Poetry Days in London: Monday, 11 May

Monday afternoon through Thursday morning I was in London to take in poetry, and I had the best of times. Monday night Claire Crowther and Siriol Troup launched their second books to an audience of approximately eighty at Swedenborg Hall. I encountered many poets I hadn't seen in some time--Joyce Goldstein, Mo Gallacio, Nancy Mattson, Sue Rose, and Tammy Yoseloff, as well as those I tend to see at Shearsman readings fairly regularly, such as Rachel Lehrman, Robert Vas Dias, Frances Presley, and Gavin Selerie. I also finally met George Ttoouli, co-author of the Gists & Piths blog and new reviews editor for Horizon. Claire and Siriol read very well, and afterward nearly 20 of us converged on Tas Restaurant next to the British Museum for a lovely dinner. There I sat across from/met Rachel McCarthy, whose energy awed me (Met officer by day, avid poet by night...). 

So that's just the first night! More anon!

Siriol Troup's Beneath the Rime

Siriol's a friend, so as with Claire's book, I'll post a poem in lieu of the review I can't give. 

Willow Pattern

Each afternoon he walks me ragged,

paths dusty with catkins, fleshy

and sulphurous, a tapenade of grief.

It's the same old story:

towers and crooked fences,

a waiting boat, le pont des suicides.

Even the birds are dropping.

We begin where we end.

These trees with their blue leaves

have survived beyond imagining.

Siriol Troup

Beneath the Rime (Shearsman, 2009)

To buy the book in the UK, click here for Shearsman's online store.

To buy the book in the US, click here for the link to Amazon.com.