Welcome young poets! Here for your information and entertainment is a short video about my brand new poetry book, I Bet There's No Broccoli On The Moon. Just click on the link below and it will take you directly to the poetry zone!  A short video about my latest POETRY BOOK!

BOOK RELEASE YEAH! I am so pleased to announce the release of my new poetry book, I Bet There's No Broccoli On The Moon -More Poetry From the Search Zone. This anthology of poems follows on from my first collection of poems, the successful,  Searching For Hen's Teeth. You can order my book on line or simply walk into your local bookstore and ask the kind person serving you to order it in for you. Either way, I hope you enjoy it and the words reach your poet's heart. Here is a taste, a morsel to whet your appetite for more poetry. Hope you like it. Hope you want more... YESTERDAY Yesterday, I knew who my enemies were. I knew where they lived. I knew not to go there. Yesterday, I knew where to play on the school ground And that football was my favourite game in the whole wide world. Yesterday, I knew how disgusting it was to eat sheep brains And broccoli. And oysters. Yesterday, I could fly a kite, Keep a secre...

S ounds L ike P oetry I love the sound of poetry. As a poet I consciously play with sounds. As well as reading poetry with our eyes, we must read it with our ears. In other words, listen to the sound the words create. Sounds of words and sounds within words attract my attention when I am writing a poem. I repeat sounds in the hope of  attracting the ear of my readers. I want the sounds I have selected to be noticed and noted. The reader's mind is the destination for my sound bytes. I may repeat a consonant at the beginning of certain words to create ALLITERATION. In this extract from 'Simply A Walk In the Park, I wrote  the line containing several words beginning with the consonant 'b.':  A large wooly dog barks boldly at the butterflies In  the poem Jeffrey the Jellyfish' I have used lots of alliterative combinations. Jeffrey was a jellyfish A rather jolly jellyfish He floated freely in the sea Bobbing and bouncing happily Here is another exam...

Poets Use ALLUSION A poet uses allusion when the words in a poem they have written make a clear connection to another poem or story. The poet may use this device to honour the earlier piece, or it may be used in order to create a humourous effect.   In the poem posted below, 'Homework Haunts Hamlet', I have quite deliberately employed allusion.  I have linked the vexing issue of homework to the famous soliloquy (spoken monologue from a play) from William Shakespeare's play, Hamlet. I am attempting to inject a touch of humour into an otherwise concerning matter.    'Homework Haunts Hamlet' appears in my latest book, I Bet There's No Broccoli On The Moon.  Homework Haunts Hamlet To do or not to do? That is the question. Whether ’tis nobler on the mind To suffer the slings and arrows of outraged parents and teachers And engage willingly in work avoidance, To look away from homework And towards fun and merriment. To do or not ...

Poets not only write poetry, they also read poetry. In order to be able to write poetry, one must read it. Lots of poetry in fact...  I want to share a short little poem by Valerie Worth. I bought Valerie's book, 'All The Small Poems And Fourteen More,' while living and working in New York, some time back. It remains a personal favourite.  I love the way the poet shines a special light on everyday objects, transforming them into something unique and worthy of attention. Her close observations elevate her poems into the special category.  Each poem in the collection celebrates earthly wonders. From eggs to garbage, from potatoes to pockets, each object is given special attention in the form of short poems employing keen observations.  Valerie Worth demonstrates through her poems she totally understands the saying-'ideas exist in things.'  The poem I have chosen to share with you (one of my personal favourites) is titled, 'Safety Pin'. S af...

I love it when the words come calling. What a buzz. This poem is about those thoughts and ideas that rock'n' roll around in the brain before the words splash out onto the page.  I found myself absorbed with rehearsing my words for over a week before I was actually able to share the words with my notebook. They entertained me. They challenged me. They puzzled me. In the end they made me feel poetically pleased. I have reworked the words here. This poem is essentially about the birth of a poem. Poembrew   A poem is brewing in my brain. In the far reaches of thought and contemplation Words assemble in ones and twos Clusters and battalions. Sweet lines with potent phrasing Float on the horizon of possibility Inviting attention. A poem is brewing in my brain Words clang, collide and collude Jostling for best position. A song of composition Rises gradually across days and nights Bringing with it rhyme and reason As the focus sharpens. A...