1. Reading List (in brief): We Need New Bookcases...
My reading list has grown exponentially over the last year, and shows no sign of slowing. At some point, I'll have to cull some books, if I'm going to achieve balance in my life!
In the meantime, one book I'm VERY excited about it the biography of Patrick Nelson by Gemma Romain, and it's just in time, incidentally, for Black History Month. I've been waiting for my copy since I first read about the book and subsequently wrote a monologue based on Patrick, 'Safest Spot in Town'. I can't wait to geek out properly on this slice of history.
I've also got Danez Smith's collection (OMG!!!) on the go and The Complete Works anthology, which has me struggling to read and breathe at the same time; there's some brilliant writing in there - and I was glad to be at the launch last week and see most of the poets read.
2. Balancing Act (basically a rant.. tl;dr)
Right now, things are chaotic. I've just started what is set to be my final year of PhD study. I'm also:
- running seminars for a module at university
- running a couple of schools projects
- occasionally leading creative workshops
- performing poetry (I have a few events coming up in the next month or so, but won't be doing many more after then).
- doing some occasional mentoring
- writing the occasional poem/essay/short story
- about to take on some more research...
I also do all of my own admin (including tidying my flat, chasing invoices, replying to demanding emails that go back and forth for days and spread across different formats until I lose track - Messenger/Whatsapp/email/text but rarely a call -, posting on social media - if that counts as admin -, answering calls about 'that accident you had in the last 2 years?' etc. instead of actual calls)
I'm also trying:
- to keep up an active artistic life (reading some of the books I've been buying of late, going to galleries and poetry gigs, seeing new films and trying not to fall asleep in the cinema)
- to look after my physical and mental health (sleep is non-negotiable right now; and I didn't know antibiotics rage was a thing until this week when it became A THING)
- to keep a half-decent personal life (friends and family are apparently THE MOST IMPORTANT THING).
As a result, I have my priorities - PhD; sleep; close friends/family and so on - and I know other things will just have to fall back in line, but I have had a couple of overwhelm moments lately where I've wanted to throw stuff at people. I've been assured this is normal and this is what I've been missing out on for most of my adult life. So yay!
3. TOMORROW!
I'm performing at Backstory Cabaret as part of the Bloomsbury Festival at Goodenough College. There's so much to look forward to, with music, dance, poetry and storytelling taking centre stage. It's gonna be brill! And... I've heard there are only 10 tickets left, so get them while you can.
4. Next Up
My 'Upcoming' tab is up to date, yay! I don't have many London poetry gigs coming up: in fact, next week's Stablemates is the last time I plan to hit the stage in London with a full poetry set for a while, so please come! And if I can't convince you, I hope Hollie McNish and Kate Fox can - two amazing fellow poets I'm performing alongside.
5. And finally...
In case you missed it, here's a link to my performance (intros in Spanish - and my accent is a little weird at the beginning - eek!) the other week at Naves Matadero. I had a lot of fun there and hope to be back again!
My reading list has grown exponentially over the last year, and shows no sign of slowing. At some point, I'll have to cull some books, if I'm going to achieve balance in my life!
In the meantime, one book I'm VERY excited about it the biography of Patrick Nelson by Gemma Romain, and it's just in time, incidentally, for Black History Month. I've been waiting for my copy since I first read about the book and subsequently wrote a monologue based on Patrick, 'Safest Spot in Town'. I can't wait to geek out properly on this slice of history.
I've also got Danez Smith's collection (OMG!!!) on the go and The Complete Works anthology, which has me struggling to read and breathe at the same time; there's some brilliant writing in there - and I was glad to be at the launch last week and see most of the poets read.
 |
| keeping me company at the university office |
2. Balancing Act (basically a rant.. tl;dr)
Right now, things are chaotic. I've just started what is set to be my final year of PhD study. I'm also:
- running seminars for a module at university
- running a couple of schools projects
- occasionally leading creative workshops
- performing poetry (I have a few events coming up in the next month or so, but won't be doing many more after then).
- doing some occasional mentoring
- writing the occasional poem/essay/short story
- about to take on some more research...
I also do all of my own admin (including tidying my flat, chasing invoices, replying to demanding emails that go back and forth for days and spread across different formats until I lose track - Messenger/Whatsapp/email/text but rarely a call -, posting on social media - if that counts as admin -, answering calls about 'that accident you had in the last 2 years?' etc. instead of actual calls)
I'm also trying:
- to keep up an active artistic life (reading some of the books I've been buying of late, going to galleries and poetry gigs, seeing new films and trying not to fall asleep in the cinema)
- to look after my physical and mental health (sleep is non-negotiable right now; and I didn't know antibiotics rage was a thing until this week when it became A THING)
- to keep a half-decent personal life (friends and family are apparently THE MOST IMPORTANT THING).
As a result, I have my priorities - PhD; sleep; close friends/family and so on - and I know other things will just have to fall back in line, but I have had a couple of overwhelm moments lately where I've wanted to throw stuff at people. I've been assured this is normal and this is what I've been missing out on for most of my adult life. So yay!
3. TOMORROW!
I'm performing at Backstory Cabaret as part of the Bloomsbury Festival at Goodenough College. There's so much to look forward to, with music, dance, poetry and storytelling taking centre stage. It's gonna be brill! And... I've heard there are only 10 tickets left, so get them while you can.
4. Next Up
My 'Upcoming' tab is up to date, yay! I don't have many London poetry gigs coming up: in fact, next week's Stablemates is the last time I plan to hit the stage in London with a full poetry set for a while, so please come! And if I can't convince you, I hope Hollie McNish and Kate Fox can - two amazing fellow poets I'm performing alongside.
5. And finally...
In case you missed it, here's a link to my performance (intros in Spanish - and my accent is a little weird at the beginning - eek!) the other week at Naves Matadero. I had a lot of fun there and hope to be back again!
No comments:
Post a Comment