Starts with Soup and ends with Poetry

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I’m writing this in the last hour of 1st December, and will post it minutes after midnight to make sure i get something written for what is currently “tomorrow”.

Soup first. I was wrong about the quantity. We had it for lunch then used the remains in the vegetable stew and dumplings we had for tea. I had mine with lashings of brown sauce, so it wasn’t as healthy as it could have been.

The green soup turned out brown, which turned to an off-putting greenish khaki once I applied the blender. I’m not sure which I prefer. It has a distinct salty taste, turning to broccoli. I’m not sure why as I only used one stock cube and no other seasoning. Apart from that, it’s OK. The colour, I think, can be traced back to me softening the onions until they turned brown – heat too high and concentration not switched on. It should be good for three days, and it might take me two of those days to work up the enthusiasm to eat it. I have seen that6 colour before and it is not usually associated with pleasant things.

Writing next. I had two poems accepted by Obsessed with Pipework. It’s a mixed blessing. I’m glad to have the poems accepted but it means that I now have nothing out with editors. This is a situation I feel I should remedy but it’s also a weight off my shoulders.

Marmalade Hoverfly

Marmalade Hoverfly

Over the last couple of years I have allowed my writing to reflect the editors I send it to, rather than what I want to write. That’s a good thing to do if you want to make a living as a freelance writer but I’ve left it a bit late for that and I really write for pleasure and relaxation.  I have proved to myself that I can write to an acceptable standard and I have proved that I can bounce back from rejection.

If I now change down a gear, it’s because I want to, not because I’m making excuses. Yes, at the back of my mind I do have an ambition to see my name on the spine of a poetry collection (or maybe more than one) but that is not as important as the pleasure I get from writing.

It’s an ego thing. Is my poetry really that good that it justifies cutting down a tree? Probably not. (I added the “probably” to give me an escape route if I ever succumb and do publish one). I don’t, to be honest, work hard enough to be able to produce a book and admire people who do.

This is very much in the area of “Writer Biographies” and blogs. A lot of them list the author’s educational achievements from forty years ago, their glittering careers and a long list of publications. It’s very dull and it isn’t really a picture of who they are (unless they really are  a pompous dullard).  I, as you know, am not overly burdened by education, achievement or success so  I couldn’t compete with them if I wanted to, but I promise you that if I could compete with them, I wouldn’t. What I have been gives some insight into what I am today, but what I am really concerned with is what I will be tomorrow. Same with my writing. Everything I have published is faulty and my ambition is to publish something tomorrow that is less faulty.

Lake District – a better photographer would have noted which bit . . .

The photos are a pork pie, a hoverfly on a poppy and a load of hills next to a lake. That’s just to remind myself that lots of things are (a) more important than poetry and (b) will still be around long after I have gone.

22 thoughts on “Starts with Soup and ends with Poetry”

  2. charliecountryboy

    Congratulations on the two poetry acceptances 😊 I have been trying to write a blurb of me for Mr K and from what I read you are right. The long list of achievements are boring, at least that’s what the guides say. You’re not going to read them unless you are… 🤷🏻 dunno, bored? 😂
    The stew sounds scrummy. I thought the pie in the photo was a scotch pie, so I’m a little disappointed, but still craving one now 😂

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    1. quercuscommunity Post author

      Yes, there’s something about a Scotch pie that makes your mouth water despite memories of previous disappointments.

      For your jacket blurb how about starting with “Since his release . . .”

      That will get you some attention. 🙂

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  6. LA

    One of my book clubs spends more time going over the author bibliography than discussing the book. I just don’t understand that

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      3. LA

        Well….I’m way more interesting on paper…just a better writer than liv-er…I originally wrote liver and I thought well that doesn’t work…

  7. Laurie Graves

    Onward, ho with the poetry and however it pleases you. Hope you get your name on the spine of a poetry collection. When it comes to writing, education, and experience, we have a lot in common, even though I write prose, and you write poetry.

    Reply ↓

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