‘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.

This month’s featured writer is the group’s chairman, Selwyn Morgan, who recently returned from a well-earned sabbatical in the Antipodes and Hong Kong. He’s travelled to the Middle East and the Americas throughout his career.  When he’s not travelling or performing in drama and musical theatre, he writes fiction, short stories and poems. You can read his poem ‘The Serpent Ring’ here.

In 2022 Selwyn’s first novel:- ‘Going Up Camborne Hill‘ was published (available from Amazon Books). It is from this novel that the poem is taken. 

This month’s featured work is by our newest member, Olivia Tuck. Olivia was runner-up in the 2023 Jane Martin Prize for young poets awarded by Girton College Cambridge (see the previous post). She writes deeply about the Autistic female experience and has a short collection of poems; Things Only Borderlines Know,  published by the Cardiff-based small press Black Rabbit Press.

You can read her poem, Doctor E, here.

Two of our members, Iris Anne Lewis and Frank McMahon, have joined forces with Liz Carew of Catchword Writers to provide a monthly programme called ‘Writers in the Library’ which takes place every second Monday of each month in Cirencester’s Bingham Library from 2.00pm. The session lasts an hour and features a talk by a writer followed by an opportunity for audience members briefly to share a reading of examples of their own writing or that of other authors they particularly admire. This month’s guest is the poet Anna Saunders.

Described as ‘a modern myth maker,’ Anna is the author of Communion, (Wild Conversations Press), Struck, (Pindrop Press) Kissing the She Bear, (Wild Conversations Press), Burne Jones and the Fox (Indigo Dreams), Ghosting for Beginners, (Indigo Dreams) and Feverfew (Indigo Dreams).

She is also the Executive Director of Cheltenham Poetry Festival and works as a creative writing tutor and mentor,  communications specialist,  journalist, broadcaster and  copywriter/editor.

Anna’s new book is The Prohibition of Touch. (Indigo Dreams 2022).

Anna will be at the Library on Monday February 12.

Many congratulations to our newest member Olivia Tuck, who has just been announced as second prize winner of the 2023 Jane Martin Poetry Prize, a national poetry competition for young poets, established in 2010 in memory of Girton College alumna, Jane Elizabeth Martin. 

Olivia was awarded the prize for the poems ‘The Obligatory Future Child Poem’ and ‘Mistress of Arts’ (view poems – PDF).

Olivia’s work has been published by the Poetry Society and Broken Sleep, and in several print and online journals. She has been longlisted for the Rebecca Swift Foundation Women Poets’ Prize, and is an associate editor at Tears in the Fence and at Lighthouse. In 2022, she completed UEA’s MA Creative Writing – Poetry course with Distinction. Her pamphlet ‘Things Only Borderlines Know‘ is out now with Black Rabbit Press. Follow on Twitter @livtuckwrites.

Novelist Pam Keevil will be talking about her latest book at Cirencester Library this Monday afternoon (January 8). Her talk will be followed by an open mic session. All are welcome. The hour-long event starts at 2pm.

Our poem of the month is Monday Morning by Norman Smith.

Norman started writing at school for the magazine The Retfordian. As a student, he wrote short stories for The Irish Mountaineering Club magazine on his climbing exploits in Ireland, Scotland, Wales and the Alps.

He discovered haiku while in Japan and was inspired to express contemporary thoughts in the short form. He loves the fact that there are no capitals or punctuation! Norman said: ‘For me, writing is about recording thoughts and feelings about people and places. It’s a joy to portray love in words.’ He adds that Somewhere Else Writers Group in Cirencester have helped him to explore his work with positive encouragement and care. In his spare time, Norman reads and visits Cotswold Saxon churches. You can read his poem, Monday Morning here.