Doors Close, Doors Open

At Piranha Poetry

I was chatting to an old school friend of mine last week and we both commented on how sometimes your life can suddenly change: doors close and new ones open. They certainly have for me over the past year.

My life in the Czech Republic has ended. Out of the blue a buyer came forward with an offer for my house there and I could not refuse. Last month I spent a fortnight in the country getting rid of most of my things and storing a few others, handing in my Czech residency papers, and handing over the keys. The door to my Czech home literally closed.

I am near to closing another literal door. As I said in the a previous post my mother died at the end of June and my life as a carer came to an end. Of course there has been work to do for her since her death. Over the last month I have been clearing one room a week in her house. It will take me another four weeks before the house is in a state ready to be put on the market.

The door that has opened is of course poetry. With my collection with Indigo Dreams (now called Owl Unbound) due out later in the year I have work to do. Firstly there is the editting of the collection prior to sending the finished version to Indigo Dreams, this I think is pretty well done. Then there is the need to get some readings sorted. The best place to sell books is at readings and that means getting my name around ahead of the book launch.

In the last two months I have given readings in Gloucester and Bristol, as well as at the launch of Poetry Birmingham Literary Journal (I had three poems in the magazine) and at open mic's in Stroud, Gloucester and Cheltenham. I must confess I loved performing my poetry. It gives me such as buzz.

The other poetry work I have been busy with is helping Anna Saunders with her Cheltenham Poetry Festival. As I may have said elsewhere in this blog I have a background in organising community events, so it isn't hard to get back into the swing of working on an event. It is great to be able just to help out, rather than be the director.

There will be more about the Festival in another post, but for now here is the link to the amazing programme Anna has put together: https://www.ticketsource.co.uk/cheltenhampoetryfestival
With performers as diverse as hip-hop legend JPDL and former Poet Laureate, Carol Ann Duffy, there really is something for everyone.

Indigo Dreams Publishing

Yesterday I received an email from Indigo Dreams Publishing to say that they want to publish a collection of my poems. I have to keep pinching myself to make sure that this is really happening. I had managed to persuade myself that there was no chance of an acceptance, so their response came as a complete surprise.

Indigo Dreams were the first poetry publisher I submitted my collection to. They were top of my list for a number of reasons.

Firstly I think my poetry fits with their list. Their magazine The Dawntreader was the first one to accept my work when I started sending it out again last year. The poem they published was the "Credo" from a sequence of mystical poems about returning to the Cotswolds. It was one which I felt might be hard to place, but The Dawntreader specifically is interested in a range of subjects , such as myth, legend, landscape, nature, spirituality and love - that play an important part in my work.

Another reason for choosing IDP is that Ronnie and Dawn at Indigo Dreams have a reputation for looking after their poets. I saw them in action at the Cheltenham Poetry Festival in April and liked what I saw. I also liked the poets who read in their showcase at the Festival, especially Jean Atkin and Allyson Hallett.

One thing that matters to me is that Indigo Dreams seem to choose the poets and poetry they like and think their audience will like, rather than follow fashion. Indeed I rather think that some publishers would have turned me down simply because of my age!

This last year has been an amazing journey for me. I little thought as I looked at the new Indigo Dreams books on display at the National Poetry Library only last September that in 2020 my name would be on the cover of one of their books. I want to thank Dawn and Ronnie for this opportunity, especially Dawn whose kind words when accepting "Credo" for The Dawntreader gave me much-needed confidence. There are a few other poets I owe thanks to - Angela France of Buzzwords and Anna Saunders, both of whom suggested I apply to Indigo Dreams; Alison Brackenbury, who was so kind to me when I arrived at my first Buzzwords meeting; Christine Whittemore for reading the collection and giving feedback; and Michael Horovitz for reminding me that I was good.