Lately, I have been immersing myself in nature as a way to reconnect with inspiration for my writing. After visits to St James’s Park - where I took this beautiful photo of a black swan - and Regent’s Park, I felt compelled to capture my experience of urban nature in verse. Between Quotations is a … Continue reading Between Quotations
Category: Poetry Reflections
The Witch’s Daughter – A Poetic Meditation
If you have been following my work for a while, you will know that Carl Larsson’s The Witch’s Daughter (1866) has long lingered in my mind. As a painting that strays from the warmth of Larsson’s domestic idylls into something far more spectral, I am continually intrigued by the sense of being bound to something … Continue reading The Witch’s Daughter – A Poetic Meditation
Shadows of Autumn
Picture taken at The Museum of the Home, Hoxton “Life starts all over again when it gets crisp in the fall.” This quote from F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby has always intrigued me, casting autumn as a season of new beginnings, which has always struck me as paradoxical. I have a fondness for the … Continue reading Shadows of Autumn
The Stranger I Know
Some poems sit with you for years before they are ready to be written. The Stranger I Know began as a rough draft when I was twenty, inspired by a brief friendship with someone (approximately the same age as myself) who captivated me with anecdotes and pictures from the Brighton Teddy Boy nostalgia scene of … Continue reading The Stranger I Know
Fragments of Stillness – Reflections on August
August is always a month of reckoning for me; a time when I reflect on the year thus far, feel the weight of time passing, and lament how quickly summer slips away. Walking down the hustle and bustle of Marylebone High Street on a warm Saturday afternoon in mid-August, with the sun blazing at 26 … Continue reading Fragments of Stillness – Reflections on August
Crow in a Cage of Windows
Sometimes a single moment in everyday life lingers long after it has passed. A few weeks ago, while walking through a shopping centre I often visit, I watched a raven trapped inside - swooping between the ledges beneath tall glass windows, seemingly confused by the transparency of the walls. Ravens and crows are highly intelligent … Continue reading Crow in a Cage of Windows
Ripples on the Water – Returning to poetry after a prolonged creative block
In the time that has elapsed since my last post, I have returned to writing poetry after at least six years since I put poetic words to paper. As much as I wish I could say it was an impulsive creative yearning that pulled me back into poetry, it was actually a notification from my … Continue reading Ripples on the Water – Returning to poetry after a prolonged creative block
‘The Tennis Court Oath’ by John Ashbery: A reflection through literary analysis
Photo by Pixabay on Pexels.com One cannot read John Ashbery’s poetry collection, The Tennis Court Oath, without acknowledging the profound influence of the European Surrealist movement on his work. André Breton in Manifeste du Surréalisme describes the central principle of Surrealism as an attempt to ‘resolve the previously contradictory conditions of dream and reality, into … Continue reading ‘The Tennis Court Oath’ by John Ashbery: A reflection through literary analysis
‘Not Waving but Drowning’ – exploring the harrowing depth of Stevie Smith’s ‘seemingly light verse’
Photo by Matt Hardy on Pexels.com Stevie Smith’s ‘Not Waving but Drowning’ is a poem equally as fascinating in structure as disturbing in sentiment. Framed in a tragic paradox of intended and received interpretation of a physical gesture, Smith’s ‘seemingly light verse’ (Linda R. Hallett) exudes satirical depth, timelessly resonating with feelings of alienation and … Continue reading ‘Not Waving but Drowning’ – exploring the harrowing depth of Stevie Smith’s ‘seemingly light verse’
Logan Darkwoods 