writer
When I was on the Aldeburgh Eight Advanced Poetry Seminar at Bruisyard Hall last November with seven other poets, I was encouraged to go for a walk every morning at nine o'clock. When I say 'encouraged' I mean that the eight of us, in pairs, whatever the weather, were turfed out of the house for a thirty… Continue reading Finding a hand-built lathe on my daily walk
Since it's the first of the month, I thought I'd share with you some of my plans for the rest of the year. I am a lover of lists, even if I often fail to cross off all of the items written on them. I'm not a slavish adherer to plans, I don't feel like… Continue reading Pinch, punch, make some plans
I am fond of writing in bed, by hand, in a notebook, as soon as I wake up. I also like to drift from sofa to chair to sofa, carrying an ever-growing pile of drafts. I sometimes write at our kitchen table but, increasingly, this space has been monopolised by our daughter who's now studying… Continue reading My writing space
A small miracle occurred this last fortnight since, in between present buying/wrapping/giving/receiving, in between tree decorating, food buying/preparing/eating/clearing-up, a few hospital appointments, Carol Concerts and church services, in between socialising, relation-visiting and charade playing, a new poem emerged. Hallelujah! There's even been a submission or two, some re-drafting, some reading of submissions to And Other Poems, and… Continue reading Sharing desk space with the Christmas fairy
As I've mentioned before, I've been selected to take part in this year's Aldeburgh Eight Advanced Seminar. In just over two weeks I'll head off for three days at Aldeburgh Poetry Festival, followed by five days living at Bruisyard Hall with the other seven people in my seminar group and our two tutors, Peter Sansom… Continue reading Thoughts about workshopping poems
I've been absent from here of late, really since I got back from my holiday in Portugal, and it's mainly because I'm trying to plough on with my poetry writing, especially as I'm taking a break from paid work. I feel that I need to make the most of my free time as I'm never too… Continue reading On not blogging and putting your poems first
I've been absent, absent-minded, not quite here, out of sorts, not myself. I've been a bit poorly, had some kind of bug, haven't been sleeping well and, to make matters worse, because I lost my only pair of decent reading glasses, I'm wearing an old pair which are scratched, not the right prescription and giving… Continue reading Not quite here, not quite anywhere.
Here are two houses: our holiday rental in Portugal and our home in the UK: Q. Apart from the weather, what else was different about my holiday in Portugal earlier this year? A. There was no wifi at the house. In the end, I decided that I like the internet and I felt cut off… Continue reading Strategies for staying off the internet
I had a bit of a chuckle at this Facebook post from poet and Editor of Prole magazine, Brett Evans: Are there any fellow editors out there who find submissions without so much as a hello rude? No cover letter or bio I can forgive but no hello! I know the work should speak… Continue reading Dear Editors – Here are my Poems!
In a bid to be productive, to keep you updated about what I'm up to and to fulfil my goal of writing a post a week on this blog, I'm writing this article with the clock ticking. More specifically, I'm using the timer app on my iPhone and when the 15 minutes are up, that's it! (3… Continue reading Writing against the clock
Josephine Corcoran 
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