Friday 3 March 2017

Updates: Mametz Wood, NaPoWriMo and More

Hi guys. It seems the last two months have disappeared too quickly, but fortunately I've got a lot to look forward to in March.

The Mametz Wood project is still ongoing, and I'm currently in the process of reading other poets' work on the subject to give me a grounding in how to write about the battle. First on my list is Owen Sheers' take on the battle, with his eponymously titled 'Mametz Wood'. It mainly deals with the aftermath of the battle, but it's still a haunting portrayal of the long-term consequences of the First World War. There is of course David Jones' In Parenthesis, considered the definitive and best work on Mametz Wood, which is the go-to source when researching the battle. Hopefully, with such a precedent for work about this key event in Welsh history, I will have a good chance at formulating my own take on it.

In other news I'm planning to take on National Poetry Writing Month this year. I'm hoping this time I can actually reach the end of the month with a poem each day, especially after I failed two years ago. Due to the fast writing schedule, it's a given that most poems written during NaPoWriMo aren't great, and having read through some of the poems I wrote last time I can see I've got a lot of room for improvement. We'll see how I do when April arrives.

Aside from NaPoWriMo, there's plenty of poetry to come in the next few days. I've got a couple of animal-themed poems on the go at the moment, as well as an experimental piece which is taking a bit longer than I thought. Hopefully it'll appear on this blog before April, but if it doesn't then it will probably be finished before the summer at the latest.

Anyway, hope you're all having a good week, and to any Welsh readers I wish you a belated Happy St. David's Day!

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