Less than a week until the holidays are over. It's been a busy but good time with the kids, catching up with friends and general hectic summer holiday life. I'm looking forward to calmness and routine and poetry, all have which have pretty much gone right out of the window over the last couple of months.
Though my poetry reading has been limited I have enjoyed reading Alan Stubbs' poems. There are several on his blog all of which have been published in Poetry Review and a fantastic essay on John Burnside which was originally published in Agenda. Alan has put together a first poetry collection manuscript which he thinks he'll struggle to get published because of the current publishing climate, though judging by not only the quality of his poems but also his impressive magazine publishing credits, I don't think he'll struggle much at all!! It's definitely worth checking out his blog.
I'm still in shock at the cheque I received this morning for the Northword Now poems, who says poetry doesn't pay!!! I'm making up a nice list of desirable books to purchase, it's been a while since I've had a book splurge! Candidates include The Sea Room by Adam Nicolson, Weaving Songs by Donald S Murray and Contemporary World Poetry - An Anthology. I'm open to suggestion, particularly for current poetry in translation.
5 comments:
I am researching Guillevic at the moment. You might find this article of some interest. Very little has been translated but The Sea & Other Poems might be a good buy.
Congratulations on the payment from Northword Now!! As much as I would like to preserve my own romantic illusion that I am beyond such things, I am always happy on the (very rare) occasions when a magazine sends money :-) And British magazines that pay seem to pay more than American magazines -- I was shocked last year by a check from Poetry Ireland (bracketing for the moment the contentious question of whether that is a "British" magazine). I couldn't cash the check, which was in euros, but it was larger than any magazine here could have afforded!!
A few very good anthologies, though they are not new:
Born in Utopia: Modern and Contemporary Romanian Poetry (Talisman House). Excellent all the way through. It is amazing how important and rich poetry is in Eastern Europe, and how little we hear of it in the West...
When the Tunnels Meet (Bloodaxe) -- This pairs Romanian poets with Irish poets for translation, an interesting concept that works quite well.
Into the Deep Street (Anvil). Seven modern French poets who provide an alternative to the abstract and academic sort of recent poetry from France that one usually sees. A revelation for people who think they don't like French poetry :-)
thanks Jim, I shall take a look! :)
hi James! yes, banal as it is to mention, I'm well excited by my poetry cheque! I knew NN paid for contributions but my least conservative estimate was way below what came in the post, I can barely believe it!!
The anthologies sound great, the Romanian / Irish one sounds pretty intriguing, thanks for that :)
Not current, but I'm currently reading and enjoying(French on left page, English on right) a selection from Jaques Prevert's "Paroles" translated by Ferlinghetti.
Sounds good Dominic, I'll check that out, thanks :)
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