Uncategorized – Shadow Dispatches

Will we still beg when this is over? On literary events, access, and the pandemic

In my latest poetry collection, there’s a poem made out of lines from other people’s poems – a form called a cento, which has a history going back thousands of years. The word ‘cento’ once referred to planting trees, but came to mean patchwork clothing, and then a poetic form made from fragments of otherContinue reading “Will we still beg when this is over? On literary events, access, and the pandemic”

Birds of Lakeland/Birds of Lockdown

In Summer 2020 Will and I were commissioned by Aerial festival to make a podcast based on our very local walks during the first UK lockdown for their Sounds of Silence feature of the online version of the festival. The podcast blends bird song we recorded on our walks with reflections on the current situation,Continue reading “Birds of Lakeland/Birds of Lockdown”

Plague Year Season Two Review

Dear reader, I cannot lie to you. This last two years have been trying. At this point in 2020 I couldn’t face looking back at the year. I suppose that I am writing this now proves the point I make so often about adjusting to chronic illness: it’s continually surprising the amount of daily painContinue reading “Plague Year Season Two Review”

What does it mean to live ecologically?

Or: Is your future accessible? Or: Eco-shame is not a sustainable fuel source What does it mean to live ecologically?If I make a list and share it on twitter can I prove to you I’m living ecologically? Am I living ecologically if eat seasonally and locally or only if I eat plant-based food sourced globally?IContinue reading “What does it mean to live ecologically?“

Let’s Just Survive: A Covid-Christmas Playlist

Back a million years ago in the year 2008 I had a bit of a sad Christmas. There were no terrible reasons for it, I just couldn’t find much Christmas Spirit in myself or the world. I was lonely, and felt a bit useless, like I was failing at everything. As I often do, IContinue reading “Let’s Just Survive: A Covid-Christmas Playlist”