Roses are read...(a short poem)

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"HIV" - a poem for National HIV Test Week

HIV wedged into the bloat of Mankind, it lurks coiled in the caverns of our insides and it snares without hooks or nets or clamps until all of our blood is occupied and bellowing out, breaths become a blink ground down by the weight of a dying heart’s pulse and snaked into the body’s tributaries the dried blood-tide ropes its territory its naming has never contained it no sound has delayed it, and yet we deny it judging its victims, sinner, demon, beast until it snatches one of us; too late we know it has the seared conscience...

A Haiku for Chorlton Book Festival

The hum of the windfinds a hymn in the rooftops;houses have no ears.&nbs...

So, a spot of good-old wedding grub. Bien sur, #NeilGaiman is unforgotten.

via Instagram http://bitly.com/1wqxSIl...

It's a tough one; attend a wedding registration followed by scrumptious food or re-read #NeilGaiman's #TheGraveyardBook. Ho hum.

via Instagram http://bit.ly/1yxGiM4...

The Curry Mile: a Series in the Making?

I've lived in Manchester since 1990, which was the year my family moved from Blackburn in Lancashire to a suburb of South Manchester. Unbeknownst to me at that time, our new home was located in an area of the city which was also the home of the team behind Danger Mouse; it was a dream come true for a fan of the series (I hope my arrival didn't precipitate its end!). And I've been visiting the Curry Mile ever since. I guess the...

National Poetry Day 2014

The UK's National Poetry Day will be taking place on Thursday the 2nd of October and what is so special about this particular Poetry Day is that this year's theme is "Remember". I was particularly moved when I heard this as the selection of this theme is a "nod" to the centenary of the outbreak of World War I, a war which transformed the world and brought about the modern age, and it was in this crucible in which fine poets such as Rupert Graves,...

The Curry Mile eBook - launched. Finally.

So. Finally did it. With the help of some good people I crossed the Rubicon into the Indie divide and at the same time transformed the paperback novel into an eBoo...

Does UK Publishing Reflect Diversity?

The UK is amongst the most diverse countries in the world. The 2011 Census found that the ethnic minority population of London was the majority population. White British people accounted for 44.9% of London's population. So, considering that London is the home of UK Publishing and that the capital's population, do you think ethnic minorities are well represented in print?...