Surprised by The Spectator

Having a poem published in The Spectator is one of life’s little joys. A quiet moment of celebration with suitable alcoholic beverage. Perhaps even a phone call to friends, to go out and buy.

But thanks to these unprecedented times, my poem ‘The Man God Oil’ appeared more than a month before I actually realised (on March 28th). The always efficient Arts & Books Editor, Clare Asquith, working from home, simply couldn’t keep pace with the 3 or 4 poets per week and their needs (poetry being only one of her many responsibilities).

My poem was inspired by a visit I made to Chongqin last autumn, and the extraordinary scale of just about everything to do with China, from buildings and reproductive health to bullet trains and the 3 rivers dam. Of course, little did I know what lay round the corner.

A big thank you must go to Hugo Williams for selecting ‘The Man God Oil’. If you possibly can, do beg, steal or borrow his latest collection Lines Off (Faber) and enjoy the poise and wit of his poetry. He also chose a very clever poem by Glyn Maxwell, ‘Seven Things Wrong With the Love Sonnet’, plus ‘Berrying’ by Andre Mangeot, and ‘The Inkwell’ by Nicholas Murray.

For those of you skilled in the art of light verse, the weekly Competition, curated by Lucy Vickery, pays £25 per successful poem, and has a different challenge set each week. On March 28th, the winners included DA Prince answering the call to submit a song that we can sing instead of ‘Happy Birthday’ during hand-washing. Each week, you have ten days to write and submit from call-out to final deadline.

If you’d like to submit a small selection of your poems for possible inclusion, please send them to Hugo Williams, c/o Clare Asquith, Arts & Books, The Spectator, 22 Old Queen Street, London SW1H 9HP and include an SAE.

Prole – Wales’ answer to a wet Sunday

It’s always a pleasure to open a copy of Prole magazine which celebrates its silver anniversary with issue 25. Editors Brett Evans and Phil Robertson have a keen eye for poetry that punches its weight yet remains accessible.

Poets featured in this spring issue include Ndonwie Muma Alain, Juliet Antill, Claire Booker, Richard Hillesley, Jennifer A. McGowan, Laura McKee, Arji Manuelpillai, Robert Nisbet, DA Prince, Charley Reay, Gareth Writer-Davis and Stella Wulf.

You can also read the winning poems from The Prole Laureate Poetry competition 2018, judged by Kate Garrett: “My favourite poems always have three things; musicality, exceptionality, and heart. I love words that chime well together, unforced.”

Louise Warren wins outright with her beautiful and mysterious poem The Marches. I was very lucky to hear her perform this poem recently at More Poetry in the City of London. The poem works just as beautifully orally as it does on the page. The runner-up is Mary Gilonne with her touching poem extra-marital morning on the edge of nowhere. Third prize winner Bruce Marsland offers a witty (and unsettling) post-apocalyptic take, toolbox for the penultimate age.  

And of course, as always in Prole, there are short stories too, plus cartoonist Sparx is on hand with more tongue in cheek humour. So plenty to occupy you if (when?) the weather takes a turn for the worse.

To buy a copy of Prole (issue 25), to submit your own work, or to consider entering the Prole Pamphlet Competition 2018, please visit: Prole 

 

Frogmore Papers issue 89

Folkestone is fast becoming a hotbed of artistic innovation to rival Hastings and Brighton. But the seeds were already sown in 1983 when Andre Evans and Jeremy Page launched The Frogmore Press from the town’s Frogmore tea-rooms.

The magazine has since moved left a bit and up a bit. It’s now published bi-annually from the East Sussex county town of Lewes.  The latest issue lives up to its reputation for engaging cover designs with an arresting rendition of ‘twae corbies’ by Eva Bodinet.

Poets published in issue 89 include Claire Booker, Maggie Butt, Julia Deakin, James Flynn, Desmond Graham, Chris Hardy, D A Prince, John Short, Pam Zinneman-Hope and John Whitehouse.  There are short stories by Caroline Price, Mary O’Donnell, Simon Howells, Kevin Tosca and Rachael McGill, plus a generous number of reviews including Peter Ebsworth’s Krapp’s Last Tape:The Musical which I for one have thoroughly enjoyed reading.

Copies of issue 89 are available for sale at £5, or you can take out a one year subscription (£10) or two year subscription (£15).  The Frogmore Papers now operates submissions windows in April and October. For more details on how to submit or take out a subscription, please visit: www.frogmorepress.co.uk