The website of writer and poet Daniel Bennett
I have three poems in the new edition of Poetry Birmingham Review, including the sequence 'Creek Diary'. Excerpt from 'Creek Diary' The soft blur of codeineleaks into morning light.A cloud unpinned, a drifting barge.A herring gull preening on a mast. * I took myself offacross marshland and coast paths, lost along the littoral * Slate grey and … Continue reading Poetry Birmingham Review
During the evening, when the weather held off, after eating a solitary meal in his flat, Mitchell would walk along the coastline. These walks felt idle and aimless, often leading to nothing more than a different point along the sea's edge, but his thoughts were relaxed, and he felt, actually, content. Prison now behind him. … Continue reading An Island
My poem 'Berlin' features in issue 95 of the The Frogmore Papers, out now. It's the melancholy of old Europe, darling: the grungy rot of vegetables on a street corner, the busker at the station with his electric harmonium.At Eberswelder Strasse, the greenis fundamentally greenand the train rolls onwards out of arthouse celluloid.
Winter had bitten. Mitchell walked to work across the frost. In the deep cold of early mornings it was stubborn and pervasive, singeing glass and metal with its creeping whiteness. He became fascinated by the larger patterns it created over the wide surfaces of the Court— the window panes of the swimming pool, the metal of … Continue reading Whiteness
Prompted by Hannah, Axl told Mitchell about his school for entertainers, which he ran out of a squat in Stockwell. "All I ask is your time and your enthusiasm. Be you banker or Prime Minister, I will turn you into a clown!' This gave way to stories of his time as part of theatre troupes … Continue reading Elephant
It took a week before he walked the coast. Until then, he stayed mostly inside the apartment. From his place at the window, he learned the timing of the tide, the subtle changes it inflicted on the area throughout the day. He sat up by the window, looking out at the view. He couldn't remember … Continue reading Watching
Later, the three of them had walked out along the beach. The plan had been vague and impetuous. Dragan wanted to swim in the sea, Krista told him it would be too cold, they began squabbling, chasing one another out towards the edge of the water. From somewhere they'd acquired a bottle of brandy, a … Continue reading Ice Floe Sky
He met the footballer not long after. Another resident had called down to the cabin to complain about a ball being kicked from the roof, and Mitchell had gone up to investigate. He had assumed that it was children, either those from the Belgian family or even a group from the town. But as he … Continue reading Footballer
She hunched down, resting upon her folded arms, and she stared at him. 'I think you were in prison.' 'Well,' he said. 'I'm right aren't I?' She must have seen the reaction in his eyes. 'Yes,' he said. 'You're right.' She seemed to expect him to congratulate her, or at least acknowledge the way she … Continue reading Thieves
One night, while Mitchell had been trying to sleep in his car, the woman from the flat upstairs had passed him on the street. She went in through her front door, but after five minutes she returned, knocking upon the passenger's side window. 'There's no room for you to stay, but at least I can … Continue reading Good Man
Absence Club 