Roddy Lumsden, 1966-2020

I haven't posted much on here at all lately, and in the time that I've been away there was the very sad news of the death of Roddy Lumsden.

His funeral was yesterday, and there have been a lot of moving tributes on Facebook and blogs, from friends and fellow poets.

I only knew Roddy a little, mainly online, although I'd met him a couple of times at London readings too. He was always, as others have noted, trenchant in his opinions, but also very generous with his time and encouragement for other writers. He once selected a poem of mine (Pluvialis), for an anthology, much to my surprise, and emailed a few comments on it that made me think of the poem in a different light altogether, as well as feeding into one or two other pieces I was working on at the time. Quite unsolicited advice, but very perceptive and warmly welcomed.

But anyway, this page at the Poetry School site tells you everything you need to know. His impact there, and in the wider poetry world, will be felt for a long while yet.

Want to write poetry reviews?

Well, if you do, the Poetry School wants to hear from you ASAP. You'll even get paid £60 a time. The full details are available here, and it'll be interesting to see what comes of it – as they say, there's a real need for thoughtful, honest reviews of poetry out there, especially of some of the writers that otherwise slip below the radar.

It reminds me – I've got a couple of reviews to post myself, when I get a minute, so watch this space. I'll be paying myself the standard fee of a Strawberry Cornetto.

'Map' among the year's best

Nice end-of-year list here from the Poetry School, featuring Map: Poems After William Smith's Geological Map of 1815, edited by Michael McKimm and published by Worple Press. Admittedly, I do have a vested interest, as I've got a poem in it, but it really is a superb book.

Simon Barraclough's Sunspots and Greta Stoddart's Alive Alive-O are also well worth seeking out, and would certainly make it onto my own list.