It is with great sadness that we have to announce the deaths of two long-time members of our writing group. As a founder member, Steve Goldblatt contributed hugely to its ethos and success. His wit, enthusiasm and pertinent, pithy comments were always a delight, as were his rare but hilarious written descriptions of his life. Steve died suddenly in Spain. In the same week, we heard that veteran member Jim Moeller had died after a long illness. His was a life devoted to literature, both as a teacher and as a skilled and subtle writer of long and short-form fiction. Listening to Jim read his work in his gentle, wry, American voice was one of the great pleasures of belonging to the group. We shall miss them both hugely. You can listen to Graham Bruce Fletcher’s interview with Jim about his life and work here.

Iris Anne Lewis was a guest reader at the Cheltenham Poetry Festival alongside Derek Healey and Isabel Galleymore. Something Old, Something New featured Gloucestershire poets, each of whom read a selection of their own work plus a poem from a Gloucestershire poet from the past. Iris’s set included poems on the theme of mothers and daughters, the Faroe Islands and her home village, Kempsford. She finished by reading a poem by William Hayward, who served in the Boer War. His poignant poem Kempsford Bells tells how he longed to hear the sound of Kempsford church bells when he was far away from home.

Iris said: ‘It was a lovely experience to be reading to a packed audience at the prestigious Cheltenham Poetry Festival and to listen to Derek and Isabel’s talented work.’

Fish Publishing, based in County Cork, Ireland, have been running prestigious annual writing competitions which have drawn international attention for many years now. Winners’ work appears in its annual anthology. Somewhere Else member Alan Passey’s work appeared in the 2020 Anthology, and he was Longlisted this year in the Short Memoir Prize with his piece “Luigi and The President” about the loss of a childhood friend on the same night that JFK was assassinated.

“I was reflecting on how the adults around us at the time were distracted by this great world event when to us children, the great smaller world, our small world, event was the loss of Luigi,” Alan said, “Fish have a great reputation, and I was delighted to make the first cut, at least.”

‘Luigi ..’ is currently submitted for possible publication but as an appetiser you can read a shorter memoir piece on Alan’s blog here.

This month’s poet is Frank McMahon. His poem “Emperor Akhbar Seeks Ultimate Truth” is available to read here.

It is one of the poems featured in Frank’s third collection, ‘The Light Will Always Return,’ which will be launched on April 17th.

There are shadows in the book: loss, environmental concerns, conflict, but the abiding theme is hope and optimism. 

Frank said: ‘These essential qualities of living are present around us but also need to be generated by our resilience and willingness to work towards protection and restoration.’

“The Light Will Always Return” published by Tim Saunders Publications will be available in paperback, hardback and as an e-book from Waterstones, Amazon and other bookshops. 

 Do you write poetry? Would you like to gain insight into other poet’s practices? Then head to the Poetry Wales website where Iris Anne Lewis, along with three other poets reading at this year’s Cheltenham Poetry Festival, share their advice on editing skills, making reading lists, finding inspiration and receiving poems on your senses. Follow this link to find out more https://poetrywales.co.uk/writing-advice-from-cheltenham-poetry-festival/

Iris Anne Lewis is delighted to have three of her poems included in Wave 17 of iamb – poetry seen and heard.

iamb is a poetry web-zine with a difference. It features audio recordings of poets reading their work with the text of the poems accompanying the recording. The audio is a crucial part of the publication of the poem. In order to be selected for the website, poets have to audition by sending a recording of them reading a poem. A successful audition leads to an invitation to submit three poems for inclusion in a future issue (or wave as it is termed on iamb). 

You can listen to Iris reading her poems here. Why not listen to the other fourteen poets also featured in Wave 17 as well?

‘The Light Will Always Return’, Frank McMahon’s third book of poems, will be published in April. Frank, who lives in Cirencester and is a member of Somewhere Else Writers, has won praise for his first two collections, ‘At the Storm’s Edge’  and ‘A Different Land’, and his third collection is eagerly anticipated.

He said, ‘Things that stopped me in my tracks inspired some of the poems in my book, alongside work that celebrates the work of other artists and craftswomen and men. Other poems draw inspiration from the natural world, starting with winter light. There are shadows in the book: loss, environmental concerns, and conflict, but the abiding theme is hope and optimism. These essential qualities of living are there around us but also need to be generated by our resilience and our willingness to work towards protection and restoration.’

‘The Light Will Always Return’ is published by Tim Saunders Publications and will be available in paperback, and hardback from Waterstones, Amazon and other bookshops, and as an e-book.

It is being launched on April 17^th.

Frank will be reading some of his new work at Writers in the Library, Cirencester on June 13^th at 2pm and at Cheltenham Poetry Cafe on April 26^th..

More success for Iris Anne Lewis. Her poem ‘Anglo Saxon Riddle is published in the Oxford School of Poetry Review here .

Iris was recently shortlisted in the Black Bough chap book competition and an interview with her is due to appear in Poetry Wales.