My poem, ‘Admission on leaving the Port of Belfast, 1988’ appears here on page 53.
Category Archives: Works
Crannog 49 Short Story
Cover art: Telling Lies by Ann-Marie Browne
My Short Story All Through The Night, set on the coast of west Wales is in this edition.
Poem in Infinite Rust – Fall Issue
I’m delighted to have my poem Admission, on leaving the Port of Belfast, 1988 accepted for the Fall issue of Infinite Rust, Texas Southern University’s quarterly journal of Literary and Visual Arts.
The theme of the issue, due online on 28th October, is HOME: perspectives or interpretation relating to ideas such as the meaning of home, immigration, marginalization, nationalism, ownership, comfort, security, displacement, boundaries, and identity.
Issue 7 The Open Ear
The literary magazine of Queen’s University, Belfast is edited by postgrads at the Seamus Heaney Centre for Poetry, launching 24th October at Bookfinders, Belfast.
I’m pleased to have 2 poems in it, especially ‘An Irish Merchant Seaman’, a sonnet about my late father who was a Belfast man.
TV Commissioning: Demand & Supply
For decades I have, without knowing it, been walking past the place where Broadcasting in Wales began. It launched on 13th February 1923 in the building that’s now a NISA store, opposite Cardiff Castle. I spotted the commemorative plaque only recently.
Reading Another Angela
I admit I took on the editing of Elizabeth Ruth Obbard’s forthcoming book READING THE BOOK OF LIFE (New City Press) partly from curiosity because I share a name with the subject.
I was named after Angela Merici, a pioneer of the education of women but the subject of this biographical sketch and selection of documents is another Italian Angela, from Foligno, halfway between Assisi and Spoleto. Continue reading Reading Another Angela
Seeing Further: Short Stories ‘Collected’ via a Bursary
Back in June I had A Bursary and a Strategy for my ambitions to write a Short Story Collection with the help of a Literature Wales Writer’s Bursary.
In August I did an interim account: Highlights So Far
Today I’ve sent in my End of Bursary report.
How well has the plan worked? I’ve achieved my aim of producing a Short Story Collection set in Wales, Ireland and Italy. Thank you to everyone who helped me – and there are many.
Continue reading Seeing Further: Short Stories ‘Collected’ via a Bursary
Writer’s Bursary: Highlights so far
I have a fortnight left of my Literature Wales Bursary. I began it with a strategy. So how have I got on? I will be mentioning pleasure a lot.
Some highlights:
• Working with an editor
• Shaping a Short Story Collection
• Being read
• Funding the work
• Moving to publication
1st Prize Bridgend Open Short Story Competition 2017
It is such an encouragement to win this competition. Adjudicator, Laura Foakes said of my story, Acting Abby:
This multi-layered story stayed with me long after each reading, which is always a sign of a job well done. The author conveyed her understanding of the vagaries of the human condition in a profound but unsentimental way. The wistful first-person narration drew me immediately into the story and the “voice” was strong.
I particularly liked the device of using a stage play as a metaphor for the judgements people/audiences make, and the eventual unfolding of the “choice” the narrator made. The author invites us to judge at our peril. This is a very accomplished and thought provoking piece of work. Continue reading 1st Prize Bridgend Open Short Story Competition 2017
Artistry & Poetry on the Jamie Owen Show
I first worked in radio for the BBC in Wales in 1981. I’m still learning. On the 2nd July 2017 on the Jamie Owen Show I learned: always have your opening prepared, no matter how informal the programme. The right blend of spontaneity and clarity flows more easily after that.
This show mixes recorded music, live performance, two guest commentators and two interviewees. The brief is weird and wonderful angles on the week’s news so, along with fellow commentator, comedian, Frank Honeybone, I enjoyed sharing some ‘couldn’t-make-it-up’ stories with listeners.
