Laughter and Chocolate

Monday 6th March 2017

Very little workshop prep today. Lucky for me we’ve reached the point in the course where it’s writing from picture prompts, so I made an A5 proof copy of LAUGHTER TO SPLIT GLASS to help me iron out my glitches. Pleased to have the day to myself to crack on. 11.47 pm.

Tuesday 7th March 2017

Session at Waddy went well. Actually came up with some imaginative stuff despite feeling a bit exhausted. Now isn’t that a funny thing. Writing from images. Hopper pix. Repeated the process at college this evening and will do so for the rest of the week. Was good to talk about performance poetry. One of the women in the group, I think, would enjoy Poetry Jam. Proofed a bit more on the bus home. 11.22 pm.

Wednesday 8th March 2017

Great to have a publishing meeting with Sheila Wakefield of Red Squirrel Press this evening. She is helping me move towards the completion of ‘Laughter to Split Glass’ with advice on the layout tweaks and proofing. We have a killer cover from my good friend Stephen J Clark, some cool blurb options and a selection from over a decade of the best material penned by Victor Meldrew’s so-called goth nephew: Diamonds of Death Street, Bible of ill Will, Oliver Dearest, Yesteryear’s Lunch, Fuck Hotels, many others; and poems cherry-picked from four years of NaPoWriMo – a full-length gig on paper; a portable rant pack, a lyrical log book of my poetry journey. But really, without Red Squirrel Press picking me up at Hexham Book Festival in 2007, things might have turned out less favourably. Many Thanks! 11.55 pm.

Thursday 9th March 2017

Computer screen went haywire today. Wrote about eight pieces in the workshop at Newton Aycliffe. Group were good. Nice to visit Mam and Ernie this evening. Mam gave me a load of chocolate and Ernie made us a meal then drove me back to Consett. Thanks to Jenni, Sheila and Valerie for feedback on the book. Looking forward to a more relaxed day tomorrow. 11.50 pm.

Friday 10th March 2017

Aye, it’s getting there. Good to hear from Sheila this morning. Nothing like a phone call from your publisher to get you in the right frame of mind for another book session. Firefox published a message saying their web browser won’t be supporting outdated Microsoft systems from September 2017. And what a coincidence; yesterday the computer shop said my desktop hassle was a driver or browser issue, not the graphics card. Today miraculously perfect again. Maybe just a sneaky prompt yesterday to upgrade. Anyway, things moving along nicely again. Reckon the book will be mint. 11.47 pm.

Saturday 11th March 2017

I started eating the odd bit of chocolate here and there about six months ago after years of abstinance. I've recently been downing a six-pack of alt-brand Mars-style bars from Barry's Bargain Store every few days. On Thursday my mam gave me four boxes of Cadbury chocolate xmas tree decorations. The first box was opened last night. The second is under way. This isn't going to end well, is it? 9.44 pm.

Another productive day. Reassuring feedback from Valerie Laws. Went into town this afternoon in the rain. Bank transactions and food supplies. I’ve got poems for at least twenty-eight workshop exercises in my new book. I’ll be able to do a ten-week course without a formal lesson plan, no sweat. Been taking it easy this evening. Watched some Alison Moyet videos, ate chocolate, sorted some acknowledgements. Good to hear from Jenni. 

11.28 pm.

Sunday 12th March 2017

Another day of book-related work. Launch notes, another read through. Great feedback from Jenni. I made a colour cover for proof copies. Sent it to Tricia Warden in New York. Massive thanks to her for a positive response. She is happy for me to use a variation of her poem title ‘Written in the Style of Yellow’ – bet you can’t guess Stevie’s colour choice – and liked my prose poem, was surprised and chuffed to be an inspiration. Bigly playing Alison Moyet today. Hope to see her in concert later this year. Lush apple and black currant doughnuts and chocolate. 

OK. 11.54 pm.