The website of writer and poet Daniel Bennett
Very pleased to have my poem 'Clickbait' commended in the National Poetry Competition. You can see a video of me reading it here. Clickbait In the forecourt carparkof the out-of-town hypermarketthe driver of the four-by-fourwith a pair of latex bull testiclesswinging from the tail-barmay as well accept my ireas an inevitable gift. It is Sundaywhich … Continue reading National Poetry Competition 2020
My poem 'The Limit' features in Eyeflash 6. For some reason, I've been credited as D.T. Bennett, which represents a new nom-de-plume... The Limit The secrets you sealinside a house when you work on it. The mirror inthat bedroom, hides six holes drilled in pairswhere I couldn’t gauge the width. After I finished I looked into the face in the … Continue reading Eyeflash Poetry
It's nice to end the year with something positive, and this very kind review of West South North, North South East by Mat Riches on London Grip is certainly that. It's probably the most perceptive review of this little book to date, and certainly the most involved. 'The title of this collection suggests a journey … Continue reading London Grip Review: West South North, North South East
It's been a busy December, what with work, Christmas, and the ravages of the virus. I almost forgot that my review of Naush Sabah's ‘Heredity/ASTYNOME’ appeared on Wild Court a couple of weeks ago. 'If poetry ever had ‘must have’ purchases, then Naush Sabah’s debut release from Broken Sleep Books proved to be one of … Continue reading On ‘Heredity/ASTYNOME’ by Naush Sabah
I've been a huge admirer of Robert Selby's Wild Court magazine for a while, so it's a great moment for me to have three poems featured here. Here's an excerpt from one of them, 'Two Days In The Valley': my paean to a minor nineties film and an out-of-town multiplex. Two Days in the Valley … Continue reading Wild Court
Nichola Deane has written a nice little review of my poetry collection West South North, North South East, an excerpt of which follows below. 'In West South North North South East (The High Window, 2018), Daniel Bennett's city, his London, always feels as though seen on foot, a fraction or slower than its frantic inhabitants, like playing … Continue reading All The Filthy Magic
My review of Sun Afshan's debut pamphlet, Belladonna, is now live on Wild Court. 'A single poem in four parts, ‘Belladonna’ deals with the intensity of a female relationship on the cusp of adulthood, where innocence is quickly frayed and the (blood) rites of passage beckon towards experience. ‘Remember Belladonna’s saunter? Her sway/ Warped our … Continue reading Belladonna by Suna Afshan
'One can roam about at ease there (among tall trunks that look something between bronze and rubber). They are well-stripped. Of all low branches. There's no anarchy, no tangle of vines, no encumbrance. One can sit right down there, stretch out at ease. A carpet prevails over it all. A few stray rocks supply furnishings, … Continue reading The Pleasure of Pine Woods
I have three poems in the latest issue of The High Window. Here's an excerpt from one of those poems, 'The Tenants', about rootlessness and our attempts to make a life for ourselves. The Tenants They offered us vine leaves and red wineand we approved of their gestureinside the English gardenthey would never share. We … Continue reading The High Window (Autumn)
If you've never bought a copy of Structo before, I'd really recommend you give it a try. I have a poem in the forthcoming issue, and it has a special place in my heart, as it's the first magazine that published me after I returned to writing poetry again. Beautifully produced, with an imaginative range … Continue reading Structo (Issue 20)
Absence Club 