Hi there. Getting to the computer has been difficult these past couple of weeks. Katy's work has been very much tied up with the screen, even today my time the computer is very limited. But I am writing. Since the new year I have written two poems and am in the final draft stages of a third. This one I hope to send to Magma for publication in March. The theme is alienation or exile and I'm trying to write about my Jewish experience. I do have another idea for a poem on the same theme and might start on that after this one. They have to be submitted in February so there is much to do.
I am teaching a lot of poetry at the moment. Seamus Heaney and Sylvia Plath with the second years and later with one second year group Blake and Betjeman. With a first year group I'm teaching an anthology of American poetry. All of this will influence my writing in a direct way. Plath's imagery is so dynamic and powerful - I love her play with language and symbols, with Heaney I'm attracted to the emotional restraint - the carefully crafted image, and the rich, full sounds of his of his work. But we will see what eventually materialises, perhaps nothing.
Anne-Marie has offered me a slot in the next Epiphany at The Troubadour which could be in the summer. That will mean a 15 minute reading. I am very excited about that.
I want to make a response to the TS Eliot prize winner but have not had a chance to read it yet.