“…a flint heart splint from rock/sparks flame to fire…” #tompickard #wintermigrants @Carcanet

Needless to say, I was left with quite a book hangover after finishing “Strangers and Brothers”; it really was a wonderful and absorbing story, and I was most invested in the characters. So knowing what to pick up next was really quite difficult… However, I still have a pile of books which I gathered as possibilities for #ReadIndies month, and one was a slim volume of poetry from Carcanet Press. They’re an indie poetry publisher, and I have a few of their titles lurking on the TBR (as you might have noticed on my photo of potential reading for April here); but this collection, “Winter Migrants” by Tom Pickard, called to me and I’m so glad I chose to pick it up!

Pickard has featured on the Ramblings many times; a Newcastle poet with connections to the Morden Tower group, responsible for bringing about the resurgence of Basil Bunting, and a fascinating counter-cultural figure, I read his “Fiends Fell” back in 2019 and was knocked out by his writing. I have a big collection of his poetry somewhere lurking around the house, but “Winter Migrants” is a later volume from 2016, bringing together some poetry sequences, extracts from “Fiends…” and verses around friends and family and landscape.

As you might guess from that description, “Winter…” is an intriguing mix. The first section is titled “Lark and Merlin” and is a wonderful sequence which ranges over the landscape of the North East. Described as “an erotic pursuit over the hills and fells”, it presents beautiful, sometimes oblique, poems of nature, landscape, love and desire. The same earthy elements I found in “Fiends Fell” are here, but love and relationships are complex – as Pickard says at one point of his heart, “but can I trust her with its secrets?”

The final poem of this sequence moves seamlessly into some extracts from “Fiends Fell” itself, and again landscape, love and the elements seem to battle one another. As I revisited these pieces, it did strike me that “Lark and Merlin” could actually have sat well in that book; so I was glad to have the two juxtaposed (or at least part of them) here.

The final section, with its selection of wonderful verses, was a real treat and perhaps a little in contrast to the first two. As well as poems to friends, there are a number of brilliant satirical pieces, bringing in Geordie dialect, which were funny and cutting at the same time. Ranging from the personal to the fiercely political, the poems are striking and unforgettable; “Wongawongaland”, for example, was especially powerful, seething with contempt for those in power, bleeding the poor for their own benefit. I loved all of these works, but got particularly excited about one in particular…

You see, as I mentioned, when I reviewed “The North Will Rise Again“, I’d recently spent some time watching a wonderful documentary on Alan Hull, the songwriter of the Newcastle band Lindisfarne; and Pickard featured in that documentary as he was a friend of Hull’s, writing a play called “Squire” in the 1970s for the BBC, in which Hull starred. In the documentary, Pickard read from a poem with the same title as the play, a tribute to his friend after Hull’s death. I’d been keen to track down a copy of the poem, but it didn’t seem to be in any of the collections I checked out online. Imagine my delight, therefore, to discover that “Squire” is in “Winter Migrants” – I was so happy to have a copy of it! 😊

So “Winter Migrants” turned out to be a wonderful and serendipitous read. Pickard is a powerful poet, in touch with nature and the wild side of life, and his verse is striking, immediate and unforgettable. This turned out to be just the right read at the right time and I loved it. Carcanet books and Pickard volumes will definitely be coming off the shelves more often in the future! 😀

A powerful and trenchant look at the fortunes of the North – over @ShinyNewBooks @BloomsburyBooks @Alex_Niven

Today I’m taking a temporary detour from #ReadIndies to direct you a new review I have up on Shiny New Books today. The work in question is a powerful new book from Alex Niven called “The North Will Rise Again” and you can read my full review here.

However, I wanted to say a little more here about how much I responded to this book on a personal level.

Niven is an author who’s already featured on the Ramblings several times before; his hybrid work “Newcastle, Endless” was my first introduction to his writing, and I followed this up by reading his fascinating “New Model Island” which explored ideas for a better way to govern our country, and the thoughts he came up with here do inform “The North…” More recently, I spent many happy hours exploring “The Letters of Basil Bunting” which had been expertly selected and annotated by Niven.

There is inevitably a thread running through all of his books and that is, of course, the North. Now I’m a far Northerner myself, originally hailing from Edinburgh, and the older I get, the more I feel drawn back to that part of the world. As I mention in my review of “The North…”, Niven describes that longing for your homeland by using the Welsh word hiraeth, and certainly I often find myself fighting off my homesickness! So, much of the narrative in Niven’s new book certainly resonated with me strongly.

An additional element which appealed, of course, was Niven’s exploration of the culture of the North-East, in particular Newcastle’s Morden Tower poetry boom. I’ve written about Bunting, Tom Pickard and the other Morden Tower poets before; and so it was fascinating to see them slotted into the history of the area in this book, which takes a wide-ranging look at history, culture, sociology, politics and life in general all over the North.

The book also had the unexpected result of sending me off down a musical rabbit hole! There’s coverage of the Newcastle band ‘Lindisfarne’, who I vaguely recall from my childhood, and this reminded me I had meant to watch a recent BBC documentary on their singer/songwriter Alan Hull. So I dug this out and had a look, and it was fascinating and quite brilliantly done, and I’m currently spending a lot of time exploring their music! Rather wonderfully, too, there was another connection in that Hull was a friend of Tom Pickard, appearing on screen in the latter’s short play “Squire” in the 1970s. Pickard appeared in the documentary talking about his friend and reading a poem about his death – very moving. Here’s one of Hull’s most highly praised songs:

Anyway – this is a book which I not only think is a very important read, it’s also one which I thoroughly enjoyed and which touched me very deeply. Do check out my review, and read the book if you can – a fascinating look at the history of the North, as well as an exploration of how we could work for a better future for all.

“If death’s the merest accident, is life another?” (Peter Bennet) #mordentower @BloodaxeBooks #ReadIndies2

One of my hopes for #ReadIndies2 is to cover a range of writing and publishing; and poetry is definitely a form which often benefits from independent publishing. In fact, one of my favourite indies is Bloodaxe Books. Founded in 1978 in Newcastle upon Tyne, and now based in Hexham, they’re a renowned publisher of poetry and a quick look over the list of names they’ve published is a real eye-opener. Simon Armitage, R.S. Thomas, Anna Akmatova, Marina Tsvetaeva, Edith Sodergran, Paul Valery, Frieda Hughes, Linton Kwesi Johnson, Benjamin Zephaniah, Mary Oliver, Denise Levertov – well, I could go on, but you get the picture… Just check out their range and you’ll be impressed!

The Newcastle connection is relevant, for as I discussed in this post back in 2019, Bloodaxe publish not only Basil Bunting’s great work “Briggflatts” but also “High on the Walls: The Morden Tower Anthology”. The latter was issued in 1990 to celebrate 25 years of poetry at the Tower, and it rather alarms me to realise that that’s longer ago now than it was from the start of the readings when it was issued in 1990… Time really does fly! Anyway, I felt this would be a good way to explore some indie-published poetry, and I wasn’t wrong. “High…” turned out to be a great way to start the month!

The anthology is constructed to house contributions from many of the poets who’d read at the Tower since the first reading in 1964. Arranged alphabetically, there is a photo (in most cases), some words from the poet and a new work by them. And the list is impressive: Bunting features, of course, and Tom Pickard (who was instrumental in starting the readings, alongside wife Connie who continues to support the Tower up until today); there’s Allan Ginsberg, Anne Stevenson, Fleur Adcock, Carol Ann Duffy, Adrian Mitchell, Liz Lochhead, Hugh MacDiarmid, Seamus Heaney, Anne Waldman – well, that’s just a few of the names I know, and there are many, many more! Connie Pickard provides a piece about the start of the readings, Tom Pickard also offers his thoughts and the cumulative effect of reading these poems is just stunning!

Morden Tower, Newcastle Town Wall cc-by-sa/2.0 – © Andrew Curtis – geograph.org.uk/p/2183976

In truth, with an anthology like this it’s best not to gulp it down all in one go, and so I didn’t. Instead, I read two or three poets between other works and it was a lovely way to approach the book – and also one which allowed me to really enjoy the poems and ponder on them. There really is an impressive range of work on show here and athough I hate picking favourites, I will highlight a few which really stood out ! For example, Bob Cobbing’s “Square Poem” was exactly what it said and stated clearly what it was!! Alistair Elliot’s “Old Bewick” was rooted in the north, exploring the Debatable Land (which I wrote about here) and the wild country away from cities and towns. Ginsberg’s generous introduction to his own poem acknowledges the importance of his visit to Morden Tower and his meeting with Basil Bunting, as well as admitting that his reading at the Tower had caused him to alter his own poetic practice.

There’s a theory that emotion is imprinted on walls like music on vinyl. If this is so, the walls of the Morden Tower must bear one of the most beautiful symphonies of passion and life. (Henry Normal)

Carole Rumens’ “Jarrow” is short, moving and beautifully written. And Ken Smith’s “Running on Empty” contained lines which resonate…

My country is falling off the back of a lorry
but I bear you no malice, Alice.
What I’m in is chargrin. It’s late,
I’m out on the road, running on empty.

Really, I could fill this post with so many quotes as “High…” is an anthology full of riches. As well as paying tribute to a place which nurtured the poetic tradition in the North East, the book is a simply wonderful introduction to a wide range of fascinating poets. The poems are powerful, often moving, funny, sad, evocative – everything poetry should be. Many of the names featured are no longer with us, or have become better known since, but all are worth reading. If you fancy exploring a fabulous collection of poems, as well as finding out a little about Morden Tower’s history, I can highly recommend this anthology; unfortunately, I think it’s out of print, but it’s definitely worth searching out if you enjoy reading verse! And do take a look at Bloodaxe’s website – they have such a great range!

2019 in books – *why* do I find it hard to pick favourites?? :D

As we slide into a new decade, it’s time for a look back over 2019 and the books I read – and there really were some crackers in there! But I really struggle to pick favourites, because so many of my reads are outstanding for different reasons. I can’t possibly do a Top Ten, so instead I thought I’d post some thoughts about favourite books, publishers and genres – here goes!

Russians

Inevitably I have read more Russian authors this year, although there was a slight hiatus at one point so that I ended up thinking the blog was suffering from Russian Reading Deficiency! However, a quick dose of the Gogols soon sorted that out! Spring was the season of Dostoevsky’s “The Devils”, in a lovely new edition from Alma Classics, and it was an intense read which absorbed me for some time; it was a bit of a marathon in the end, but worth every minute spent reading it. A really epic book in many ways, full of the humour and drama you’d expect from Dosty – wonderful!

I’ve also been enjoying some more modern works from the wonderful publisher Glagoslav; they’ve put out some excellent titles from countries I haven’t always read from before. A really interesting imprint, and one to watch.

Golden Age Crime

There has been, I’m pleased to say, a lot of Golden Age Crime on the Ramblings this year. It’s a favourite reading genre of mine and much has come from the wonderful British Library Crime Classics imprint. There have been some excellent books released, lots of new authors and some really great anthologies. Plus plenty of Reggie Fortune, which makes me happy! I also revisited the Queen of Crime, who’s always a joy to read; next year, I must spend some time with Lord Peter Wimsey!

Poetry

There has also been much poetry on the Ramblings in 2019, which makes me very happy. I discovered the Morden Tower poets, Basil Bunting, Tom Pickard and the vastly entertaining (and very clever) Brian Bilston. I also went back to Philip Larkin, one of my favourite poets ever. I still don’t read enough of the wonderful verse volumes I have on my shelves so that’s another thing I need to rectify in 2020. Interesting how many of the poets I love are from the cold North (a place I’m often drawn back to) – and published by Bloodaxe Books!

Essays and Non-Fiction

I’m not sure why I’ve been drawn to non-fiction works so much this year, but I seem to have read quite a lot! There are of course all the lovely books put out by Notting Hill Editions, who make an art of issuing fascinating essay collections which are also beautiful to look at. If I can find my Shostakovich, I’ll share a picture of all my NHE books at some point…

Equally, Fitzcarraldo Editions release some really thought-provoking works and I rather crave adjoining book shelves with my Fitzcarraldo and Notting Hills next to each other. The Ian Penman collection was a particular treat this year from Fitzcarraldo; and other publishers have produced equally fascinating books, like the marvellous “Selfies”.  A lot of these books lie outside any strict definition of fiction or non-fiction, and I do find I like that kind of book nowadays.

Translated Literature

Mention of Fitzcarraldo brings me by necessity to Olga Tokarczuk’s “Drive Your Plow Over the Bones of the Dead” which definitely *is* one of my books of the year. I was blown away by her “Flights” last year, and this title didn’t disappoint. I read a lot of translated works, and am eternally grateful to translators. NYRB and Pushkin Press have issued numerous wonderful books in translation that I’m so happy to have read, like “Isolde” and “Rock, Paper, Scissors” and “Portraits without Frames”…. I was also so happy to rediscover Mishima and find that I loved his work just as much as ever. Well, I could go on and on, but suffice to say that I am made a happy reader thanks to the efforts of all those fine people who translate books! 😀

John Berger

Berger deserves a special mention; I’ve read a number of his books this year (and there is a review pending of one I finished very recently) and each has been a wonderful, thought-provoking and unique experience. Several have been in beautiful editions from Notting Hill; and he’s proved to be a a very human (and humane) writer with so much to say. I really have no doubt that I’ll continue to read him in 2020.

Reading Clubs

I’ve been very happy to once more co-host two Reading Club weeks during 2019 with Simon from Stuck in a Book. This year, we focused on books from 1965 and 1930, and it was such fun! We plan to continue in 2020, with the 1920 Club happening in April, so do join in – we have the most wonderful discussions and it’s a great way to pick up ideas for books to read!

Documentaries and Interviews!

c. ClearStory/BBC

I took a slight tangent on what is, after all, a book blog in March when Professor Richard Clay’s “How to Go Viral” documentary aired on UK TV. I first became aware of his work back in 2014 via his documentary on French Revolutionary iconoclasm, followed by his fascinating look at the history of graffiti and then his epic series “Utopia”; and so I was delighted when Richard agreed to be interviewed for the blog. I do love a good documentary (and apart from a few notable exceptions, there’s been a bit of a dearth lately). Richard’s ideas are so very interesting, and you can read the interview here and here. He’s been filming a new documentary recently, so that’s something to look forward in 2020! 🙂

The Summer Big Book

The Notebooks

I can’t finish this rather rambly post without mention of a very special reading experience I had in the summer; if I was forced at gunpoint to pick a read of the year, I would probably have to mention Victor Serge’s Notebooks, published by NYRB. I’ve raved about Serge’s writing many times on the Ramblings, and was ridiculously excited about the release of this very chunky collection. At just under 600 pages, it’s no quick read, but a wonderfully rich and rewarding one; it accompanied me on my travels during the summer, giving me a glimpse into Serge’s life and mind, as well as all the notable people and places he encountered. A brilliant and immersive read, and one I won’t forget.

It has been a very difficult time out there in Real Life recently, with a feeling (here, at least) that the world is slipping gradually into being a more harsh and intolerant place; reading and books and ideas have always been my coping mechanism, and will continue to be essential I suspect. Anyway – this post will have to do as a bit of a snapshot of my 2019 reading, although I can’t help feeling I’ve missed too many out. There are *so* many books I’ve read and loved this year that I feel mean not mentioning them; I’ll just suggest you go and read my posts to see what books have meant the most to me! 2019 has been a great reading year, and here’s hoping 2020 is as good!

*****

A lot of people have been doing their “Books of the Decade” this month, and I did consider this for a brief moment. However, the blog’s only been here since 2012, and frankly before that I couldn’t tell you what I was reading!! My end of year posts during the blog’s life would no doubt give you a flavour of how my reading tastes have evolved – and I’m sure they have – so check them out if you wish!

“…language the source of itself…” #tompickard @mordentower50

Fiends Fell by Tom Pickard

As I mentioned in my previous post on Morden Tower and its poets, when I was searching the local library catalogue for Tom Pickard’s works, “Fiends Fell” was the only book available. I knew nothing about it, but I took a punt and reserved it so I could perhaps get a feel for Pickard’s work. It was possibly not what I was expecting, but that didn’t stop it being a very marvellous read.

Pickard has been publishing since the 1960s, but I sense he’s always moved outside the mainstream. That may be because of his personality, inclination or the fact that he doesn’t fit into any convenient niche. “Fiends Fell” is a recent work from 2017, published by Flood Editions, Chicago; and it’s a bracing mixture of genres. Although published so recently, the introductory lines place the events it charts in the early 2000s, as Pickard refers to himself as being 56 and with an ended marriage. So the poet escapes, taking refuge in a high stretch of the North Pennine hills; and the book charts a year of the time he spent living there.

night blows up fast from the valley
dykes dissolve in thick fog
I follow my feet home

Lodging above a cafe, and sometimes helping out there, Pickard considers his past, his future, nature and the elements, and of course poetry. Prose sections are interspersed with short bursts of poetry, and the writer struggles to work in an attic which physically rocks and rattles when assailed by the elements. Often earthy, he wrestles with his lusts and also more prosaic matters of money. As I mentioned in my previous post, Basil Bunting suffered impoverishment in later life, and as Pickard deals with his bankruptcy as pragmatically as he can, it really does seem that it’s impossible to make a living as a poet nowadays (if it ever was…)

When I put my head out of the attic window all I saw was stars and the wind wrapped itself around my neck like a cold silk scarf.

The blurb likens the book to the Japanese Haibun, a mixture of prose and haiku, and it’s a format which is so effective here. The record of extreme weather, loneliness, the artistic urge and the need to make poetry is balanced with actual verse, slowing the reading down and allowing time for contemplation. It’s a wonderfully rich narrative and underpinning it all is the challenge and drama of living in extreme conditions, on what feels like the edge of a precipice when nature may sweep you away at any time. The wind is a constant presence, almost a tangible being from a fairytale; Pickard’s trips outside during the winter months remind you how precarious our existence can be and how extreme weather conditions can destroy us without pause.

In bed and a pack of winds are arriving at the windows. They pass by. They gather. They whine painfully, begging in.

If there is a pin-thin gap they will take it. If there is a wormhole they will snake it. If there are eaves they will heave.

Pickard uses the book also to explore autobiography, albeit in a fragmentary fashion. From what I’ve read, his early life was lively to say the least. He left school at the age of 14 and if the memoir elements here are to be believed came from a complex family background. Pickard’s grandson visits and bonds with the poet, offering a glimpse of a family life. But the poet is left alone again to wrestle with himself and the elements, as well as the state of the world. As befits a working class Geordie, he has a suitably scathing view of Britain and its class system…

We’ll never be a grown-up nation until we’re a republic – meanwhile we kowtow, fawn and flounce in search of favour.

Hovering over the book is the shade of Pickard’s dear friend, Basil Bunting; obviously a pivotal figure in the former’s life, at one point he reflects “I found a teacher of another kind, in Bunting”. He also calls him his mentor, and it’s worth remembering that Pickard was only 17 when he married Connie and they founded Morden Tower so it’s obvious to infer that he regarded Bunting as a father figure. Poetry is better off because of their association, which not only spawned “Briggflatts”, but also apparently informed Pickard’s work.

The Pennines, via Wikimedia Commons – einklich.net [CC BY 3.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0%5D

But I digress. Pickard survives the winter, and indeed the year documented in what he calls the “Fiends Fell Journal”. The book ends with a lyrical poetry sequence, “Lark and Merlin”, which convinces me I want to read more of Pickard’s verse. Because it has to be said that his writing is powerful and beautiful, and evokes vividly the intensity of living in such an extreme landscape. What happened to Pickard after the end of the Journal section of the book I don’t know; but there is a rumour online that the poet is working on “Fiends Fell 2” and if that’s so, I for one can’t wait! 😀

*****

As I mentioned in my previous post, I did borrow “Fiends Fell” from the local library. The best plans, etc, etc…. I loved it so much I ended up sending off for a copy of my own, so at one point there were two Pickards in the house:

The library one has now gone back, and I feel no guilt. This is a book I know I’ll return to, so I definitely needed my own copy! 😀

The Wild North East – Morden Tower, Newcastle and its poetry #basilbunting #tompickard @bloodaxebooks @mordentower50

Once again, I have to blame that Andy Miller for his influence; bookish Twitter can play havoc with your reading plans and inclinations, and a random Tweet where Andy mentioned he was listening to “Briggflatts” by Basil Bunting sent me off exploring. I had never heard of Bunting and frankly I wanted to know why. Unfortunately, this curiosity opened a whole can of worms, as a quick look online revealed a fascinating history of an author, and also a strong connection with Newcastle-upon-Tyne’s Morden Tower and its poetry scene. This was another oddity, as Allan Ginsberg famously read there in the 1960s, and I hadn’t heard of that either. I’ve been down the wormhole ever since, really…

Basil Cheesman Bunting (what a fabulous name) was really a one-off; a link to the modernist past of poetry. Born in Northumberland in 1900, he spent much of his early life living abroad. During the First World War he was imprisoned for being a conscientious objector; later he lived in Paris and worked with Ford Madox Ford and for Ezra Pound, who admired his work. Always peripatetic, he spent the interwar years moving between Italy, the USA and the Canary Isles with his first wife and family. During WW2, he enlisted in the RAF and ended up in what was then Persia as a translator, remaining there until 1952. After a divorce from his first wife, he remarried and moved back to Northumberland, somehow ending up working at the Newcastle Chronicle newpaper. It was back in Newcastle that he fell in with Tom Pickard, and things changed…

Morden Tower was a crumbling old building on part of the surviving old 13th century wall of Newcastle, apparently built to keep out the Scottish invaders (sorry chaps….) Connie and Tom Pickard initiated poetry readings in the Tower, starting on 16th June 1964 (Bloomsday!) Bunting was supportive of their venture, and the venue grew in popularity. In 1965 it hosted the first reading of “Briggflatts”, widely regarded as Bunting’s masterpiece. The venue never looked back, and it’s still there now (although I’m not sure how active) which is a bit marvellous! If you look at the list of poets who’ve read there – Seamus Heaney, Ted Hughes, Stevie Smith, Robert Creeley, Ginsberg, Gregory Corso, Lawrence Ferlinghetti plus more recently Linton Kwesi Johnson and Carol Ann Duffy – well, it’s fairly mind-blowing!

Alas, Bunting’s story proves that you can’t make a living out of poetry, as he spent much of his later life in povery despite being hailed as one of Britain’s great late modernist poets. And Tom Pickard seems to have gone through some of the same struggles (as will be seen when I get on to considering his “Fiends Fell” in a later post). Connie Pickard apparently continued to organise events at the Tower for 50 years, long after parting from Tom, and eventually received an award for it – go, Connie!

Well – let’s get onto some bookish stuff… When I first read about all of this fascinating poetic history, I of course had to go off and checkout what books were availalble. “Briggflatts” was the obvious first point of call, and it was stocked by my local library. I borrowed it, and then decided I would never read it in time to get it back before accruing massive fines, so I bought my own copy. It’s an excellent, beautifully produced and reasonably priced edition from the wonderful Bloodaxe Books which also contains a CD of Bunting reading the poem and a DVD with a documentary on Bunting – bargain, basically!

I was also intrigued to find that Morden Tower had published one of Bunting’s poems themselves. I imagined it might cost a bomb but it didn’t so a rather old and fragile edition now resides chez Ramblings…

A bit more rooting about online revealed that Bloodaxe had also put out in 1990 an anthology celebrating 25 years of readings at the Tower, called “High on the Walls”. I haven’t been able to find a 50th anniversary collection, but the 25th anniversary one has arrived on my shelves, and it contains a remarkable array of contributions.

And finally, Tom Pickard. The local library only had one book of his in the catalogue (see how good I’m trying to be about buying books), and that is a more recent title, “Fiends Fell”. I borrowed it and I’ve read it and I loved it – so much so that I’m afraid I’ve actually bought my own copy… *sigh*. I’ll be reviewing this on the Ramblings soon, and maybe will tackle “Briggflatts” and the anthology over the summer.

So the Morden Tower/Newcastle poetry wormhole is proving to be fascinating. There’s quite a bit of stuff online and I shall put a few links at the end of this post for anyone who’s interested in exploring a little further. Meantime, I really must resist the temptation to jump on the next train to Newcastle to have a look at Morden Tower in the flesh!! 😀

*****

For further reading on Bunting, there’s a great post at the Chronicle Live website here:

https://www.chroniclelive.co.uk/whats-on/whats-on-news/basil-buntings-poem-briggflatts-50-10636468

There’s also a piece on the 50th anniversary of the publishing of “Briggflatts”:

https://www.chroniclelive.co.uk/whats-on/arts-culture-news/50th-anniversary-buntings-briggflatts-marked-11412530

The Morden Tower site:

http://www.mordentower.org/

You can read the original published text of Briggflatts as it appeared in Poetry Magazine, on the Poetry Foundation website:

https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poetrymagazine/poems/30206/briggflatts