Janus

The two-faced eponymous god of this dreary season looks in two directions, backwards and forwards, hence his emblematic association with the turning point in each year. Looking back at my own 2010, I’m pleased The Method Men picked up some good reviews, notably from Steve Spence at Stride, Julia Bird at Hand+Star, Edward Clarke at the Bristol Review of Books, and Matt Merritt for Magma. It was also a Bristol Evening Post Book of the Week.

The Method Men was also shortlisted for the London Festival Fringe New Poetry Award. Although it lost to a worthy winner in Carrie Etter’s The Tethers (Seren), it was a good experience to meet the other writers on the shortlist, and to read with them (and the judges) at The Troubador in November. As well as Carrie, I particularly enjoyed readings from Abi Curtis’s Unexpected Weather (Salt), Patrick Brandon’s A Republic of Linen (Bloodaxe), Katrina Naomi’s The Girl With the Cactus Handshake (Templar), and Tamar Yoseloff and Daljit Nagra reading new work from prospective collections. Another curious highlight of that evening came when the editor of a significant poetry press bought a copy of my book; and, as I was signing it, I remembered that this was someone who’d turned down the ms. just a couple of years earlier. Not sure this really signifies anything, but it was an enjoyable fillip nonetheless.

Launching the book was generally agreeable, especially as I got to read with some rather splendid people. I was blown off the stage by Matthew Caley, reading from his superb third collection, Apparently (Bloodaxe), twice: once in Notttingham; and then with John Stammers, reading from the excellent Interior Night (Picador), in London. I also read with a number of fellow Salt poets: Agnieszka Studnzinska and Mark Granier, launching Snow Calling and Fade Street, respectively, in London; and with Lisa Dart, Diana Pooley and Peter Abbs at an event in Sussex organised by Abi Curtis. In Bristol, Patrick Brandon and me shared billing at the Arnolfini with the venerable Ruth Fainlight; and, I shared the stage of an independent cinema with Rachel Boast (reading from a prospective first collection due soon from Picador) at an event hosted by the inimitable Ryan Van Winkle, whose Crashaw Prize winning debut, Tomorrow We Will Live Here, is now out from Salt.

David Morley wrote agreeable things about The Method Men at his excellent blog; and, towards the end of the year, a number of good souls picked the book as one of their highlights for 2010: Rupert Loydell at Stride, Steve Spence at Morning Star, and Matt Merritt at his blog, Polyalbion.

Looking forward, I realise I need to read more. So many new collections came out in 2010, so I’ve got a fair bit of catching up to do. And there’s a goodly hoard of fine stuff due for 2011. I’m looking forward to John McCullolugh’s The Frost Fairs (Salt); Jude Cowan’s first collection with Donut, For the Messengers; Ahren Warner’s first collection, Confer: (Bloodaxe); as well as books and pamphlets by Rachel Boast, Matthew Caley, Katy Evans-Bush and A B Jackson. There’ll be plenty of other things to look out for too. I just haven’t tuned in my radar yet. But I do have a wallet-burning stash of book tokens, courtesy of friends and family who’ve (thankfully) given up trying to surprise me at Christmas.

Many thanks to everyone who supported my book in its first eight months, especially Chris Hamilton-Emery and Roddy Lumsden at Salt, and wishing us all an inventive and productive New Year.

 

 

 

Shortlists

The Method Men is one of fifteen first collections shortlisted for the inaugral London Fringe Poetry Award. Fifteen seems more a mediumlist than a shortlist, but I’m obviously chuffed as a ptarmigan to be on it, and to have three fellow Salties (Tom Chivers, Abi Curtis and Agnieszka Studinzka), as well as good friend Patrick Brandon, on the list as well. Apparently, we won’t know who’s won until we’re all gathered together for the night of the announcement in Soho on August 16th.

The Forward Prize shortlists are also public now. Didn’t make this one, unfortunately, but the Felix Dennis First Collection shortlist is stocked with books by the indie publishers (though, sadly, no Salt books this time). It makes for an interesting contrast with the Best Collection shortlist, as that’s dominated by the commercial houses. I’d expected to see Matthew Caley’s Apparently on that list, just as I’d anticipated a few other contenders for the Felix Dennis Prize. But, hey ho! I suppose.

As we’re into prize season now, it’ll be fun to watch what gets picked for this and that. So many good books this year, especially first collections, and we’re all keen to imbibe the oxygen of publicity that comes with nomination. But, there’s also the business of the work itself, of what comes next … the longer game of trying to make sure I write only the best of which I may be capable, and of hoping that (in its own peculiar way) will be enough.

Reviews

Still early days, but a couple of responses to The Method Men have appeared online in recent weeks. First came this:

http://blogs.warwick.ac.uk/morleyd/tag/david_briggs/

from David Morley. As he states in the piece, I met David Morley about ten years ago at Totleigh Barton. He was hugely energetic and quite inspiring as a tutor, so I’m pleased he likes the work. I’m intrigued by the reference to duende as I know from (Ahem!) Googling myself (the shame) that there’s a flamenco guitarist called David Briggs. Must be something in the genetics of our nomenclature.  

And Steve Spence posted this review

http://www.stridemagazine.co.uk/Stride%20mag2010/May%202010/The%20Method%20Men.htm

at Stride Magazine this week. The best thing about this review, even though Spence clearly has reservations about a few poems in the collection, is that he’s so very evidently read and engaged with the work. Reviews at Stride recently have been just a tad dyspeptic, so I’m genuinely grateful to Spence for having invested his time and intelligence.

I don’t read the Bruce Cockburn poem in the same way, and the ‘workshop’ thing gets my goat a little as I’ve never been a student of any creative writing classes - the only writing tuition I’ve ever received being those few days with David Morley ten years ago; but, I’m generally warm towards the few criticisms because they’re pretty thoughtful and well-observed. And it is pretty positive. For all these reasons, I’d call it a good review.

The Short Slog

It’s great to have copies of my first collection, but I’m mindful of the difficult second and third ‘albums’. You get (in my case) thirty-six years to write a first book, and then a year or two to write the next! I’ve been slogging on with some poems based loosely around the Tarot, and particularly the Fool. One will appear in the next issue of Iota, four are up on Rupert Loydell’s Stride site, and one’s just been taken by a magazine I really like. That’s encouraging, but I reckon I’ve drawn this particular well, and it’s not enough for a book. I’m also unconvinced by the fully thematic collection (or, rather, by my ability to write one).

So, I guess, it’s time to write in a different direction. But how do you do that once you begin to do quite well with the stuff you’ve grown accustomed to write? Do we get hemmed in, rather than liberated by, publication? I suppose I’ll find out.

Poetry Review …

I’m very pleased to have made it into the pages of Poetry Review. The current issue contains a poem from The Method Men called ‘In the Senior Common Room’: a poem loosely based on someone I know at Downside Abbey in Somerset.

I’ve only browsed through the issue at present, but I was struck particularly by James Harpur’s ‘The Angels and the Harvesters’.

Congratulations, too, to Mr John Stammers and Jon Stone for their success in this year’s National Poetry Competition. The winning poems feature in this issue.