Author: Josephine Corcoran

Josephine Corcoran is a writer, originally from the north west of England and now based in the south west. Her professional credits include two poetry collections, a stage play, and two BBC Radio 4 credits (for a short story and afternoon play). She is founder and editor of And Other Poems (www.andotherpoems.com)

January Update

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paper variously coloured with swirling patterns laid out on a small round dining table

I've been having a lovely time making visual poems for my workshops at Trowbridge Museum which I wrote about here. This work lead me to think about ways to extend my visual poetry practice, greatly helped by an article by Geof Huth at the Poetry Foundation, and, in particular, the following quotes which gave me… Continue reading January Update

Flowers, visual poetry and George Crabbe’s herbarium in a workshop at Trowbridge Museum

Josephine Corcoran6 Comments
A dried flower on a white page under clear cellophane.

I received an email from Hannah at Trowbridge Museum about some of my visual poems that she'd seen on social media, particularly the ones I'd made using wildflowers and plants (which I've mentioned before on this blog). Hannah asked if I could design and lead some flower-based visual poetry workshops for young people (aged 7+)… Continue reading Flowers, visual poetry and George Crabbe’s herbarium in a workshop at Trowbridge Museum

Visual Poetry Workshops at Trowbridge Museum

Josephine Corcoran5 Comments
A cluttered table on which can be seen a book of poems by George Crabbe, a cup of tea and various dried flowers arranged on paper.

I was delighted to be asked by Trowbridge Museum to create and facilitate some visual poetry workshops for young people (aged 7+) working with the museum's extensive herbarium collected by poet, botanist and clergyman George Crabbe, who lived and is buried in Trowbridge. These free workshops form part of a programme of events Trowbridge Museum… Continue reading Visual Poetry Workshops at Trowbridge Museum

My End of Year Books

Josephine Corcoran8 Comments
A picture of two books

(Books I find myself reading at the end of the year). My favourite books of the year are, of course, books published by my friends in 2022 and I’m not going to list those here since lists of that kind are already liberally dotted throughout social media. Instead, this post is about two books I… Continue reading My End of Year Books

A new pamphlet in 2023

Josephine Corcoran13 Comments
A bouquet of flowers with the message 'Congratulations with love from your family'.

I’m very happy to share the news that I was one of three winners in Live Canon’s 2022 Pamphlet/Chapbook Competition and a pamphlet of about 20 of my poems will be published in 2023. These poems have been accumulating in my notebook since the 2018 publication of my full collection What Are You After? (Nine… Continue reading A new pamphlet in 2023

On getting poems published

Josephine Corcoran3 Comments
The image is of a pink hydrangea flower in a china mug

A few notes from recent chats The poetry group I belong to, Trowbridge Stanza, met earlier this month to talk about routes into publishing, sharing our own stories of publication, and chatting about the different options available in the UK. We’re a mix of published and unpublished writers of different ages, backgrounds and experiences. Most… Continue reading On getting poems published

On Reviewing

Josephine Corcoran8 Comments
The image is a painting of a woman reading a book

The poetry group I belong to was talking about reviews. I said that one of the good things about writing reviews is the way it helps you to grow your poetry community, bringing you into contact with other poets and with publishers. It’s of value to your reading practice since it encourages close reading of… Continue reading On Reviewing

Time for a Pause

Josephine Corcoran9 Comments
The image is the shadow of a hand holding a jar of flowers held against a plain wall.

(Thoughts on refreshing more than my newsfeed). I've also shared this post to Substack. I’ve joined Mastodon although I’m finding it slow and glitchy. I’m gently learning how to find people I want to interact with there but I’m also using this ‘wondering what is going on and what will happen at Twitter’ time to… Continue reading Time for a Pause

The impact of receiving funding on my creative practice: update about a 2018 Local Artist’s Bursary

Josephine Corcoran7 Comments
The image is a photo of Stonehenge taken from a car driving on the A303. The ancient stones can be seen in the near distance with faded green grass in the foreground and a blue sky with white clouds above.

Poetry is a slow business, at least it is for me. In 2018 I was awarded a local artist's bursary of £2000 from Ginkgo Projects/Bloor Homes to write poems in response to the landscape in and around Amesbury. I wrote a little about the bursary and my research for the poems on this blog as… Continue reading The impact of receiving funding on my creative practice: update about a 2018 Local Artist’s Bursary

Poem of the Day at the National Poetry Library, UK.

Josephine Corcoran6 Comments
The image is of four dried-out sweet william plants, parched of all colour because of hot weather and no rain, laid out on a white page in four lines as if four lines of a poem. At the top of the page, handwriting in blue ink reads 'poem with no rhyme or rain'.

One of my visual poems, an ecopoem called 'poem with no rhyme or rain', was selected as a joint winner in a competition for Instagram poems on the theme of 'the environment' - which was the theme for National Poetry Day (UK) this year - run by the National Poetry Library. It was also chosen… Continue reading Poem of the Day at the National Poetry Library, UK.