I wanted to say how much I enjoyed hearing Ben Bransfield, Cynthia Miller, and Marvin Thompson read at Drawing Projects UK, Trowbridge, on Saturday 30 September.
These three poets are the winners of the 2017 Nine Arches Press/Poetry School Primers Competition which offered a prize of one year of mentoring with poets, editors and educators Jane Commane and Jacob Sam-La Rose, plus publication in a dedicated anthology.
The Primers competition is aimed at emerging poets who have begun to be published. Reading Primers Volume Two and hearing the poets read, it’s clear that they are far from novices and already accomplished writers. Their work, and their reading styles, are all very different, which makes Primers Volume Two all the more enjoyable. In this book you will find poems engaging with inter-generational family relationships in semi-rural Shropshire; a contemplation on the colour of a Malaysian mother’s skin; an interview with a fictitious stand-up comedian about his thoughts on using the N-word – and much more. The range is delicious.
After the readings, their was a Q & A session about getting published, the Primers competition and other development schemes. Ben, Cynthia and Marvin were generous and informative with their answers and anecdotes, and stayed on to mingle, sell books and answer more questions.
Thanks, as always, to Gary and Anita at Drawing Projects UK for supporting this event and making everyone feel welcome. Thanks to Nine Arches and The Poetry School for their support, and to the poets themselves for making the journey to Trowbridge and being so open and friendly. It was a really enjoyable and interesting afternoon.
Primers Volume Two is available from Nine Arches Press.
Josephine Corcoran 