One Night Stanzas

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Things I Love Thursday #82

Thursday, July 11th, 2013

Dreaming my new garden
So, along with our new, slowly-emerging-from-a-wreck house, Lovely Boyfriend and I have also obtained two small patches of garden. Right now, they’re basically scruffy little lawns with some weedy borders around them. But I plan to turn these two little spaces into a garden of edible delights (plus a few pretty flowers here and there). I’ve never understood why anyone would have a lawn when they could have a veggie patch. Anyway, I’m pawing through books and beginning to learn a bit about plants… and in the process, I’ve suddenly become excited about garden centres.

…but not all garden centres are the same.
Larch Cottage, at Melkinthorpe (WHAT A NAME) in Cumbria, is no ordinary garden centre. It’s basically like a magical secret garden inhabited by thousands of weird and wonderful statues, all of which come to life at night and grow huge and amazing plants. If that sounds a tad creepy then yeah, I guess it’s a tad creepy. But it’s also amazing. I mean… grumpy gargoyles everywhere, a life-size bronze lion, and a fountain covered in cheeky toucans? If ever you’re in Cumbria, seek it out (it’s hidden down a series of narrow, high-hedged roads) and see what I mean. (There’s also a cool restaurant, an art gallery and a shop full of jewellery, furniture and strange nick-nacks. Woo!)

Spotting my dream car(s) EVERYWHERE
I’ve had this silly daydream for years: one day I will own a vintage Land Rover Defender. It’ll have a crappy tape-deck and bench seats in the back and rattle like a bean can. On the other hand, I also dream (well, who doesn’t?) of cruising around in a beautiful vintage Ford Mustang, preferably wearing a very, very long scarf that billows in the wind…
(But until I win the lottery, and/or get a massive concussion that causes me to forget how much I care about carbon footprints, I guess I’ll stick with the bus!)

Moomins!

The Uselessness of Everything

Cute books
I’ve been lucky enough to become the proud owner of a series of late 1960s and early 1970s Penguin paperback editions of the Moomin books. I loved the Moomins as a child and have had so many flashbacks, flicking through these super cute books and being jolted about 15 years back in time by so many of the illustrations! As I’m moving house, I’ll be parting with the series (with a tiny tear in my eye) over at Edinburgh Vintage very soon.
Meanwhile, already for sale at EV is the beautiful, minature, leather-bound collection of Burns’ Songs pictured above. My favourite part about it is the gorgeous cover with its tooled image of Calton Hill. Amazing!

The Vogrie Park Greyhound Meet!
Basically about 50 greyhounds all together in one place being SUPER CUTE. Lovely Boyfriend and I each got to befriend and walk one of them — his was Sam, mine was Neville. (Neville’s at the front left of the pic, wearing a blue cape!)

Edinburgh…
Edinburgh on a warm sunny day is basically THE BEST PLACE IN THE WORLD BAR NONE. This past week I have seen so many of its millions of moods, as evidenced by the photos above! Found poetry, flickering neon, juvenile graffiti (but with a social conscience!), crumbling elegance, amazing long evenings full of swifts. THANK YOU, MAGIC CITY.

…and Edinburgh window displays. Giving me ALL THE FEELS.
I love the grumpy, sassy-looking dogs at Pink on Castle Street. I really, really want one. Just, yaknow, to sit in my living room. They make me super happy whenever I walk by.
But oh… then there’s this INCREDIBLY SAD window display in a Morningside toy shop. The tall snooty giraffe being sniffy about his friend! And the small, fat giraffe looking so ashamed of himself! Call me infantile if you like, guys, but it’s enough to make me want to run in there, buy both of them, take them home with me and talk them into being friends again.

What are YOU loving this week?

Budding writer? Creative person in need of a fun job? Check out the various resources and services at Bookworm Tutors. Alternatively, check out Edinburgh Vintage, our sister site. If you want to get in touch you can follow OneNightStanzas on Twitter, or email claire[at]onenightstanzas.com. I reply as swiftly as I can!

Tags: advice for new writers, advice for young writers, claire askew, good stuff, gratitude, happy, happy happy, hooray, one night stanzas, poems, poetry, poets, positivity, publishing, resources for new writers, resources for young writers, thanks, thanks universe, things i love, Things I Love Thursday, thursday, tilt, writers, writing, yay
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Call for entries: the One Night Stanzas poetry contest

Monday, July 8th, 2013

A poetry competition open to all poets everywhere. You could win up to a hundred shiny pounds! Winners will also be given the option to work with Bookworm Tutors on up to ten poems of their choice, for free. They will get in-depth, line-by-line feedback on their chosen poems, as well as a written overview with handy advice about editing, submission and publication. There are also poetry goodie bags up for grabs! Please read all the details of How To Enter, and the various terms and conditions below, before you send your poems.

DEADLINE FOR ENTRIES: 11.59pm GMT on 1st September 2013

PRIZES
First prize: £100 prize money and a free ten-page poetry critique from Bookworm Tutors (critique optional)
Second prize: £50 prize money and a free ten-page poetry critique from Bookworm Tutors (critique optional)
Two runners up: A contemporary poetry goodie bag, and a free five-page poetry critique from Bookworm Tutors (critique optional)
The two prizewinning poems and the two runner-up poems will also be published at onenightstanzas.com

HOW TO ENTER

1. Pay for the number of entries you want by pressing the Paypal button, reading the instructions carefully, and then following them.

2. Check your email: Paypal will send you a confirmation email showing you’ve paid.

3. Open that confirmation email, and hit “Forward.”

4. Attach the poems you want to enter (as a .doc or .docx Word file, or as a PDF) to that email. Make sure your name does not appear anywhere in the attached file!

5. Address the email to claire[at]onenightstanzas.com, and hit send! If your email has arrived safely, you’ll receive a “thank you!” email within 24 hours.

6. Wait patiently for the results to be announced here at onenightstanzas.com — please do not send follow up emails, tweets or other messages asking about the status of your entry.

ABOUT THE JUDGE
Claire Askew is a poet, poetry promoter, editor and creative writing teacher. Her own work has appeared in numerous publications, including Where Rockets Burn Through: Contemporary Science Fiction Poetry from the UK; Fit to Work: Poets Against ATOS; and Lung Jazz: Young British Poets for Oxfam. She has won numerous accolades for her poetry, including the Lewis Edwards Award for Poetry, The Virginia Warbey Poetry Prize, and the International Salt Prize for Poetry. Claire’s debut pamphlet collection, The Mermaid and the Sailors, was published by Red Squirrel Press in 2011 and shortlisted for an Eric Gregory Award. She is also a Literary Death Match Champion.
Claire is the founding editor-in-chief of the now-defunct Edinburgh arts zine, Read This, and has therefore read and selected for publication literally thousands and thousands of great poems. She has also judged many a poetry contest, including the Sentinel Literary Quarterly Poetry Competition (twice!), and the BBC Edinburgh Fringe Festival Poetry Slam. She likes original narratives, striking imagery, verbed nouns, and people who follow the submission guidelines very, very carefully.

ENTRY DETAILS
* Poems will be judged anonymously. Therefore you must send your work as an attachment, not in the email itself.
*Please make sure your name does not appear anywhere in your attached file, as this could lead to your entry being disqualified. (Also make sure there are no other identifying marks on your attached file.)
*Please put all the poems you’re entering into ONE FILE. Do not send multiple attachments as this may cause your email to bounce, or land in a spam folder.
*Please make sure poems are clearly titled, even if their title is “Untitled”!
*If you’re entering multiple poems, please make sure that it is very clear where poems start and end.
*All entries must be made by email, following the instructions above. Entries received by post or other means will not be considered.

ELIGIBILITY
*Each poem must not exceed 40 lines (the title and stanza breaks are not counted as lines. Epigraphs are counted.)
*Entrants must be 16 years of age or over.
*The contest is open to anyone from anywhere in the world. Entries must be in English (this includes dialects of English) or Scots.
*Poems which have been previously published or broadcast (this includes personal blogs) should not be entered.
*Poems which are under consideration for publication or broadcast, or which are currently entered into other contests, should not be entered.
*Poems must be entirely your own work. Sorry, translations will not be considered for this contest.

FEES
*Entry fees: £3 per poem, or £10 for five poems. Each person may enter as many poems as they like, but poems received without entry fees will not be considered.
*Entry fees must be paid via Paypal. Cash, cheques and other forms of payment will not be accepted.

AFTER YOU ENTER
*The deadline for all entries is Sunday 1st September 2013 at 11.59pm GMT. Any entries received after this time will not be considered.
*Poems cannot be edited or changed after entry, so please proofread carefully.
*One Night Stanzas withholds the right to disqualify at any time any entrant who is found to have breached the terms of eligibility given above.
*Winners and runners-up will be notified by email by 1st December 2013.
*Unsuccessful entrants will not be individually notified. If you have not heard from One Night Stanzas by 1st December, you should assume you have been unsuccessful on this occasion.
*The judge’s decision is final, and no correspondence will be entered into.

By entering the contest, the writers of the winning poems grant One Night Stanzas permission to publish them at the onenightstanzas.com website. Full copyright of each poem remains with that poem’s author.

(Photo credit)

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Dear Poetry Newbies: read more poetry.

Monday, July 1st, 2013

A previous version of this post first appeared at One Night Stanzas in September 2008.

“People who never read poetry don’t write poems that are worth reading,” says Wendy Cope in this article about the importance of reading. I daresay that a lot of you will resent this statement, but I’m afraid it’s absolutely 100% true.

In 2007 I set up a teeny tiny little DIY literature zine called Read This Magazine. Although our print run was only 150 copies per month, as ed-in-chief of RT, I saw thousands and thousands of poems by young and emerging writers. When it came to picking out the best work for publication, about 80% of everything went immediately onto what the industry calls “the slush pile” - in other words, the “definitely no” pile.

This may seem incredibly harsh - particularly as so many of these submissions were accompanied by cover letters which stated “I’ve never had my poems accepted and I don’t know why” or “I want to know how to make my poems better.” Was I just rejecting them out of hand? Did my editorial team and I not read them with as much care as the other 20%? Basically, the truth is painful: you can tell immediately, sometimes from the very first line of the very first poem in a submission, whether or not the poet in question reads poetry. And if it’s clear that they don’t, you can basically guarantee that none of their poems will be good enough for publication.

You can leap down my throat if you like - because yes, sometimes, rarely, a poet who doesn’t read anything does get lucky, and writes something insightful or interesting which deserves a closer look. However, bear this in mind: Read This was a lot more accomodating than most magazines… we did read everything through at least once before consigning it to the slush pile (just in case), and we responded personally to everyone - particularly those people who’ve asked for help and advice in their cover letters. Furthermore, giving 80% of submissions an “immediate rejection” is nowhere near the 95%-97% mark of most major magazines and publishing houses - you think we were harsh? Try Poetry Review!

You can dress it up any way you like, but as Wendy Cope says: if you don’t read, you are not going to be a successful poet, and the earlier you allow yourself to accept that fact, the better! Defiantly refusing to read other poets’ works will not endear you to the poetry community (as Kenneth Patchen said, “people who say they love poetry but then never buy any are cheap sons-of-bitches”), and chances are your work will remain stagnant and always sound, look and read in the same old way (so if it aint getting published now, the future doesnt look good). However, if you open your eyes to the great wealth of poetic material around you, and start taking it in, then you’ll soon begin to see and feel the benefits. It’s like the old adage ‘you are what you eat’ - you are also what you read.

But I hate reading!
OK, that’s fine. Some people will say “well, why are you a poet?”, but I understand. My sister is an artist, but finds many art shows and galleries a total snooze-fest. Forget what you learned in school - poetry is doesn’t have to be boring, and it does’t have to be difficult. I genuinely believe there’s a poem out there for absolutely everyone.

Read as much or as little as you want. Break yourself in gently. If you’re really struggling, try to read just one poem per day (there are heaps of resources out there to help you with this). Buy yourself a book of haikus and absorb one or two in a spare five minutes. Check out Poetry Archive and listen to a poem. Ask other people what their favourite poem is, and start a to-read list. Soon enough, you’ll find that you feel inspired; you might notice that you’re writing more, or that your writing looks and sounds different. This is poetic influence at work - embrace it!

What should I read?
Read what you enjoy. If you check Paradise Lost out of the library, get three lines in and want to kill yourself, stop reading. Read something that excites you, that inspires you, that makes you think “I want to write like this.” It doesn’t matter whether that’s The Waste Land or Tom Leonard’s This Is The Six O Clock News. There is poetry out there that you’ll love - but it might not be what you think. Keep reading until you find it.

What shouldn’t I read?
Basically, any reading is good reading - if you prefer novels to poetry, read novels: they can help you to write better poetry, too. Read anything; stage plays, memoirs, the phone book. Immerse yourself in words and look at how they’re put together. Absorb ideas.

(The only thing I would advise against is reading the poetry of other poets who don’t read. This will get you nowhere. It may be cheap and convenient, but avoid reading amateur poetry and try to read people who are published in some form or another. This may sound like snobbery, but it isn’t: if you want to get published, reading published poetry is the best way to understand what “makes it”, and the best way to turn your own poetry into something publishable.)

But if I read other people’s work and then start writing like them, isn’t that copying?
This is a tricky issue, and one that comes up a lot. As Wendy Cope says, a lot of non-reading poets claim that they don’t read “because they don’t want to be influenced.” However, these people are missing a massive trick: all poetry is, at least in part, stolen. Frank Zappa once said, “Adam and Eve made all the great records: everyone else just copied,” and that really applies to poetry. Every successful poet is influenced by someone - usually by a huge variety of other poets who came before him or her. Being influenced is a good thing… and it is totally possible to read and still be original. Try reading a few poems. Read until you come to a line, a stanza or a whole poem that makes you think “I could have done that better,” or “I’d have examined that idea differently” (it’s OK, you’re allowed to think this, even if the poet you’re reading is Whitman or someone equally famous and revered). When that thought arises, act on it: go away and write that line, stanza or poem the way you’d like to see it written. I bet it comes out looking nothing like the original.
You’re not copying, you’re borrowing; you’re sharing. Try it: it’s what poets do.

But there’s so much poetry out there. Where do I start?
Wherever you like. If you’re totally clueless, go to a bookshop or library, find the poetry section, and pick out a book with a cover that catches your eye. Go for a cool title, or a poet with an unusual name. Search the net for poems in a style you like or on a subject that interests you - science fiction, for example - and take note of the published authors who write in that style or genre… then hunt them down in a bookstore.
Just read any poetry you can get your hands on: if you like it, find out what’s similar to it, and read that too. If you hate it, find out what the opposite is, and try that. Dabble, mess around, feel free to loathe some poets and love others. Just read as much as you can, as often as you can. Then write.

(Photo by Emchy)

Tags: advice for new writers, advice for young writers, claire askew, dear poetry newbies, how to write poetry, make your poetry better, new poets, one night stanzas, poems, poetry, poetry newbies, poets, read more, read poetry, read this, read this magazine, reading poetry, resources for writers, vintage post, writing, writing poetry
Posted in Being A Writer, Getting Started | No Comments »

Featured Poem, ‘When There Is No Other Way,’ by Melissa Fry Beasley

Tuesday, May 21st, 2013

When There Is No Other Way

I have come
with the same heat
as the sun,
same cold as emptiness.
I am those before me.
This soil is my ancestors
and I am made of secrets,
things we become
when the light has gone.
Black and blue
like butterflies on fingertips
or birds eating some dead thing.
Men are made of consequence.
The world will give you reproaches,
but not relief.
We have risen from that
fearful bed,
the slime of it
clinging to us still.
Strong hands will close
reluctantly into fists
when there is no other way.

Melissa Fry Beasley is a Cherokee poet, artist, and activist from Oklahoma. She is proud to have red dirt running through her veins. She is the Literary Editor of Churn: an art, music, & fashion magazine. You can find her work in print and online in numerous publications including Indian Country Today, Working Effectively With Aboriginal People, Big River Poetry Review, Dog On A Chain Press, Yareah Magazine, and others. She has a blog at http://melissafrybeasley.wordpress.com/, and you can also find her on Facebook, Twitter and Linkedin.

Want to see YOUR poem featured on ONS? Read this post first: submission guidelines are at the bottom. Good luck!

(Photo credit)

Tags: a poem, bookworm tutors, claire askew, featured poem, featured poet, get published, get published by ons, melissa fry beasley, one night stanzas, ONS Featured Poem, ons featured poet, open submissions, poem, poems, poet, poetry, publication, publish, submission guidelines, submissions, writers, writing
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Dear Poetry Newbies: to blog, or not to blog? That is the question…

Monday, May 20th, 2013

A version of this post first appeared at One Night Stanzas in September 2008.

I recently met a writer who was super, super keen to get people reading his work, and wanted my advice. One of the first things I said was, “do you have a blog?” He looked horrified at the very thought! However, I was keen to persuade him. I’ve been writing at One Night Stanzas for nearly five years now, and this blog has brought me publication opportunities, paid work, connections to cool people and all sorts of other amazing stuff. However, I know that if you’re coming to blogging for the first time, it can seem a bit like handing copies of your secret diary out for everyone in the world to read. Sound about right? If so, I wrote this for you!

PROS

- If you choose to, you can make your blog visible to everyone on the web. That means a potential audience of hundreds of millions of people - probably more readers can you could ever get publishing in more traditional ways.

- Because so many poets already have blogs, signing up for a blog gives you access to a giant online community, to which you can quickly and easily get connected. You can link to and write about other poets’ blogs and get links to yours in return, thus directing readers back and forth.

- Having your own blog means you don’t have to rely on social networking sites or subscriptions to display your work online. You also have full control over your content, layout, whether you run ads, etc.

- If you have a blog, you can give the address to anyone who’s interested in seeing your work… without having to give them print outs, write out emails or mile-long URLs, or direct them to third-party sites.

- Putting your name to a poetry blog means that people can Google you and find your poetry with just a click.

- Regardless of what some people may say, blogging is a form of self-publishing and can make a good addition to your literary CV.

- If you want to, you can make money (usually only a little) by posting ads on your blog.

- You don’t just have to post your own poetry on your blog - you can use it to promote other sites and fellow poets that you like, or tell people what you’ve been reading and what you thought of it.

- You can use a blog to provide information on where your poems have been accepted for publication, where and when you’re doing a reading, or which poetic events you’re thinking of attending.

- Some poets have even turned their blogs into fully-fledged e-zines!

CONS

- A lot of new bloggers worry that by putting your work on a public blog, they’re laying yourself open to plagiarism. The risks are small, but they are there… even if you make your blog visible only to friends or subscribers.

- Blogging is essentially like writing a journal, and journalling is generally a very personal thing. Bear in mind that, if you put your deepest secrets and most radical thoughts onto your blog, people WILL be able to read them. If it’s on the web, it’s practically public in every way!

- Blogs are usually open for comments, and that means that some people are bound to disagree with you. There’s a common misconception that it’s OK to be rude to other internet users (especially if they’re trolling you) because you’ll never meet them and it’s fairly harmless. However, you never know who’s reading your snarky responses or watching an ongoing fight between you and an anonymous commenter (the same goes for YOUR comments on other blogs, too). A potential new boss or a magazine editor might well change their mind about you even based on something as trivial as this - so tread carefully!

- You have to be careful what you say in your blog posts, too. When it comes to putting up your poetry, you should maybe avoid things like “if you don’t like this poem then f**k you”, and take a more “I appreciate comments but please try to be constructive” approach.

- Once you start a blog, it may be forever. If you don’t want people to read your adolescent scribblings 10 years down the line, then make sure that your blog provider offers you a get-out option, and that you know how to get rid of your content should you need to.

- The same principle applies in a more general way, too - as I said before, you don’t know who’s reading, or how long their memory is. Just about everyone knows how to use the Print Screen function!

DOs and DON’Ts

- DO sign up with a reputable blog-provider and, if you’re going to be posting your work, read up on their copyright policies. Do they claim the copyright of anything you put in your posts? DO shop around.

- DON’T part with any cash to set up your blog. You can definitely find a good blog-provider who’ll host you for free. Anyone who asks for money is scamming you!

- DO look around at the blogs of other poets and writers to get an idea of how other people run their blogs.

- DO ask folk for their advice on finding your audience, writing content etc. DON’T feel obliged to act on it if you don’t want to, though. Your blog should be as much your personal creation as your poems are.

- DO be prepared for the fact that, once you put your blog “out there,” anyone can see it and comment on it. Even if you have closed comments, there’s nothing to stop people from writing their own blog post about you. Responses to your blog may not always be positive, so DO make sure you have a thick skin and a whole load of patience before you take the plunge.

- DO bear in mind that many people get bored of their blogs after a while and just let them fall by the wayside. If this happens, DON’T leave your poems posted on your disused blog - people may think that makes it OK to nick them. You might also be the victim of spam attacks if you leave your blog unattended for too long.

- DON’T feel pressured into putting ads on your blog unless you really want them there. Yes, they make you money, but you can’t always control their content, or know where they lead to when clicked.

- DON’T be afraid to tell other people about your blog. Blogging is all about connecting to other people and sharing your thoughts and ideas! However, DON’T feel obliged to link to someone else’s blog or site just because they’ve linked to yours.

- DO include your blog in your literary CV, if you feel it’s relevant.

- DON’T feature other people’s work on your site unless you have their permission.

Final note: I love blogs. I could probably spend my whole life reading blogs, geeking out on Tumblr, and tweeting cool stuff I’ve found… if, you know, I didn’t eventually get motion sickness from too much screen time, or have to pay rent. If you do decide that blogging is for you, I can highly recommend Wordpress. I’ve written in a ton of Wordpress blogs — the lovely One Night Stanzas of course, but also Bookworm Tutors, Girlpoems, Shore Poets, The Peripatetic Studio and others — and I always find it the cleanest and most user-friendly platform.

Good luck!

Tags: advice for young poets, advice for young writers, amwriting, blog blog blog, blog is one of those words that starts to lose its mean, blogging, bloggity blog blog, blogtastic, bookworm tutors, dear poetry newbies, just being silly now, just starting out, new poets, new writers, one night stanzas, personal blogs, poet blogs, poetry blogs, resources for young poets, resources for young writers, should i start a blog, should poets have blogs, should writers have blogs, the blog itch, to blog or not to blog, writer blogs, writing, young poets, young writers
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Edinburgh Vintage is BACK! with a great big supermassive sale.

Saturday, January 5th, 2013

This cool sterling silver owl is on sale.

These cute kitty cats are on sale.

This magical sweater is on sale.

This set of sweet trinket boxes are on sale.

This cosy alpaca hat is on sale.

This breezy striped dress is on sale.

You get the gist, right? EVERY SINGLE ITEM AT EDINBURGH VINTAGE IS CURRENTLY ON SALE OR IN THE FINAL CLEARANCE SECTION! See something you like? Snap it up!

You can also visit Read This Press for more poetry (and typewriter paraphernalia!). If you want to get in touch you can follow OneNightStanzas on Twitter, or email claire[at]onenightstanzas.com. I reply as swiftly as I can!

Tags: clothing sale, edinburgh, edinburgh vintage, etsy, etsy sale, etsy shop, etsy store, one night stanzas, scotland, scottish, scottish vintage, scottish vintage clothing, vintage, vintage accessories, vintage apparel, vintage clothes, vintage clothing, vintage clothing sale, vintage sale
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In 2012, I…

Saturday, December 29th, 2012

You may remember my admission here, in January, that 2011 had not been a very good year. I wrote here — and in my paper journal — that I wanted to reclaim my life from work-related stress and insomnia. I also wrote in my paper journal that I wanted to extricate myself from the politics and cliques of the poetry community (locally and online), and just write. It took a while — nearly all year, with the latter — but I feel like I can now say I managed to do those things. 2012 was a good year, all told. Here’s some of the stuff that happened.

In 2012, I…

* worked as a reader for the James Tait Black Memorial Prize for the fourth year running.

* won a Scottish Book Trust New Writers Award, and am about to begin — quite belatedly, which was my choice — my programme of creative mentoring.

* spent two great weekends in York early in the year, and remembered how much I loved it. Going back soon!

* moved from a 0.7PTE contract at work to a 0.5PTE contract, as part of my “reclaim my life!” challenge. Less teaching hours, less office politics, more free time, less stress (also less money, obv, but that’s OK).

* moved into the third year of studying for my PhD in Creative Writing. Switched to a brand new thesis topic for the third time. Probably drove my supervisor crazy.

* delivered a lecture, “Making Poems, Writing Histories, Excavating Myths”, to the Melrose Literary Society.

* went vegan, and I love it.

* scored an amazing haul of SEVENTEEN antique typewriters on Freegle! (Still haven’t got round to starting restoration/reclamation work on most of them…)

* organised an all-female poetry slam to celebrate International Women’s Day 2012. It went really well!

* celebrated my 26th birthday with not one but TWO birthday parties: one a nom-tastic vegan dinner at Zeffirelli’s with my family, the other a fabulous few rounds of cocktails at The Dome with friends. Yay!

* attended the Scottish Women’s Aid Feminist Day School at the University of Edinburgh, and was inspired.

* was shortlisted for an Eric Gregory Award for a second time (first time was 2010. I forgot to enter in 2011).

* competed in Literary Death Match (Edinburgh, ep 4) AND FREAKING WELL WON!

* spent a week in beautiful Barcelona, and totally fell in love with the place.

* spent a weekend training to become a Scottish Women’s Aid Community Champion. Possibly the most empowering weekend of my life so far!

* performed in “Dear Glasgow,” directed by David Grieg, at the Traverse Theatre.

* read poems in a magical launderette in Durham!

* spent a long weekend in gorgeous Whitby — surely the most literary seaside resort there is? — with Lovely Boyfriend.

* was introduced to The West Wing, fell in love, and watched all seven series in the space of a few weeks.

* spent ten days in Greece while One Night Stanzas was on hiatus. Visited Athens, and spent a week in a one-room cold-water whitewashed cottage on the tiny island of Hydra. Here’s the view from our room! We went swimming at daybreak, befriended donkeys, made lots of delicious vegan food, and spent tons of time writing, writing, writing. It was great.

* taught Creative Writing at the Scottish Universities International Summer School for the third consecutive year. My wonderful students were Dan, Linda, Sarah, Joanna, Daniel and Jill. You guys were fab!

* had a poem shortlisted in the Mslexia Women’s Poetry Contest.

* went to see George Watsky on the London leg of his Nothing Like The First Time tour. Also spent a fabby weekend hanging out in London!

* organised and hosted One Night Stanzas presents Watskyx2 — definitely my biggest and scariest moment as a poetry promoter! But it went SO WELL, yay!

* went to a ton of great stuff at the Edinburgh International Book Festival, including Louise Welsh, Andrew Keen, Alice Oswald’s Memorial event (OMG!), Daniel Franklin launching Megachange, Billy Letford & Sean Borodale and Marina Warner (who I also saw at the International Festival, ’cause I’m a fangirl).

* read poems at Blackwells: Writers at the Fringe.

* attended a discussion that included the amazing Jean Kilbourne, personal superheroine of mine, and met her afterwards! Swoon!

* was employed as a creative facilitator with a local women’s community support group (details redacted!), and I am loving working with these amazing women as they read poems, share stories and unlock their creativity!

* joined the Shore Poets committee and became their blogging/tweeting/Facebooking person, among other things!

* survived root canal surgery!

* got tattooed (again).

* went to beautiful Paris for the weekend with Lovely Boyfriend to celebrate our two-year anniversary!

* helped run Scottish Women’s Aid’s I GET IT campaign, spreading positive messages about healthy relationships to young people aged between 16 and 25.

* wrote articles and reviews for The Skinny, xoJane (two, in fact), the Edinburgh Review (again, two! One’s online here) and The Scottish Review of Books.

* had three poems included in Where Rockets Burn Through: Contemporary Science Fiction Poetry from the UK

* spent an amazing day at the Maryhill Integration Network in Glasgow, meeting incredible, inspiring women, and being treated to a crash-course in filmmaking, a fashion show, a dance recital and a ton of delicious food!

Favourite photos from this year:

Just one of the many millions of photos I took of delicious vegan breakfast/brunch food. I obtained this book upon becoming vegan and it changed my world!

Lovely Boyfriend being lovely.

I will remember summer 2012 as the summer of hooping in the park with my sister!

Rainbows over Tollcross
I love living in Tollcross — and my top floor, bay-window view! — so, so much.

My fantabulous SUISS Class of 2012!

All the lovely performers from One Night Stanzas presents Watskyx2! Such talent!

Just when I’m feeling down and crap, along come my amazing students to make me feel inspired again.

♡ ♡ ♡

A loopy family portrait.

Visiting the jaw-droppingly gorgeous GiftED sculptures.

& Christmas comes to ONS Towers!

It’s been a great year. I feel I am a million miles away from the place I was in this time last year — phew! I am also extremely excited about 2013 and all that it holds for me. I plan to finish my PhD, put together my first full-length poetry collection (at last!), get more tattoos (yeah!), and start work on a ton of exciting new projects. Wish me luck!

If you want to see what I got up to in 2008, 2009, 2010 or 2011, just click on each year!

You can also visit Read This Press for poetry and typewriter paraphernalia! Alternatively, check out Edinburgh Vintage, our sister site. If you want to get in touch you can follow OneNightStanzas on Twitter, or email claire[at]onenightstanzas.com. I reply as swiftly as I can!

Tags: 2012 year end round up, awesomeess, good stuff, gratitude, happy new year, hogmanay, hooray, in 2012 i, my year, my year in review, new year, new year's resolutions, nye, one night stanzas, round up, thank you, thanks universe, things that happened, woo, yay, year end round up
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I wrote some stuff you might like to read.

Saturday, December 22nd, 2012

My review of Kerry Hardie

So, I mentioned last week that I wrote a review of Kerry Hardie’s most recent collection, The Oak & The Ash & The Wild Cherry Tree for The Edinburgh Review Issue 136. You can now buy the issue online! BUT, you can also read my review free and gratis — the folks at Gallery Press liked it so much that they put it on their website. Thanks folks!

The UFOlogists podcast

You may also remember me writing a few weeks ago about the launch of sci-fi poetry anthology Where Rockets Burn Through: Contemporary Science Fiction Poems From The UK? I was super-chuffed to have three poems in it, and I’m even more super-chuffed that the folks over at Nature picked one of them to go in their “Where Rockets Burn Through” podcast this week. Thanks again!

Scary

Aaaand this is a bit of a scary one, but I am proud of myself for writing it and chuffed that it was published at xoJane, which is rapidly becoming one of my all-time favourite sites. I’ve written here before (but then destroyed the link in post-publication-panic) about my teenage struggles with a rather extreme form of thanatophobia. It seemed pertinent to write about it in a rather more serious way, given the recent OBSESSIVE APOCALYPSE HYPE that I’m sure you’ve all noticed. Of course, the world didn’t end yesterday — hooray! But I wanted to draw attention to this anyway. And for the first time ever, I connected to a fellow thanatophobia sufferer (in the comments), so double hooray!

Happy holidays!

Tags: am writing, amwriting, articles, claire askew, edinburgh review, gallery press, kerry hardie, nature, non fiction, one night stanzas, podcast, sci fi, sci fi poetry, stuff i am writing, update, where is claire, where rockets burn through, writing, xojane
Posted in Publishing (other) | Comments Off

Some thoughts on gift-giving and One Night Stanzas

Wednesday, December 5th, 2012

eco gift wrap DIY - as seen on Design Sponge!

Over at Shakesville, one of my all-time favourite blogs, blogmistress Melissa has this to say about being a blogger and asking for gifts/money:

“Asking for money is incredibly hard for me. I hate doing it. I hate doing it so much, in fact, that there are times I’d actually rather be shit-broke. Part of it is just an innate aversion to asking for anything; part of it is that those threads always end up being extremely upsetting, for reasons that I imagine are evident to anyone who’s read any of them.

[...] Women’s service work, whether it’s mothering, elder care, volunteering, philanthropy, social work, employment in any “pink collar” profession, or social advocacy, is gravely devalued, frequently to the point where it is unpaid work altogether.

And when I don’t ask that my work be valued by the community, I’m feeding that narrative; I’m implicitly saying, “It’s okay to expect this from me. It’s okay to feel entitled to the product of a woman’s work for nothing in return.”—and that makes me feel even worse than asking for money does.”

In the four plus years I’ve run it, I’ve never really asked for money for One Night Stanzas. Sure, in the early days I posted the odd only-half-joking “wishlist”, and until someone tried to steal the image for my painstakingly-designed ‘donate’ button, ONS also had a tip-jar on the sidebar. But I’ve never actively asked for gifts or done anything to make you guys feel like you have to pay to read. It’s worth noting that I’ve also never attempted to make cash off the blog in other ways — I have done a grand total of one kind-of-sort-of-sponsored post in my entire four plus years as a blogger, and I’ve never, ever run ads here. I blog because I like it. Because I’m gobby and have lots of thoughts about stuff. Because the internet scares me and I want a corner of it that’s really safe for me to be — a space that’s just mine.

That said, Melissa did get me thinking. I’ve been hard at work in this space for over four years and it’s not just an echo chamber — although I’ve been moving more and more towards a ‘comments off’ policy here over the past little while (it’s just so much WORK, you guys), I know people do follow, read, enjoy what’s here. Therefore, why not ask for a little recognition? It’s just asking, right? It feels decidedly un-British, but hey, I’m going to do it anyway. So if you’ve read and liked/laughed at/been inspired by/shared the stuff I’ve been putting here over the past year or so*, then why not read on? I’ve included a few very small, very cheap ways that you can give a little something back to One Night Stanzas this festive season.

Buy my book.
You might already have it, but you can always give it as a gift to someone you know who likes one of the following things: poetry, old ladies, typewriters, books, Star Trek. For it has all those things and more inside its pages. There are only three copies left so this is the last chance you’ll ever get to buy one (except maybe in charity shops in years to come). They’re only four quid plus P&P. Read kind things smart people have said about the book — and then rush to buy a copy — right here.

Buy one of the books I have edited.
Sadly, the wonderful — even if I do say so myself — Skin Deep: Poems on Tattoos and Tattooing is now sold out. But! You can still buy one of the two Read This Press titles still available. The first of the two is Chris Lindores’ brilliant debut pamphlet You Old Soak. These are poems about drinking, awkward social interaction, walking around Edinburgh at night, and drinking some more. This book had a limited printing of 150 copies and each copy is uniquely hand-embellished with real red wine stains! Again, only four quid, and available here. The second of the two is the anthology Starry Rhymes: 85 Years of Allen Ginsberg, which contains poems from such superstars (seriously) as Ryan Van Winkle, Tracey S Rosenberg and Colin McGuire. It received a glowing review from the lovely Chris Emslie at Sabotage, which you should totally read. Again, your copy will be one of a tiny limited print run of 140 — every copy was painstakingly handmade! It’s only a fiver and it’s perfect for the Beat Generation enthusiast in your life. You can grab a copy right here.

Make a donation to Scottish Women’s Aid, or help someone living in a refuge
Earlier this year I completed training to become a Scottish Women’s Aid Community Champion, and the work I’ve done with SWA since has been one of the best things about my year. They’re an extremely deserving organisation whose staff, paid and voluntary, all work their socks off to make the lives of women in Scotland and beyond better, brighter and happier. The more donations they get, the more cool projects they can run — check out the recent I GET IT campaign, designed to get young people talking about what makes a healthy relationship — and the more difference they can make. You can buy me the Christmas present of a donation by clicking right here.
If you prefer, you can buy a real present for a woman or child who has been the victim of domestic violence or who is houseless at Christmas for some other reason. John Lewis has a gift list (number 522953) that allows you to buy a gift and send it straight to a woman or child currently living in a refuge. (NB: when picking gifts, bear in mind that most folk are likely to get things for babies. Bear the mums and older kids in mind, too!)

Buy something from Edinburgh Vintage.
Edinburgh Vintage is one of the many various things I do to keep the wolf from the door, as my gran would say, each month. I run it out of my spare room and most of the time, love it (occasionally — like recently, when an Etsy scam buyer swizzled me out of a gold watch AND the money it cost — not so much). It would be a big and much-appreciated deal to me if some of you fine people were to help support this little venture. There are some really nice bits and piece on there at the moment that, in my humble opinion, would make great Christmas gifts — and buying secondhand means unique presents that’re great for the environment! My picks might be this blue enamel coffeepot, which I am totally keeping if no one buys it by Christmas; this totally unused Estee Lauder cosmetics/beauty bag; a sleepy white kitty or a grey Beswick one for the cat-lovers in your life; this novelty wintery jumper, and maybe this amazing antique harmonica (I’m not a musician but this is one covetable little item!). Whether you decide to buy or not, I’d still super-appreciate it if you’d just have a browse (NB: I have a sale section AND a final clearance section)!

Buy me a present present.
If you’re feeling extra-super-generous, you can buy me an actual gift. I never expect anyone to actually do this, but it has happened very occasionally in the past and I’ve always been bowled over by the loveliness and generosity of my readers! So if this is an option you want to go for, you can check out my Etsy favourites (the first page is a lot of bling jewellery I’m keeping an eye on for my some-day lottery win… skip past that for the cheap second hand books and geek paraphenalia!) or my Amazon wishlist. I also get Christmas cards yearly from some ONS readers which is super super super lovely. If you’d like to Christmas card me, drop me a line to claire[at]onenightstanzas.com and I’ll let you know where to address your envelope to (by the way, die-hard readers… I no longer have the ONS PO Box I had for the first couple of years, so if you’ve saved that address, get in touch for a new one)!

If you do any of these things this Christmas, I will seriously love you forever. I will also double-triple promise to continue writing at One Night Stanzas, so this is srs stuff! There’re only twenty days to go now til the big day, so I think it’s no longer too premature to say this: Merry Christmas, ONS readers one and all!

*(If you haven’t, you can just look at these cute photos of a polar bear.)

You can also visit Read This Press for more poetry (and typewriter paraphernalia!). Alternatively, check out Edinburgh Vintage, our sister site. If you want to get in touch you can follow OneNightStanzas on Twitter, or email claire[at]onenightstanzas.com. I reply as swiftly as I can!

(Photo credit)

Tags: allen ginsberg, christmas, christmas gifts, christmas presents, christmas shopping, donate, donations, edinburgh vintage, etsy, gift giving, gratitude, merry christmas, one night stanzas, read this press, refuge, scottish women's aid, shopping, starry rhymes, the mermaid and the sailors, vintage, you old soak
Posted in Participate!, Resources | Comments Off

Things I Love Thursday #63

Thursday, September 20th, 2012

It’s been several months since I did my last TiLT, and I’ve had quite a summer! Here are just a few of the things I’ve been loving loads since I last expressed my gratitude here!

Long, summery days in my sunshine-filled living room, crystals in the window throwing tiny rainbows everywhere, drinking tea, reading books, writing poems, not having to go to work.
(Like my mug? I got it from Rust Belt Threads, perhaps my favourite Etsy vintage store after Edinburgh Vintage!)

Hydra, Greece — Lovely Boyfriend and I stayed there for a week, holed up in a tiny whitewashed-stone cottage, writing, reading, occasionally going out to swim in the sea or scratch the noses of the town donkeys. This^ was the view from our living room window!

My SUISS class of 2012 — Jill, Joanna, Linda, Dan, Daniel and Sarah, thank you so much for all your hard work and inspiration!

I MET GEORGE WATSKY, and it was amazing! Thank you a million billion to McGuire, Ryan, Jenny, George and Paul for making One Night Stanzas presents Watsky x2 such an amazing success.

A great summer for Edinburgh Vintage with tons of lovely new stuff being added to the store all the time, nearly 200 sales and some really lovely customer encounters! Thank you everyone who’s browsed, bought, clicked, liked, re-tweeted and given feedback!

Yet more delicious vegan food — since my last TiLT, Lovely Boyfriend has also gone vegan! This means even more delicious vegan meals for my very happy belly. ^These are sweet potato pancakes with maple syrup, and they were UTTERLY LUSH.

Autumn arriving — my favourite time of year. I have already started taking autumnal walks, foraging for early brambles, sitting in the blustery Meadows with my boy watching cute dogs chase leaves, drinking amazing Chocolate Tree vegan hot chocolate, and planning my Halloween antics.

What are YOU loving right now?

Tags: autumn, books, geekery, george watsky, gratitude, literature, love, one night stanzas, paul watsky, poems, poetry, poets, publication, publishing, scottish universities international summer school, stuff i love, summer, thank you, thank you universe, thanks, things i love, Things I Love Thursday, tilt, vegan, veganism, watsky, writers, writing
Posted in Things I Love Thursday | 4 Comments »

Posts Tagged ‘one night stanzas’

Things I Love Thursday #82

Call for entries: the One Night Stanzas poetry contest

Dear Poetry Newbies: read more poetry.

Featured Poem, ‘When There Is No Other Way,’ by Melissa Fry Beasley

Dear Poetry Newbies: to blog, or not to blog? That is the question…

Edinburgh Vintage is BACK! with a great big supermassive sale.

In 2012, I…

I wrote some stuff you might like to read.

Some thoughts on gift-giving and One Night Stanzas

Things I Love Thursday #63

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