May sunshine! Not wanting to show off too much to all you non-freelancers, but today my ‘job’ has been sitting in the garden whilst bees bumble around peonies, uploading the latest notes for my Sylvia Plath course and relishing the new Annie Freud collection The Remains, which I’m reviewing for Poetry London. Here is my view:
The garden is looking a lovely mess – irises pushing through daisies, the pink and violet bells of aquilegia, an embarrassment of roses. I have planted out my seedlings: this year sunflowers, sweetpeas, beans, courgettes, lettuce, carrots, sweetcorn. And I have just harvested my first rhubarb!!!
Rhubarb is one of my favourite flavours in the world, and last year I had to keep my hands off whilst it established, so I have been anticipating this moment a long time. I am thinking compote, to have with Greek yoghurt, although I might also have to research rhubarb-based cocktails in celebration….
I’ve been enjoying the month. There were performances of the Ovid’s Heroines show at the South Yorkshire Poetry festival and the Alma Tavern in Bristol, both attended by lots of lovely poets (how I love theatre pubs); a glorious wedding; a bank holiday barbecue. I received a copy of the rather fabulous Neu Reekie anthology, which I’m proud to be in alongside poets such as Douglas Dunn and Liz Lochhead. I’ve also had my poem ‘Soft Play‘ appear on the New Boots and Pantisocracies blog and a recording of me talking about the favourite childhood book which made me a poet – Hilda Boswell’s Treasury of Poetry – appear on the RLF website. Here’s my battered copy which I still have in pride of place on my poetry shelves:
June is looking fun too. A couple of gigs coming up London people!
First, I’m taking part in a Poetry and Parenthood event at Keats House at 2pm on the 6th of June with Daljit Nagra, Fiona Benson and Owen Sheers.
And then I’m also very honoured to be part of the 20th anniversary celebrations for possibly my favourite poetry magazine (apologies everyone else!!) The Dark Horse on the 12th of June – details here. It’s an amazing lineup: I’ll be reading with Niall Campbell, Wendy Cope and Kei Miller!!! And I have a poem, ‘In the Horniman Museum’, in the Anniversary issue, which I’m sure is going to be amazing. I’m anticipating it’s arrival almost as much as I am the eating of rhubarb.
clarepollard 