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Katherine Lockton – Editorial: Poetry and Lockdown Life
Katherine Lockton – Editorial: Poetry and Winter
“When snow falls, nature listens.” — Antoinette van Kleeff
I chose to start this issue with this beautiful quote as winter can be a time of quiet contemplation, and poetry can help guide us as we navigate our way into the new year and help us hear the world around us. The poems in this edition are sometimes quiet, sometimes loud, and sometimes both but they all seek to see things afresh. Whether it be Chris Winterflood’s intriguing poem ‘Silver Blades’, Valerie Morton’s visually stunning poem ‘Mudlark’ or the wonderful tastes brought to life by Mary Hennock in ‘Home Cooking’ or any of the other great poets in this issue there is plenty of new writing to read and appreciate. It is being able to showcase poems such as Valerie Morton’s that make me love my job. I’m always looking for new voices I can promote; finding new poets is thrilling.
The art featured in this issue is by the renowned artist Lee Madgwick, who as an artist, also seeks to see the world anew. Lee says ‘we can easily overlook many rundown and neglected structures and buildings, possibly because we are so used to seeing ubiquitous architecture in our everyday lives but when you stop and study them their individual characteristics can shine through. There’s a melancholic air around most of the abandoned or unloved buildings I stumble upon as well as a deep sense of vulnerability. For whatever reason these neglected buildings create a mood that I find hard to ignore.’
A huge thank you to the Poet Clare Pollard, who judged our poetry competition this year and chose some stunning poems as the winning entries, all of which are presented in this edition.Thank you too, to everyone who sent in their poems. We very much enjoyed reading the poems and are thankful for the time invested in them.
Katherine
