Blog and news

Over the summer, the Forest of Dean Sculpture Trail have been running the Observatories project. Inspired by a recently decommissioned sculpture (or a sculpture "reclaimed by the Forest") called Observatory, Observatories invited members of the public to submit photos of their favourite views in the Forest of Dean and Wye Valley.

I'm delighted to announce that my debut collection will be published next year by Indigo Dreams. Titled "Earthworks", the book explores the connection between human relationships and British landscapes, and how these are influenced by a greater backdrop of history and politics.  It features poems that I have been working over the last 5 years since Knots and branches came out including Silver turn, plus some older material.

Forest of Dean, Autumn 2018

The Forest of Dean occupies the hills in Gloucestershire between the River Severn and the River Wye—”a heart-shaped place between two rivers,” as Dennis Potter described it.

I visited the Forest recently for a few days. We arrived at Symonds Yat in the late afternoon, with the sunlight tilting into the Wye valley. We left via Littledean, situated on a hill overlooking the River Severn, on the other side of the Forest. And the two rivers couldn’t’ve been more different.

A quick update on recent poetry happenings. I’ve had 2 poems published by The Fenland Reed #7, and my Neil Armstrong poem has appeared in Until the Stars Burn Out (on pages 34-5), which I’m excited about. Thank you to the editors for selecting them.

One of the most important parts of writing a poem is editing it. Anyone can write, but only the best writers can re-write.

Editing is crucial. It can raise a poem from a bland observation to a critical, deep insight. Many of my poems have changed and been improved by writing and re-writing them over and over again. I find that early drafts are a sketch of an idea, lacking direction and detail. Later drafts help to add colour and depth to a poem.

A quick update for April. There are two events coming up that I’ll be reading poems at. The first is this Sunday 8th April at the Flying Pig in Cambridge, as part of a poetry and acoustic music night. More information available on the Events page. The other date for the diary is Wednesday 23rd May, at the Black Hostelry in Ely, for an evening of poetry and story telling–more information about that nearer the time.

Rivers, wherever they are found, are all different and unique, each with its own distinct course and history.

There’s one particular river, the Great Ouse, that flows through Cambridgeshire and Norfolk.

My debut pamphlet, Knots and Branches, is published this month from Eyewear. I’ll be reading poems from in it Bristol as part of the Bristol Poetry Festival 2016. Early next month, I’ll be launching it in Cambridge on 3/11/16. See the events page for more information about both of those.

My background is not that of a typical poet – I studied Physics at university, and I now work at a software company. People are often surprised to find I write poetry, and I usually get asked about poetry and science, and “Aren’t they completely different?” And I would answer that with a “No”. They’re actually quite similar. My approach to both is the same.

Winter is my second favourite season.* It is a season often overlooked, despised sometimes, seen as a type of purgatory before the bright warmth of summer returns.

There is much to admire about winter. The colour of the landscape at this time of year is unlike any other. The black of damp wood; the purple of gone-over bracken; the calm of snow. Contrast this with the lush greens and blooms of spring; the baked yellow of thickening summer; and the reds and browns of autumn. Each season has its own palette, and winter brings a dark and sombre beauty.