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Tag Archives: poetry

#MysteryMondays #LlandeiloLitFest review: “Significance” by Jo Mazelis

13 Monday Feb 2017

Posted by Christoph Fischer in Reviews

≈ 5 Comments

Tags

Book Fair, bookfair, books, Carmarthen, Carmarthenshire, Carmarthenshire Event, hwyl, literature, literature festival, Literature set in Wales, litfest, llandeilo, Llandeilo Book Fair, Llandeilo Event, poetry, South Wales, verse, Wales, Welsh Books, Welsh Fiction, Welsh literature, Welsh writers

Jo Mazelis will be at the Llandeilo LitFest with a moonlight reading of her work.

shadow-cover-significanceOne of the perks of working for a Literature festival is the amount of reading you ‘have’ to do. I chose ‘Significance’ by Jo Mazelis when I scouted her for the event – I’m more comfortable with novels than short stories. Significance is Jo’s debut novel and won The Jerwood Fiction Uncovered Prize in 2015. There is a bit of a mystery about it, so it fits well on a Monday.

What I found was very atmospheric and most intriguing writing, prose that easily reels you into the story.
My addiction to the book was immediate despite a rather long lasting confusion as to where the story was actually heading.
Lucy starts a new life in France, a new identity to cover an awkward past. The beginning is particularly well done  with a chance encounter and see how it has meaning for Lucy and for the other party. As the strands split and new perspectives come in, these alternating strands tell the pieces of Lucy’s significance – to herself and to others, alive and dead. From people who just about take a glance at her to people more intimate connected, they all see something else.
While other novels would lose me to my impatience with such pigmentary storytelling and tempt me to skim read, this held my interest effortlessly.
I could identify with so much that was said, having moved around a fair but and being familiar with settling into new locations and even somewhat assumed new identities. I rooted for Lucy.
As far as the writing goes, I immensely enjoyed the variations in style, from staccato to eloquent sentences. I knew from some sound recordings that this would be good and the praise for Jo Mazelis is more than justified.

Here is a link to a recording of one of her stories, so you can see for yourself.

https://thelonelycrowd.org/2015/12/12/winter-readings-jo-mazelis-reads-the-twice-pricked-heart/

Winter Readings: Jo Mazelis reads ‘The Twice Pricked Heart’
thelonelycrowd.org
Jo Mazelis is a novelist, short story writer, poet and essayist. Her collection of stories Diving Girls (Parthian, 2002) was short-listed for The Commonwealth Best First Book and Welsh Book …

Saturday 30th Apriljo-mazelis-2015
at 8pm
at the Horeb Chapel, Cawdor Hotel

Eventbrite - Moonlight reading with Jo Mazelis

The atmospheric Horeb Chapel is the perfect
location for a moonlight reading of Jo Mazelis’s award winning poetry. Jo is a novelist, short story writer, poet, photographer and essayist who was born and educated in Swansea, where she currently lives with her husband, the historian, Mark Matthews.

Her debut novel Significance (Seren, 2014) won The Jerwood Fiction Uncovered Prize in 2015. Her latest book, Ritual, 1969 (Seren, 2016) was recently voted one of the ten best Welsh books of 2016 by Wales Arts Review.

Her first collection of stories Diving Girls was short-listed for The Commonwealth Best First Book and Welsh Book of the Year. Her second book, Circle Games was long-listed for Welsh Book of the Year.
She has won prizes in The Rhys Davies, Allen Raine and PenFro competitions. Her stories have appeared in countless publications and several have been broadcast on Radio Four.

Jo has given readings at Hay Festival, Ottawa Writeritual-coverrs’ Festival, at New York, Cologne, Cork and London as well as at a multitude of places in Wales.

Welsh Wednesdays Review: “Cawl” by Siôn Tomos Owen

08 Wednesday Feb 2017

Posted by Christoph Fischer in Uncategorized

≈ 10 Comments

Tags

Art, books, Carmarthen, Carmarthenshire, Carmarthenshire Event, Cawdor Hotel, cawl, craft, discussion, exhibition, Humour, hwyl, Lit Fest Star, literature, literature festival, Literature set in Wales, litfest, llandeilo, Llandeilo Book Fair, Llandeilo Event, poetry, Quilts, Rhondda, Saturday, short stories, South Wales, talk, Wales, Welsh Books, Welsh Fiction, Welsh language, Welsh literature, Welsh writers

cawlI won’t lie to you. When I was summoned for a field trip to search for poets for the Llandeilo Lit Fest, I wasn’t too keen to visit an open mic night in Carmarthen. I’m not great with poetry and I was tired and not in the mood.

To my surprise, this evening turned into one of the best nights out I’ve had in a long time, thanks to organiser Dominic Williams and poet Siôn Tomos Owen.

How better to describe Siôn’s collecion CAWL than this:
‘Good, honest, mean-minded, violent, foul-mouthed stuff’
(Martin Rowson).

Well, maybe not so mean-minded, just a very apt reflection on life in Rhondda, a county that has suffered from the end of coal mining and often feels like a forgotten piece of the country. Siôn Tomos Owen bemoans the harsh living coniditions, the political situation, ignorance of people about Wales, the depressive economic situation and many other things. He does so, however, with a lot of good humour and in shape of satire, comics and appealing poetry, in both Welsh and English.

While there is anger, there is also love and warmth as well as personal sharing of his perspective on life as a father. It is much more rounded than taglines about the collection may suggest. It is also very entertaining.sion

Poignant, witty and reflective, this truly is a Cawl, a mixture of a lot of things that come together nicely and portray Rhondda with honesty, love and realism.

Meet charismatic Siôn and enjoy a reading from his work at the Llandeilo Lit Fest on April 29th
at 4pm at the Horeb Chapel, Cawdor Inn. 

Cawl is Siôn Tomos Owen’s debut full-length collection. Consisting of short stories, poems, essays and cartoons and comics, Cawl is an anthology of one multi-prize winning, funny, angry young man’s creative endeavours and social and political frustrations, by the presenter and cartoonist of S4C’s documentary series Pobl Y Rhondda.

Multi talented Siôn has appeared at the Hay and Laugharne Festivals, BBC Radio 5 Live Poetry Slam and his work been published in several magazines. The publication of Cawl was successfully crowdfunded by publishers Parthian Books with Sion.

‘Siôn Tomos Owen is a down ‘n’ dirty Welsh Robert Crumb, as exhilarating and slightly terrifying as a Saturday night in the rougher parts of Swansea’ ( Martin Rowson, Guardian cartoonist)

Digwyddiad Dwyieithog

Sion Tomos Owen yn darllen ei waith difyr am gymeriadau Cwm Rhondda, Cawl

Dydd Sadwrn 29 Ebrill am 4 o’r gloch yng nghapel Horeb,  y Cawdor

Dewch i gwrdd â Siôn y cartwnydd a’r cyflwynydd carismataidd sydd wedi ein cyflwyno i gymeriadau y Rhondda yn ei gyfres gwych am y cwm ar S4C. Bydd yn darllen  ei gasgliad cyntaf o straeon byrion, cerddi, traethodau a chartwnau.

Mae yr aml-dalentog Siôn wedi ymddangos ynn Ngŵyl y Gelli, Gŵyl Talacharn  ac ar Slam Barddoniaeth Byw BBC Radio 5  ac wedi cyhoeddi mewn nifer o gylchgronau. Llwyddodd I gyhoeddi y gyfrol drwy gymorth crowdfunding a  Parthian Books.

https://twitter.com/sionmun?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Eauthor

Hwyl Llandeilo Lit Fest
April 27 – 30 2017
https://www.gofundme.com/hwyl-llandeilo-litfest
Website: https://llandeilolitfest.org/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/LlandeiloLitFest/
E-mail:    LlandeiloLitfest@mail.com
Twitter:   @LlandeiloLitfest
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/llandeilolitfest/

Tocynnau ar gael o ganol Chwefror.
Tudalen Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/LlandeiloLitFest/

Gwefan: https://llandeilolitfest.org/

Twitter: @LlandeiloLitFest

 variation1-med

A WORLD OF VERSE by ASMSG authors

08 Sunday Sep 2013

Posted by Christoph Fischer in Reviews

≈ 5 Comments

Tags

anthology, ASMSG, poetry, review, world of verse

948e41097af7247fcd625e02825739f9724be76b

“A World of Verse” by ASMSG Authors is a magnificent showcase of new and established talent in the world of rhymes and verses.
The collection covers a huge range of themes and types of poetry, even pieces by the same author may vary in style and content. Thoughtfully but without rhyme Alan Hardy is first up with his wonderful musings about the life of an old lady, while later on for example Peter Watson Jenkins delivers a great ‘Sonnett’ in more traditional style of verse; Andy Szpuk chooses amongst others war and a dirty motel for his powerful and concise poems; some authors write more cryptic or in staccato (B L. Ronan, Teresa Garcia), others sound like rhythmic short stories with full sentences and a story to tell (Laurie Miller Kazmierczak – check out her 3rd Thought, it is amazing, as is Muriel Cyr’s heartbreaking ‘For Marcel Giroux’ and Ollie Lambert’s inspired ‘Oscar Wager II’).
Other favourites of mine were Ian Bradley Marshall’s tribute to his mother and ‘Anyhows’, a great reflection on conscience; James Amoateng’s take on men, Karena Marie’s sad love poem to a fallen soldier and Lucy Pireel’s short and poignant ‘woe’,.
Although the steps of this amazing bunch of writers do not match the selection of talent is overwhelming and I could have picked quotes from almost any writer in this anthology. I have read some novels or short stories by some of these authors and am amazed at their versatility.
If you like poetry then this is a guaranteed and rich source of great materials so look no further.

https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/354879

Andy Szpuk: ‘Poetry and Fate’ and “Stories for Homes”

05 Monday Aug 2013

Posted by Christoph Fischer in Uncategorized

≈ 1 Comment

Tags

Andy Szpuk, homes, poems, poetry, Shelter, short stories, writer

I AM MOVING FROM THIS WEBSITE TO A NEW BLOG. CHRISTOPHFISCHERBOOKS.COM

PLEASE FIND AND FOLLOW ME THERE. HERE IS THE LINK TO TODAY’S FEATURE ON ANDY SZPUK, POETRY AND A CHARITABLE SHORT STORY ANTHOLOGY “STORIES FOR HOMES”

http://www.christophfischerbooks.com/andy-szpuk-poetry-and-fate-and-stories-for-homes/

5050207

Today I welcome back Andy Szpuk, novelist and poet, with an article about his poetry and “Stories for Homes”, a charitable anthology of short stories and poems he has contributed to.

Poetry and Fate

My interest in poetry blossomed when I was working on a historical memoir of my father’s life, Sliding on the Snow Stone (That Right Publishing 2011). The story opens in Ukraine in 1932 and is one man’s journey through famine, Soviet terrors, Nazi occupation during World War Two and subsequent eviction from his beloved homeland. It’s one man’s quest to get back home, and for personal and cultural freedom.

for more of the interview follow this link

FATE

Those poor, starving
 wretches, my brothers and sisters,
All over Ukraine, eked out an existence,
Without mercy, you
 crushed them under your boot,
But, as a young boy, you led me to school,
You guided me well, and
 I quenched my thirst,
For knowledge and
 learning, wisdom and verse.
‘One day, we’ll be
 something, so learn well, my love’,
Your words drove me 
on, they were enough,
To make sure I listened
 and learned so much more,
But your words were
 deception, for still I am poor.
My eyes on a road
 that turned onto nowhere,
I followed you 
blindly, I followed you square.
But my heart is still 
open and so is my hand,
And we still walk
 together all over this land.
We journey to glory, we
 wander so far,
And my legacy rests in the depths of my heart.
Those poor, starving 
wretches, my brothers and sisters,
All over Ukraine, eked out an existence,
Without mercy, you
 crushed them under your boot,
But, as a young boy, you led me to school,
You guided me well, and
I quenched my thirst,
For knowledge and
 learning, wisdom and verse.
‘One day, we’ll be
 something, so learn well, my love’,
Your words drove me
on, they were enough,
To make sure I listened 
and learned so much more,
But your words were 
deception, for still I am poor.
My eyes on a road
 that turned onto nowhere,
I followed you 
blindly, I followed you square.
But my heart is still 
open and so is my hand,
And we still walk
 together all over this land.
We journey to glory, we
 wander so far,
And my legacy rests in the depths of my heart.

This poem sees Shevchenko reflecting on the fortunate circumstances that enabled him to get an education, but his affinity with the common man is evident.
‘Fate and Circumstance’ is multi-themed, with three interwoven storylines. I hope to get it finished soon.

18270635

STOP PRESS!!

I was lounging on social media one day when a post caught my eye – it was a request for submissions to a short stories anthology called ‘Stories for Homes’. I took a look at the WordPress blog and then emailed the editor Sally Swingewood to ask whether she would consider poetry. She said to send some over, so I did, and then received an email a few weeks ago informing me my poems were to be included. It’s now available on Amazon Kindle! The proceeds from ‘Stories for Homes’ go to the housing organization, Shelter. It’s a worthy cause, and by way of a preview here’s one of my poems from the collection:

 
The Sign Said For Sale

The sign said for sale

And when the people moved out

Removal men came

To heave away the piano

Along with the beds and everything else

Until the house was empty

And standing forlorn

Like a dog without a tail
The letterbox flapped

And deliveries of junk mail

Landed in a pile

Gathering layers of dust

On a worn out, left behind, welcome mat

The doorbell didn’t ring

And no footsteps

Ran down the hall to answer it
The doors were all locked and bolted

Lamps left on timer switches

The seashells in the bathroom

Long gone with the goldfish

Now and then, people arrived

To poke around and peek in corners

Until, one day, a ray of sunshine came

And took the for sale sign down
Once again, the house could breathe

The world was returning

It might be two-year old terrors

Making mucky marks on the landing walls

Or people with a taste

For Sky dishes and wallpaper paste

The house opened its doors

And let them in

Here’s a link to ‘Stories for Homes’ (link)

on Goodreads

Amazon.com

Amazon.co.uk

More Links:

http://www.amazon.com/Sliding-On-The-Snow-Stone/dp/1466305681/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1365580081&sr=8-1&keywords=szpuk

http://andyszpuk.wordpress.com

http://andyszpuk.wordpress.com

© Andy Szpuk 2013

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