Thanks to the lovely audience at Shindig in Leicester on Monday night for responding so favourably to a new batch of poems and also to Ambrose Musiyiwa for the photo. For me, new poems never really come alive until they’ve been taken out for a swim. Then the lines are out there in the room, trying to do more than paddle. They are out for the first time amongst an audience who don’t know about the back stories, the changes of heart and word. Once I’ve said the poems out loud – far away from my desk – and heard someone laugh at them or groan or even applaud I’ll have more of a hunch that they might be ready to swim on their own without armbands or a guiding hand. Thanks for sending them out to sea.
Sue Dymoke Poetry 