Some place, unplugged

My backhanded, somewhat grudging tribute to Bath, from a Bristolian.

Adios Twitter

I’ve deleted my twitter account. Why? Ought to be obvious – The extreme-right owner and the wannabe dictator. This George Carlin sketch articulates the issue well. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rsL6mKxtOlQ I felt increasingly uncomfortable clinging on for some months now.Twitter isn’t what it was, but please look at my poems anyway… I didn’t sit right with me doing…

Dear First Name

Will you help us?

It’s getting late.
Do not ignore the horror
in your inbox. The situation’s stark.

From Paul Writes Poems blog – The Book Bag – Street Sailing by Matt Gilbert

Welcome back to The Book Bag. Last week, I shared my thoughts on The Language of Bees by Rae Howells. This week, between Sax practice, attending my … The Book Bag – Street Sailing by Matt Gilbert

The honest A-Z etc: Four new poems

Four more poems, first shared via Blackbough Poetry’s Top Tweet Tuesday. The honest A-Z The honest A-Z is filled with empty pages, roads unwalked, unprinted. Areas ignored and little-known shrink, or vanish altogether. Whole postcodes are erased through lack of interest. While places you have loved, expand. Side-streets stretched into tree-lined boulevards. Market stalls, grimy corner pubs, exes’ flats, old…

Three Poems: M4 at night, The next train and Moonset

Three new poems: M4 at night, The next train, Moonset.

We need more than a more of the same government with red-branding

Rather than ranting on social media/shouting into the void about my frustrations with recent actions of the current Labour leadership – I was tipped over the edge by Starmer appealing to Tory Thatcher worshippers in the Telegraph – I’ve written to my local Labour MP Helen Hayes. Thought I’d share it here, on a slower,…

The poem’s the puzzle, or ‘I couldn’t not keep looking’

A very thoughtful, considered review of my poetry collection ‘Street Sailing’ in Briefly Write. Click the link to read it on their site. ‘In ‘Street Sailing’, Matt Gilbert looks anew upon familiar streetscapes. His reader can’t not keep looking’ ‘Street Sailing’ is a puzzle with many readings and many answers. Matt Gilbert is a skilful setter,…

The empathy budget

A poem about emotional austerity.

Drop-in feature talking about ‘Seven Sisters’ from ‘Street Sailing’ on poet Nigel Kent’s blog.

Street Sailing out in the wild

‘Street Sailing’ voyaging around the world. A selection of readers’ photos.

Guest Feature – Matt Gilbert

Originally posted on Patricia M Osborne:
I’m delighted to feature poet Matt Gilbert on Patricia’s Pen as he celebrates his brand new poetry collection Street Sailing published by the awesome Blackbough Poetry. Street Sailing Matt Gilbert Thank you, Patricia for inviting me into your space to talk about my debut collection, Street Sailing published by…

Street sailing into the world

Poetry, Bloody Hell – to paraphrase a dour, fantastically successful Scot (if only he’d joined Bristol City in 1986). I am now, a published poet, with a book under my belt. Despite still having to pinch myself, this feels a huge validation. Six months ago I wrote a post concerning imposter syndrome. This one is as…

“I’m really not quite sure about that…”: how (not) to make a poetry collection

Part Four in my blog post series about my poetry practice: Assembling a collection

Having admitted in previous posts in this series that I don’t always know exactly what I’m doing when setting out to write a poem, I must now confess I find the art of putting a collection together even more mysterious…

A thousand nameless noises

Later, up on the high downs, I hope to hear skylarks. I always enjoy the pleasing shock in the contrast between the drab brown looks of these small birds and the piping, apparently overflowing joy of their calls, as they come popping out of long grass, like a choir of demented rubber balls, springing for the stars.

RIP Jonathan Raban

A brief appreciation of Jonathan Raban, upon his death.

Goldfinched, Hiram Maxim’s Grave & In the shelter of the shallows – three recent poems

Three poems recently shared on Top Tweet Tuesday. A goldfinch appears to change everything, the rattles from a mischief of magpies, perhaps, turn ominous and upstream in a city crowd.

Make it till you make it

A quick word about Imposter Syndrome.

The trouble with those posters & Blue Fruit

Two rants in poetic form, inspired by Liz Truss, her party and their supporters…

Pebbles on the shore, Awake and Love on the breeze?

Another trio of poems recently shared via Black Bough poetry’s TopTweetTuesday.

This time, playing with and exploring the search for that elusive ‘perfect’ pebble, using ‘banshee’ as a verb and the seemingly absurd notion of fighting butterflies (for an extra bit of fun, try singing the first line of ‘Love on the breeze’ to the tune of The Cure’s ‘Inbetween Days’.