Thanks for this really valuable insight into the amount of groundwork involved, Frances. And congratulations, of course. I'm looking forward to reading the collection. See you at the launch night! Greg

Comment is about Read lots of poetry, listen and learn: the road to publishing your first collection (article)

Original item by Frances Spurrier

Thank you very much Jonathan.

Comment is about Read lots of poetry, listen and learn: the road to publishing your first collection (article)

Original item by Frances Spurrier

Oh Yes. A jolly good topical poem and well thought out into the bargain I might add. Will this begin a torrent of like-minded muse I wonder, and what would Robbie Burns might have to say about it all.

Comment is about THE LATE DEPARTED (blog)

Original item by M.C. Newberry

Hello Jeremiah

Welcome to Write Out Loud, we hope you are enjoying the site and we're really looking forward to reading some of your work. I know that you will be warmly welcomed by other WOL-ers too.

It would be good if you could upload a picture of yourself, it’s really good to see what our fellow poets look like.

Have a good look around, there’s always lots going on and if you have the time to make some comments about the work of other poets please feel free to do so, it’s often the best way to get some constructive feedback about your own work too.
There’s usually somebody who’ll help you out with any problems that you might encounter, so just ask and someone will get back to you.
WOL is a friendly, creative and unassuming place, so welcome from all of us once again.

The Write Out Loud Team.

Comment is about Jeremiah Vintage (poet profile)

Original item by Jeremiah Vintage

Hello Anthony

Welcome to Write Out Loud, we hope you are enjoying the site and we're really looking forward to reading some of your work. I know that you will be warmly welcomed by other WOL-ers too.

Its good to see that you've already uploaded a picture of yourself, it’s really good to see what our fellow poets look like.

Have a good look around, there’s always lots going on and if you have the time to make some comments about the work of other poets please feel free to do so, it’s often the best way to get some constructive feedback about your own work too.
There’s usually somebody who’ll help you out with any problems that you might encounter, so just ask and someone will get back to you.
WOL is a friendly, creative and unassuming place, so welcome from all of us once again.

The Write Out Loud Team.

Comment is about Anthony Kasazkaja (poet profile)

Original item by Anthony Kasazkaja

oh!and heres silly me,thinking there are no rules to poetry.

Only chain pulling Graham-nice one-Sir!

Comment is about The Rules (blog)

Original item by Graham Clifford

Thanks for your note, Laura. I knew the poem 'Wishes' might irritate some persons greatly; and also, that somebody would know exactly what I meant.

It was written after much thought, years of thought, until one day, it just slipped through my pen, complete, exactly what I wanted to say.

Thanks for sharing.

Comment is about Laura Taylor (poet profile)

Original item by Laura Taylor

So - an interested comment Like that of Philipos opens new doors about the poet's experience - and the resultant reservoir of poetical ideas.

I now live in Sale, Cheshire, in the UK. But I miss the sea and sky of the islands - achingly. We do love England, and the great variety of persons now called British. The ethnicity 'variety' is becoming more apparent, something I really missed when I first moved here. BDA was very cosmopolitan. (And 'the Brits' were the 'ex-pats'.)

Comment is about I Feel Fall (blog)

Original item by Candice Reineke

Wonderfully written.

When I think of Stefan I always wonder if the cover-up and his conviction were connected in any way with the 'highly connected and protected' paedophile ring operating in the area at that time.

Comment is about For Stefan Kiszko (blog)

Original item by Andy N

Like it!
But in politics it can be refreshing to find
"Careless in disingenuous stupidity -
rather than...
"Careful in well-rehearsed cupidity".

Comment is about UKIP JABBER WOCKY (blog)

Original item by Attila the Stockbroker

What could be more philosophical than hop-scotch? Or hip-hop for that matter?

Comment is about Twilbury Wist (poet profile)

Original item by Twilbury Wist

thnq...will rectify dem

Comment is about Oh! My Dilemma (blog)

Original item by SATYAJIT BEHERA

thanks for the comment over my Stefan Kiszko poem. Been a poem that has been dangling around in my head for years, daniel. delighted you enjoyed it. it's a case that should never be forgotten.

Comment is about Daniel Dwyran (poet profile)

Original item by Daniel Dwyran

Thanks you Patrica&Stefan :)

Comment is about Pre-Loved Skin (blog)

Original item by Shirley-Anne Kennedy

thanks for the comment over my Stefan Kiszko poem. Been a poem that has been dangling around in my head for years. pleased you got what i was trying to say.

Comment is about Tommy Carroll (poet profile)

Original item by Tommy Carroll

Just goes to show Ken, you're crap at writing rubbish. ha! :)

Comment is about Shirley-Anne Kennedy (poet profile)

Original item by Shirley-Anne Kennedy

thanks guys. this is a topic that i've wanted to write about for ages and ages but never found the right words until recently.

it was before my time the case in question in the 1970's but i remember it well when he was released in the 1990's and what happened afterwards.

special thank you to Loraine Darcy who was really there and described much better in her comments than i ever could in this poem.

Comment is about For Stefan Kiszko (blog)

Original item by Andy N

Liverpool gained a great deal of its wealth from those two trades in the 18th century, especially the slave trade:

http://www.liverpoolmuseums.org.uk/ism/slavery/europe/liverpool.aspx

"It would be wrong to attribute all of Liverpool's success to the slave trade, but it was undoubtedly the backbone of the town's prosperity. Historian, David Richardson suggests that slaving and related trades may have occupied a third and possibly a half of Liverpool's shipping activity in the period 1750 to 1807."

As a city, Manchester does not really have the same taint.

Comment is about Stockport WoL (group profile)

Original item by Stockport WoL

I like your poem John called Artery
on the second line you talk of the slave trade
then again later in tea and men.

Comment is about Stockport WoL (group profile)

Original item by Stockport WoL

I used to work at the psychiatric hospital where Stefan was incarcerated and remember this gentle and innocent man well (his mother too). I also remember the continual hounding by the press. Tragic. What more can I say. Brilliant poem Andy.

Comment is about For Stefan Kiszko (blog)

Original item by Andy N

Very enjoyable, Graham. Thanks for posting it here.

Comment is about The Rules (blog)

Original item by Graham Clifford

Basic spelling error, thank you for pointing it out. And the comment

Comment is about The friend I love (blog)

Original item by Biscuit

awwww!Good poem Alex,but that picture could do all the 'telling'on its own..awww!x

Comment is about The Dreaded Haircut (blog)

Original item by Quiet Comet

A very touching piece G.
One typo, did you mean gamine beauty and not famine?

Graham

Comment is about The friend I love (blog)

Original item by Biscuit

Life seems full of events for the "young".
I'd be impressed to see a similar award for "Old poets"!!

Comment is about Foyle Young Poets award notches up new record (article)

Original item by Greg Freeman

I'm not so old that I can't spell folks' names
correctly!
Age is still just a number for many of us oldies! And how lucky we are when recalling
those young men like my maternal Uncle Nick,
killed in August 1916 in the Somme campaign...
aged just 24...and whose name I proudly heard
read out at a rain-swept Tower of London among
the ever growing field of poppies a few hours ago.

Comment is about The Blessed Man (blog)

Original item by Cynthia Buell Thomas

Thank you.

Comment is about Capture your beauty (blog)

Original item by Biscuit

Thank you, really appreciated... and adjusted. :))

Comment is about Mind Game (blog)

Original item by Quiet Comet

Thanks for the comment, Philipos. This was mostly about being in love with that particular moment and the feelings that come with the first taste of Fall. But I admit that "I'm in love" in the obvious sense need not be ignored here either. So yes, "free fall" would've been an interesting tweak (probably would've had to check with Tom Petty first though haha). I've actually skydived three times, with the most recent jump just two weeks ago. What a magnificent point of view from up so high in the sky! I think maybe you just gave me an idea for my next one...thanks a lot ;)

Comment is about I Feel Fall (blog)

Original item by Candice Reineke

Thanks for liking my poem Cynthia. I think you and I are alike in how relationships can spark our poetry - I can remember the ones you wrote about you mother...

I'm not writing so much nowadays but love the feeling of being in touch with my poetry friends when I do! xx

Comment is about Cynthia Buell Thomas (poet profile)

Original item by Cynthia Buell Thomas

Thanks for your lovely comment on my poem Chris. Missed you at the Tudor last month - nice to see you in Asda though LOL! xx

Comment is about christine yates (poet profile)

Original item by christine yates

Hi Cynthia - I had a look on Wikipedia The Ice Bucket Challenge, sometimes called the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge, is an activity involving dumping a bucket of ice water on someone's head to promote awareness of the disease amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) and encourage donations to research. It went viral throughout social media during mid 2014.[1][2] In the UK, people participate in the challenge for the Motor Neurone Disease Association.[3]
The challenge dares nominated participants to be filmed having a bucket of ice water poured on their heads and challenging others to do the same. A common stipulation is that nominated people have 24 hours to comply or forfeit by way of a charitable financial donation.[4]

Hope you get your nomination soon lol

Comment is about Ice Ice Baby (blog)

Original item by Tom Doolan

This is a charming little piece. When I got to the bit about 'I feel Fall' though, I wondered if that was what you intended to write, instead of 'I free fall' as in coming down on a parachute. Good luck with the writing.

Comment is about I Feel Fall (blog)

Original item by Candice Reineke

and so say two of us!!goss mags?...UGH UGH UGH!

xx

Comment is about No More Page 3 (blog)

Original item by Charlotte

final stanza sums it all up.Great poem.xx

Comment is about Pre-Loved Skin (blog)

Original item by Shirley-Anne Kennedy

ditto Rachels comment.(one little mistake-'to fend -off-')xx

Comment is about Mind Game (blog)

Original item by Quiet Comet

obviously painfully written to an extent where we as parents and Grand parents really do understand your plight and feel for you.xx

Comment is about How Dare You (blog)

Original item by New Beginnings

great poem Satyajit.
(one spelling mistake..weep,not weap)xx

Comment is about Oh! My Dilemma (blog)

Original item by SATYAJIT BEHERA

Daniel, I quite enjoy your style of a playful tone weaved with rich flashbacks throughout your poems. "Range Stew" reminds me of the time I ministered at a women's prison and got the lovely privilege of eating prison food. I imagine it's similar to Army food haha. Thanks for your compliments on my profile page and for reading enough of my posts to comment on my poetry as a whole.

Comment is about RANGE STEW (blog)

Original item by Daniel Dwyran

all we need to say is-nice poem!xx

Comment is about Awoken (blog)

Original item by Jolene94

Marbleous!...we'll get our coats!xx

Comment is about Capture your beauty (blog)

Original item by Biscuit

Hi Cynthia glad you like the Northern Soul poem!

Comment is about Cynthia Buell Thomas (poet profile)

Original item by Cynthia Buell Thomas

I have looked up 'eyas' and found different ideas, but the one of taking young birds of prey from the nest, to train them up for falconry, seems most likely. I will get back to this. It is fascinating. Once again, time has run out on me.

Comment is about Eyas (blog)

Original item by Marianne Daniels

Excellent stuff, Andy, both the topic and the writng. Very impressive.

Comment is about For Stefan Kiszko (blog)

Original item by Andy N

Cynthia, I love the tone of this. "I have music to hear/ And words to be read"...yes! Carpe diem, Blessed Man ;) By the way, I left a response on "I Feel Fall". Thanks for your comments.

Comment is about The Blessed Man (blog)

Original item by Cynthia Buell Thomas

Always, you power forth strong stories built on reader interest, your own historical empathy and cutting details. Not to mention poetry crafting skills. Great poem.

Comment is about Soul (blog)

Original item by David Cooke

Cynthia, so you live in Bermuda? I think you may be my first acquaintance from Bermuda :) Thanks so much for your compliments and for noticing the levels of meaning. I wanted the middle to read how it feels at that moment after the realization of falling in love: a gush of sensations, rather than waiting on a pace. Plus, I tend to get bored with convention.

Comment is about I Feel Fall (blog)

Original item by Candice Reineke

I saw Alex Salmond being dumped. He squealed mightily. And I have no idea what the 'craze' is all about. Can you fill me in?

Comment is about Ice Ice Baby (blog)

Original item by Tom Doolan

Actually, I think this work covers a lot of ground about the all-pervasive 'crime' of bullying, a topic at last taken very seriously. IMO,the poem needs reducing to be more impactive, half as long and twice as effective. But the choice: to kill, or be killed, or to kill oneself is strongly presented. A very current subject, Anthony, and kudos to you for tackling it.

Comment is about The Shadows On The Wall (blog)

There is a very haunting quality here in the essence of your ideas.

But, honestly, IMO, if you feel you have not quite captured your intended meaning, I think you should put such work in a personal diary and hone it until you are better satisfied. Let it come into focus. Mess with it. Ultimately, you shouldn't have to offer an explanation to qualify your vision.

And welcome to WOL. You will really like it on this site.

Comment is about Awoken (blog)

Original item by Jolene94