shortlisted

always the bridesmaid, never the bride!

is kind of how i feel about getting shortlisted for competitions and prizes. but, really, who cares? i've yet to come across some sort of poetry winning poem scale that all poems can be measured against. mostly, but definitely not all, a decision seems to be subjective and to be honest, i like that esp when, as with the award thing i was at last weekend, the judge is up front enough to say so. and at the end of the day i like my poem. i didn't write it for the comp, true, and while it's nice that it gets an airing, that it gets seen that i wrote it, that i like it, is the most important thing for me.

in the post award blethering although i say i'll be at stanza in the interim we've discovered an altogether more intriguing prospect in the form of the instal festival in glasgow. much driving between the two will no doubt ensue.

anyway, back to the reading. i roll out a few things that've been on elvis of late and that i haven't done before. i have to follow on from this guy who's done a blistering and hilarious long dialect piece. how do i do that!? i talk some nonsense and get into it. i can read a poem. stick to that! all goes swimmingly, esp the cake poem, which turns out to be lovely to read, the pacing is all good until the very last one when halfway through, someone's mobile goes off. the audience are into it by now so i sense their reaction and don't want to lose that vibe. i improvise, adding in a couple of lines on the subject of mobiles at readings, they laugh and i ease to the finish. nice.

more shortlisting action here. 'well boring' - if it isn't true, it should be!