2026 so far

Art Deco Bournemouth, 1939 (Henry George Gawthorn)

Sunset: All Hallows, Liverpool

A late poem by the great Jeremy Hooker, who died on 26 December, and whose loss is hard to bear.

A candle at Solstice time.

Remembering Chris Brookes on his birthday: a great creator with sound and a much missed friend.

The season wouldn’t start without them. Who knew one lost consonant could bring so much pleasure?

Sorting papers in the loft; an old box file can sometimes prove to be a time machine..

the Penquins The Moonglows The Orioles And The Five Satins The deep, forbidden music They’d been longing for René and Georgette Magritte With their dog after the war (Paul Simon)

A couple of moments from November’s Liverpool Poetry Space event. Photo credit: Emily Turnbull, The Windows Project.

For Addiction Awareness Week, Jeremy Hooker’s poignant masterpiece chronicling efforts to combat the alcoholism that contributed to the death of his wife Mieke, based largely on his journals over a 10 year period from 1997 - 2007. A tough but beautiful read. Published by @shearsmanbooks.bsky.social

Recently discovered that the 1st occupant of our Liverpool home when built in 1936, was a poet, John Barron Mays who went on to be Professor of Sociology at Liverpool Uni. We had the same publisher - Enitharmon - for a time & we both loved Thomas Hardy. There are still some traces of his time here.

TS Eliot: The Hollow Men, first published 23 November 1925

Thanks to everyone who came along to last night’s reading, and changed the sound of a room at Liverpool Friends’ Meeting House, well-named for such an evening. Thanks also to those who bought books! X

Ladybird Books, 1972: Making a Transistor #Radio.

Someone somewhere will ALWAYS notice.

Whether or not intended, there are layers of meaning in the hunting press pack being placed under George Orwell’s statue and quote at BBC Broadcasting House, London.

Unpublished late poems by Charles Tomlinson, marking ten years since his death. These have been transcribed from Charles’s notebooks by his daughters, Juliet and Justine, and published by Dare-Gale Press. This little book is a poignant jewel.

Low tide, Llandanwg.

My Halloween poem from Journey Into Space, written in time of Covid. About other stuff too…

W.H. Hudson meets the ‘ghost’ of Richard Jefferies… (From Wild Track)

There they go

5th Anniversary. The Sound of a Room , published 24 October, 2020.

Remembering John Lucas today, with this extract from Matt Simpson’s poem, ‘Moonlight on Aegina’ from Simpson’s Collected Poems (Shoestring Press, 2011)

20 October 2016, in Hampstead with Piers Plowright.

NEW PODCAST AHOY! The British Broadcasting Century ep 106 6BM Bournemouth: The End of the Beginning at the BBC On its 102nd birthday, the tale + voices of 8th BBC station 6BM Bournemouth, thanks to @seanstreet.bsky.social + the future with radio futurologist @james.crid.land. Enjoy! pod.fo/e/33efe8

...and @seanstreet.bsky.social's wonderful 1973 documentary on 6BM Bournemouth is a must-listen: soundcloud.com/seans-wirele...

I’m giving a reading of recent work on 21 November organised by the lovely Liverpool Poetry Space. I would love to see friends there. (it’s free, but bookable) Details in the link. www.eventbrite.com/e/an-evening...

October 12th from A Walk in Winter (Enitharmon Press, 1989). My father and his father both died on this date, 35 years apart. We all have our own ‘October 12ths’. Call it by any other date, it’s the same. Dates - like places - can grow from being ordinary to extraordinary in an instant.

Long awaited, and at 1250 pages as weighty as expected.

October 2024, with Michael Longley.

#Haiku Approaching they saw tunnels at the end of light then it dawned on them

John Lucas has passed away. No words to express feelings at this time. I, as many other writers and poets, owe him an immense debt as a publisher, a critic & friend. On a card I had from him only a week ago he’d written: ‘We shall meet for a drink again.’ I look forward to that John.

TV in Liverpool Heart Hospital waiting room currently showing episodes of Doc Martin. 🧐

Bournemouth Radio station 2CR (Two Counties Radio) went on air, 15 September, 1980 - 45 years ago.

#Haiku Approaching they saw tunnels at the end of light then it dawned on them

Our latest podcast is out now - on the first Radio Times. From that issue: - the front page - the first cartoon (on listening at a village hall) - the first letter (from Spain) - my favourite ad ("Height increased in 30 days"!) The podcast awaits your ears. Do it now, whatever your height.

Wild Track: currently not a bad price direct from Bloomsbury. www.bloomsbury.com/uk/wild-trac...

Radio Times, 10 September 1937: ‘Memories’ number

My review of Jeremy Hooker’s recent collection, Preludes, (Shearsman) just published in the Richard Jefferies Society Autumn Newsletter.

Whether spoken aloud or read silently to the self, Chris McCabe’s new collection from @ninearchespress.bsky.social is a richly sonic experience from cover to cover. The whole thing is a journey made up of stepping stones that ring as you touch them.

At the start of a new academic year it seems fitting to recall the motto of the old alma mater: ‘Pretia Aldi aequabimus’

"Wonderfully eclectic, entirely delightful, learnedly informal, gloriously quirky, deeply knowledgeable, and totally original essays, held up to the light with absolute precision, with playfulness and above all with passion" – John Wyver stickingplacebooks.com/let-me-dream...

Very nice to have ‘Donegal’ present as part of this handsome new anthology of the Shipping Forecast, and to be an adjacent neighbour of Zaffar Kunial within it.

When sometime soon they seek to produce evidence as a reminder that there was once civilised creativity, this might be a useful artefact.

Apache Mountain Spirits Dance archive.org/details/78_y...