Last year I had a great time at the first Poetry Slam to be held in Cirencester. It was organised by the fab Marcus Moore and Sara-Jane Arbury and was lots of fun. Of course I did not score very high but that is not why I go to them – this was my third Slam and I think I have drastically improved from my first one.
I performed Mummy’s Socks from The Little Book of Festive Poetry and even sold a copy! Which means I have enough money to another book for the school library!
Here is a picture of me mid sock swing.
I had a great time catching up with old friends plus it was my first time out in not completely flat shoes since Mary’s pregnancy. So it was win win and yes I had to use the walking stick to get back to the car but that was due a) it being cold, b) having stood around chatting to people and c) having parked far away from the venue as our sat nav doesn’t understand Cirencester!
Once again I got to perform with Breda Reed Brown who is The Gloucestershire Poet Laureate, Joy-Amy, Cloe who I normally see telling stories rather than reading verse! and The Luchador Poet. Plus the lovely Tommie who I met at the qualifier for the Cheltenham Literature Festival Slam.
This time I also had Alaric with me which was lovely as we got to have a meal together as well 🙂 Just a shame he has a cold at the moment so wasn’t feeling to hot on the night! (hence no video!).
However there is a video of me performing the poems at The Brewery in Cheltenham the year before!
And you can go and listen to nice recordings of the poems and my christmas story at my Bandcamp.
Sunday was the village Christmas Craft Fayre in Cranham and I shared a stall with Jeany.
She’s been making candles out of old candle ends – this is the second time she has sold the candles like this – the first time she used the profits to by colours and some more moulds (she was initially given a kit). She took £20, paid £6 for her part of the table, spent £5 on presents and the remaining she wants to by some smells to add. (I don’t think the Daddy Minion who helped her is getting any money for his efforts but the candle he liked didn’t sell…)
I on the other hand sold books.
I sold 6! And mainly to people I didn’t actually know 🙂 I had both the hand made Little Books of Festive Poetry and the properly printed Little Books of Spoogy Poetry. I was surprised that people did actually seem to want both 🙂
There were lovely felt horses and sheep which you can buy here! And lovely chainsaw sculptures 🙂 Jean told me I wasn’t allowed to buy one 🙁 We don’t have enough money apparently.
The excitement of it all was too much for Alaric and Mary who snoozed gently in the corner behind the stall.
Take one apathetic, peaceful, book-loving student body intent on learning
Tenderise with cuts and broken promises
Optionally add agent provocateur/thug type – this speeds the reaction but is not necessary due to using the kettling technique – guaranteed to bring anyone to a slow violent boil
Sprinkle in a portion of police – ill-equipped and vulnerable causing the trigger happy reactions that seem justified – adds flavour
Leave to simmer with the odd bit of bait/sacrificial target to get the crowd proving
Knead in naive youth quick to follow the flow – after it swells to double the size – bash it down
Season with paparazzi to bring out the ‘incite to violence for the perfect photo’ flavour
Add a match and Voila! The Social Flambe – Riot
Garnish by only reporting the juciest politically-approved bits to the general public
I like Autumn best of all,
even if the Americans insist on calling it fall,
I grant you that is what the leaves tend to do,
it is true,
but it is a description
And not the name of a season
lacking the proper diction.
I like Autumn,
an autumnal fall of leaves
if you please,
a cascade of warmth upon the ground,
colours of fire in leaf litter found,
the hedgehog snuffling,
fattening on worms
as he is hibernation bound.
Kite flying and fire lighting,
toasting of marshmallows and golden tinged skies,
not too mention too many apple and blackberry pies.
Pumpkins carved into silly faces
Fire works and three legged races
All the fruit gathered in
The christmas cake already baking in a tin
Frost delicate slivers upon the leaves
Gloves clumsy with keys
But in the house we go
For hot chocolate and spiced coco
I like autumn best of all
though the Americans call it fall.
Yesterday I received through the post the little button badges of one of my illustrations – it is the Mummy Eating Cherry Pie. I am so pleased with them! I gave the girls their badges as soon as they came home from school.
There are a hundred of these and they are for the launch of The Little Book of Spoogy Poetry 🙂 And to just add the icing to the cake yesterday – they themselves arrived! I thought I need to go and pick them up so was really chuffed to get them delivered to my door 🙂
I’ll be sending out the pre-orders at the weekend and shall be finishing off the book marks today!
To say I am excited is an understatement, the girls already have a copy in their room and insisted I read it too them last night 🙂 Mary is actually responding to the poems now which is lovely 🙂
This week has been hard work but amazing! Really amazing.
Firstly I performed at Well Versed in Cheltenham on Wednesday – then Thursday I headed off to college to learn science writing and discovered there are things I am good at (though that whole spelling thing still evades me!).
Then there was the Bristol Comic and Zine faire with pre parties and after parties and some amazing work – I was at college for most of it so only caught the very end of the actual faire but then stole my friends comics to read whilst at dinner with some of the illustrators and co. I really enjoyed the pre-party where people did power points of their books – including a rousing song about S&M and cystic fibrosis which they made the audience take part in. I also doodled badly on the sketch pad put in front of me.
Whilst I was in Bristol the proofs of The Little Book of Spoogy Poetry arrive and so will hopefully be going to full print/press soonly 🙂
Incase you’ve missed what’s going on – I am having a book launch at the end of the month! With goody bags – one offs for the first 100 books. The stickers arrived this week too!
I am now only awaiting the badges and material for the bags. I am making the bookmarks myself 🙂
Anyway my mind feels suitably stretched and I survived college and really hope I can actually take part in the zine fest next year though am sort of glad I didn’t get a stall this year as Alaric would have had to man it whilst I was at college – also I now have more of an idea of which of my work would fit in there!
