It is with great pleasure that I announce the publication of Archery In The UK, my poetic collaboration with Nick Reeves. The wait is now over, and our slender volume can be found at Amazon worldwide, Waterstones.com, Barnesandnoble.com and in selected UK bookshops. I am going to quote Nick's very apt description of the collection... Continue Reading →
Guest Post: Walking Wedholme Flow by Avril Hemsley
I went for a stroll on Wedholme Flowand found myself walking under a chorus of skylarks,I met a tiger of a green beetle and followed a hairy caterpillar.Fluorescent blue damselflies flickered past, and birds fluttered around my feet.Water pools shined with sky, and cotton grass whispered in the breeze.A cuckoo called in the near distance... Continue Reading →
Reading: ‘White Heaven’
Today's reading from Archery In The UK is a poem entitled 'White Heaven.' I hope you enjoy it! https://youtu.be/EhaSGttrASY Also sharing with earthweal's Open Link Forum. Four more days to go!
The Wintered Queen
Into the crystal screen, The Wintered Queenwith heart encased in ice, gazes:begins to dance throughout the changing scenewhile rain, rooftops and pavements glazes Glides over a bridge above the Tynewith a familiar strangermirror upon mirror intertwinedKing into Queen, St Nicholas to Grainger A mirage or a vision, carousel appears before them - hoverswith fairytale cast, and,... Continue Reading →
Archery In The UK: Release Date 1 February 2023!
Happy New Year to all of my readers! I wish you all the success and wellbeing you hope for in 2023. For me, there is no better way to start the New Year than with the announcement that Archery In The UK will be released on 1 February 2023. About the book I have always... Continue Reading →
‘Atlantic Beadlet Anemone’ published in FVR Magazine
I found jewels in a barnacled crevicewithin the cracked rocks on Cullercoats beachteetering close to the pools like a novicesaltwater gems within reach... Thank you to editor Kristiana for publishing my poem and photograph in Issue VIII of Free Verse Revolution. The title of this issue is Guinevere (Rebirth) and it is available now for... Continue Reading →
‘Mom and I Play Lassos with Our Hysterectomy Scars’ Reading
Today, it is an honour to share Barbara Harris Leonhard's reading of her Pushcart nominated poem, 'Mom and I Play Lassos with Our Hysterectomy Scars.' It is a direct, fearless and moving poem, but I will let Barbara speak for herself: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WiBtEK_9OPI Thank you to everyone who has bought and reviewed books in the EIF... Continue Reading →
“Mom and I Play Lassos with Our Hysterectomy Scars” Nominated for a Pushcart Prize!
It is my pleasure to announce that I have nominated Barbara Harris Leonhard's poem, "Mom and I Play Lassos with Our Hysterectomy Scars" for a Pushcart Prize. The poem is from Three-Penny Memories: A Poetic Memoir, published by EIF in October 2022. I chose this particular poem because, although it forms an integral part of... Continue Reading →
I Long to Belong…
I long to be long in your armsin your hand-holdmy lovehow I long to belong I long to be boldwith your charmsmeasured tenfoldmy lovehow I long to be bold I love to be lovedby your caresses blessedhow I love to be lovedmy beloved So I’m ending my songwith a kiss and a blessingI waitwhere I long... Continue Reading →
Spellcasting
Bewitched pigsflaming leavesbent, twisted twigs,a wind which weaves,mourns, moans of melodyhaunts with its poetryhand-in-hand you-and-mewalking a gold-coin trimmed alleythrough the cold veil of autumn. All this heat and symmetry remembered, how thebreath peals, wreathed in mistencircling thissacred geometry. Today is heavy:Rain falls and you aren't hereI call up the crystal screenstare hard into andthrough the ubiquitous... Continue Reading →