<\/p>\n
By The Icarian Sea<\/strong><\/p>\n It was a good orange, firm He considered throwing it Shepherd watched its flight The orange peel fell.<\/p>\n And in his last breath <\/p>\n Eight Questions<\/strong> If I sit down to write a poem, it\u2019s usually at home in my room (I currently live in a shared student house). If the weather is good then I might attempt to write outside although this doesn\u2019t tend to prove very productive as I get too easily distracted by passing wildlife or overheard conversations.<\/em><\/p>\n 2. How do you write? (into a notebook or straight onto a computer?)<\/strong><\/p>\n Preliminary ideas and very rough workings of poems \u2013 an odd line or two \u2013 go down in a notebook, but I generally write and edit full drafts on my laptop as I find it really helps to be able to move things around easily.<\/em><\/p>\n 3. Roughly how much time do you spend each week on creative writing related activities? (writing, editing, correspondence & submissions)<\/strong><\/p>\n At the moment I aim to write at least one poem a week, in order to keep up with the demands of the MA. The amount of time spent writing varies from poem to poem but I like to spend a good few days, preferably weeks, just thinking about a possible poem and perhaps researching it, too. An invaluable part of the MA is the workshop session, which is three hours per week, sometimes followed by a half hour tutorial.<\/em><\/p>\n 4. What time of day do you usually write?<\/strong><\/p>\n At any time of day, though most often in the evening.<\/em><\/p>\n 5. What does it feel like to write?<\/strong><\/p>\n Writing the first draft of a poem often feels quite instinctive, perhaps because I\u2019ve usually spent a lot of time contemplating a poem beforehand. It can feel exhilarating. After the intuitive first draft, though, I\u2019m beset by doubts and anxieties and the harder work begins.<\/em><\/p>\n 6. Are there any stimuli that will usually trigger you into writing?<\/strong><\/p>\n I find myself more and more inspired by art in other mediums; paintings, sculptures or other artifacts. Listening to instrumental music often puts me in a good frame of mind for writing, too. I\u2019m a member of the UEA Choir and often find that Monday evenings after rehearsals are usually quite productive in terms of poetry \u2013 there\u2019s something about singing in a group that feels amazingly uplifting and invigorating. Perhaps engaging with different art forms alerts me to a wider range of poetic possibilities.<\/em><\/p>\n 7. What are you working on now?<\/strong><\/p>\n At the moment I\u2019m working on a collection of twelve poems to submit for assessment on the MA. I use the term collection loosely, though, as there isn\u2019t a particular unifying force. The course so far has been a wonderful opportunity to experiment with different voices and forms and to follow my own interests, exploring subjects such as classical myth, the natural world and the paintings of Bruegel.<\/em><\/p>\n 8. How has the scholarship affected your writing?<\/strong><\/p>\n I feel immensely lucky to have been awarded the scholarship as it has given me a year in which to focus almost solely on writing. Working with such inspiring tutors at UEA is an absolute privilege and it is wonderful to be learning alongside my course mates in what is a brilliantly stimulating and supportive environment. It is proving to be a very enriching experience that is shaping and changing the ways in which I think about poetry and also the poems that I write<\/em><\/p>\n This annual Scholarship is available for students wishing to study for the MA Creative Writing: Poetry degree course and will contribute to the recipient\u2019s full course fees for one year. Established by Kate Birch, a friend of the University, the Scholarship is named after Ink Sweat & Tears \u2013 a creative writing webzine run by Kate and edited by Bloodaxe poet Helen Ivory \u2013 which celebrates poetry, prose poetry and short fiction and promotes work that combines word and image. The Ink Sweat & Tears Poetry Writing Scholarship will be awarded by the Pro-Vice-Chancellor (Academic) on the recommendation of a Selection Committee from the Faculty of Arts and Humanities.\u00a0 Find out more about the IS&T Scholarship here.<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" By The Icarian Sea It was a good orange, firm but with a spring to it. Shepherd cast a glance towards his sheep (all there) then dug a fingernail in. It was a good orange. He proceeded, with care, to carve out a land for himself, smiling when the peel came away in one […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[143],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2084","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-interviews"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/inksweatandtears.co.uk\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2084","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/inksweatandtears.co.uk\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/inksweatandtears.co.uk\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inksweatandtears.co.uk\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inksweatandtears.co.uk\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2084"}],"version-history":[{"count":8,"href":"https:\/\/inksweatandtears.co.uk\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2084\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":14897,"href":"https:\/\/inksweatandtears.co.uk\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2084\/revisions\/14897"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/inksweatandtears.co.uk\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2084"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inksweatandtears.co.uk\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2084"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inksweatandtears.co.uk\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2084"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
\nbut with a spring to it.
\nShepherd cast a glance
\ntowards his sheep (all there)
\nthen dug a fingernail in.
\nIt was a good orange.
\nHe proceeded, with care,
\nto carve out a land for himself,
\nsmiling when the peel came away
\nin one piece in his hand.
\nHe turned it this way and that
\nand pondered on what map it could be,
\nif he knew any geography.<\/p>\n
\nat Ploughman, a little to his left,
\nbut thought the better of it
\n(Ploughman had muscles).
\nInstead he threw it out to sea
\nin a high, wide arc,
\nwhere the wind caught it
\nand turned it to a scudding,
\norange-bellied gull.<\/p>\n
\nleaning from the cliff-edge,
\ndevouring juicy segments.
\nThere was a mass of foaming feathers
\namongst the crests and peaks
\nof waves and more carried by the breeze.
\nOne caught, sticky, in his fingers
\nand he wondered what strange
\nbird it came from.<\/p>\n
\nbefore the water,
\nIcarus thought that the
\nsun had decided
\nto fall with him.<\/p>\n
\n1. Where do you write? (do you have an office, room, bus journey that you find yourself and your writing?)<\/strong><\/p>\n