Here's a quick round up of what's been going in my poetry life for 2024. It's been a decent year for poetry publications, with poems of mine working their way into Atrium, Ink Sweat & Tears, Cambridge Poetry, and included in the SHINE poetry anthology. I've also had a couple of poems accepted for forthcoming publication, so keep an eye out for more info about those.
In between the acceptances, there have been 18 rejections from various magazines, anthologies, and competitions, and 2 submissions still under consideration.
I've also written my first proper book review, with a review of Every Voice, the selected poems of Leonard Clark.
Out in the live world, I've had notable poetry readings this year in Bristol and in Ely, with the local stanza group.
This year I've also stepped back from organising and co-hosting Fen Speak after 5ish years, although my last one was hampered by me catching covid and missing it. Fen Speak will continue in the very capable hands of Beth Hartley, who will pilot it from a new venue for 2025.
My new year's resolution for 2024 was to set up an online poetry magazine. There is a rough website and a (top secret) domain name but that's about it. What's the point in making resolutions if you do it all within a year? So maybe 2025 will be when all of that goes live.
Wishing you all a hopeful and inspiring 2025.