J V Birch

Looking back and then forward

January 2, 2015 in Other bits 'n' bobs | Tags: Kim Moore, Mindshare, Mslexia, Pascale Petit, Poetry School, The Aurorean, When words come to life | Leave a comment

With the beginning of a new year, I thought it would be a good time to review 2014 and take a look at some of the things I have achieved with my writing.

Producing a short film for my poem

Being one of the winners of mindshare’s When words come to life poetry competition and given the opportunity to create a short video clip to accompany my piece was a most interesting experience. I learnt a great deal about storyboarding poems using impact, music, breath and movement, as well as finding that place you have to get to when reading aloud. And I made some good friends along the way, all of whom have either been impacted by or are involved in mental health.

Breaking into the US market

Having been published in the UK, Australia and Canada, it was wonderful to be accepted into a journal published out of Maine in the US to add to the compliment of continents. The Aurorean was a journal I’d had my eye for a while due to the quality of work it publishes and the awards it has won. I can now be defined as an international poet – long may it continue!

Submitting a draft of my first collection

Having some time off work recently gave me the opportunity to finally develop a first draft of my first collection. Not as easy as you originally think and very all-consuming, but with the help of a course I took with Pascale Petit at the Poetry School and some words of wisdom from Kim Moore on how she did it, I managed to create a fairly cohesive submission that has been sent off to a publisher in London. Let’s see what happens!

What to focus on in 2015

I will continue to submit to magazines and journals but perhaps be more selective, and take a step back from the competitions. I must make more of an effort to attend literary events and readings to network, and keep up with what’s happening on the local poetry scene. And in an attempt to be more organised, I’ve treated myself to the Mslexia 2015 Writer’s Diary, an invaluable resource that I’m wondering how I did without really. If anything comes from my first collection submission then that will take up a large chunk of my time to develop further and fine-tune. I also received news just before Christmas that some of my work has been accepted by a very reputable webzine in the UK run by one of my favourite poets, but more about that shortly.

So here’s to another 12 months of poetry success. A happy new year to you all, keep writing 🙂

A heart-warming story at Christmas

December 22, 2014 in Other bits 'n' bobs | Tags: Rachel Joyce, The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry | Leave a comment

I have just finished reading a wonderful book, The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry by Rachel Joyce. I don’t normally blog about books, but with this I just have to.

The story begins as a simple one – Harold, the central character, leaves home to post a reply to a letter he has received from an old friend who is dying from cancer. And then decides to hand deliver it, some 627 miles and 87 days later. I think what I particularly liked was a certain “return to nature” perspective, a stripping away of life’s paraphernalia, with his impromptu decision leaving Harold to walk without map, mobile or even decent walking shoes. His journey describes the simplest of things – the way the landscape changes under sun and starlit skies, the colours, the smells, the feelings it awakens, and of course with all this time on his hands and little distraction, Harold begins to look back on his life with each step he takes forward – the memory of his mother, his father’s brazen behaviour, the times spent with his son, his wife, the many regrets.

It’s the kind of book that makes you think, to look inward, maybe even examine your own path you have followed to be where you are now. And it is the first book in a long time that has made me cry! There is one very poignant scene described in such an emotive yet simple way, it makes me waver now to just think about it.

So if you haven’t read it yet or are looking for a last minute stocking filler, I can’t recommend this book enough. Merry Christmas folks 🙂

The first freeze

December 15, 2014 in Poets | Leave a comment

Jo Bell is an amazing poet, and I particularly love this poem, helps me with our hot Christmas !

The Bell Jar

First ice of the year, on the Trent & Mersey

This is what we call ‘cat ice’ – probably because it’s just thick enough to support a foolish cat…. for a while anyway. It came in the night and it’s still here at 11am. Our winter freeze has begun.

The ice will come and go now until the spring. Some years (like last year) we barely see ice at all. Some years (like 2010) we get ice so thick and settled that it grows to an eight-inch-thick pavement, and you can cross it with a wheelbarrow full of firewood. Well, you can if you want to. But you’d be an idiot, as I explained to my ex when he did it.

So here’s a poem about that first frozen morning on the canals…. and if you want to read it with an article I wrote in my first days as…

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For the love of…

December 12, 2014 in Other bits 'n' bobs | Tags: Carol Ann Duffy, Love Poems, Mslexia, Philippa Gregory, Seamus Heaney, Simon Armitage, Sylvia Plath | Leave a comment

Apart from reading, and reading widely, another good tip for a poet is to subscribe to some poetry journals and writing magazines, to also help keep them appraised of the latest events in the literary world. I currently subscribe to seven publications, a mixture of pure poetry, book reviews and general writing, one of which is Mslexia.

This magazine, published out of Newcastle upon Tyne in the UK, prides itself on being an ambassador for women’s writing, to get their voices heard in what can still be construed as a rather male-dominated field. An interesting article in the current issue focuses on ‘bestselling poets’, with only three in the top ten prime sellers actually being alive at the moment.

Not surprisingly Carol Ann Duffy tops the charts, with an increase in her sales income on last year by just under £20,000 to £195,992. I love Duffy’s work, the rawness and reality of it, two of my favourite pieces being from her collection of Love Poems, ‘Drunk’ and ‘Valentine’, in which she picks you up and makes you ‘be’ in the scene with her.

There’s an even split in the top ten in respect of gender, which includes the likes of Heaney, Plath and Armitage, and the piece reminds us that the poet’s income is a mere ‘pittance’ compared to the bestsellers in other genres, giving the example of historical fiction queen Philippa Gregory who earned close to £1 million this year.

And so it ends with the advice of don’t give up the day job, which is all too true. I have been lucky enough financially to be able to reduce my working hours for the first time in my life to focus purely on my poetry but yes, poets face an interesting challenge – to dream in a realist world.

Twice in one week!

November 23, 2014 in Other bits 'n' bobs | Tags: Alison Flett, Australian Poetry, Flinders Institute for Research, Flinders University, Gillian Dooley, Heather Taylor Johnson, Transnational Literature, Uneven Floor | 2 comments

Being published that is, and I am just thrilled as they are two of my favourite poems!

The first piece called ‘Instinct’ appears in the November issue of Transnational Literature, an international e-journal published twice a year out of the Flinders Institute for Research in the Humanities at Flinders University. Edited by Gillian Dooley with the poetry section by Heather Taylor Johnson, the journal is fully refereed with an internationally-based advisory board that seek a selection of cross-cultural pieces, be they poetry, prose or articles. The poetry in this particular issue has a Scottish theme with guest poetry editor Alison Flett covering for Heather while she is overseas researching her next book.

The second poem published this week, ‘Offspring‘, was in Uneven Floor, an independent poetry magazine operating out of Perth, Western Australia edited by Jackson. Aiming to publish one or two individual poems every fortnight with a focus on poets from Western Australia, I was particularly impressed by the calibre and diversity of the content when I discovered this outlet via Australian Poetry, as well as instantly warming to the frank, no-nonsense style in what the editor looks for and what he definitely doesn’t.

So yes, I am one ecstatic poet at present, let’s see what else I can do… 🙂

Words@Wall

November 21, 2014 in Friendly Street Poets readings | Tags: Friendly Street Poets, Garron Publishing, Ian Gibbons, Judy Dally, Louise Nicholas, Wakefield Press | 2 comments

After work on Wednesday I went along to the regular Words@Wall event to hear Louise Nicholas and Judy Dally read some of their poetry.

Hosted by Ian Gibbons of Friendly Street Poets, the set was a very entertaining one, in fact probably one of the most engaging poetry performances I have ever experienced!

Due to several recurring themes in their work, Louise and Judy took turns to read, which resulted in a wonderfully intimate atmosphere where the audience were invited to step into their lives for a while.

They began with poems about mothers, swiftly followed by fathers, their styles quite different but very complimentary. Other themes included nostalgia, love, travel and then with both having a teaching background, school. Some pieces were funny, some poignant, but all were spoken with a certain ease as if we were the old friends that Louise and Judy are.

And in true style I purchased a copy of both of their collections – Louise’s chapbook entitled Large recently published by Garron Publishing and Judy’s At Sixes and Sevens printed by Always Printing, along with a collaboration of work that Louise did with Jude Aquilina, Woman Speak published by Wakefield Press. Now, which one to read first…

The Aurorean, the American market

November 7, 2014 in Other bits 'n' bobs | Tags: Encircle Publications, Maine, The Aurorean, USA | 2 comments

As I mentioned in a previous post, I had a piece accepted for the fall/winter issue of the Aurorean poetry journal published by Encircle Publications. Well, it’s out now!

Contributors receive a free copy, plus a special discount on further copies purchased, so I’m really looking forward to mine arriving, which I anticipate taking a little longer considering the distance needed to travel!

It’s well known that on the whole, poetry doesn’t pay. However, like many other poets I don’t write to earn and when you think about it, “pay” has many connotations. I still get a thrill from seeing my work and name in print so this is the value for me. And when you couple that with contributor copies and the publicity provided, I feel that’s a pretty good deal, don’t you…? 🙂

I am a curious yellow colour

October 31, 2014 in Lee Marvin readings | Tags: 5 Islands Press, Alison Flett, Cameron Lowe, Jennifer Liston, Ken Bolton, Lee Marvin readings, Louise Nicholas, Martin Christmas, Mike Hopkins, Punchman & Wattmann, Rachael Mead., Sam Squires, Steve Brock | Leave a comment

This was the byline for the recent set of Lee Marvin Readings that take place every Tuesday of every other month at the Dark Horsey Bookshop – they get your attention. Hosted by manager and poet Ken Bolton, the evening offers a snapshot of four selected poets’ work and I finally attended for the first time this week!

I’ve been meaning to go for a while and there is no excuse really, seeing as it’s only a 5 minute walk from where I work, but the particular pull this time was Jennifer Liston, a wonderful poet and friend who it’s been a while since I’ve seen. Jen was third to read, preceded by Steve Brock and Sam Squires, and followed by Cameron Lowe.

Steve is a widely published local poet who’s presence drew a captive audience as he read some amusing pieces about his youth, with his most recent collection, Double Glaze, published by 5 Islands Press.

Sam is a student currently studying at Flinders University recommended to Ken, who is always on the lookout for new poets to add to his roll call, thus it was his first time reading and he did amazingly well.

Jen started her set with a very entertaining piece about finding that elusive nugget of gold in the hills and a ‘found’ poem called “The smoothest place is right here” from James Joyce’s Ulysses, which conveyed some particularly vivid imagery. Jen also read some of the work she is currently developing for her Creative Writing PhD at Adelaide University.

Cameron had traveled from Geelong to attend and read from his collection Circle Work published by Puncher & Wattmann Poetry, including a six-part piece called “The skin of it” in which intimate fleeting moments were captured and shared.

It was a wonderful night. And yes, being in a bookshop I did purchase some (and also won one as a prize due to my entry ticket being printed on both sides!), and again it was great seeing some familiar faces – Rachael Mead, Alison Flett, Mike Hopkins and Louise Nicholas – all of whom, along with the poets reading, were captured in action by regular poet photographer Martin Christmas.

Words@Wall

October 18, 2014 in Friendly Street Poets readings | Tags: Amelia Walker, Friendly Street Poets, Garron Publishing, Jennifer Liston, Louise Nicholas, Mike Ladd, Nigel Ford, Poetica | Leave a comment

I meant to post this earlier in the week but as usual got sidetracked with other things! On Wednesday I went to hear poets Amelia Walker and Mike Ladd read at the monthly Words@Wall poetry evening organised by Friendly Street Poets.

I was not familiar with Amelia’s work, however her performance was simply captivating. She read extracts from a sequence she wrote while living in the Netherlands that told of her life when she first moved with her partner, the integration required and a degree of isolation, albeit loneliness, as a result. Amelia was mesmerizing, giving a very personal account that was highly entertaining but also very poignant.

Mike I remember from his interview of Mark Tredinnick at this years Writer’s Festival, aswell as from his regular stint on ABC’s Poetica program. Mike read from his new collection of poems Adelaide, published by Garron Publishing (yes, a copy was purchased!), which give beautiful accounts of specific aspects of Adelaide life. My favorite was A Snowflake in an Adelaide Schoolyard, describing “a day when you could see the trees’ secrets” and then it arrives, lending itself to different interpretations and questionable doubt.

It was great catching up with poet friends too – Jennifer Liston, Louise Nicholas and Nigel Ford – so I have already marked the next one in the diary, and looking forward to it.

“HeadRead” and World Mental Health Day

October 10, 2014 in Mental health | Tags: Fran Sherman, Jude Aquilina, Mental health, Mental Health Coalition for South Australia, Mindshare, Nina Pearce, World Mental Health Day | Leave a comment

To help celebrate Mental Health Week in South Australia, Mindshare hosted “HeadRead” on Wednesday night for the entrants and winners of their recent “When Words Come to Life” poetry competition to perform some of their work.

The evening was brilliantly compered by Jude Aquilina, a wonderful poet who has published several fantastic collections and Nina Pearce, an MHCSA administrator who has been working tirelessly to help coordinate events throughout the week.

I was the second to read, and managed to do so with confidence and without issue! I read alongside new and established poets, some with very poignant stories to tell, but all demonstrating a battle with the self and the impact of an unhealthy state of mind. The whole experience felt almost cathartic, a real sense of opening up and removing the mask that some are better maintaining than others. This took courage, and I felt privileged to be a part of it.

The session finished with showing the films of the winning entries (lookout for a little black dog, images courtesy of wonderful artist Fran Sherman). All were very different, a beautiful kaleidoscope of images and words, again with some very powerful moments that left an imprint long after the screen went dark, like closing your eyes on the sun.

It felt good to read my work, and to network, and share and listen, definitely an aspect to help maintain my own poetic mental health, and one that will almost certainly provide inspiration for future pieces.

And today is World Mental Health Day! So take some time out to check in on your current state and make that mental health promise to yourself now. It can be as easy as just taking the time to look after yourself, which could be getting more sleep, regular exercise, eating healthier meals but essentially, do whatever makes you happy.

J V Birch

Looking back and then forward

A heart-warming story at Christmas

The first freeze

For the love of…

Twice in one week!

Words@Wall

The Aurorean, the American market

I am a curious yellow colour

Words@Wall

“HeadRead” and World Mental Health Day

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