Nasturtiums Wilford Mencap Gardens

I looked for a copy of a poetry anthology this morning. I am in it. It represents “the best haibun . . .  published each year in English around the world”.  There are 88 haibun in it, so I feel good about being in it. I couldn’t find one on Amazon, so I looked it up on the publisher’s website. The cost of the book is $30 (£22). Sadly, this is now the standard cost for a thin volume of poetry, which is becoming less accessible as time goes by. Even worse, the postage from the US is $35 (£26). This has been a growing trend. It affected the shop business when I was working there and has continued. I won’t be getting the book. I’m sure others have taken this decision too  It’s a shame for the publisher and a shame for poetry.

I’m no stranger to paying big money for books, and often spend £35-£50 on reference books. However, I recently decided that this must stop as most of them are worth next to nothing on the secondhand market. Anything I buy now needs to pay its way. A poetry book at £48 (inc P&P) isn’t going to do this.

Spring in the Mencap Garden

I can buy three or four new books in the UK for this, even more if I buy them used. I don’t mind sup[porting poetry but I do mind supporting the USPS.

Meanwhile, having needed a calendar this morning and a currency converter this afternoon, I note that it’s getting more and more difficult just to press a few buttons and find one. You now need to download an app. Personally, I’m not a fan of filling my phone with bits and pieces of with an unknown provenance and security rating.

I have, so far, made 35 submissions this year, and intend making 16 more next month, bringing the total to 50. I’m planning 39 in the second half of the year, which will leave me slightly short of the 100. I can find a few more, I’m sure, even if it means submitting to people who don’t deserve it, but this year, I have decided, is the last of the big years. I will hit 100 and then slow down next year, when I will concentrate on quality and enjoyment and only write for editors I like.

Nasturtiums Wilford Mencap Gardens