Once, as a child I grasped a thing in dream.
It did seem
That if I held it tight
This object of delight
Could be retained beyond the night.
On awaking, I put away my dream in a drawer
And can find it no more.
Where it did go
I do not know.
Yet I think of it from time to time
And lose myself in rhyme.
I would go along with Hardy “hoping it might be so”.
A critical reading of Hardy’s celebrated Christmas poem
‘The Oxen’ was published on Christmas Eve 1915 in The Times. It is one of Thomas Hardy’s best-loved poems, often anthologised. Below is ‘The Oxen’ with a few words of analysis.
The Oxen
Christmas Eve, and twelve of the clock.
‘Now they are all on their knees,’
An elder said as we sat in a flock
By the embers in hearthside ease.
We pictured the meek mild creatures where
They dwelt in their strawy pen,
Nor did it occur to one of us there
To doubt they were kneeling then.
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A question which exercises my mind from time to time. As a poet, most of the posts on this site are poems, therefore I dont see a conflict between the energy I employ blogging and that utilised writing. On occasions I feel that more posts on matters other than my poems should appear here, however where I to spend time penning non-poetic pieces my poetry would, I believe suffer, consequently I will continue to post primarily poetry here. Kevin
For me, the answer is both.
I started my blog to practice and hone my skills. It had been years since I’d attempted to write anything other than professional documents and after reaching a point in my life where I had the time to indulge myself, I wanted to write for fun.
My blog evolved and changed as I met other writers/bloggers.
Thanks to many wonderful writers sharing their knowledge and skills, I began to gain some confidence. And I wanted to retain as much as possible. began blogging about what this enormous community taught me. I must confess, blogging and linking back to y’all is my way of not only saying thanks but also preserving the information for myself.
In order to preserve this bounty of information…
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Many thanks to Chris Graham (AKA the Story Reading Ape) for publishing my guest post about how to obtain and do a radio interview.
Image license to use obtained Copyright: fkdkondmi / 123RF Stock Photo
I have (as of 10 December 2016) been interviewed 3 times (twice on Croydon Radio, and once on Blog Talk Radio. In addition one of my poems, “My Old Clock I wind” has been read on Vancouver Co-op Radio.)
Having appeared several times on various stations, I thought it might be helpful to write an article about my experiences in the hope that it will help others to become featured.
Finding a station/show that is right for you
There are a large and diverse range of radio stations out there, playing everything from the latest pop music through to discussions on Greek philosophy.
As an author/poet, it is extremely unlikely that a station specialising in the broadcasting of pop music will have an interest in interviewing/featuring you (unless of course your writing focuses on…
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A beautiful poem. Kevin
It was a holiday in Turkey some years ago which was the catalyst to a major change in my reading habits.
I’d finished the last of the books I’d brought with me – three days before our holiday ended. We were staying in a small town which had shops selling hand-painted pottery, gorgeous silver jewellery and clothing – but no books. The DH, who listens to audio books, panicked at the thought of me being without a book for three days. I panicked at the thought of being without a book to read by the pool, in bed and – terrifying thought – nothing to read on the plane.
Somehow – I think we have Google to thank and the Brits who love cats – the DH tracked down a source of books. In an estate agent’s office discovered a narrow, but tall, set of shelves crammed full of paperbacks…
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An interesting piece which just goes to show that well established publishing houses can make significant mistakes with author’s work.
Thank you to Ariadne Sawyer for kindly agreeing to read one of my poems in her programme, which broadcasts from 1-2 pm today, on Vancouver Co-op Radio.
I was delighted to learn that Ariadne, from Vancouver Co-op Radio (http://www.coopradio.org/content/world-poetry-cafe-2), has kindly agreed to read one of my poems, during her programme, which airs between 1-2 pm on Thursday 8 December. Ariadne presents the World Poetry Reading Series (http://worldpoetry.ca/), a regular feature on Vancouver Co-op Radio. I am grateful to Ariadne and Vancouver Co-op Radio for this opportunity.
I will, at a later date be interviewed by Ariadne on her programme. Once details are known I will post them here.
Kevin
“Do you remember last Sunday when I told you how much I love Christmas?” The Devil asked as he passed me the plate of homemade Christmas cookies.
I selected something that looked like a brownie had married a peanut butter bar. There must be some really excellent bakers in Hell.
“How could I ever forget?” I countered as I took a huge bite of the most delicious cookie I’d ever tasted. “You were dressed like Santa Claus going undercover as a pimp.”
Lucifer, who is extremely proud of his wardrobe, flicked a piece of lint off of the jacket of his impeccably tailored suit.
“All insults aside,” The Prince of Darkness remarked bitterly, “I wasn’t always a huge fan of the holiday. In fact, my former hatred of Christmas inspired one of the most famous novels ever written about the big day.”
I eyed my guest suspiciously as I munched on…
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One of Britain’s most colourful prime ministers and an author to boot. Kevin
The interesting life of a Prime Minister – and novelist
For Jane Ridley, one of Benjamin Disraeli’s most acclaimed biographers, Disraeli is never boring. With that in mind, in this post we offer a short biography of Benjamin Disraeli that aims to condense some of the most interesting aspects of his colourful life into one very brief article. What made the life of Benjamin Disraeli – politician, Prime Minister, successful novelist – so fascinating?
Benjamin Disraeli was born in 1804 into the Jewish faith, although his father had his son baptised in the Church of England at age 13. That father, Isaac D’Israeli, was the author of the sort of book we here at Interesting Literature love – a collection of anecdotes and intriguing facts called Curiosities of Literature. Like father, like son: they both appear to have gone in terror of the boring.
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K Morris - Poet 