I always find it exciting when proofs arrive for checking and I know that a project is nearing completion. But last night some very special proofs arrived - of a poetry collection to be published by Carreg Gwalch in the summer, a collection written by Welsh language learners. My poem Olion (Remains) features in it, my first Welsh language publication! I was doubly careful in checking it this morning. I'm so thrilled to be part of this project, the brainchild of Myrddin ap Dafydd, the writer and publisher who was elected as Archdruid of Wales in 2018.
When I first moved back to Wales I was delighted to find a nearby poetry hub in Abergavenny - Poetry Upstairs, which had been run by the poet Ric Hool for almost thirty years in the Hen and Chickens pub and showcased local and national poets on a monthly basis. Ric's death earlier this year has been mourned by many in the area and further afield but he was so pleased to know before he died that Poetry Upstairs (although now downstairs at the Melville Arts Centre!) would continue in the safe hands of Helen Northfield and Sharif Gemie. Last night saw the first evening since Ric's funeral and a couple of his poems were read in tribute before readings by the two featured poets, Mark Blayney from Cardiff and Zoe Skoulding from Bangor. They were very different poets exhibiting the breadth of poetry that had been Ric's lifelong passion - an interesting evening.
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| Sharif Gemie reads from Ric's final collection |
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