Premature Birth poem published on Bonnie's Crew

The excellent Bonnie's Crew website has just published one of my poems 'Premature Birth'.

Without going into personal details too much over Kate (who set up this project)'s personal background but Bonnie’s Crew was created after problems through the birth of Kate’s youngest child and the hard work Leeds Congenital Hearts put it for her. Paraphrasing the site, the unit is funded by the Children’s Heart Surgery Fund for the invaluable work they do, and it doesn’t bear thinking about that the government nearly closed this unit down. Whether someone’s heart defect is big or small, whether the person is big or small, they do everything they can to save a life.

This experience Kate advises made her want to give back to the unit, to the nurses, the doctors and everyone who keeps the place going which resulted in the creation of this site (and an accompanying anthology will follow, with 100% of the proceeds going to the CHSF Keeping the Beat campaign) to showcase poems of hope, hearts, hospitals, children, survival, love, faith – however those things manifest in the work people send – and hopefully raise some money for the CHSF / Leeds Congenital Hearts.

Speaking from my side, Premature Birth covers the difficult birth my nephew went through years back, and is now a lovely young man of just turned 10 and looks like me I’ve heard more than a few people say like me at that age several times now and made me reflect on my own birth back in 1972 and the problems my mother also had with me. Without the care I received and Jack also received, it is open to debate whether either of us would have survived.

I struggle with money myself at the best of times but the poem needed to be wrote for this excellent cause and I hope you like it and also choose to donate something to their Just Giving Page which can be found here

https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/bonnieandcrew

Ghost Story V

Well, it's that time of year for NaPoWriMo (National Poetry Writing Month) and of course it's time for the return of my annual series, Ghost Story.

A blog on the separate blog itself reveals where Ghost Story originally came from, and a little bit about the seasons which have followed it since.

Not going to give anything away this year apart from Part 5 was in my thoughts when I wrote Part 4 last year in particular in reference to a missing character who was missing for almost the full of the narrative.

Anyway, hope you enjoy it and always feel welcome to let me know what you think.

Any additional poems for NaPoWriMo this year will appear on this blog (don't expect 30!)

Cheers

Andy N

New Podcasts and Poems published

Reading in Bed

Running a few days behind Amanda’s announcement, I can confirm that our third episode in our Literature review podcast is now live.

It can be streamed at:

https://www.mixcloud.com/amanda-steel/reading-in-bed-3-with-andy-n-and-amanda-steel/

OR

https://readinginbed.bandcamp.com/album/reading-in-bed-podcast-3-march-2018

We are always looking for books to do honest reviews on, so please get in contact if you would like us to review your book.

Spoken Label has also been busy with the following sessions / podcast:

Rachel Davies (https://spokenlabel.bandcamp.com/album/rachel-davies-spoken-label-march-2018)

Jacqueline Phillips – Pretty in Pink 3 (https://spokenlabel.bandcamp.com/album/jacqueline-phillips-pretty-in-pink-3)

Hilary Walker – February 2018 (https://spokenlabel.bandcamp.com/album/hilary-walker-spoken-label-february-2018)

Various Poets – Extracts from Please hear what  I’m not saying

(https://spokenlabel.bandcamp.com/album/please-hear-what-im-not-saying-various-poets)

Poetry

Ann Arbor Review Issue 20 have published the poems ‘Threads of a Jumper, Early Morning Walk and Early Autumn Walk’ (http://annarborreview.net/aArborReview_XIX/AARPg20.htm)

A New Ulster 65 have published the following poetry - Brighton in September, Remains of a Christmas Day Party, Absence of Words, Underscoring Immortality, Swallows and Amazons, Threads of a Jumper and The Highwayman’s Daughter (https://issuu.com/amosgreig/docs/anu65)

Nthandareview have published the poems ‘Early Mornig, Brighton in September and The Swan (after Mary Oliver) (http://nthandareview.com/poetry-from-andy-n/)

I am not a silent poet have published Let him have it (A tribute to Derek Bentley) 
(https://iamnotasilentpoet.wordpress.com/2018/03/12/let-him-have-it-by-andy-n)

Ghost Story

The latest NaPoWriMo story begins on 1st April (http://ghoststoryv.blogspot.co.uk)

Additional NaPoWriMo poems may appear on this blog. 

Three short poems for Mark E Smith

1996.

Starting off with an instrumental

Blazen in a fragmented fury;

Their first song stumbled along

In a bass heavy nervourness

as the band looked at each other worried

Like they were throwing

accidential thunder at the crowd

With a mellifluous speed

Until the words ‘I am coming out of the toilet’

Could be heard going through the crowd

Ricochetting eventually onto the stage

Where he sang two songs

Then fell through the drummers kit

And collapsed backstage drunk.

1991.

Popping into the Duchess for a quick pint

After missing a train home

turned into three

when Pat bumped into his brother

who worked for the NME

and was interviewing Mark

who had already gone through

four and a half pints already

and insisted he added us to his tad before adding

‘I can’t stick musicians

Like journalists you know’

And sat there pissing Pat’s brother off

With as many anti journalist jokes

As he could remember for the rest of the interview.

2010.

Clearly ruffled,

lost in the wilderness of memory

he stood there at the other side

of the bus station

his hands fluttered

with his paper

like a paper clown

lost in the upswing of a sigh

before looking at his watch

and me

and walking off

scraping insults in the wind

almost like it was

the only person left

who was listening.

(Mark Edward Smith (5 March 1957 – 24 January 2018) was an English singer, songwriter and musician. He was best known as the lead singer, lyricist and only constant member of the post-punk group The Fall, which he led from 1976 until his death.

Smith formed the group after attending a Sex Pistols gig at the Manchester Free Trade Hall in June 1976. During their 42-year existence, the Fall's line-up consisted of some 60 musicians who, with Smith, released 32 studio albums and many singles and EPs.

The three above short poems are memories of the three times I met him over a 19 year period)

New Years Eve Blog Entry Summary of 2017 with a short New Years Eve Poem

In terms of 2017, its been a interesting year from a creative stand-point its been a interesting year certainly helped by my relationship with Amanda (which has just gone into its second year) has deepened certainly helped by the fact both of us are writers and general creative types.

On the writing front, my proposed third poetry book 'From the Diabetic Ward' has gone on hold at least temporary after the collapse of my deal with Goya Press back in March. I'm not the sort of person into mud slinging but would advise anybody who has any future dealings with them to be very very careful with them. However from a creative standpoint, this book wasn't going the way I wanted it to go and therefore perhaps is best being on hold until I get it right.

Writing wise after stepping away from it, I spent the rest of this year working on the first books of two new series 'Role Reversal' and 'The Barbarians of the Wall' both of which will be out likely hand in hand at the start of 2018. (Both books have sequels already on the way).

I've also been expermenting with fiction properly for the right time also and have also a kind of autobiography on the go which is on its second draft (and is around 63,000 words) and a few novellas in two other not previously announced series (all of which are between 13,000 to 30,000 words or so currently) and have a few mini poetry collections on the go which will show up over the next few years with titles such as 'Mini Soap Operas', 'Selected extracts from the end of the World' and 'The Streets where all I saw' or 'The Birth of Autumn'.

A lot of these projects has come from simply making sure I do a bit of writing every day I can, whether it is 15 or 20 minutes every day at lunch at work or a little bit at home or at Amandas, it is simply a case of keeping active with it and keeping writing something.

Outside of that, Spoken Label (my podcast intervewing series) has progressed nicely this year releasing albums and podcasts by 23 different writers and artists. I'm currently struggling with a bit of a virus but when better by the start of 2018, I have a number of other artists in mind I want to speak to so am excited by that too.

Ocean in a Bottle my solo ambient, classical project is also developing into deeper, more emotional territories from 'Dream Frontier' and 'From Choirs to Dischoirs' – the first in two different ambient series (both series will be carrying it needs stating), Finale which was originally designed to be the final Ocean in a Bottle which then turned into the beginning of something different and eventually lead to 4 Eps in a new Autumn series. There are a few new EPS on the way which I'll talk about more when they are ready for release From Choirs to Dischoirs Part 2, a vocal led loop led experiment piece by me called Building Bridges and a new hopefully ongoing band with a musician from Brazil (more to follow).

The eagle eyed of you will have noticed the annual DIH and friends also was released at the tail end of 2017 also. It's too early to say if 2018 will result in another album but we live in hope I guess, and all being well a new live band will follow finally from A Means to an End. (Watch this space)

Concluding, I would like to wish you a suceessful New Year. In the New Year,

Andy N

At the end of each year we all hug the world of its night

watching the ice solemnize the vows we make to ourselves

glistening untouched until the dawn taps above the houses

cosseting the space between the chimneys

quiet in reflection counting down the seconds

until the neighbours fireworks lace the sky

welcoming in the new year with all of its glory.

Christmas Poem (2017) with a few new Bandcamp links

Spoken Label (my podcast series of interviews with various writers, artists etc) has recently published three different podcasts all available for free download:

These are with:

David R Mellor 

Isabelle Kenyon

Matthew Nicholson


My old friends in D.I.H. (Legendary nose / experimental terrirosts) got back together with me to do our annual anti Christmas album recently which contains the usual mixture of spoken word, classical, experimental, ambient drones and traditional songs.

As always this is a free download and can downloaded from here

Lastly, the last few Ocean in a Bottle singles have all had a autumn like feel to it (more Winter based ones will follow in January and February next year when Winter is really with us)

They can be streamed at:

Tuning into Autumn 

Birth of Autumn

Dancing across Autumn

Breeze across country meadows in autumn

the writers cafe magazine issue-3 ice and snow

Been a bit quiet recently with submissions as I have been tied up with working on 'The Night of the Wolf' and 'Enemy of the Wall' as well as future yet to be revealed projects so it was a great pleasure to receive a notification from the lovely Marie Lightman the other week that for the third issue of her Writers Cafe Magazine has accepted one of my one

of my poems 'Skating in others expectations' (which itself will be appearing in my third full length poetry book 'Birth of Autumn' (which is a bit off from being completed)).

The magazine itself can be read below. There's some excellent stuff in here and I am honored to be in alongside some great writers. (thanks Marie)

https://thewriterscafemagazine.wordpress.com/2017/12/16/the-writers-cafe-magazine-issue-3-ice-and-snow/