Reading with one of my favourite poets at my favourite bookshop Jermy and Westerman on Mansfield Road as part of Nottingham Poetry Festival in April.
Towns on Shallow Hills – Horseshoe Press No.1 1990
In 1990 I had a short temporary job at The Poetry Library in London. Whilst there I was inspired to both continue writing poetry and met some wonderful individuals like Ivor Cutler and Michael Donaghy (over the counter). I also met some arses but such is poetry. The job was very menial and weekend…
Diesel on Gravel – The Berkshire Raymond Carver? 1985-1990
Poems written in London and Oxfordshire. Published in early 1990s in Last Gasp pamphlets. Last Gasp was a poetry open mic I helped run with poets Giles Goodland and Bridget Kursheed in Oxford. From 1986 I was heavily influenced by Raymond Carver and especially his book FIRES. Indeed I attended his memorial readings event in…
The Tithe Machine – Poems 1981-1985
My first poems from 1981-1985 after art college. Some were published in the first volume of a’The New Magazine’ then just started by Gerard Woodward who  went on to be a well known poet and novelist. Unsure of my writing I used the  ‘David Bell’ alter ego. 32 poems including the sequence ‘The New Country’…
Buying Time – In or Out it’s the same old story…
Buying Time I’ve been buying time since I was born It is what the working class were made for No trust funds, no foreign holidays No gap year, no kindly Aunt’s dowry My father taught me to buy time Any chance you get son take what you can Don’t be dishonest, keep your pride, do…
Before Cubism – The Rocket Press Letterpress 1992
Here a novelty. As all things letterpress are uber trendy these days ( Pop Press just opened in St James Street) I thought I would share this one-off. Hand set by a crazy Norwegian student of letterpress at Jonathan Stephenson’s original Rocket Press way back in time. Beautiful example of real letterpress. Poem from my…
Natura Morte – The Poems that became Trees 1992
In 1992 Whilst living at my parents I joined Didcot and Wallingford Friends of the Earth. We went on demonstrations (B and Q mahogany etc) with Earth First and raised funds for tree-planting. I created this small ilustrated poetry booklet and sold 25 at £2 each which equivalent to 25 new trees. I also took…
Horseshoe Press 1990-92 : 2016 – An old idea revamped
Original Horseshoe Press Pamphlets from 1990 -1992 The Horseshoe Press was first used as my self-publishing name in 1990. I have just revived it as a method of disseminating more recent work. I was then working at The Poetry Library in London and part of my job was photocopying thousands (literally) of poetry magazine and…
Burning Books : where did it all come from…
Having self-published the latest pamphlet in an intentionally ongoing series ( I aim to publish a ’round-up’ pamphlet twice a year from now on) here some author’s notes on the poems. The latest is ‘Burning Books’ Horseshoe Press Pamphlet No. 2 and I thought I’d try and describe what influenced the poems and…
The Enemy Within – How Thatcherism destroyed the White Working Class
Map of former Rover Car Plant at Oxford Interesting and ground-breaking article from Paul Mason in The Guardian http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2016/apr/04/the-problem-for-poor-white-kids-is-that-a-part-of-their-culture-has-been-destroyed Excellent article by Paul Mason but calling for a ‘white kids community’ again in towns like my hometown of Didcot near Oxford where the ‘aspirant wide-boy migrant’ psychology rampant is harder to realise. These commuter towns…