Spring into Poetry, London

Don Share signing a book

Me and Malika Booker

Our genial host talking to Emma Jones - & his wife

Malika Booker and Amy

Amy & Anne Stevenson

I'm just back from the reading at Oxfam Marylebone, last night. Phew what a sweat to get there in time: flight delayed into Gatwick, train to Victoria, tube to Russell Square, and up the stairs to the Penn Club, flung on my reading outfit and lippy, and into a cab to arrive, just before the main guests arrived. Talk about seat of the pants!

The readers were terrific: I really enjoyed the variety of voices. After I went first - which allowed me to chill out and relax (and stop sweating - sheesh, beginning to think there's something awry there!) - there was the gorgeous voice of Malika Booker. Her work is steeped in her Grenadian background, with a Caribbean lilt and she read very well. I bought her Breadfruit pamphlet later on, which I've already peeked into. Malika also made off with a copy of my 'Cattle Crush' poem, about cattle being castrated, which she is going to use to teach poetry to Year 8s - yay.

Closing the first half of the readers was Anne Stevenson: I watched this diminutive figure command the entire room with her wonderful reading. She gives each word its total and correct weight, without it seeming ponderous. I have her voice now in my head and am looking forward to re-reading her mammoth Collected Poems 1955 - 1995, which I brought over and asked her to sign for me. She said something very nice about my reading afterwards which I shall treasure: that she could 'hear where my lines ended.'

After a quick sup and a chat - hi to Chris Bazalgette, so nice to meet you after all the years corresponding on the Open University message boards - the second half kicked off with another prize-winning poet: Emma Jones, Dr Jones to me and you. An Australian by birth and accent, she read from her collection The Striped World, from Faber, which was a Forward Prize winner for Best First Collection in 2009. Very imaginative and surprising work, I shall be searching out her work.

Then came Jacquelyn Pope, from the US, whose work has a lovely measured pace and is quite beautiful in a really understated way. Her collection Watermark literally walked out the door afterwards - before I managed to get my hands on it - boo hoo. I was too busy talking to poets and audience members!

Lastly, came Don Share, also from Chicago in the US, whose warm, witty but poignant poems were a thoughtful point to end the evening on. I also got his collection Squandermania from Salt - and weirdly, when I got back to the hotel, the current book I'm reading, a history of the Irish state during the second world war, That Neutral Island, by Clair Wills had that very word on the following page I was reading, where Fine Gael were giving out about the 'political codology' the 'squandermania' of the idea of Ireland being able to defend itself during the war (p.90). Wow, I thought: isn't that cool!

Todd Swift could give a masterclass in the art of hosting and introducing poets: his tone is so relaxed it sounds conversational - very intimate and draws in the audience.

What a great evening - it seemed to be over far too soon, but I heard so much and came home with some lovely lines in my head.

Mainstream Love Hotel & Other Books

This week sees a lot of books flying in my letterbox. I've been reading Mainstream Love Hotel, Todd Swift's latest offering, and bought copies of Elizabeth Bishop's Collected, Robert Lowell's Life Studies, Wallace Steven's Collected - and The New York Poets anthology from Carcanet, while I was at it, because I wanted Frank O'Hara's work all in the one place - in fact that was why I bought the others, so that I can more easily refer to them as I want, instead of rooting about at the various Nortons stashed away (besides, I had a book clear-out, enabling me to buy some... oh, you know how it is with a book-sickness!).

Anyhow, back to MLH from tall-lighthouse - all week I've been reading this, as well as catching up on new episodes of Mad Men (we're a few weeks ahead of the UK - bless RTE). One seems to compliment the other in a weird connected way: smart, sophisticated, sexy, psyco-analytical, egotistical, and old-school with a new-twist this book plays with you, toys with you, right from the opener, 'Mirror', with its cryptic ending, 'The sister of knowing is making.'

In fact, there's a wonderful playfulness about the whole book, a lightness that carries each poem's deeper layered sense, as in 'The talking cure,' which is also one of my favourite poems in the collection: yes, 'Bold. / Bad Baby' indeed. There's also a wonderful facility with language, again playful and fizzing, as in 'French poem,' where the sonics gleefully bounce down the lines from 'Elle' to 'Eiffel' and on to 'Zola' and then 'novel.' Stylish, sexy and smart? Yes. But there's great grist in there too, and a wonderful joie-de-vivre, no doubt because of Swift's Canadian background, and varied European living experiences.

And there's a waryness too in his work: 'These days,' again another well-wrought sonic and rhythmically cadenced poem balances each of its phrases carefully carrying the poem's motion softly down the page:

These are the days
not other days
these are the days I was
working towards
as other further weeks,
working for days
that now I see have come in,
fish from the street

sold fresh, the man
in his whites, ringing to bring
fish just off the boats,
days that were in the sea

...

I'd thought to have my work
done by now, to have reached

the goals set out long ago,
I won't get there now

But you must read the book to reach the poem's shimmering conclusion!

Known as a tireless promoter of poetry wherever he has travelled in the past, Swift now lives in London where he continues finding and pushing new (and established) poetic talent in his Oxfam Marylebone reading series. I think Mainstream Love Hotel sees a sure move forward from the previous Seaway: New & Selected from Salmon Poetry, which spanned a twenty year writing career. It's great to see his work becoming available to a broader audience and it will be interesting to watch the trajectory of his next twenty poetic years.

Asking a Shadow to Dance

I rather wish that I had had this sooner so I could recommend it as something to be added to a Christmas wish-list, but still - this DVD from Oxfam Marylebone is a real treasure trove.

What is it? A DVD featuring 35 (yes, that many!) young British poets: some filmed on the occasion of the The Manhattan Review launch (remember, I madly flew off to be at that?) back in March 5th; others were filmed in interesting locations such as the Poetry Library, Southbank and Norwich. The poets were selected by Todd Swift, he of Eyewear (and lately of Mainstream Love Hotel fame too!).

It's good value, it's a worthy cause and if you want to pop an oul thermometer under the tongue of British poetry and wallop its knees for a reflex check, this is where you should start. I don't profess to like everything on this - but nor should I. It is as diverse and wide-ranging as the sheer breadth of voices (and faces) that feature.

My own favourites? Emily Berry (yes, that rather brilliant corset poem), Ben Wilkinson, Joe Dunthorne, Colette Sensier, Agnes Lehoczky, Kavita Joshi... actually, on reflection I am wondering what's not to like...?

It's available online, for the meagre sum of £12.99, and could be looked at as a good glimpse of what's happened in British poetry since the millenium - go on, you know its worth it :)

Wowed by the'Young Brits.'

I have just come home after what has been the most exciting reading I have been to. I was in London to attend the Oxfam extravaganza of launches: The Manhattan Review, a US journal. In this is a huge feature, introduced by Todd Swift, of seventeen up and coming poets from the British poetry scene. Of those seventeen, thirteen were able to give readings of their work - and bonus of bonuses, Penelope Shuttle was also in attendance.

MR is edited by Philip Fried, of New York, and not only did I go home with a copy of his journal, but I also brought back a copy of his latest slim volume from Salmon, Cohort, which is also very good indeed.

The readings from the poets were magnificent. Todd did a great job of giving each and every one of poets a great introduction: most were very buoyed by his warm words and I have to say that I think it was the best entertainment in poetry I've ever experienced.

First poet up was Sally Read, whose poem 'The Lullaby Hours' I thought was an exquisite rendering of the time and the way that a new baby takes up all of your life.

Luke Kennard, who was next read 'The Dusty Era,' a prose poem: I've previously seen his work in Mimesis, and thought it was really interesting. Apparently he is researching a PhD in prose poetry, so one passion is feeding another in his case.

The rather good looking Joe Dunthorne (I know one shouldn't say things like this, but hey!) read a very clever 'Sestina for my friends,' even though he was a little under the weather.

I was very, very taken with Zoe Brigley's poem, 'The Jewel-box,' which she told us was based on the famous Freud 'Dora' case.

Nathan Hamilton read 'Clearances,' which went down very well.

Another poem which struck a chord with me was Helen Mort's 'A Bear in the City of Bicycles.' A really clever poem which used a very funny reference from a letter by Byron.

The first half closed with Daljit Nagra reading 'The Gob-Smacking Taste of Mine Inheritance!' A pleasure to see and hear a poet whose first collection Look We Have Coming to Dover was such a big surprise in 2007.

After the mingling and jingling of coinage, the second half opened with Emily Berry reading her really thrilling poem, 'A Short Guide to Corseting.' I know of one Galway based poet who would really enjoy that poem, if indeed not all her work.

James Byrne read 'Apprentice Work,' a poem I.M. of Peter Redgrove, which worked out really well, since Penelope Shuttle was there.

I also loved Kathryn Simmonds reading 'Sunday Morning' another clever poem, with such a simple premise.

And Alex McRae's reading of her 'West of Ireland Fly-Fishing Champion 1952' used separate but related images to carry a chilling message quite simply.

Jack Underwood was quite the charmer, and read both poems from the anthology, 'Certain' about an onion (yes!) and 'And what do you do?'

The last of the young Brits was Isobel Dixon who read 'The Buried Butterfly' a wonderful elegy in imagery.

Lastly there was Penelope Shuttle closing this poetry extravaganza (I do not use that word lightly!!!), with a short reading of her work, which also features in The Manhattan Review.

Just one disappointment for me: unfortunately work pressures kept Ben Wilkinson away from this gig - he was the intial reason why I decided to go over to this gig, when he posted about the Young British Poets line up in The Manhattan Review and the subsequent reading. And also Jacob Polley, who I also wished I could have heard read. However, I'm not sorry I went, Ben: thanks for the heads up!

Like I said, it was a really great night... I couldn't help feeling that I was seeing history being made and it was nice to witness it. Fair play to Todd, Phil Fried, Oxfam and all that great poetry talent.

Todd Swift reading in Limerick

I've just found this on White House Poets and wanted to share here. It's Todd Swift reading his Houdini poem, the one that combines memories of his father with Houdini's larger than life persona. It misses the first line or so, but gives a great flavour of how Todd reads. He comes across well, and even has his pint of plain there on the table with him.



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