Libraries are transformative. In fact, Farnham Library saved me. Kept me afloat when I was being bullied at South Farnham Middle School in the 1980s. This poem from Whatever You Do, Just Don't is my homage to it...
Weaving ways through poetry. Second full collection, ‘Whatever You Do, Just Don’t’, a Poetry Society Book of the Year 2023, available from HappenStance Press.
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Libraries are transformative. In fact, Farnham Library saved me. Kept me afloat when I was being bullied at South Farnham Middle School in the 1980s. This poem from Whatever You Do, Just Don't is my homage to it...
Thank you!
You often don’t know it was the last time until some time has passed. Treasure these moments with your family, don’t assume you’ll be able to do it again later. 😊
Thanks for sharing!
The emotional significance of objects sends ripples through our lives, which is why this is often my final poem when I give a reading. It's taken from my second full collection, Whatever You Don't, Just Don't. If you fancy a signed copy, drop me a DM and I'll sort one out for you...
If we don't use our small poetry presses, we'll lose them. This is why I refuse to flinch or shy from asking you to purchase a copy of Whatever You Do, Just Don't, my second full collection. Here's a sample poem from the book. Just drop me a DM and I'll sort out a signed copy for you...
As parents, we're supposed to remember the first time we did stuff with our kids, but the last time is equally as significant, if not more. This poem is from Whatever You Do, Just Don't (HappenStance Press, 2023), my second full collection...
On Monday 20th October, I'll be the guest poet at Wells Fountain Poets in Somerset. The venue is The Kings Head and proceedings will get underway at 7pm. If you're in the area, it would be great to see you there...!
Thanks, David! I do hope to make it back to Scotland at some point. Giving a reading to a full house at StAnza in 2019 was a magical experience!
On Monday 20th October, I'll be the guest poet at Wells Fountain Poets in Somerset. The venue is The Kings Head and proceedings will get underway at 7pm. If you're in the area, it would be great to see you there...!
Richard Hoyes, sadly missed, my English teacher at Farnham College, in later years my friend. The first person to back my writing. The reason why I'm a poet today...
I read it!
If you've enjoyed this poem from my second full collection, Whatever You Do, Just Don't, please do consider getting hold of the book itself. Just drop me a DM and I’ll sort out a signed copy for you! No problem to ship to the U.S., U.K., Canada or mainland Europe…
Writing simply is the most complicated thing.
I have a poem in The Oxonian Review today. You can read it here... oxonianreview.com/articles/gar...
How they yearned for a hint of meat...
How they yearned for a hint of meat...
Thanks, Paul
I have a poem in The Oxonian Review today. You can read it here... oxonianreview.com/articles/gar...
Please do share the news of this free event...!
A stellar line-up that would grace any of the top poetry festivals in the country. Except this time it's all free. We'd be delighted if you could join us in London on 22nd Oct...!
Excited to be part of this amazing night - do join us!
Don't miss this amazing FREE poetry event in London in October with @roguestrands.bsky.social @hannahcopley.bsky.social @jonathandavidson.bsky.social @fionalarkin.bsky.social @matriches.bsky.social at The Devereux Pub in Temple. #poetry #reading #london
Thanks, Roger! Would be great to see you there!
Got a couple of hours spare on 22nd October between 6.45 - 8.30pm? We'd love to see you for an evening of ace poetry from @hannahcopley.bsky.social @jonathandavidson.bsky.social @fionalarkin.bsky.social @roguestrands.bsky.social Philip Hancock & me.
Thanks for sharing, James!
Please do share the news of this free event...!
A stellar line-up that would grace any of the top poetry festivals in the country. Except this time it's all free. We'd be delighted if you could join us in London on 22nd Oct...!
We've heard some terrific sets at Rogue Strands readings over the last few years, but the featured poets for our 22nd October event in London are among our best yet. More details tomorrow...
We've heard some terrific sets at Rogue Strands readings over the last few years, but the featured poets for our 22nd October event in London are among our best yet. More details tomorrow...
Very clever writing. Technical brilliance. Much to admire. But would it attract novice readers of poetry as a PBS Choice?
You'll have to read the PBS Choices now! 😆
Attempted to read an acclaimed collection from a couple of years ago that was a Poetry Book Society Choice. The first eight poems all contained sprinklings of references to other poets, poems or poetry in general. Is this the sort of stuff that might appeal to someone with a PBS membership...?!
Attempted to read an acclaimed collection from a couple of years ago that was a Poetry Book Society Choice. The first eight poems all contained sprinklings of references to other poets, poems or poetry in general. Is this the sort of stuff that might appeal to someone with a PBS membership...?!
Village' is FREE today Sun.24 Aug. in its Kindle edition.Readable on computer or phone if you download the free Kindle app-very easy! Available on same page as 'Village'.Villagers add that this version's searchable.Some had scandalous Victorian Sundays throwing stones at Methodists! LINK IN COMMENTS
New on the Writer’s Bookshelf: eight questions about writers, books, and reading with the wonderful Niall Campbell.
Copy by copy, every hard-earned sale of a poetry collection is an act of trust, a contract between the poet and the reader that reaches far beyond cash. This is why I refuse to shy away from reminding you about Whatever You Do, Just Don't. Drop me a DM and I'll sort out your signed copy for you...
Writing simply is the most complicated thing.
Yes, that's often right, Gaye. But in this case, Richard knew.
Thanks, Patricia. He had a huge influence on me!
Richard Hoyes, sadly missed, my English teacher at Farnham College, in later years my friend. The first person to back my writing. The reason why I'm a poet today...
Copy by copy, every hard-earned sale of a poetry collection is an act of trust, a contract between the poet and the reader that reaches far beyond cash. This is why I refuse to shy away from reminding you about Whatever You Do, Just Don't. Drop me a DM and I'll sort out your signed copy for you...
That would be corrected by many editors as an anachronism! It's bang on the limit of no longer being standard usage. Or of the writer seeking an artificially high register to generate a specific effect
That's mad!
Never heard the term!
From the Classics as far as I know
"If you should help me, that would be wonderful." That use of "should" is subjunctive.
Those modal verbs are linked to the remnants of the subjunctive in English, of course.
Learning Spanish involved getting to grips with the subjunctive. Once I recognised it's a syntactic way of expressing what might happen or what might have happened, I also realised that the subjunctive mood is an integral part of any poem in any language, whether it's invoked explicitly or not...
Learning Spanish involved getting to grips with the subjunctive. Once I recognised it's a syntactic way of expressing what might happen or what might have happened, I also realised that the subjunctive mood is an integral part of any poem in any language, whether it's invoked explicitly or not...
Who said there's no poetry to be found at a car boot sale?! I have a new poem in this week's issue of The Spectator...
Poetry is dedicated to attempting to define stuff that's instrinsically indefinable. As a consequence, poems have no choice but to be heroic failures. And therein lies their value.
Outskirts of Hervás now being evacuated...
Massive forest fire out of control in northern Extremadura now. Gargantilla's been evacuated, everyone confined to their homes in Hervás, and the inhabitants of Baños de Montemayor told to "prepare for any eventuality". All these places are heaving with tourists, as it's a bank holiday weekend here.
Massive forest fire out of control in northern Extremadura now. Gargantilla's been evacuated, everyone confined to their homes in Hervás, and the inhabitants of Baños de Montemayor told to "prepare for any eventuality". All these places are heaving with tourists, as it's a bank holiday weekend here.
Everyday events and everyday language aren't synonymous with simplistic anecdote. They can be layered and nuanced till they reach far beyond their apparently modest limits and turn into poetry...
Yes, exactly. That's very much why I mentioned the poem. He felt it was a partial failure, but it's become one of his signature pieces.
The passing of time, the changing roles within a family, the connotations of a discarded toy, all with the point of departure of a local car boot sale...
For instance, Larkin felt The Mower was a partial failure (and I believe he was right to think that). But this hasn't stopped it going viral on social media over the past few years!
In Mariano Azuela's novel of the Mexican Revolution, Los de Abajo, the revolutionaries turned out to be just as grim as their predecessors once they reached power. This is reminiscent of the U.K. poetry scene.
There’s that famous line about poems being abandoned. I wonder whether the necessary gaps that poetry needs mean that the maker of the poem only sees the holes negatively, whereas a reader experiences them as the poem.
I think that's an extremely good point, Andy.
For instance, Larkin felt The Mower was a partial failure (and I believe he was right to think that). But this hasn't stopped it going viral on social media over the past few years!
We all beat ourselves up far too much about whether a poem is wholly successful!
Poetry is dedicated to attempting to define stuff that's instrinsically indefinable. As a consequence, poems have no choice but to be heroic failures. And therein lies their value.
Just updated my ALCS with the three poems I've published recently in The Spectator. Always well worth doing...
Just updated my ALCS with the three poems I've published recently in The Spectator. Always well worth doing...
In Mariano Azuela's novel of the Mexican Revolution, Los de Abajo, the revolutionaries turned out to be just as grim as their predecessors once they reached power. This is reminiscent of the U.K. Poetry Establishment.
Oof! I struggle badly with translations anyway, but Los de Absjo would be a huge ask - much of the dialogue is written in dialect, for a start. How would you render that without losing a chunk of its connotations...?!
In Mariano Azuela's novel of the Mexican Revolution, Los de Abajo, the revolutionaries turned out to be just as grim as their predecessors once they reached power. This is reminiscent of the U.K. Poetry Establishment.
The passing of time, the changing roles within a family, the connotations of a discarded toy, all with the point of departure of a local car boot sale...
The poetry of car boot sales...
From my experience, Bluesky's really worthwhile in terms of finding a new audience for my poems, though perhaps the most significant bit has been the lovely people I've encountered on there...!
A post from Rogue Strands about my personal experience of poetry on Bluesky... roguestrands.blogspot.com/2025/08/poet...
Everyday events and everyday language aren't synonymous with simplistic anecdote. They can be layered and nuanced till they reach far beyond their apparently modest limits and turn into poetry...
The poetry of car boot sales...
Who said there's no poetry to be found at a car boot sale?! I have a new poem in this week's issue of The Spectator...
Over 600 likes on here now for The Last Carry. Just goes to show what an excellent platform this is for enabling poems to break out beyond the poetry bubble...!
From my experience, Bluesky's really worthwhile in terms of finding a new audience for my poems, though perhaps the most significant bit has been the lovely people I've encountered on there...!
A post from Rogue Strands about my personal experience of poetry on Bluesky... roguestrands.blogspot.com/2025/08/poet...
Want to hear @roguestrands.bsky.social reading this poem? Head over to his page in wave sixteen of @iambapoet.com. iambapoet.com/wave/16-matthew-stewart
Submissions are now open for issue nine. The theme is Trespass: rights and wrongs; encroachment and colonisation; faults and forgiveness. Please see the website (link in bio) for information and guidelines. Window closes August 31st. 🕊 xx
I thought to myself, “Hang in there, momma, it gets easier. Until it doesn’t.” And now I’ve been fighting back tears all day. So the first time I get on social media all day, this beautiful poem is the first thing I see, now. And the dam just broke. Thanks, @roguestrands.bsky.social 😭❤️
Boy, of all the days to see this beautiful poem. I dropped my 19 y.o. daughter off at the airport today for her first-ever solo flight. While I was there waiting for her to get through TSA, I saw a young mom (couldn’t have been older than 25-26) who was clearly on her own. (🧵)
That's a lovely story, Jason! Thanks for sharing. Really special...
What a beautiful poem. As a father of a 7 year old girl, these thoughts do cross my mind frequently.
Thanks, Baz! My son's twenty now... 😢
Thanks, Vincent. I'm as surprised as anyone!
Over 600 likes on here now for The Last Carry. Just goes to show what an excellent platform this is for enabling poems to break out beyond the poetry bubble...!
My kids are 7 and 10, and I find myself thinking about this poem a lot...
Thanks, Nathaniel. That means a lot to this poet!
;-)
This is so beautiful.
Thank you, Lindsay.
Did you still need a reason to read Whatever You Do, Just Don't?! Well, here are five excellent ones, provided very generously and with great insight by Andy Hopkins @nightjrrs.bsky.social DM me to grab your signed copy...! andyhopkinspoet.wordpress.com/2025/07/31/m...
Poetry as a map, poetry as a record of people and their places, poetry as origin, journey and destination. That's why the dust jacket of Whatever You Do, Just Don't is an old map of Extremadura, where I now live, while the inner cover is a map of Farnham, my home town. My poems are in the middle...
Great news, Keith. Hope you enjoy it...!
This is a poem of loss, taken from Whatever You Do, Just Don't (HappenStance Press, 2023)...
Close editing is an act of creative generosity. Working with the poet, line by line, word by word, takes so much out of editors that they often struggle to sustain their own writing. It's a huge sacrifice! This is why I'm so grateful to Helena Nelson for her graft with Whatever You Do, Just Don't.
The concept of truth in poetry is also very interesting. Many people seem to think that a poem should be based on factual truth, whereas I believe it should seek its own poetic truth.