A British schoolgirl is the first non-Japanesewinner of a Japanese haiku competition. Gracie Starkey, who was 13 at the time when she composed the poem, visited Japan to receive the prestigious prize.
To read this beautiful haiku, and more about Gracie, please visit HERE,
The World Poetry Reading series offers opportunities for poets to showcase their work and hosts a regular show, on Vancouver Co-op Radio, which broadcasts every Thursday.
The World Poetry Reading Series has just published its first newsletter.
To visit the newsletters page please go to http://worldpoetry.ca/?page_id=11939, and to read the Spring edition please click here, http://worldpoetry.ca/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/2017-05-18-Newsletter-Issue1-Spring.pdf.
To find out more about the World Poetry Reading Series Café and hear podcasts of previous shows, please go to http://www.coopradio.org/content/world-poetry-cafe-2.
I was privileged to appear on Vancouver Co-op Radio to discuss my collection of poetry, “My Old Clock I Wind” and read several of my poems.
To listen to a podcast of my interview please visit, http://worldpoetry.ca/?p=11765.
“My Old Clock I Wind” is available in paperback and ebook formats from Moyhill Publishing, http://moyhill.com/clock/ and as a download in the Amazon Kindle store, https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0735JBVBG.
I was honoured to be interviewed by Victoria, for her excellent site Rhyme. My interview covers a variety of topics, including what inspires me to write poetry, together with those poets who have exerted an influence on my writing. To read the interview please visit https://rhymepoetry.wordpress.com/2017/06/01/interview-with-kevin-morris/.
Shall I write a poem in free
Verse?
Sometimes it seems perverse
To me
To be
Free
Often do I sigh
On hearing the old lie
That anyone can write like Shakespeare.
Sensible people know it isn’t true
Yet through fear
Of being labelled with that dread
Word “elitist”, which cuts debate dead,
All but the brave withdraw into their shell
For they know full well
That the roof
Frequently does fall
On he who has the gall
To tell the unvarnished truth.
Yesterday evening (Thursday 4 May), I was privileged to appear on Vancouver Co-op Radio’s The World Poetry Reading Series, to talk about my forthcoming collection of poetry, “My Old Clock I Wind And Other Poems”.
The programme also includes me reading from “My Old Clock I Wind”.
My thanks to Ariadne Sawyer and all at Vancouver Co-op Radio for making this interview possible.
To listen to the programme please visit, http://worldpoetry.ca/?p=11765.
“My Old Clock I Wind And Other Poems” will be published by Moyhill Publishing, in May/June 2017.
On 4 April, I published a post entitled “Is there any benefit in studying creative writing?”, (https://newauthoronline.com/2017/04/04/is-there-any-benefit-in-studying-creative-writing/).
In that article I expressed scepticism as to whether studying creative writing can produce people who can, actually write poetry and prose. In my view creative writing courses may help to develop talent. They can not, however turn those who possess no talent for writing into people who can produce meaningful poetry or prose.
My previous post on this subject generated a very interesting debate which, at times got somewhat heated. The comments received caused me to carry out further research on the subject of creative writing. In the course of this research I came across the following article, in “The Guardian”, in which (the newspaper reports), creative writing Professor Hanif Kureishi questions the validity of creative writing. Unsurprisingly the article created considerable debate, both for and against the perspective attributed to Kureishi. Both the article (and the comments following on from it) are well worth reading. For the article please visit: https://www.theguardian.com/books/2014/mar/04/creative-writing-courses-waste-of-time-hanif-kureishi.
An interesting post entitled “Is rhyming poetry out?”, followed on by a fascinating exchange of views on the question, (https://jcmannone.wordpress.com/the-poetry-classroom-2/is-rhyming-poetry-out/).
Much of my poetry is expressed in rhyme. Take, for example my poem “My Old Clock I wind”:
“My old clock I wind
And much philosophy therein find.
I can bring
The pendulum’s swing
To a stop With my hand,
Yet I can not command
Time to default
On his duty and halt
The passing of the years.
He has no ears
For our laughter and tears
And his sickle will swing on
Long after we are gone”.
I must confess to having a preference for poetry expressed in a traditional manner. That is not to say that I discount poetry written as free or blank verse (there is much good poetry expressed in diverse forms, together with some which is to my mind at least of lesser quality).
Kevin
I laud the mass
For to do otherwise is considered crass.
One can not have the brass
Neck to deny
The truth that justice in the majority does lie.
Who am I
To raise
My voice in praise
Of the view
That the few
Sometimes best construe
What is just and true?
This short piece speaks for itself and is worth a read, (http://www.rjgeib.com/thoughts/gunner/bad-poets.html).
Kevin
K Morris - Poet 