I had fully intended to write about news stories this week, and in fact had almost finished my post for the week when I changed my mind.
There are two reasons for this. The first is a poem by Carol Ann Duffy, called Chaucer’s Valentine. As you know, I like to use words in my poetry that are from Old English, or from different language roots. Well, Carol Ann Duffy has done this in a way that is very accessible and I thought you might enjoy it – and in a week it’ll be too late to enjoy the festiveness of it!
The second reason is I finally read some of my poetry to strangers at an open event! It was very simple, just a few musicians and a couple of poets around a table, and we each shared or performed something in turn but I’ve finally done it.
I know I read when my cousin tied the knot but that was in front of a lot of people I knew who were very supportive and in an environment where everyone was going to be polite even if they thought it was rubbish! This was a bit unnerving. Still, I went with a friend and my partner, so not entirely traumatic, and I got very good feedback and that’s made me feel more confident in my pieces. Reading them in a different order to earlier incarnations, I did notice that two have very similar images in their last lines so I’ll probably do some work around there but I was pleased otherwise at how well they worked as performance pieces. As my friend said, the more I perform them, the more self-assured I will become so hopefully this is a good starting point and I’ll build on it. Watch this space (but not too closely, I don’t want to disappoint!)…
As it’s late, I’m going to leave it there for today with one other bit of news. I have signed up to three more courses! I’m on 8 now, covering all sorts of things – Astrobiology, Philosophy, Archaeology, Nutrition, History, Mysticism and Psychology, Geology and Greek and Roman Myth (to take me a little further on than my last course). I have no idea if I’ll be able to fit them all in, or give them the time they deserve, but I’m so pleased to have the opportunity to do them, I want to make the absolute most of it!
I’ll update you on the editing on Sunday, but it’s not looking too promising for now.
Happy writing
EJ
🙂
Becoming a writer 
Wow! well done on the first performances. xx
Thank you – next time you’ll have to come along 🙂
Congratulations – it’s very hard reading in front of people. Well done 😀
🙂
Now I’ve done it, I feel chirpier about my poems – I’m starting to think about how they fit together for the eventual e-pamphlet, how they sound when read aloud. What I should change and how it’ll work when I do. It was definitely useful.
Of course, if it had been an audience of 600 I might feel differently… 😉