"Wooding" by David Hale

David Hale was a student of mine for five years in a Poetry School seminar I held at my home in Bradford on Avon, and I'm pleased to say his pamphlet, The Last Walking Stick Factory, has been published by Happenstance. Here's one poem as a sample. 

Wooding

A thumb split by a felling axe, gouged knuckles,

gashed palms, a shin unstitched by tangled fieldwire.

What is it about these past few days, after weeks

without one finger diced for the pot, the saw singing

sweetly through close-grained ash, this sudden surfeit

of blood, its palette rich on skin turned winter pale?

These things come in clusters, you say and shrug

clutching bloodied fingers. Our work calls for edges,

the sharper the better. Even though I can see

what you say is true, we’re running out of lint and pins

and words for pain, and surely this is beyond probability,

this tendency of restless steel drawn as if by moon

or some other magnetic force through skin and nail.

No mere carelessness could spill so much blood.

David Hale

The Last Walking Stick Factory (Happenstance, 2011)

Poetry Days in London: Tuesday, 12 May

On day 2 I visited The Poetry Library, in part to look into some magazines I enjoy but don't subscribe to (as I can only afford so many!) as well as to research magazines that seem open to beginning poets, for the sake of my three Publishing Your Poetry seminars next year for The Poetry School. I discovered a relatively new magazine from Clutag Press, Archipelago. Issue 3 was the latest, dated Spring 2009; I particularly enjoyed the poems by Michael Longley and Peter McDonald. Often I choose magazines to submit to based on how much I enjoy an issue; that is, commonly I'll enjoy reading a magazine and want to join the company, so to speak. On looking at Archipelago's website, though, I was disappointed to find out the magazine doesn't consider unsolicited submissions, something I haven't encountered in a long while. Oh well.

Next I saw the Annette Messager exhibition at The Hayward. It was so various and particular I don't want to try to describe it here; it really must be experienced. The words that occur to me are intriguing and disturbing. She's very idea- and symbol-driven, which I think describe my work, too.

I spent the early part of the evening in the atmospheric Vaults in the RSA, for the Bath Spa University MA writing programmes' anthologies launch. To read some good work from the programmes, follow these links for the MA in Creative Writing anthology, Mosaic, the MA in Writing for Young People anthology, Pick and Mix, and the MA in Scriptwriting anthology, The First Ten Pages. If I had the money, I'd launch my book in the RSA vaults, too! I very much like the mood the space encourages. 

The latter part of the evening was spent on the town with some of the MA scriptwriters, but details of that I'll leave to rumour....

Forthcoming Readings, Classes and Talks

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20 February 2010, "Publishing Your Poetry," The Poetry School, Bath

13 March 2010, "Publishing Your Poetry," The Poetry School, Manchester

NB: Readings for The Tethers will be listed only on that page.

Current Issues

I've been writing more in fits and starts lately, I think because for once all my teaching is in the writing of poetry! What pleasure! I've just finished teaching Start Writing Poetry, an online course, for Open University, and I'm in the midst of teaching the third-year module in writing poetry and the MA poetry workshop at Bath Spa University College.

Most particular to my own interests is my new course on The Prose Poem for The Poetry School in London. In ten weeks, I take students through the form's predominant tendencies, the most common types of prose poem, and the place of the prose poem in contemporary British poetry, through discussions, exercises, and workshops. I'd be glad to hear from fellow practioners of the prose poem via my e-mail address in my personal profile.

My poem, "As If To Say," appears in the new issue of Soundings, and three new poems have just been accepted for the next issue of Tenth Muse.

On 16 May, I'll be reading with John McAuliffe at The Octagon Theatre in Bolton, in The Bolton Institute's reading series. I'm also reading in August on the Crossing the Line series at The Poetry Cafe in London--more on that closer to the date.