I was raised in a small hamlet in the Shropshire countryside. Maybe it was the triumph of electronic media, the doomy news stories of impending nuclear war in the eighties, or all those odd invasion fantasies proliferating on television, but the natural world was never enough for me. A friend and I once conceived of an ideal community, … Continue reading Statement on Poetry
Tag: Poetry
Tentacular 6
My poem 'After The Beach' is now live on Tentacular Magazine. Black rock parts the sand,sleek as porpoise finspoised for the depths or launched from prehistory.We buried ourselves here,accumulated like time or metal work, the sandshuffled out of geography.The ship on the horizon pulls us into its nets.Neither of us drew the map:here be dragons, … Continue reading Tentacular 6
Reviews: The Aesthetics of Breath by Charles Lauder Jr
My review of Charles Lauder Jr's The Aesthetics of Breath has been published on The High Window. 'In some ways this manifold debut— taking in, as it does, historical figures, family lives, the problem of evil, and how an element of fantasy and danger is never far from our perception of those we treasure and … Continue reading Reviews: The Aesthetics of Breath by Charles Lauder Jr
Reviews: Her Lost Language by Jenny Mitchell
My review of Jenny Mitchell's debut collection, Her Lost Language, has been published by The High Window. 'In the age of social media, we’re accustomed to communicating when, perhaps, we don’t have much to say. Everyone does it; it’s the currency of our time. Probably, this has influenced the way we think of poetry, where … Continue reading Reviews: Her Lost Language by Jenny Mitchell
Reviews: West South North, North South East (3)
A nice, perceptive review by Charles Lauder, of my poetry collection West South North, North South East, published in Under The Radar magazine. 'The continual motion of [Acton (The Solstice)] epitomizes the journey of Bennett’s work. Wisely, the exploration doesn’t limit itself to London nor to the walled city of Carcassone that finishes the book’s … Continue reading Reviews: West South North, North South East (3)
Alekhine’s Defence
I've been playing a lot of chess recently, so it's nice to have my chess-themed poem 'Alekhine's Defence' published on The High Window. It's a little paean to the time I spent being taught by the rudiments of chess in a coffee-shop on The Hill in Boulder, Colorado, so many years ago. Alekhine's DefenceWeak coffee … Continue reading Alekhine’s Defence
Porridge
I forgot that I had two poems published on Porridge magazine in February: two of my South American poems, written during some travels a couple of years back. It seems like it might be a while before I undertake any kind of trip like that again, so it's nice to have these poems out there, … Continue reading Porridge
Green Fields
My poem 'Field Party' features in the Green Fields anthology published by Maytree Press, available here. Field Party The sweet trace of fodderon the breeze, the acidof spilled cider. Occasional cars tearing up the air, like the invitesnone of us had received. I don't even remember a house. What signal set us heading outto ooze like summer starlings feeding … Continue reading Green Fields
Poetry Birmingham Review
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
Reviews: West South North, North South East (2)
I found a lovely review by Andrew Taylor of my poetry collection West South North, North South East in The Journal, Sam Smith's heroic poetry magazine from Wales. My thanks to both of them. Sometimes, I don't know where any of us would be without the small presses. _________ Following a Red Ceilings Press pamphlet, … Continue reading Reviews: West South North, North South East (2)
