Congrats to Abeer Ameer and Modron Magazine!

Abeer Ameer wears a hijab over her hair, she is facing forward and smiling

A very quick post to draw your attention to the wonderful news that Abeer Ameer, a guest reader for Trowbridge Stanza last year, is shortlisted in this year's Forward Prizes for Poetry in the Best Single Written Poem category for her poem 'At Least' published online at Modron Magazine. Abeer gave a terrific reading in… Continue reading Congrats to Abeer Ameer and Modron Magazine!

Philippa Sutherland

A painting by Philippa Sutherland of a female figure in rollerskates, with legs outstretched, reclining on grass.

My friend of about eight years, artist Philippa Sutherland, died last month. She'd been ill for some time and I'd been visiting her weekly for a year. We weren't close friends, and Philippa had many friends from different places, particularly Ireland where she lived for many years, but we found lots to talk about, books,… Continue reading Philippa Sutherland

Borderland Flow

A still from the film Borderland Flow featuring an image of a child's dress on a clothes hanger

Artist and curator Su Fahy has made this short film 'Borderland Flow' in a tribute to Pauline Scott-Garrett who died in April this year, as I mentioned in my previous post. The images in the film are from Pauline's November 2024 installation at Walcott Chapel, Bath, which was curated by Su Fahy and Patricia O'Brien.… Continue reading Borderland Flow

Pauline Scott-Garrett

an image of Pauline's studio featuring images on her walls

Today, we said goodbye to artist Pauline Scott-Garrett who died in early April. I was so glad to have known Pauline over the years, and honoured to collaborate with her last year when I wrote a zine of poems in response to her beautiful series of collage and intaglio prints, BORDERLAND, which engaged with a… Continue reading Pauline Scott-Garrett

Not blogging, or writing, but…

A picture of a wall callender open at February

It's already nearly mid-February so I thought I'd write a quick blog. As I mentioned before I've been focusing on recovering from a small health issue and that is going very well. I've also been reading and notetaking, not writing as much as I would like, starting projects and getting stuck, becoming distracted... and, talking… Continue reading Not blogging, or writing, but…

On Giving Things Up

Blank January Calendar

13 January - I’ve just found the post below in my drafts folder. I began writing it sometime late last year (I think) but didn’t hit publish. While it’s still January, although the year no longer feels new, I’ll share it. * For the first time in over 25 years I’m starting 2025 without any… Continue reading On Giving Things Up

Six/Seis by Josephine Corcoran and Lorena Pino Montilla

Intaglio print from the Borderland series by Pauline Scott-Garrett, a child's white dress on a gold background

Today, I'm sharing my poem 'Six', and its Spanish translation by Lorena Pino Montilla, 'Seis', from my zine Six Poems, written to accompany 'Borderland' (Walcot Chapel, Bath 29 October - 2 November) an exhibition of collage and intaglio print by Pauline Scott-Garrett responding to Donald Trump's 2018 zero-tolerance immigration policy which enforced the separating of… Continue reading Six/Seis by Josephine Corcoran and Lorena Pino Montilla

How I made a poetry zine

Josephine Corcoran's zine 'Six Poems' arranged upright on a small table, flowers in the background

A quick post in connection with my previous post about making a zine, since a few of you have asked. I searched 'how to make a zine' on the internet and found this handy post by Niina Pollari and Nitsuh Abebe on the KickStarter News Archive. I also messaged Sophie Herxheimer and she pointed me to her… Continue reading How I made a poetry zine

Poetry, art, and translation, in collaboration

Cover of 'Six Poems' by Josephine Corcoran featuring an intaglio print by Pauline Scott-Garrett, a child's white dress on a blue background

Recently I've taken a detour from my slow-burning fiction writing (mentioned in a previous post) and dipped back into poetry to collaborate with artist Pauline Scott-Garrett, and Spanish tutor and film programmer Lorena Pino Montilla, on a poetry project. For some time, Pauline's art has engaged with issues surrounding human dislocation, displacement and exile, most… Continue reading Poetry, art, and translation, in collaboration

Just to say…

sweetpeas from my garden in a small jar of water

I'm still here, beavering away with pen and notebooks, typing up multiple drafts of assembled words which might pass as 'stories' (or, more accurately, beginnings of stories) and printing them out to re-write and edit, collecting many reams of paper in the meantime. In 2020, my aim was to write fiction again, rather than poetry,… Continue reading Just to say…