Poet of the Month: Andrew Forster

To celebrate the friendship between the Charles Causley Trust and the Wordsworth Trust, this month we're delighted to welcome Andrew Forster as the Poet of the Month.

Andrew Forster grew up in South Yorkshire and lived in Scotland for twenty years before moving back across the border to Cumbria. His poems, essays and reviews of poetry have appeared widely in magazines. A pamphlet 'Dress Rehearsals', was published by Flarestack in 2000, and his first full-length collection, 'Fear of Thunder', was published by Flambard in 2007 and was shortlisted for the Forward Prize for Best First Collection.

He taught creative writing and developed writing projects for a number of organisations, including the WEA, Edinburgh University, and Community Education departments in a number of different regions. From 2003 to 2008 he was Literature Development Officer for Dumfries & Galloway, and developed, among other projects, the Wigtown Poetry Competition. He currently works as Literature Officer with the Wordsworth Trust, in Grasmere. He is putting the finishing touches to his second collection, 'Territory'.

This month's poem is from Andrew's collection 'Fear of Thunder' (Flambard 2007)

Photo: Henry Iddon

A new name for a new agency

The new literature charity for the South West of England will be called Cyprus Well. The new name proudly celebrates the future home for the charity in Charles Causley's house at No. 2 Cyprus Well in Launceston, Cornwall. While development continues on the house, Cyprus Well will have a second home in Exeter Central Library.

Cyprus Well is charity to enable and nurture literature development activity in South West England: Cornwall, Devon, Dorset, Gloucestershire, Somerset, Wiltshire, unitary authorities of Bath and North East Somerset, Plymouth, Poole, South Gloucestershire, Swindon and Torbay.

Cyprus Well will fundraise for and deliver a programme of literature activity awards for all non-profit organisations and individuals to create new literature development opportunities. This is called Grass Roots Literature South West.

Cyprus Well will lead, fundraise for, create and administer a new literature network for South West England: Literature Network South West.

Cyprus Well will support writing and reader development in South West England.

The charity will be recruiting trustees soon.

Stephen King

Thinking about the Bridport Prize, Cyprus Well Stories is asked every now and again to recommend a book on writing. When it comes to advice and comradeship in the field of prose writing, one book that truly stands out is Stephen King's On Writing. We're massive Stephen King fans at Cyprus Well Stories, of course, but even still, we recommend it unconditionally. We love it particularly because it is so inspirational and so okay-why-don't-you-get-on-with-it-if-you-really-want-to?

The knowledge is clear and offered with a perfect blend of friendly encouragement and experienced realism. As Stephen King says, "someone who has sold as many books of fiction as I have must have something worthwhile to say about writing it ..."

And he does, and then some. It's a brilliant book.

The Bridport Prize 2009

The Bridport Prize 2009 for poems and short stories is open to all. There is a £5000 top prize, 2nd and 3rd prizes, and 10 runners up in both categories and all prize-winning entries will be published in the Bridport Prize Anthology 2009. This year the judges are Jackie Kay (poetry) and Ali Smith (short story). To download an entry form go to www.bridportprize.org.uk.

The closing date is 30th June 2009, and Cyprus Well Stories says, good luck everyone!

Career by Penelope Shuttle

Send me to study for years
in a school for lace makers
till every yard I work
can bear an angel's weight,
a single inch change anyone's mind
about heaven,

my Point de Venise black gloves
be fit only for Ash Wednesday,
my white Needlerun veils
the best friends of British Summer Time.

See how openly I retire into my calling.

In time nothing
will rival the cautionless caution
of my Crown Prince's christening robe,
a delight of twelve-legged spiders and luck-diamonds,
or my Honiton mantillas all flowers,
snails and slugs.

The patrons of my lace -
let them be fox of the north wind,
egret of the dusk,
owl-man limned in stone.

Come on, you teazy little day, let me wake
to a pricked-out pattern, my work pillow waiting.

I'll quell love
with a relic-scarf of beggar's lace
fashioned from threads
thin as eyelash of snipe or curlew,

you'll prefer your heart
to be broken when you wind such a scarf
as mine around your throat,
making thrice the winding of it.

I'll bobbin joy and grief into such lengths,
such exhibition pieces,
lace magnificats fit for the highest bride,
her sheer train seething with grace,

or a shroud too perfect
for anyone but you to don
so subtly will I have created
its rose, its diamond, its honeycomb ...

Poet of the Month: Penelope Shuttle

Cyprus Well Stories is delighted that Penelope Shuttle is our poet of the month. Her eighth collection, Redgrove's Wife (Bloodaxe) was shortlisted for the TS Eliot Prize and for the Best Collection Forward Prize.

She is a tutor for the Poetry School, Second Light Network and Lapidus, leading many workshops - including a five day residential at Almaserra Vella in Spain this April - and has been a judge for many competitions, including the Arvon and the National. Her new collection, The Repose of Baghdad, is in preparation.

Penelope lives in Cornwall and is the widow of Peter Redgrove.

I Had A Little Cat - OUT NOW!

Pan Macmillan has released I Had A Little Cat: Collected Poems for Children by Charles Causley. It is illustrated by John Lawrence.