News
My poem ‘Prime Minister Walpole leaves office, 1742‘ appeared in _Poems for persons of interest_, March 2026. I attended the ‘UCL200: 26 Writers, 26 UCL Firsts’ introductory workshop and met mentee Aleksandra Grebe. I tightened plans for the Thorney to Thorney ride, separating it from the meetings with old friends.
– Aidan Baker
We had a wonderful launch of the Seville book of poems, and it was recorded (recording available for one week from time of writing), and the book is now available to be bought from Paekakariki Press.
Special thanks to illustrator Alberto Germán, to Johnny Lyons for hosting, and to Therese Kieran and Tim Rich for their insightful comments and questions.
Here’s a link to the recording, and you can find the book to purchase here.
– John Simmons
News? I was in Japan for two weeks! Partly for work, partly for fun. Cool place for sure, lots of wonderful temples and gardens and food (although I will say as a vegetarian I didn’t get as much out of the country as meat eaters). Seeing Mt Fuji was an experience I didn’t expect to be as overwhelming as it was. I was in a cable car crawling up the ridge of a mountain and the speaker in the car announced which direction to look to see Fuji when we crest the ridge and I expected it to be a speck on the horizon. A bump in the distance among a smattering of other mountains. I didn’t expect it to be big. So we crested the ridge and Mount Fuji filled my vision. It was snow-covered and there wasn’t a cloud in the sky. Chills ran down my spine and I got it. I understood why Fuji was on everything Japanese. It’s just so big. I could be flowery with my language, but it’s a really big mountain. It dominates all its surroundings. I was sat next to an elderly Japanese couple and as we crested the ridge the lady gasped, her hands to her mouth and bolted to her feet exclaiming “Sugoi!”
I didn’t say it out loud but after hearing that I thought to myself, “Yeah. It’s pretty sugoi.” If you want a moral: There is still beauty in this world and people to appreciate it.
– Harry Ashton-Key
Recommendations
The Delines – The Set Up
The Delines are a beautifully understated 5-piece band. This latest album crams 12 tracks into under 40 mins and is a companion piece to last year’s Mr Luck & Ms Doom. You have to settle down and really listen. The lyrics by Willy Vlautin paint stunning little pictures of life in America. But this is a double recommendation because Willy Vlautin is also a very fine author. I read ‘The Horse’ last year and have just picked by ’The Free’. Ann Patchett is a fan. There’s another 5 novels out there. So, buy the albums (there’s at least 4), stock up on the books, and give yourself an Americana treat.
– Alastair Creamer
Recommendations? I sang the Messiah on Saturday with a local ensemble in a church I’ve passed my times in the last two decades and never set foot in before. It was lovely inside, is really worth the visit even if I hadn’t been singing. So I recommend either Handel’s Messiah to listen to, because it’s a fabulous piece of music, or I’d recommend going into that place that you often pass but have never entered. It’s probably worth it. (If it isn’t, it’s still a story, and that’s what writing is all about.)
– Harry Ashton-Key