Saturday 24 September 2011

Fizz 9, day dreaming and agent hunting

Morning folks – I’ll apologies now for the extended blog but it’s all good stuff so, I’m sure you’ll enjoy.
    
I last wrote on the cusp of a writing day where I’d planned to nab a 'wedding planner' book from the library but as expected it wasn’t available. After a quick re-jig  I switched research topics – so it wasn’t a completely wasted session. I did compile a list of potential agents ready for next weekend – it's such a difficult task, making a selection based on just a snippet of information. I don’t want to waste their time but on the other hand, given their experience I want to be part of their cohort. I have opted for agents that regularly handle my genre so am hoping that they see something a little different in my subject when comparing to their other signed authors. Anyhow, the list is complete for now, I plan to post out next Saturday, 1st October.

But the big news for today is that I shall be working on ‘Her’ for this final week. The draft has been in hibernation for three weeks and today is the day! I shall be reading it with fresh eyes in the hope of detecting grammatical errors, description contradictions or blinding plot errors. If the truth be told , I can’t wait to get my hands on it.
Tuesday night saw the return of Fizz 9, at Polesworth Abbey refectory where Antony Owen read from his collection ‘The Dreaded Boy’.  The evening began with Mal Dewhirst reading his poem ‘The mound’ and ‘Elegy’ inspired by the recent Polesworth Abbey archaeological dig. Barry Paterson followed with ‘Three Welsh Theophanies’ and ‘The Golden Weed’ conveying the experience of diving in a small cove, Sicily Isles. Andy Biddulph read his poem ‘Brothel Raid’ about the Kosova war which portrays the horrors of war combined with personal agendas, followed by ‘Atrocity of war’. Ian Ward recited his poem inspired by a poetry workshops called ‘First lines’, ‘There’s always an echo’ – no matter the beginning, no matter the end – which he followed by the haunting beauty of ‘Crystal cove’. Terri Jolland’s natty little poem about weather ‘Untimely’ covered all the options - much like the weather people giving a weekend forecast. Gary Carr closed the opening section with ‘Rattle Void’ painting a beautiful image of a boy, with stick in hand, alongside railings. He continued with ‘Love letter’ a carefully crafted account, month by month, of pregnancy and love.
      After a short interval, Mal Dewhirst read a War poem by Augustus Stramm (1874-1915) a German poet, who conveys the suffering endured by the Germans. Antony Owen took centre stage, he was unapologetic for his poetry theme of war – and so he should be given his insight and knowledge. Antony read form his current collection ‘A Dreaded Boy’ which provides a stark contrasts to other war poems regards their view point and focus. Each poem is written through the eyes of the forgotten, the neglected – the invisible lives who exist during war. Antony read ‘Diamonds’, ‘The Scarring Son’, ‘To The East’. ‘The Quiet night of war’, ‘Medusa’, ‘Sangin’, ‘Beyond Rwanda’, ‘The scent of a son’, ‘War envelopes’ which contains the breath taking line ‘war makes poems of men’. Antony’s final reading was ‘Conversations at a soldier’s grave’ in honour of Jeff Doherty. ‘A dreaded boy’ is published by Pighog Press, ISBN 978-1-906309-17-6 is a collection to behold and treasure - the emotion strikes the heart but it cannot, and should not, be ignored. Please visit http://www.pighog.co.uk/ for further details. Antony's readings were performed against a musical back drop created and provided by Jimi Dewhirst of Hydranoidmusia.
     After a second interval, Andy Biddulp read his requested ‘Stan the man’ poem which I’d never heard before, but which, delighted all. Ian Ward continued the night's theme of war and destruction with ‘9/11’ and ‘What the country did to us on holiday’. Terri Jolland, continued the holiday theme with ‘Seaside’ before switching to illness with ‘Patchwork cluttered quilt’. Gary Carr touched on aged reflection with ‘Responsibility’, ‘Reincarnation’ and poignant images in ‘Painting of a rose’. Barry Paterson closed the evening with his poem ‘October on Hersal Common’ depicting nature in all her glory.
     As you can see a wide variety of talent crammed into one evening – all talented poets, of which some have published collections available for purchase:-

Antony Owen - ‘A dreaded boy’ ISBN 978-1-906309-17-6
Antony Owen – ‘My Father’s Eyes Were Blue’ ISBN 978-1-906038-36-6
Barry Paterson - ‘Nature Mystic’ ISBN 978-1-906038-29-8
Ian Ward – ‘Light and Darkness’ ISBN 978-0-85781-150-9

The next Fizz10 is scheduled for 7:30pm Thursday, 3rd November at the Tithe Barn, Polesworth – featuring the Cork Poets: Afric McGlinchey, Colm Scully and Jennifer Matthews, with an open mic session before and after the main attraction. Please checkout http://www.pollysworda.wordpress.com/ for further details.

Another date for my diary is Gary Carr’s ‘Spoken Worlds’ night booked for Friday, 14th October at The Old Cottage Tavern, Byrkley Street, Burton-on-Trent DE14 2EG – which I promise, I shall be attending.

The reminder of my week has been consumed by school work, alongside a healthy dollop of daydreaming regards the conflict and drama to besiege four couples in ‘To honour and Obey’ - this is probably my favourite part of writing. I love the ideas germinating in my mind before the writing begins, then the euphoric rush when my fingers just can’t stop. Though, I’m currently holding back a little until ‘Her’ has been posted to agents.

I did managed to read an entire book this week - in one sitting!!! 'The Magic finger' by Roal Dalh - not a book I'd come across before but all the same a delight to drift back into my childhood for an hour. I've recently purchased a collection of his books and thought it time I began ploughing through each with the eager delight of an eight year old. It may become intergrated into my weekly routine - as the overall effect was amazing - happy, content, with a beaming smile - I defy any adult not to be content in the world of Dahl.
For other books I've read this year, check out the 'Previous bookworming' section on the right hand side of this blog.
The week ahead is pretty empty at the minute. I have Mad Hatters’ Writers’ group on Wednesday evening and that is it. I have requested a leave of absence from work to attend the Pooley Heritage Park ceremony on Friday, 30th September – but so far, no reply from 'The Boss'. So, apart from keeping my fingers crossed for Friday, I’m looking forward to a creative week at home. Enjoy!

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