poems & gardens

 My poem feels good in translation I always feel honoured when someone reads one of my poems. There are so many other things they could be reading, other things they could be doing. But for someone to translate a poem... How closely they must have studied it! How many times they must have read each line. How they must have weighed up meanings, associations, sounds and shapes. A thoughtful translation is like a love letter to a poem. And my poem is flattered. This thoughtful German translation of 'Sack of Night' was created by Lyam Bittar. You can find him  here . Nacht im Gepäck TRANSLATION BY LYAM BITTAR In diesem Beutel hier aus mondgewobenem Stoff findst du alles, das blüht, das schimmert oder seufzt das pirscht, das singt, das schwirrt sobald das Tageslicht der Dämmerung weicht Komm, halt’s Ohr an sein zuckendes Gewebe und erzähl mir, was du hörst, ist’s eine Melodie aus Tau ein Zwitschern, Rufen, Bellen, Klickern oder gar Gebrüll? Hörst du es hüpfen, pfeifen, zirpen, stöb

'Little girl holding plasticine' Image by Nenad Stojkovic  ( CC licence 2.0 ) On Tuesday 10th October 2023, some of the 16 poets who have responded to my ' Unfinished Sonnet ' challenge will be reading their finished sonnets at City Voices in Wolverhampton. A reminder of the first two and a half lines: Unfinished Sonnet by Ros Woolner She thinks she’s firm. Says Sorry, not tonight . And he thinks Cool. She just needs softening up – like plasticine. A little squeeze… (from Earth Walker , Offa’s Press 2023) Come and hear some of the unexpected responses!  There are poems that rhyme and poems that don't, poems set in bedrooms, a restaurant, a hospital ward, a music room and a courtroom. Poems in which he gets his way and poems in which she gets hers, and some in which what the two of them want or don't want is not at all what you might expect! City Voices with David Fletcher, Ros Woolner’s ‘Unfinished Sonnets’, Kuli Kohli plus Jeff Phelps who’ll be