near Waterloo, where with Rhona, Tammy and another woman whose work I liked called Sue Rose, despite one of her poems being very similar to one of mine I am most proud of.  Not seen Tammy read for over twenty years, and she is flu...

Managed to sleep for six hours so consequently felt far more alive. Taking care of business this morning and met Robin and Catherine Smith on the train to Victoria late this afternoon as we travelled up to the Poetry Cafe. I'm learning a lot from Catherine and Robin and how they go about being poets, Catherine's ability to critique is impressive. A bite to eat in the cafe, till Siegfried Baber arrived having travelled from Bath. I felt quite twitchy wondering if anyone was going to turn up on a working Wednesday in January, but we actually had a full house. Really good to see Rhona, who I'd not seen in person for many years, nor hear her read. She read from her latest book Ex-ville . Because Rhona was there, Nancy Mattson and Tammy Yoseloff, both old friends not seen for around 20 years came too, and it was great to see them, and made me feel as if I hadn't been entirely forgotten. My reading was good, and went well. I mixed some new work in with the old. I was foll...