In March I met poet Sian Thomas – Barry Fentiman-Hall and Wordsmithery had brought us together to celebrate Ostara at an event in Chatham, Kent – and Sian invited me to join her on her Wildhart radio show called the Poetry Bath. I’d never done that sort of thing before and was more than a bit nervous but Sian has such a kind, generous presence that, well, here it is! It repeats at 18.00 BST on Sundays, Tuesdays and Fridays for the next two weeks, before joining the recordings available below Sian’s photograph here.

Sian’s Poetry Bath is a wonderful mix of chat, poetry and music, a fantastic wallow in the company of Sian and her guests. She is poet in residence for the Ashdown Forest in East Sussex, her poetry is published beautifully (with traditional letterpress printing) by Paekakariki Press and she leads creative writing groups for adults and children.

Very many thanks, Sian, for luring me into this adventure!

I hope you enjoy the show.

What a moving read this book has been. It’s one to treasure, as I’ve said in my review here.

Artist and poet Clair Meyrick has invited me to read at her ‘Sticking your Oare In’ event near Faversham in Kent this evening – please come, it’ll be a blast!

Many thanks to David Dykes for this beautifully written review of our Ostara Poetry event in Chatham recently. David is one of the poets who organise Big Trouble poetry events in Rochester, Kent – always worth a visit if you can make it.

This Saturday we’re celebrating spring, new life, seasonal zest and the air around us being a wee bit warmer at last with wonderful poetry. I am reading alongside the magnificent Louisa Campbell, Bethany Goodwill and Sian Thomas. We’ll be in Cafenetics in 92 High Street, Chatham and it’s FREE – no booking required.

Contact: wordsmithery.info@gmail.com 

The north Kent coast is buzzing this week, thanks to the magnificent Faversham Literary Festival – programme here – with stars like Simon Armitage and Michael Palin visiting, and Will Self and Sebastian Barry to come. I’ll be there helping – feel free to say hello.

On Saturday the Alexander Centre hosts a Poetry Hub with poets including Fiona Sinclair, Nancy Charley and Maggie Butt at noon, Robert Selby and Declan Ryan at 1pm, Louisa Campbell and Jake Nathan with me at 2pm, Julian Bishop and Christopher Horton with Jessica Rose at 3pm, Professor David Herd at 4pm and from 5.15 there’s an open mic hosted by the mighty Angie Dye.

Yes, at 2pm in the Parlour this Saturday I’ll be reading too and I’m just gathering poems to see what works together. There’ll be something new, not read before, most of it from my forthcoming fifth book of poetry Off the Map, scheduled for publication by Lapwing Publications again. Please come!

In these darkest days of the year before spring’s awakening, Faversham Festival brightens us all on the north Kent coast. This year’s schedule has stars ranging from Hollie McNish and Simon Armitage to Michael Palin and Maggie Aderin-Pocock. You’ll find me helping and ushering towards the end of the week and on stage on Saturday 25 February as part of the Poetry Hub.

The Poetry Hub is an amazing event. It expands every year in range and impact and this year’s promises to be more powerful than ever – full details here. Please come and join us if you can.

With dark, chilly weather and a new batch of Covid circling, the news that I have three poems in the latest issue of A New Ulster is enormously cheering. What an excellent magazine ANU is. It’s always a rewarding browse and you can find issue 121 here.

These poems along with Off the Map published before New Year on the Mary Evans Picture Library’s ‘Poems and Pictures’ blog are included in my fifth book of poetry, coming soon. More news when I have it …

On Thursday 16 February, 2023, 19.30 – 21.30 GMT, Irena Hill of In-Words will host an evening featuring Irish poets who have appeared on Gill Stoker’s marvellous Poems and Pictures blog on the Mary Evans Picture Library’s website. I’m honoured to know both these excellent women. I’ve been a contributor and big fan of Gill’s blog since its early days. Irena was a member of my earliest writing group in Bermondsey in 2011 and we’ve been friends ever since. Very many thanks to them both for inviting me to read alongside Catherine Phil MacCarthy, Eithne Hand, Geraldine Mitchell, Geraldine O’Kane, Linda McKenna, Maureen Boyle, Maurice Devitt and Noel Duffy.

This is a free, online event – you can find more about the poets and how to contact Irena to get your Zoom link here. 

Karli Land of Colorful Crow has asked to quote my blogpost about what we can expect after the glorious day when you finally receive an acceptance. I’m happy and honoured to say yes. You can see Colorful Crow’s website here. Thank you, Karli, for your kind words.

My other posts range between August 2017 and September 2018 and are listed here on my home page.

Colorful Crow is a great site – I wish you a happy ramble among its books. I don’t have a picture of colourful crows, I’m afraid, so here are some beach huts instead. Yes, I was up to my middle in the sea with my camera.