As I have been writing this blog post I came across my hand-written notes from October 2013 when Jeremy Banning first took me and other writers to Pigeon Ravine and I found Louis Doffman amongst the graves. I can’t remember now whether it was Jeremy who pointed out his headstone (as is his habit of…
Author: Caroline Davies
More reviews please – OPOI
OPOI are a brilliant idea, designed by address the lack of reviews of poetry books and pamphlets and dreamed up by Helena Nelson. They are a short reponse and the idea is that they present one point of view. So you can do as Josephine Corcoran does in her review of The Great Vowel Shift…
Three most popular posts
Now that I am writing blog posts more regularly I have been taking an interest in the statistics for the blog. I’ve been pleased to discover that the most popular posts have focussed on the work of two poets; The first is John Pudney whose work I was reading back in 2012. The second…
National Poetry Month Readalong Loop of Jade – First Week
It has been such a great pleasure this week allowing myself the time to read the first seven poems in the book and I hope that other people have also been able to make a start on Loop of Jade. I should put in a disclaimer at this point and explain that I am a…
Ways into Poetry – Write a poem a day (PAD)
During April there are various places and groups around the internet that you can join to write a poem a day during the month. It is not too late to join in.Foremost of these is the challenge set by Robert Lee Brewer, Poet and Senior Content Editor at the Writer’s Digest community and today the…
National Poetry Month 2016 Giveaway of Loop of Jade Readalong
When I set up this April’s Readalong of Loop of Jade I did promise to offer Sarah Howe’s book as a giveaway. To be in with chance of wnning the copy all you have to do is to follow the blog during April and to post a comment on each of the Readalong posts. I…
The Menin Gate Memorial and Robert Victor Davies
The Menin Gate Memorial is where my great uncle Victor’s name is inscribed as one of the 54,389 men who are commemorated here. When I use the words ‘great uncle’ about someone who died nearly a hundred years ago your mind will probably conjure up an image of an elderly gentleman with Edwardian sideburns. Victor…
20 Poets for you to read to celebrate National Poetry Month
Inspired by Bethany Price’s article on Chicago Now I thought I’d join the party by suggesting 20 UK (or UK based) poets for you to read during April to celebrate National Poetry Month being 20 years old this year. The list below is based on my personal favourites rather than being comprehensive listing of the…
Charles Sargeant Jagger 17 December 1885 – 1934 – An Unfinished Symphony In Stone
For this second post in my series about war memorials I’ve chosen Charles Sargeant Jagger, the sculptor who was responsible for many of them. Jagger was 28 years old when the war began and had studied at the Royal College of Art. He’d been a gifted student and had been awarded a scholarship to study…
Sarah Howe’s Loop of Jade readalong for National Poetry Month – Week 1
Week 1 1st April to 8th April We will be reading the first seven poems in Loop of Jade for the first week. Some people have only just ordered their copies so we have a gentle start for the readalong. In later weeks we’ll be considering ten poems per week. Loop of Jade opens with…