I totally love the mix of themes in this one - quite a lot of water, boats and ropes, duetting with sleep, nightmares and lullabies.
We say happy birthday to Margaret Atwood, swim momentarily with a swan from Sue Hardy-Dawson, splice ropes worriedly, watch fish take their last breaths, and hope that frenetic children will, at some point, finally go to sleep.
I hope you enjoy it. I certainly enjoyed gathering them in. Poetry is just so great and if you think you know someone that might appreciate it, do pass it on. It’s a way of spreading love and joy in these slightly dreary November days.
I mention Robin Houghton and Peter Kenny’s podcast, Planet Poetry - check it out. There is an episode with Isabelle Baafi who recently won the Forward Prize for best first collection. Definitely take a look!
I also mention Rob Walton and a project we are working on. We will be revealing a bit more about that over the coming week so keep an eye on Facebook, Instagram or X, depending on what is your preferred platform. And the best thing to do is to subscribe here so that I can keep you updated.
So. Onto the set-list:
The Swan by Sue Hardy-Dawson from If I were other than myself published by Troika.
White Water by John Montague from Drunken Sailor and you can find it here.
Before the Splicing by Robin Houghton, from The Mayday Diaries.
Variation on the Word Sleep by Margaret Atwood - you can find it here.
Lullaby for Loud Things by Stefan Karlsson which I found on The Dirigible Balloon.
Happy splicing folks, tell me which is your favourite in the comments, and see you next time around.
Rebecca Leek (that’s me)
P.S. Please tell people about the podcast - more poetry for more people. Let’s spread the good stuff round. Some people don’t know what they’re missing out on.
