During the last few months I have been able to work on new poems much more frequently than usual. There is nothing like an hour or two of intense writing and regular, ruthless editing to keep you focused. In September I took part in The Ekphrastic Review‘s twenty poem challenge. Each day the editor, Lorette Luzajic, posted a new piece of artwork – this could be sculpture, painting, photography or any other art form. The images were surprising, challenging and very varied. My poem ‘Furious Answers’ was written in response to the painting The Answer is No by Kay Sage (USA), 1958. The site is a wonderful source of words and images for anyone seeking inspiration – either for their own writing or their students. I’ve also drawn on Jo Bell’s good guidance about being systematic when submitting work to poetry magazines and this too is beginning to reap its rewards. Look out for other new poems in forthcoming Autumn issues of Raceme, New Walk Magazine and English in Education.
Furious Answers and other new poems
Sue Dymoke Poetry 