Poems in Ambit, iamb and Wild Court (plus a Diamond Ring!)

I’ve had a few poems published in various places in recent months, several of which are available to read online. And one of them has been translated into gold, diamonds and rubies!

Ambit

‘Chrysalis’ was Commended in the 2021 Ambit Poetry Competition, judged by Kim Addonizio. The poem was published in Ambit 245.

Here is a video of me reading it at the Ambit competition event in London Fields.

Thank you Sean Eratt for the video.

iamb

Mark Antony Owen is creating an extraordinary archive of poets reading their work at iamb.

You can find me here, with the text and recordings of my poems ‘The Illusionist’ and ‘Lockdown’, as well as the opening stanzas of my translation of Chaucer’s Troilus and Criseyde.

Wild Court

Wild Court is an online journal published by the English Department at King’s College London. Earlier this year they published a couple of my poetry translations:

‘The Waterspout’ – my rendering of an amazing passage from Os Lusíadas by Luis Vaz de Camões, describing a waterspout at sea, evidently from the poet’s own experience as the first Western artist to cross the equator, on a sea journey to India in the 16th Century. With thanks to Francisco Vilhena for valuable feedback on the accuracy of my translation.

‘Love’s Arrow’ – another excerpt from my translation of Chaucer’s Troilus and Criseyde; the fateful scene where Troilus first sets eyes on Criseyde:

So fared it with this fierce and headstrong knight:
Although he was a great king’s son and heir,
And rashly thought that nothing had such might
To take hold of his heart against his power,
Yet with a single look his heart caught fire,
And he who had been most in pride above
Fell suddenly most subject unto Love.

Yes, really, a diamond ring

I’m honoured that The Intrepid Wendell jewelry salon in Washington, DC has made a ring inspired by my poem ‘Waterwheels’, which was published in Brittle Star No.47.

The ring is made of white and yellow gold, with a stream of diamonds representing the ‘spangling coalescing points of light’ of the water in the poem.

You can see the ring on the bespoke work page of the Wendell website.

Thank you to Wendell and to all the editors of these journals; do check the magazines out via their websites.