January Update

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

A Poem in Poetry Ireland Review

The image is of issue 137 of Poetry Ireland Review which features a painting of two blurred figures clambering up the side of a hill or sand dune beneath a vividly blue, clouded sky

I have a new poem published in Poetry Ireland Review, issue 137 edited by Gerald Dawe. The poem 'High Summer World of Light' takes as its starting point a 2009 abstract painting of the same name by Gillian Ayres. High Summer World of Light, 2009 by Gillian Ayres It's my first time in the magazine… Continue reading A Poem in Poetry Ireland Review

Two New Poems in Magma Poetry and Raceme magazine

The image shows a published poem by Josephine Corcoran hidden behind a yellow notebook and a pen

I have new poems out in current issues of two poetry magazines. Magma has published my poem 'Seen while walking: one high-heeled boot, black suede, in a public flower bed' in its 'Solitude' issue. This is my first time in Magma after submitting multiple times. This poem was one of a series I wrote last… Continue reading Two New Poems in Magma Poetry and Raceme magazine

Two poems from my book

The image is of my poetry book 'What Are You After' which has a blue and orange cover.

I've shared a couple of poems from my poetry book on Twitter recently because the poems seemed relevant to different items in the news. Like many people, I was irritated by Dominic Raab's criticism of Angela Rayner (in Parliament, during Prime Minister's Questions) for attending an opera - Glyndbourne, in fact. For those who don't… Continue reading Two poems from my book

An awful lot of waiting to hear

The image is of flowers and weeds growing in a garden

As I type this post, there are oxeye daisies, nasturtiums, sweet william, roses, mexican daisies and sunflowers growing in my garden. The hydrangea has turned on its lights again, the dog rose we planted last year to climb up a trellis is satisfyingly rambling. Since my last post, I've been up and back to London… Continue reading An awful lot of waiting to hear

Towards Spring

The image is of a news report that children were detained in Moscow for laying flowers at the Ukraine embassy, and a 77 year old woman was marched away in St Petersburg for holding a sign protesting the invasion of Ukraine. Laid on top of the news text are the handwritten words "They can't detain compassion" and "They can't march away love".

What has changed since my last blog in January? Well, the world has changed dramatically, hasn't it, but, here in my small corner of west Wiltshire, the news is less distressing. Since I last wrote here, there have been two in-person Trowbridge Stanza meetings, after a break of two years. Our monthly gatherings, on first… Continue reading Towards Spring

My Poetry Submissions System

The image is a notebook with a pair of spectacles on top. A writing pen is nearby. In the near distance are more notebooks.

My system for keeping tracks of poetry submissions is a spreadsheet-free zone. It involves paper, pen and coloured pencils. It isn't for everyone but it works for me and I thought I'd share it with you. First, I keep track of all of my submissions in a little book. It was a freebie from a… Continue reading My Poetry Submissions System

New poem in 14 magazine

A new poem 'Self-Portrait as a Green Silk Dress' has been accepted by 14 magazine (Vanguard Editions) and will be published in their next issue, now available to order. My thanks to editor Richard Skinner. Here is an image of the dress that inspired the poem:

Making visual poems with flowers

The image is of sweet pea petals arranged in three lines as a haiku, with each petal representing a syllable. There are five syllables, seven syllables, five syllables. The final syllables on the first and third lines are inedible sweet pea beans. The text reads 'Sweet Pea Haiku, Late Draft (Overworked).

I've used this blog before as a place to record workshop ideas, so I'm adding a post about some visual poems I've made as they would also work very well in a workshop. Here I've substituted flowers for syllables, words and rhymes in a few poetic forms (haiku, couplet, quatrain, end rhyme) but any found… Continue reading Making visual poems with flowers

New Poem in the 2021 Live Canon Anthology

My poem 'A Baby Speaks on his Birthday in an Autumn Garden, 2020' has been longlisted in this year's Live Canon International Poetry Competition and will be published in their annual anthology. Anthology cover photo by Anna Watson My thanks to the competition organisers, everyone at Live Canon and judge Jennifer Wong. More details and… Continue reading New Poem in the 2021 Live Canon Anthology