I’m very happy to hear that, following the recent passing of the truly matchless Edwin Morgan, Swiss Lounge Productions are planning a tribute to him. It will take the form of a collection of poems in memory of the great man, and submissions open on 21st September. For more information on the publication and how to submit, visit the site here.
I’m sure it’s news to no one here that the inimitable Edwin Morgan passed away last week, and tributes have been flooding in from all over the UK literary community, the blogosphere and beyond. I feel there’s very little for me to add — Morgan has been universally acknowledged as a literary giant, a truly unique intellect and a wonderful man. However, I couldn’t let such a momentous event pass without adding my own small tribute here.
Edwin Morgan has been a massive influence on my work. I started reading his work at a very young age — I was given an anthology of poetry for children edited by Michael Rosen, and one of my favourite poems from it was Computer’s First Christmas Card. I first got my hands on a book of Morgan’s own poetry at the age of 12, when I studied the Stobhill series at high school, and basically fell in love with his work. At that point, I hadn’t begun writing myself — so he was undoubtedly partly responsible for my transformation from reader to writer.
My all-time favourite Morgan poem is definitely When You Go, which I spoke about as part of the Carry A Poem project last year. However, Morgan produced so many incredible, magical works throughout his life. He also touched the lives of readers all over the world, but particularly here in Scotland. Over the past few days I have spoken with so many people — friends, fellow poets, readers, Festival visitors and strangers alike — who all have the same story as me. Edwin Morgan wrote something that touched them, changed them; so many people cite a line or a stanza or a whole poem that they carry around with them like a talisman. In Scotland, Morgan was a literary rockstar — endlessly innovative and challenging, inspiring fans of all ages and walks of life. His departure is the end of an era not only for our literary community, but for our national identity. Personally, I feel I’ve lost a great influence, a mentor and an old and dear friend.
Hello there, ONS-ers… long time no speak. You may have noticed that the scenery hasn’t changed much lately here, or perhaps you’ve spotted some of the heaps of spam comments beginning to clog up some of the posts. Sorry, and sorry… I’ve been insanely busy these past couple of months. Right now, I am teaching creative writing at the Scottish Universities International Summer School, based at the University of Edinburgh. I’m loving every second, but it doesn’t leave much time for updating ONS… or indeed, anything else. However, last week my students and I were treated to a brilliant masterclass on ‘writing for theatre’, given by Scottish playwright Douglas Maxwell. I know, I know, this is a poetry blog — but he came out with so much brilliant stuff that I felt I had to share just a few of his pearls of wisdom with you…
“Being a playwright is a bit like being in The Who. We’re wild, we’re messy, we’re all over the shop… but we’re great live.”
“Everyone in the world has an unfinished novel or screenplay under the bed. But they’re not in the game. That’s not doing it; that’s pretending.”
“You need two personalities to be a good writer — you need the sensitive artist who’s a satellite to the rest of the world… but you also need a kind of ‘fuck you’ attitude — you’ve got to have the steel and not let this destroy you.”
“Day One writing is always good — everyone likes the first day. day Two: not so good. You get up in the morning and go ‘what the fuck? Someone’s messed with this! This was great yesterday!’”
“You’ve got to remember what it’s like when you’ve paid to see the thing… audiences really want it to be good, at the beginning. They want to help you.”
“You must, must protect yourself from bitterness. It’s a talent-eater. It’s like cocaine, it destroys lives. You’ve got to keep your enthusiasm and your openness, or you’ll never get anywhere.”
“Your main character must make a big decision — the ‘to be or not to be’ moment where they can go one way or the other. And the way they go will take them, and you, to the end. And they either get or don’t get what they always wanted.”
“Even on the very worst day, just get to the place where you write, and wait.”
Douglas Maxwell’s Decky Does A Bronco is currently showing in the Edinburgh Fringe Festival.
Anon Magazine
Editors: Colin Fraser, Peggy Hughes
Established: 2003
Based in: Edinburgh
Website: http://www.anonpoetry.co.uk
Submit via: this link
Anon is a very different kind of creative writing magazine. The ultimate experiment in unbiased editing, this publication is all about anonymity, as the name suggests. Writers who wish to submit their work must do so via a top-secret electronic ninja submission form, which means that when the editors receive the poems at the other end, the writer’s identity is totally hidden. Anon pride themselves on judging the submissions they receive on merit alone, but they’re also interested in maintaining a dialogue about the wider concerns that surround editorship in general. Indeed, the magazine has divided opinion. However, although the anonymous approach is not to everyone’s taste, Anon has made quite a name for itself with a new editorial team and a run of successful recent issues that were chock-full of brilliant stuff.
As well as the magazine, the Anon team also produce poetry-related podcasts and are actively involved in a huge variety of literary projects in the wider lit community. The latest issue of Anon is the magazine’s seventh outing, and would be an excellent place to start for anyone wanting to find out more about the magazine. You can buy a copy here. Alternatively, the team are currently running a package deal where you can buy Anon 1 and Anon 6 together — a good way to get a feel for the magazine’s origins but also how it’s changed and developed over the years. Anon is also reliant upon funding and donations, so if you have a few spare pennies and fancy donating them to a very deserving literary cause, head in this direction.
Happy Sunday everyone! Good news from ONS Headquarters — after a brief hiatus, the ONS Featured Poet and ONS Poet’s Corner posts are returning, which means ONS needs YOUR words to grace this particular corner of the world wide web.
The Featured Poet posts are a place for me to showcase the work of poets I really love. Every week I create three posts, each featuring a different poem and a little background information on that week’s chosen poet. The third and final post will also feature an interview with the Featured Poet, in which they get a chance to talk about their influences, writing style and any projects they’re working on.
What is Poet’s Corner?
I receive a lot of casual submissions and speculative emails from poets asking me to have a look at their work. Poet’s Corner is a place to showcase some of the poems that land in my inbox on a regular basis. It’s is also a place for people who don’t want to submit more than one poem, or for people whose work doesn’t seem ready for its own feature yet, but does deserve some recognition.
How do I submit my work?
If you want to be considered for a Featured Poet slot, send 3-6 poems and a short biography to claire@onenightstanzas.com. If you’re selected for a feature, I’ll send you some interview questions to answer and a deadline for your response. Please note that I receive a lot of Featured Poet submissions so it might take me a while to get back to you. Also, I try my best but I can’t say yes to everyone… so please don’t be downhearted if you receive a rejection! I’ll try my best to include some feedback.
If you don’t want to be a Featured Poet but like the sound of Poet’s Corner, you can send anywhere up to six poems and a short biography to claire@onenightstanzas.com. Just make sure you specify that you’re submitting for Poet’s Corner! Only one of the poems you send will be published, and again, I can’t accept absolutely everyone — sorry!
Are submissions always open?
For the time being, yes — you can submit work to ONS whenever you like. Please note that you must use the claire@onenightstanzas.com address, rather than the Read This Magazine submissions address or my private email address!
I submitted a while ago and haven’t heard from you. Do I need to resubmit my work?
No… there is a bit of a backlog which I’ll be working through in the next little while. If you submitted a while ago and want to resubmit new drafts or withdraw your submissions, or if you just have a question about your submission, get in touch!
“I want to build a ship and write novels. I want a stack of books tied to my name, and poetry, too, collections of it. I write slow. I think long. And I want to last longer in people’s minds than their last meal or movie. So I keep writing and building, word by word, an ark maybe, as I can, in every spare space.”
Not really a “Things I’m Reading” — more of a “Things I’m Hearing”, this week. Just for something a bit different!
If you know me, you’ll know I’m very much into music. I recently talked about the poetry-reading lessons I’ve learned from musicians; my poetry is heavily influenced by song lyrics as well as literary works; I’m an obsessive collector of vinyl; I’m always on the lookout for mixtape buddies. I’ve even written a post or two here about the relationship between poetry and music. So I feel I can almost get away with listing music, rather than books, here this week.
(And the truth is, I haven’t been reading anything. Times have been rather tough the past couple of weeks — Boy and I broke up, term is ending in a spectacular dazzle of chaos and paperwork and pissed-off students, and I’ve had to find a new place to live. Sitting down with a book just hasn’t happened. Instead, I’ve been finding solace inside my headphones… and particularly in listening to brilliant lyrics, which almost counts as reading, right?)
First up: Elliott Smith. I know, I know, I’m late to this party. For years I dismissed this guy, because the only people I knew who liked him were obnoxious hipsters… but hey, I have been punished for my snobbery, because I now know how brilliant he is, and what I’ve been missing out on all this time. My favourite albums (so far) are XO for its bittersweetness, and Figure 8 for its quiet ferocity. The lyrics on Figure 8 are absolutely spectacular — so many lines I wish I’d written.
A brilliant, nasty little song.
And Pitseleh, my favourite from XO.
Next up, Dear Winesburg. This brilliant band is fronted by one Mr Chris Kreinczes, whose name you may recognise… he’s also one of the brains behind the South Bank Centre’s Global Poetry System project. Chris was kind enough to send me a copy of Dear Winesburg’s self-titled album, which I can highly recommend. Google the band and you’ll find bloggers and critics lining up to rave about the gorgeous lyrics… and I’m joining that queue. The sound is also pure, unique and lovely. My favourite tracks were “Awake” and “Beneath The Eaves” — handily, you can hear both at Dear Winesburg’s Myspace. There are more details on the album right here, and in the mean time, check these out:
Finally, I have to give a mention to Callel. This brilliant wee Edinburgh band have just been signed to Aardvark Records and they’re destined for stardom, undoubtedly. I’ve known lead singer Craig for a little while as we work together at the star-studded showbiz mecca that is Telford College, and this week I caught Callel’s acoustic show at Leithfest. Again, I can highly recommend the album, Body Discovery, and particularly love “Best Foot on the Ground”, which is also on Myspace. More right here…
Thank you for listening… I’m sure normal TiRT service will be resumed next week!
