Category Archives: Poetry

Thanks to Writing West Midlands and Nine Arches Press – this conference was so inspiring I managed to send some poemjs out for the first time for more than two years.

After a long absence from all social media (to save a bit of sanity) Thirza is back online – and going to Writing West Midlands poetry conference in Coventry Saturday October 30 in Capital of Culture City Coventry. That means overcoming fear of Covid but much much worse – getting up at 6.00 am toContinueContinue reading “STOP PRESS”

Beyond thrilled to be chosen by Carol Ann Duffy for inclusion in her last four Laureate’s Choice poets published by Smith Doorstop – and of course available from Wenlock Books in Shropshire, Anna Dreda’s excellent independent bookshop. .

Travelling back from this amazing week at Queens University, Belfast, I’m inspired by people and places – I have initiated conversations about poetry and said I’ll write people poems and astonishingly the offer has been received like a gift. The first one I’ve already posted and the second one is on the way for theContinueContinue reading “Seamus Heaney Centre Summer School”

Murmuration on the 18.30 to Carmarthen This little flock flutters in perches round a table, pecks at nuts sips a little from their store of green tins   they preen the stripy feathers suspended from their ears flash glue and glitter in silver lightning strikes swoop gold half-moons across their smooth cheekbones paint lilac banditContinueContinue reading “A poem for these glorious girls”

after such a great time in Doolin – met wonderful poets, fiction writers, journalists, readers readers readers writers writers writers – and now totally understand phrase about great craic. It translates as that crack in time when one minute it’s 1.00am and the open mike session is taking a break and then next it’s 3.45,ContinueContinue reading “Need a lie down”

I am so excited to be off to County Clare this weekend as I’ve been shortlisted in the Poetry Prize at this festival. The programme looks great and when I looked at the winner from last year I was even more thrilled to be included in this year’s shortlist. Check out last year’s winner onContinueContinue reading “Doolin Writers Festival”

so which of these is me?

the title of my new chap book – ‘The Bone Seeker’. Why is it harder to think of titles than to write poems?  In the end I named this short collection after what I think of as the central poem within it. The phrase, the bone seeker, came from some research about the effects ofContinueContinue reading “Revealing….”