DREiCH Made in Scotland from Words
Black Lives Matter
NEWS #1
INTERVIEWS POETRY CHAPBOOKS FEATURED POETS FEATURES
© EllisC
MADE IN ALBA FRAE WURDS tha beatha dhubh cudromach
話す詩
कविता बिना पक्षपात के
Fines sine poetica Air a dhèanamh ann an Alba bho fhaclan
few years B.I. (Before Internet) there existed on this planet a culture that very much was set up counter to the prevailing culture. Before computers made it easier to print your own books, publish online and before people were validated and made famous by Facebook and Twitter. In those days the means of production, to use outdated Marxist terminology, was owned by the big publishing houses who (and some would argue still do) decide what is good in poetry for all of us. The Establishment was as it was though in decline, Literary style magazines like Iron, Stand , The Little Word Machine, Chapman and Lines Review and others reflected more or less the concerns of the regional and Scottish establishments.
A
ness, community involvement and development for all levels of writers. Edited by Dave Ward since 1974 and David Calder joining Ward later, as well as countless guest editors and ‘famous poets’ gracing its budget format. Which basically has the poems, the names of the poets and you decide which poems you like without editorial interference. https://smokemagazine.wordpress.com
In Scotland I would mention Rebel Inc. and Kevin Williamson’s
early pamphlets provide a borderline where small presses end and computers begin. Rebel Inc magazine was one of the first to use Apple macs to design their chapbooks & magazine. . Mike Dillon’s Rookbook was based in Edinburgh and published in Comb bound form, books by Janet Paisley, Kevin Cadwallender and many others. As well as later doing The often one person ran photoYonkly (a Writer’s copied or duplicated even workshop in print,) or if money allowed offwhich is still a great source of connections set lithographed. Set up and snapshots of what on typewriters, early the world was like computers and cut and before the poetry compasted in actual sight of petition was rebranded glue and scissors. in the states to become They even had larger the global phenomenon organisations like the Association of Little that is Slam. But I diPresses, The Small Presses Group of Great gress...Jim Ferguson & Britain,and the Federation of Worker Bobby Christie’s Out Writers &Community Publishers. From Beneath the Boot in Glasgow.
The Counter culture to this was the Small Press,
Some had Arts Council funding and
Duncan McLean’s and James Meek’s Clocktower Press in the 80s who first community money, others were funded by published Irvine Welsh’s chapbook of stories from‘Trainspotting’. dedicated individuals. Of these very few survived the onslaught of the internet or In Newcastle in the worse gentrified into something funded early seventies, Keith and dependant by Armstrong’s Ostrich virtue of the prowas publishing an early fessionalisation of example of small press the Arts Council poetry magazines.Later and the removal of ones include Brendan Arts Workers who Cleary’s Echo Room, were writers and In Durham Kevin Cadartists and their wallender’s Hybrid, In replacements who tended to be administrators whose hobbies included the arts.
Smoke has retained integrity and still sticks to its core values of open-
York Mark Robinson’s Scratch, In Leeds Andy Robson’s Krax, Gerald England’s New Hope International from Hyde in Cheshire, Geoff Hattersley’s Huddersfield based ‘The Wide Skirt, David Crystal’s Dog magazine in London. David Holliday’s Iota in Chesterfield, Working Titles out of Bristol edited byTony Lewis -Jones, Tom Phillips & Rachel Bentham. First Time edited by Josephine Austin in Hastings Brando’s Hat Edited by Steven Waling and Geoff Steven’s Purple Patch in the midlands. I could go on. They were many not few. The productivity of the poets involved was staggering.
Of course you may be thinking that this nostalgic trawl through the many back issues of the ghosts of poetry past means I’m against slam, spoken word and technology, but you would be wrong. I’m not . However, I don’t think one thing should be totally abandoned because a new thing comes along.
Those old magazines inspired poets like Steve Larkin to edit ‘The Looking Glass’ at the University of Sunderland and on to concoct ‘Hammer & Tongue’ and John Paul O’Neill ran Farrago magazine before he ever ran slams. Nowadays Stand is still standing but without Jon Silkin, Iron is no longer a magazine. Chapman, The Little Word Machine and Lines Review are gone or in hibernation. But we have Gerry Cambridge’s Dark Horse, Gutter and magazines that hold the centre ground. As for the small presses well Smoke still rises and now from the Kingdom of Fife we have DREICH which combines internet presence and old school, small press hand made values and the fastest response of any magazine I have ever heard of. GOR-
We wanted to publish some of the iconic
poets from the history of small presses but also
new
and exciting voices. We managed to get the remarkable new voice of Shani Cadwallender and an old favourite but little known poet in Tony Hill. As well as the much published trio of small press icons David Crystal, Brendan Cleary and Dave Ward (writing as David Greygoose) we were delighted when the much published poet Kathleen Kenny agreed to support us with a chapbook. Who will we publish in the future in this series?
We know who we’d like to get but it’s not
always possible as they are tied into larger projects, no longer write or have passed on. Next Year we will be publishing an anthology chapbook ‘The
Best of Dreich’ (Dreich Magazine
1-12 which is already being scrutinised by a secret guest editor) and as always looking for new and interesting ways for people from all over the world to join the Dreich family.
NEW FOR 2021 HIGHLANDER full collection chapbook competition. ALLIANCE 3 chapbooks with 4-6 poets in each. WEE BOOK a chapbook novella competition PLUS all the usual interesting themed chapbooks. & the magazine.
Interview with Kevin Cadwallender HYBRID supremo and one of the editorial advisors at DREICH. G: So what was the initial impetus behind HYBRID and then DREICH? K : Hybrid started out as a multi arts platform combining drama workshops, writing workshops, face painting, clown workshops, poetry workshops, Drum workshops, Dance, Song writing and anything else we could think of. A poetry magazine was the logical step and publishing pamphlets by poets came naturally out of that. G. What’s your perception of the current state of poetry? K: Well, obviously the internet has democratised poetry in a way never seen before and some barriers into poetry have been corroded.
I like to be positive
about poetry if I possibly can
is watered down. Cream (or scum) lol still floats to the top . It depends on your position in the bite order of ‘the ferrets fighting in a septic tank’ as Sean O’Brien once
and more indecipherable and he mentioned SMOKE magazine. After a bit of surfing on the net we discovered SMOKE was still going and wondered about bringing back our version, a small press ethic combined with the new media. G: Small Press Ethic?
described ‘poets’.
K : Poetry for All ,basically and publication free of ego and biogs which are G : And Spoken Word? sometimes more inventive than the poK: I’m still a fan of poetry however it is ems they come with. Keep it simple, presented . The writing is key of course . make it fast and print to order. Do There are some brilliant writers writing away with bias and favouritism as far in what gets branded ‘spoken word’. I’m as possible and in the words of Patrick happy to read, watch and listen to all Swayze in Roadhouse, ‘Be Nice’ until it’s styles and genres. time not to be nice’ (trails away in G : And DREICH? laughter) K : Well DREICH came about when some like minded poets sat in pubs and cafes complaining about the difficulty of getting published, of how long
rejections took to arrive. Of the business models of poetry magazines that rely on funding and basically publish The Small Presses of the past have been their clique of poetry friends. Jack replaced by the speed and immediacy of Caradoc edits DREICH with assistance the internet and ideas richochet around from other poets. We seek to reply FASTER THAN ANYONE and do. the globe in the beat of a heart . I always liked the idea that poetry can be A friend of mine who is a subscriber to written by anyone and now it is. I don’t a well know ‘establishment’ magazine , see that as a weakening of poetry in the complained that it was becoming more sense that it
G.
Thanks for this. Are you going to tell us which poetry magazine your friend was referring to? K: No, It doesn’t matter really there are plenty of magazines out there that fit the elitist bill I don’t need to name them. G: Finally, what would you say to poets wanting to submit to DREICH?
K: As Jack would say, ‘ Just do it, we won’t brutally reject you and the chances are we’ll find your poems fit in well with us. ‘ Oh and we will never press you to subscribe or publish you just because you subscribe. DREICH is an open door, don’t bother to knock just come in, metaphorically at least in these Lockdown laced days.
GOR
FAMILY poems by JAMES ANDREW JANETTE AYACHI, DAVID CALLIN, GEORGE COLKITTO, DEREK CROOK, SETH CROOK, KERRY DARBISHIRE, PETER DEANS, STEVE DENEHAN, MIKE DILLON BARBARA HOWERSKA, IAN HUNTER, MICHAEL HUNTER, ANNE JONES PAM KNAPP, JEANNE MACDONALD, IAN MCDONOUGH, WULLIE PURCELL SANJEEV SETHI, EDWIN STOCKDALE, ROWENA SOMMERVILLE, ANNICK YEREM FAMOUS poems by
DREICH THEMED CHAPBOOKS 2020
Barnaby Ashton-Bullock, Jason Bentsman, Kevin Cadwallender David Callin, Brendan Cleary, George Colkitto, Seth Crook Kerry Darbishire, Julie Easley, Lindsay Fursland, Barbara Howerska Ian Hunter, Strider Marcus Jones, Jeanne MacDonald D Rudd Mitchell, Sanjeev Sethi, Jock Stein, Rex Sweeny, Rob Walton. EKPHRASTIC poems by
Helen Victoria Anderson, James Andrew, David Callin, Leonie Charlton Kerry Darbishire, Donald Falconer, Lindsay Fursland, Tony Hill Ian Hunter, Diana Jansen, Marilyn Longstaff, John Maguire Claire Marsden, Catherine McDonald, Tom Murray, Kali Richmond Leela Soma, Bridget Somekh, Julie Stevens, Edwin Stockdale. RACE Poems by Nina Abeysuria, Keith Bell, David Bleiman, John Bonn, Kate Boston-Williams Shani Cadwallender, Melissa Calderon-Rougié , Peter Chua, George Colkitto , Vince Drewer, Julie Easley, Ian McFarland, Jenny Mitchell, Lindsay Oliver, Tracey Pearson, Chrys Salt, Finola Scott, Leela Soma, L.A. Traynor, Emily Uduwana
£5 EACH or TWO for £8 or ALL 8 for £30 CINEMA Poems by LAURA BANDY, BRUCE BARNES, JASON BENTSMAN, SY BRAND KEVIN CADWALLENDER, DAVID CALLIN, PETER CHUA, DIANE COCKBURN, BRENDAN CLEARY, CLEO HENRY, TONY HILL , IAN HUNTER, PAM KNAPP, CHRID KENT, D. RUDD MITCHELL FIONA PITT-KETHLEY, MARILYN LONGSTAFF, SANJEEV SETHI ROWENA SOMMERVILLE, EMILY UDUWANA, ROB WALTON, ANDREW J.WILSON LOCKDOWN Poems by KEITH BELL,RACHEL BURNS,PHILIPPA BRIGGS, SHANI CADWALLENDER MELISSA CALDERON ROUGIE, GEORGE COLKITTO, SETH CROOK EMILY FISHER, OZ HARDWICK, MICHAEL HUNTER, DIANA JANSEN ELISABETH KELLY, MARILYN LONGSTAFF, JEANNE MACDONALD LINDA MENZIES, JULIE MEREDITH, NEIL DAVID MITCHELL TOM MURRAY, CONNOR ORRICO, TRACEY PEARSON, IBRAHIM SALIHU LEELA SOMA, JULIE STEVENS, DOUGLAS THOMPSON, BOB TOYNTON ZERNAB TUFAIL, ROB WALTON
Afters poems by
POETRY THAT SPEAKS FOR ITSELF
Kevin Cadwallender, David Callin, George Colkitto, Seth Crook, Ann Cuthbert Mike Dillon, Siobhan Dunlop, Julie Easley, David Han, Oz Hardwick Marilyn Longstaff, Kirsten MacQuarrie, Felicity Manning, Lindsay Oliver Connor Orrico, Jan Sutch Pickard, Sanjeev Sethi, Julie Stevens, Edwin Stockdale L.A. Traynor.
ANIMALS poems by
Leonie Charlton, Seth Crook, Ann Cuthbert, Mike Dillon Bethan Hay, David Hay, Michael Hunter, Kathleen Kenny Matthew Knights, Marilyn Longstaff, Catherine McDonald Connor Orrico, Rowena Sommerville, Jan Sutch Pickard Kali Richmond, John Webb, Sarah Westcott, Fiona Ritchie Walker Edwin Stockdale ALL DREICH Covers © Ellis Cadwallender #Dreichartist
DESIGN : Tenor Bull
Ellis Cadwallender the 12 year old designer behind Dreich’s iconic covers DREICH NEWS ASKED HER A FEW QUESTIONS. DN: Tell us a bit about yourself? EC: I’m Ellis Cadwallender! I draw for the Dreich Books and sometimes just in my own time. I’m 12 and live in Scotland! DN : How did you get involved in drawing the Dreich covers? EC: I suppose that started when the editor asked me to draw a person with an umbrella standing in front of a house. I sent him the sketch, but he ended up using it on the cover! So I started drawing them all like that. DN : How long does it take you to design and draw a picture for the cover? EC : Depends on the request, really. (Dreich commissions what they would like and leaves me to do it.) really. 20 minutes at most for the drawing part. Sometimes the thinking takes longer than the drawing. DN : Did you ever imagine they would become so iconic? EC : No, not really. I didn’t expect people to like them or anything, I just thought it’d be a fun job. DN : What are you currently working on? EC : Well - not exactly related but I write stories and things. I’m working on a book titled Extinction. Keep an eye out for the designs on my Instagram. (@dreichartist) (Ellis is also working on the covers for next year: Ed) DN: What sort of books do you read and what music do you like? EC: I read manga and anime influenced things that sort of stuff. ‘The Assassination Classroom’ (Yūsei Matsu ) My music tastes fluctuate but I like musicals, went to see ‘Hamilton ‘ last year with my Dad and I like The Smiths . DN : Hobbies? EC: Cosplay, Cats, bugs, collecting Car grille badges, visiting motor museums, singing , lots of stuff. DN : And you’ll be doing more covers for Dreich in the future I understand. EC : Yes, of course, working on the concepts is a fun thing to do, a fun
job.
Above: Ellis at ‘Hamilton’ at the Victoria Palace Theatre 2019. Left : Grille Badge Collection and Cosplay ‘with ‘The Smiths’
DREICH
ME: So how is Dreich different?
JACK : Dreich is different than most print magazines in that it responds quickly, attempts to communicate on a human as well as a poetic level and will magazine has caused a flurry of activity not discourage poets from writing by across social media platforms with its imposing its own values of worth. innovative and hands on approach to We publish therefore many different poetry and poets. I sat down to quesstyles, types and attempt to connect in tion its enigmatic and outspoken a more personal way with the human founder Jack Caradoc. beings that poetry has attached itself ME : You started DREICH magazine as to. a quarterly magazine and not it’s ME: You make poetry sound like a parmonthly how did that come about? asite. JACK : Well, it was always our intention to publish as much poetry as we JACK : could and as soon as we could we moved to monthly and extended our other publications. There is the magaAs are all zine, the themed chapbooks, the solo chapbooks and the FREE poetry chap- forms of art which live of the body of human existence. However that book competition. doesn’t make it a bad thing. It is a beME : so do you think you saw a gap in nign parasite, it does no real harm and the market? quite often is beneficial to the mental JACK: We saw that the market was a well being of its host. ridiculous construct and so ignored it. ME : DREICH magazine is noted for ‘Gap in the market’ would suggest we never publishing biographies why is were looking to sell something to that? someone. We were sick of poetry magJACK: At DREICH we believe that azines that were happy enough to reject the vast majority of poets on one hand whilst asking them to subscribe on the other. We decided never to ask and anyone to subscribe and to find a way that it shouldn’t come with a C.V. Bito publish the inventive, the exciting, ographies to us are things that take up the over-looked and the new, whilst space that could be used for poetry. If never ignoring that what might be you want to find out about the poets called traditional poetry has as much validity as the self proclaimed arbiters there is this new invention called a computer which enables you to find of poetic values the editors and publishers who deem their particular taste out about poets. We recommend you read the poems, if you like one particuin poetry is above the taste of their lar poet, look them up on the internet, readership. Let’s face it most poetry magazines have at their core an elitism buy their books. Be active in your discovery of poetry that fits you. Some of subject that makes them inaccessipeople enjoy ‘Poetry Review’ some ble people enjoy ‘ Magma’ but not one magazine fits all, you have to find the ones that suit you.
Poetry is a parasite.
poetry should speak for itself
. We wanted to do
something very different.
ME : To change the subject a little. I read somewhere that DREICH was
based on the Livrpool small press magazine SMOKE. JACK : Yes that’s true and I have told Dave Ward that and have published several luminaries of the Small Press Scene including Dave Ward, Brendan Cleary (The Echo Room), David Crystal (Dog), Paul Summers (Billy Liar), Mike Dillon (The Yonkly) and would love to get poems from other legends like Joy Hendry (Chapman) , Mark Robinson (Scratch) and others from the past too numerous to mention. We actively seek poets and invite them to submit poetry. But we publish a lot of wonderful poets and although most of our poets are from the UK we have poets from the States, Canada, Mexico, Nigeria, Bangladesh, India, Pakistan, Tasmanis, France, Germany Australia, Japan, Ireland and Scandinavia. ME : So truly international JACK : Poetically yes . We aim to keep poetry accessible in terms of price, Di-
you never know what sort of poetry you will find in DREICH. Which we think verse and exciting in that
is a good thing. We respond to every submission personally, We make every effort to respond within a week but often it can be minutes, hours, the same day or the next day. We make every single issue by hand
Hand Made in Scotland from Words is a reality not just a tagline. We eschew awards and don’t seek to fleece poets . We try to be free of poetry world politics and squabbles. ME : So what is your background? JACK : My biography or C.V. is just as irrelevant as anyone else. Judge me by the fruit I produce, Judge the poems using your personal taste not your personal prejudice . You’ll be happier if you do.
Oisin Breen is a Dublin born writer, journalist, occasional academic, teacher who now lives in Edinburgh, Scotland after spells in the Middle East and Europe. There is a rich mind at play in these poems which don't shy away from heated emotion. To read this collection is to witness fearless Romantic Modernism. Ric Hool (poet) This is poetry to be heard and not merely read. The incantatory rhythms of these poems and the propulsive alliteration hark back to an oral tradition, the poet as shaman. Tony Hill (poet) It’s ambitious, designed to have cerebral appeal and determinedly unfashionable. No stripped back contemporary style here. Emma Lee (poet & blogger) A rich tapestry of voices rendering that most literary of cities, Dublin, on the page. Taking its cue from early Modernism and with some of the intensity of ‘Howl’ this is a poem to inhabit. Walk its lines as you would Dublin’s streets. Pippa Goldschmidt (Novelist & Poet) BOTH AVAILABLE FROM HYBRID PRESS at www.hybriddreich.co.uk
Raised in the Fenlands of Lincolnshire from the age of eight, Irish poet and singersongwriter Mike Dillon has lived in Edinburgh since the mid-seventies. His poetry has appeared in New Writing Scotland, Lines Review and many other anthologies and magazines, as well as two solo booklets: Under The Rainbow and Red Herrings. A twotime winner of Edinburgh Folk Club’s Song Competition, he has performed his songs and poems in many clubs and festivals throughout Britain and Ireland, Europe and in the USA. He is a former Scottish National Slam Champion. He lives in Newhaven, Edinburgh, and has been working on a comic fantasy trilogy for some time under the nom-de-plume Maurice Dijon. The first volume of this, Child From Water, was published by Sand.
MIKE DILLON Poet Interview. #1 1. Your poems and songs are rich in references and word play. What sort of poetry do you enjoy reading and what are your musical preferences? I prefer poems that roll, that establish their own rhythm with plenty of alliteration and the occasional sneaky half or full rhyme and that can be read aloud without the feeling that they're just cutup prose. I also like comic verse - the more outrageous the rhyming the better. I mainly listen to Blues, Rock and Folk, both traditional and contemporary. 2. In some of the writing biography and mythology, fact and fiction are fused. Do you think it’s important that a poem or a song operates on more than one level?
It's a big plus if they do. Peppering a piece of work with mythological references seems a bit pointless unless they add flavour to something real. 3. The poems and songs reflect your geographical history either past or present. Do you believe this acknowledgement of personal geography is something you do deliberately or is it naturally occurring? It's natural to link an experience to where it happened. One of the things I like about American and Irish songs is the frequent reference to actual places, so I suppose I'm just following those traditions. And it does add flavour. Twenty Four Hours from Tulsa just sounds better than Twenty Four Hours from Nowhere In Particular, even if you don't know where Tulsa is. 4. What is your writing process? Do you work and rework your writing or is it down to a single point of inspiration or a mix of those things?
It's great when something comes out, fully-formed. But even then I'll always make an effort to polish it up. This happens more with poems than songs which often start with a verse and a half and a tune then are left to simmer while I try and work out what they're really about. 5. When do you know when a poem or song is complete and ready to be made public? I don't. Unless they're really rough I try them out as soon as possible. I think the best way to find out what bits work and what doesn't is to read or sing them to an audience. If I'm stumbling over some parts I'll know there's a problem and mess around with the lines. 6. Your interests are reflected in your writings, Mythology (Greek, Irish & Celtic etc), Poetry (i.e. Dylan Thomas et al ), Native North American history and literature, Family, Friends, Personal geography/ biography and musical influences. Do you ever reject poems or songs that don’t work? And when is it time to give up on a piece of writing? I've given birth to many stillborn poems and songs that just don't fly but I usually archive them rather than chuck them out in hopes I can use some of the lines or ideas in future to ‘Frankenstein’ them into a new monster 7. If you were to give a new poet one piece of advice on writing poetry what would it be? (you are not allowed to say ‘give up now before it’s too late’.) Commit any lines/rhymes/phrases/ideas to paper as soon as they drift into your head. Read as much as you can. Imitate or steal what really appeals to you. All poets are thieves.
8. You won the Scottish Slam Championship in 2010? (was it?) Did you enjoy the experience and do you have any feeling one way or another about spoken word/ performance poetry or live readings in general (from the days when that sort of thing happened !) Yeah, it was great to take part and the win satisfied my competitiveness for a few days. But though slams are good in providing a structure for folk to read, I think there's far too many now and there's always the danger that the poetry takes second place to the competition. Performance poetry in general is a different matter though. Poems were originally supposed to be declaimed in mead -halls. Scribbling them down on paper instead is a new-fangled idea dreamed up by guys in ruffs. Not sure I approve. 9. From all your years of promoting, publishing, performing and writing do you have any highlights that stick in your memory and look back at with fondness? I have fond memories of the monthly First Friday Pomes & Pints nights that ran for years and years in the West End Hotel in Edinburgh. And the Yonkly, a Writers Workshop in Print that came out every yonk. Also the Hastings Poetry Festival and all the gigs Germany and New York. But mainly all the good friends I made back then.
in
10. Final Question : Five Favourite poets & Five favourite songwriters (or less). Fav Poets: it'll have to be the Big Three - WB Yeats, TS Eliot and Dylan Thomas. And there'll always have to be a place in my pantheon for Roger McGough because of the Mersey Sound, a book that was so influential to the poets of my generation. And Roxy Gordon. Fav Songwriters: PJ MacCall and Bob Dylan for the way they embraced traditional music and ran with it. Chuck Berry and Cole Porter. And, of course, Kate Bush. Everyone loves Kate Bush.
THE WEZUL YEAR : The Mythology behind The Yonkly Year The Wezuls of Rannukann envisaged the year as an eight-spoked wheel. Each spoke represented a solstice, equinox or quarterday, dividing the year into eighths or yonks. The names of the yonks are listed below, indicating the equivalent months in our year. Note that the Wezul Year began with the Spring Equinox. Mangel Beldame Grianel Lucivane Merkel Sunwane Grimmel Imbane
March - April May - June June - July August - September September - October November - December December - January February – March
Each yonk was divided into five nine-day ‘weeks’ – known to the Wezuls as oikannai. The first day of the week translates as ‘feast day’, the last as ‘hunger day’. The gods supplied the names of the other days in a similar fashion to our seven-day week.
Unfortunately this system resulted in a 360 (45 multiplied by 8) day year. Some parts of Rannukann dealt with this problem by ignoring it. Eventually of course this meant that the Midsummer solstice (the Feast of Grianel) was being celebrated knee-deep in snow. Those responsible for this just shrugged it off, knowing that all they had to do is wait for the natural year to behave itself, on a similar basis to the idea that even a stopped clock is right twice a day. Most areas however adjusted their calendars, adding days to the Feasts of Grianel and Grimmel until the Wezuls told them when the Midsummer or Midwinter solstice had arrived. Subscriptions £12 6 issues £30 SUPER SUB 15 Issues www.hybriddreich.co.uk
Magazine
OTHER GREAT CHAPBOOKS from DREICH
David Callin was born in, and grew up in, the Isle of Man. In his 20s he ran away to join the outside world, but was soon recaptured and brought back. Shir y ven. (Cherchez la femme.) He lives there still, happily, with his wife and a gardening to-do list.
These are poems that wear their prowess lightly. David Callin knows the feel and value of the words he chooses, whether he is taking us gently into the language of his Manx homeland (Looan’s a small imperfect swarm of bees…) or making unexpected use of the familiar, his mother and her sisters occupying a couch together “like Mount Rushmore in cardigans”. Sure of his tools and his materials, he builds poems that stand firm and welcome us in. Ann Drysdale
Always My father sang Always as though he was handling something delicate, something his large hard hands, agricultural, might easily break, so he sang gently, wooing the song politely out of its whorled shell. His pitch was imperfect, his ear was fallible, his tenor less than certain, and sometimes the tune skittered like an ungainly beast on too smooth a surface, but he sang on, holding that tune so carefully a humdrum melody something like a psalm, an efflorescence of the working day. Poems © David Callin 2020
This is a collection to approach, like an anticipated night out, wanting only to enjoy oneself. Share here in David Callin's delight in language[s] and forms, and the riches they offer; bask too in his affection for both people and places. Sam Smith: The Journal
"madness is this" rhymed with "sandwiches" is the most beautifully British thing I've read this week. Neil Ramsay
Ushtey vea
For whisky we say ushtey vea not quite what the others say, but very like. Our tongue and theirs are kin enough to drink and get acquainted in, not minding Ps and Qs and other such ados. A little local language ours, with little local names for flowers and birds and seasons, hills and willow trees. Looan’s a small imperfect swarm of bees.
NEW DREICH XTRA FOR THE WINTER TO KEEP y’COSy E.J. ANDERSON
OUT SOON
KEVIN CADWALLENDER SUSAN CASTILLO STREET
4 poems NIAMH HARAN Novices For the sake of sertraline instant removal of benzo buttered toast & chocolate covered raisins breakfast is dim crumbs of puff pastry memories stuck to a jam’s knife edge soggy chequered tea towels sanitising canteen tables oh gluttony littered plastic straws now littered plastic cups a refusal of trust in lungs feelings chart scratched like potter’s pink lady onto our knuckles flicks of tabasco on the splashback tabasco was all I ate in rehab seriously the people here are like novice violinists beautiful but screeching for something untouched
& scrabble the blue moon is out like my sister sipping calpol as broken armed child tcp toothless & grieving her scooter we are still sucking on serotonin hoping scrabble won’t tear us apart deficiencies waning our souls like grated lemon zest often regarded as scraps Haystacks
Nasal matter mum feeds us warm formula milk packed under boogie boards in the boot enniscrone sand dunes only an attitude away mid-west radio declares an optimistic forecast & I guzzle sunday milk like I am about to be buried in sand my sister rubs her toes below my seat as I sniff & sneeze policing every nasal matter in hay fever or narcotic season I try to hold it in the tickle on the edge of my nose like a piece of anti-clockwork in a sci-fi movie I wind down the window purging formula onto tractors on the n17
in a refurbished barn haystacks can’t soak up the sound of grief hacking up crotchets & quavers in an attempt to drown out the smell of urine three full bin liners & a vomit ridden rug sit outside awaiting their not-so-imminent death oh how chanting sláinte! has wired me again like a lunatic pigeon country cables knotted around my ears oozing remorse for the sermon I gave only one of the dead hamsters I spit out the corkscrew before the rodents start singing
OUT NOW...
COMING IN THE SUMMER
& MORE
Coming in March