Maria C. McCarthy

Maria C. McCarthy writes poetry, short stories and memoir in a shed at the bottom of her garden

Woodcut by Maggie Drury

Last Saturday's writers' retreat in my shed saw four of us beavering away to the tapping of laptop keys, scratching of pens on notebooks and tearing out of pages. We started with a fifteen minute share of how our writing was going, then a vow of silence until lunchtime. Like nuns but without the veils. And with biscuits. Everyone worked longer than they would have done alone, and all agreed that the lack of internet access was a definite plus for getting on with the work. I came up with two poem drafts, from stuff already in my notebook.

 

The retreat did have a strange affect on my writing practice, and I found that I was unable to write anything for a few days after, as if I'd used up all my writing hours for the week in one go. This brings on the usual 'I can't write anymore, I'll never write again' drama. Which, of course, is never true.

 

Last night saw the launch of Lemn Sissay's poem for Thanet, 'For Work For Love', projected on the outside of the Turner Contemporary in Margate. Lemn read his poem, and a local choir and dance group also performed work based on the poem. It was a magical event backed by a clear sky and a sliver of a moon over the sea. I met Lemn last year at the Eden Project, and he said at that time that he would buy a copy of my book. I was touched that he remembered this last night, and he now has a copy of 'strange fruits'. I also sold a copy to the new Canterbury Laureate Sarah Salway. If you would like a copy (as read by Lemn Sissay and Sarah Salway!) go to Cultured Llama. All profits to Macmillan Cancer Support. An e-book version is in the offing, too.

 

My resolution to collaborate has taken a chance turn. I shared a table with the organiser of the Faversham Festival in my favourite cafe, Jittermugs. In the drinking of a decaf flat white we had made plans for an arts event in my village, Teynham - as part of the Festival, which takes place in June. So I have spent the last week contacting writers, visual artists, musicians, local councillors and all. It looks like it'll happen!  

 

Another planned collaboration has got off to a slower start. I'm going to have a go at scriptwriting with an old friend. I rarely go to the theatre and haven't read a play script since studying Shakespeare at Thames Poly over 30 years ago. I'm trying to stretch myself in a different direction, to go out of my comfort zone, and do something that I won't be very good at, at first. This all seems too scary at present, and I have returned to writing poetry. 

 

Several events are coming up in February: 'Daughter's - poetry, music and dance - at Deal on 15 Feb; Readings from 'Not Only the Dark' in Canterbury on 12 Feb; a tour of Kentish Theatres by Los Salvadores, Wheels and The Flowing on 2, 3 and 4 Feb. And into March - I am leading a poetry workshop at Strood Library on 24 March, and Vanessa Gebbie will be leading a writing workshop in Whitstable on 31 March. Details of all of these on the Events/Readings page.

 

Some of you may know that I write in a converted shed at the end of my garden. This sometimes houses other writers as well as me, and I shall be holding a one day writers' retreat there on 21 January. I'm also thinking of holding a shed happening, or s'happening, with readings and possibly a multi-media thing going on. Talks are afoot with another shed-owner in the Medway Towns. S'happenings could be happening near you. 

 

See my shed's entry to Shed of the Year. 

New Year's greetings to all readers. A couple of dates coming up - poet Derek Sellen is reading at the Jolly Sailor, Canterbury, plus open mic for poets, this Sunday, 8 January at 6.30 p.m. More details here. Also the Torriano Poetry competition closes on 25 January. More details here.

 

Cultured Llama Publishing is now open to submissions of poetry and short fiction collections and anthologies, including those by writers' and artists' groups. Please send a short message via the Contact form on the Cultured Llama website to receive full details. 

Readings of poetry from the new WordAid anthology 'Not Only The Dark' are now available to view on You Tube: Part 1 here; Part 2 here. £1900 has already been raised for Shelterbox from the sale of the book, a fantastic amount. If you want to add to that total and buy a copy, you can do so here. The book has 160 poems from poets famous and not so famous. As Kate L. Fox said, 'We're all famous now' (she and I have poems in the anthology). Some of the more recognisable names are David Harsent, Patricia Debney, John Siddique, Maggie Harris and Katherine Gallagher.

 

There is also a video of Nicky Gould's poetry residency at the Little Blue Hut in Tankerton. See 'Life's Short' here. 

 

Cultured Llama is developing a submissions policy for new poetry, fiction and culture titles. Please contact via their website if you wish to be kept informed.

 

Wishing all medwaymaria's followers a very happy Christmas and peaceful New Year. Thanks to all of you who took the time to read my posts, bought my book 'strange fruits' to raise funds for Macmillan Cancer Support, attended my events and courses and gave me all sorts of support, inspiration and love to help me with my writing. 

 

I was delighted to receive a letter along with £50 in cash (never send money in the post, folks). It was from an old schoolfriend of my late father, sent from Co.Kildare, in return for a gift copy of my poetry book 'strange fruits', published in memory of a friend lost to cancer. The £50 is for Macmillan Cancer Support, with the comment: 'Like yourself we are constantly burying friends both young and old and the list is getting longer by the day - all from cancer'. He also made some generous comments about my poetry: 'I revisit your poems now and then and marvel at the effortless way you can instil deeper significance into the everyday things of life and your ability to be so evocative in a deceptively simple language'. 

 

I sometimes post comments on my writing from other writers, magazine editors etc, but the thoughts of the 'common reader' are as valuable and touching to me. 

 

My father was not one for letter-writing or giving praise and encouragement. The letter I received from his old friend contains the kind of words I wish my dad had said or written. Some people's own hurts are too great to notice, nurture or appreciate the talents and efforts of others, This was the case with my dad.

 

There is more about my dad, Jim McCarthy, and his friend, Jim Parker, on the Reviews/Memoir page.

The poetry evening at The Jolly Sailor Canterbury on 11 December, is on the theme of 'Ritual, Festival and Procession'. There will be a poetry workshop and open mic. It all kicks off at 6.30 pm. Also, there is just a few weeks to the close of the Save As Prose and Poetry competition. Details of the event and the competition here. 

 

A date for next year's diary - I'm running a poetry workshop on the theme of 'Heroes and Villains' at Strood library, 24 March, 10.00 - 12.30. Suitable for new and more experienced poets. It will be a free workshop, but booking is essential. Details to follow.

 

Cultured Llama publishing will be open to submissions for poetry, fiction and culture in the New Year. A submissions policy is being developed. There is brief information here. Please email Cultured Llama for more information. 

There are more clips from the 'From Page to Stage' event now on the Cultured Llama You Tube channel. To get you in the mood for Christmas, you can watch Rachel Morris sing Joni Mitchell's 'River' here. 

 

The launch of 'Not Only The Dark', the new anthology from WordAid, is on Tuesday 6 December, 6.00 pm, Keynes College at the University of Kent. The book is in aid of Shelterbox and contains 160 poems on the theme of survival. If you are unable to come to the event, copies of the book can be purchased from WordAid. 

 

My own WordAid collection, 'strange fruits', in aid of Macmillan Cancer Support, is available from Cultured Llama. I am proud to report that fundraising from sales of the book, donations and events has now reached £629. 

There are some clips from the 'From Page to Stage' event held at the Avenue Theatre, Sittingbourne on the new Cultured Llama You Tube channel. These feature poetry readings, music and gumboot dancing. The evening was to launch my poetry collection 'strange fruits' and to raise funds for Macmillan Cancer Support. £225 was raised that evening alone, and the fundraising total now stands at £603. Thanks to everyone who took part in the evening, giving their time and talents for free. More videos from the evening will go up in the next week, so do go back and look again. You can link to the clips here.

There is a new piece on the Chronic Fatigue page: Are Drugs the Answer? (Part Two). I have had Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (also known as ME) for twelve years. I don't like to make it the main focus of my life, but I find it helpful to write about it sometimes - for myself, and in the hope it will help other people who have the condition and raise understanding in those that don't. 

I am delighted with this review of 'strange fruits' on the Ink Sweat and Tears website. The review is written by Fiona Sinclair, who has come up with some angles on the poems that are quite different from other reviewers'. 

 

The first video from the launch of 'strange fruits' - From Page to Stage at the Avenue Theatre, Sittingbourne - is now on You Tube. This clip is my first reading on the evening, with three poems: "Strange Fruits"; "The Brickbat Wall" and "Missed you on the Day it Rained". Watch it here. Please look out for other videos from this event on the Culturedllama You Tube channel.

 

I've reposted a piece on using 'I remember' as a writing prompt. Now on the Reviews/Memoir page.

New on the Favourites page, a link to Message in a Bottle poetry magazine.

The Torriano poetry competition is open to entries now; the closing date is 25 January 2012. Unpublished poems up to 40 lines are welcome. More details here.

 

Abegail Morley's featured poet this month is Tom Chivers, author of 'How to build a city' by Salt publishing. Read his poem 'Tube' here. I came across Tom Chivers when Salt were doing a lucky dip offer; I also discovered the marvellous Vanessa Gebbie in that batch of books. Her story collection 'Storm Warning' is just stunning, and I have just bought her new novel 'The Coward's Tale'. I know it's going to be good.

 

Why do I cry at concerts? Is it the songs, the artists, lamenting lost youth and friends, or the sheer joy of being on an audience? Whether sobbing at Roy Harper, blubbing at Jimmy Page or weeping at Neil Young, find out why on the Reviews/Memoir page.

Back from an amazing weekend in London for Roy Harper's 70th birthday celebration concert at the Royal Festival Hall. Special guests included Jimmy Page (of Led Zeppelin fame), which caused me to repeatedly punch my husband in the arm saying, 'Jimmy Page, Jimmy Page!' The last time I'd seen Page perform was with Zeppelin in 1979, and I hadn't expected to see him again. It was emotional. I've been thinking about why I get so emotional at concerts these days, and have written something about it for the Reviews/Memoir page, to be posted soon.

 

There's a glitch in the Events/Readings page, which means that if I change anything it goes all arty and weird. Being a bit of a luddite and the kind of girlie that cries for a man's help if anything technical goes wrong, I'm waiting for a man to fix it. So events are on this page for the time being. 

 

This Sunday, 13 November, the shortlisted poets and winners of Canterbury Festival Poet of the Year will be reading at the Jolly Sailor, Canterbury at 6.30 pm. The usual open mic for poets on the theme of remembrance. More info here. 

 

I'm reading a few poems alongside musicians and bands on Sunday 20 November at the Old Wine Vaults, Faversham: 'An Evening of Acoustic Excellence' with Labyrinth, Los Salvadores and Bob Carling, starting at 8.00 pm. 

 

On the following evening, 21 November, there is an evening of spoken word as part of the Fludde festival, St Mary of Charity church, Faversham, starting at 7.00 pm. There will be storytelling from Emily Parrish, performance poetry from The Breadbin Project and Vicky Wilson, readings from shortlisted writers from the Fludde poetry competition plus an open mic for poets. I've heard a whisper that my poet friend Luigi Marchini has been shortlisted for a prize, Luigi is a generous promoter of poetry and poets in the Canterbury area, and rarely promotes his own work, so I'm doing it for him! All the Fludde events are free, and include an evening of classical saw with Henry Dagg. I saw Dagg (pun not intended) perform with Hamish Stuart and Chris Wood's Bardcore earlier this year, and it's quite something to behold.

 

Now is the time to buy copies my poetry book 'strange fruits' as Christmas gifts whilst also raising funds for Macmillan Cancer Support. Go to Cultured Llama to order. All costs are covered, while current stocks of the book last, so every penny of the £8 cover price goes to Macmillan. 

 

The title story of my collection 'As Long As it Takes' is now on the Writers' Hub website. Read it here. 

The last date on the strange fruits tour was at Canterbury library this week, a relaxed evening with guest poets and strange-fruits-themed refreshments. Some of the fruits were too strange for the audience, and the day after the event my husband and I enjoyed sampling prickly pear, custard apple, fig, passionfruit and physalis. Funds raised for Macmillan Cancer Support from the sale of 'strange fruits' (the book, not the aforementioned fruits) stand at £588.

 

I sent off my story collection to The Scott Prize this week, for debut story collections. It was a big moment, pressing the send button, like sending a child off into the world unsure if it's really ready. But the editing and the fiddling about had to stop. Time to move on to the next thing. I have a new story on the go, and have been reworking a story I wrote nearly ten years ago, 'The Man in Black', for Horrorshow, where I shall be reading it. 

 

Plans for workshops are also underway, including my first for Medway Libraries: a poetry workshop on the theme of Heroes and Villains, to be held next March. Something will also be happening in my writing shed in the New Year. The nature of the space means small workshop groups, usually of six. More details once I've firmed up my plans.

 

I've also been invited to read at an evening of music and poetry at the Old Wine Vaults, Faversham, on 20 November. Music from Labyrinth, Bob Carling and Los Salvadores. 

Recordings of the stories from the Society of Authors tweetathon are now available. I was successful in Week 2 of the tweetathon, writing the line that followed Sarah Waters' opening. You can hear it here, read by Brenda Blethyn, and read the story here. My twitter name is @culturedllama. I was delighted that Andrew Day, aka @stroodlights,  editor of the Medway Broadsie, was also successful in the tweetathon, writing the closing line to a story started by Neil Gaiman, read here by Hugh Bonneville. The tweetathon is to raise awareness of the importance of short stories and to campaign against the cuts in short story broadcasts planned by the BBC. More information on the links above.

The last stop on the 'strange fruits' tour is a reading at Canterbury Library on 25 October with guest poets from the WordAid collective: Nicky Gould, Jo Field, Jen Kahawatte and Vicky Wilson. Each of these poets has an impressive track record of poetry prizes and publications, and in 2010 they formed a collective dedicated to raising funds for charity by publishing good writing. Over £5000 has been raised for Children in Need, Juvenile Diabetes Research Fund and Dementia UK. 'strange fruits' adds a further £561 to that total, donated to Macmillan Cancer Support, from sales of the book, events and donations. Details of the event here, and of the WordAid poets here. There is also news of the launch of the next WordAid anthology, in aid of Shelterbox, on the Events/Readings page, as well as other poetry and music events coming up this month in Medway and Canterbury. 

The launch of the ME3 album - 47 tracks of Medway Marvellousness in aid of Oxjam - has reminded me of this piece I wrote in 2005. It appeared in the Urban Fox 'River' anthology. The artwork for the ME3 album is a view to the Strood side of Rochester Bridge as it was when I wrote the piece. The civic centre mentioned in the piece, including the former Aveling Porter factory site, a lovely red brick building, have been demolished. The area where I walked so often, my thinking place, a place I loved, is now a car park. Here is 'A Walk On The Strood Side'.

It's National Poetry Day, and I'm celebrating by sharing that, overnight, fundraising for Macmillan Cancer Support from the 'strange fruits' book sales, events and donations has risen to £547. This is due to Swale Sings making a contribution to the theatre hire costs for the From Page to Stage event on 1 October. This means that a further £75 will be winging its way to Macmillan.

 

I never expected to make so much from a poetry book. Copies available from Cultured Llama. 

I am still glowing after the big event on the 'strange fruits' tour - 'From Page to Stage', which took place at the Avenue Theatre, Sittingbourne on 1 October. Five poets and five musical acts took to the stage on an unseasonably hot day (the hottest October day since 1985). It was entertaining, uplifting and often moving, with an eclectic line-up including bands Los Salvadores, Acoustic Architects, duo Rachel and Stephen Morris (spine-tingling singing from Rachel) and community choir Swale Sings. I was fairly worn out by the end of the first half from singing and dancing with Swale Sings and reading from 'strange fruits'. 

 

Poets Vicky Wilson, Luigi Marchini, Gill Moyes and Tony Anderson read their work, with Tony also performing two poems set to music, one with words from Jane Smith, who unfortunately was unable to be there on the night. Some poems had a local theme - Gill Moyes's The Bargeman features on the Poems and Stories page. Many that came to hear the poetry became new fans of the musical acts; many that came to hear the music became converts to poetry. The evening ended with gumboot dancing from Lucky Moyo and a rousing finale with Swale Sings led by Rachel Morris singing the Mama Cass song 'It's Getting Better.' Everyone went home on a high. Thanks are due to all performers and helpers, and to Jim Ransom for acting as MC for the evening.

 

To date, £470 has been raised for Macmillan Cancer Support from sales of 'strange fruits' and profits from events, plus donations. £98 of this was raised at the Gillingham Library event on 24 September, which went down very well, particularly the performance from Swale Sings. I do like these poetry and music events! 

 

Two reviews of 'strange fruits' - from The Frogmore Papers and Other Poetry - appear on the Books page. Copies of 'strange fruits' are available from Cultured Llama and Amazon. There is one more chance to hear me read from the book, along with WordAid poets, at Canterbury Library on 25 October.

 

There are loads of events coming up in Medway, Swale and Canterbury, including poetry, music and dance in 'Daughters' at the Horsebridge Centre, Whitstable on 19 October, Sue Rose's poetry book launch this Sunday in Canterbury, gigs on the Edith May Sailing Barge with Acoustic Architects, Los Salvadores and Wheels. There is also news of the Save As Prose and Poetry Awards and of a Horrorshow, at which I'll be reading, at The Barge, Gillingham on 29 October. Details of all of these on the Events/Readings page. 

Welcome to my self-indulgent birthday post. Happy birthday to me. Celebrations started yesterday with the arrival of my copy of The Frogmore Papers, my favourite literary magazine. I was overwhelmed by the review of my book in the magazine by Alexandra Loske, referring to 'strange fruits' as "this excellent collection" (I'll post the full review another time). Approaching a review of your work is like opening an exam results envelope (do they still have letters, or is it emails?): you want to read it and not read it at the same time. I must admit to getting tearful - reviews and comments by your friends are all very well, but can they be trusted? I know I wouldn't want to hurt the feelings of someone I know by giving a bad review of their published work. Invited critiques of work in progress, yes, I will comment honestly and, I hope, constructively. Seeing a positive review from someone I don't know, who is just judging the book on its merits, means a great deal.

 

Also, a bit of fun on Twitter led to my second success of the day. I joined in the Society of Authors short story tweetathon, and my line was chosen for the five-tweet story, following an opening tweet from Sarah Waters. The finished story is here; my Twitter name is @culturedllama. 

 

My nom-de-Twitter is based on my love of llamas, and I had a birthday trip today to see some llamas at a local wildlife park, followed by a pub lunch. But my biggest surprise today was early this morning when I was led in my jim-jams to the shed at the end of the garden, where I write. A record deck, amp and speakers had been set up, so I can listen to my vinyl records as I write, or when I'm just chilling out in my room. I resisted the internet and phone when the shed was converted, not wanting the distraction when I'm writing, but records are wonderfully retro and comforting. It's remarkable that just a few years ago I shared a computer with my two daughters and wrote in a room where TV was on or there were people talking to me. I didn't have my own computer, all mine - not shared, until the beginning of last year. And now I have a room of my own, my very own shed, now with a record player. I feel blessed.

There are two poems from 'strange fruits' on the Cultured Llama site: At the Shrine of St Jude, Faversham, which was highly commended in the Save As Poetry Awards 2010, and the title poem, Strange Fruits. Read them here.

 

It's a funny thing, promoting a book. I've had little time to write anything but press releases and promotional articles. It usually takes me a long time to get the words down when writing fiction and poetry, but having to come up with the goods quickly shows that I can write fast when the need arises. I've recently finished my collection of linked short stories, 'As Long As It Takes', after five years work. My husband is casting an editorial eye over the manuscript before I send it off as an entry to The Scott Prize for first collections. With two complete projects, I'm not sure what my next big project will be. I have a couple of poems I'm working on, and odd bits of writing in my notebook. Yesterday was beautifully sunny, and I spent the morning in my writing room, a converted shed at the end of the garden. I wrote a bit, read a bit, wrote a bit more, just exercising the writing daemon rather than anything I might develop. It was lovely.

 

I have become shameless about promoting 'strange fruits', always carrying a few copies in my handbag. Last night I sold one to another guest at a dinner party. My opening gambit is 'I just happen to have a copy with me'. 

 

There are several poetry events as part of the Canterbury Festival. One of these is a commemoration of the Millennium of the Sack of Canterbury on 16 October. Poets Peter Berg, Nancy Gaffield, Maggie Harris and Jan Montefiore as well as winners of the Millennnium writing competition. Details here.

This article on The Medway Broadside gives details of all the artists on the strange fruits tour. 

'strange fruits' was launched in style last Sunday at the Save As/Cornerstone Writers event in Canterbury. I read to a packed room at the Jolly Sailor pub, and sales of the book were brisk. Thanks to those that had travelled from other parts of Kent, especially members of the Hazlitt Writers' Group in Maidstone. There was a varied open mic with sestinas, sonnets, rap, and poems based on the language and rhythms of ska music. Thanks are due to Luigi Marchini and Gary Studley for inviting me to be their guest poet for the evening.

 

Yesterday saw me signing books at Jittermugs cafe in Faversham. Nick and Julia, the owners of the cafe, pushed the boat out with strange-fruits-themed cakes. There was a pear and amaretto tarte tatin and strange fruits muffins, flavoured with beetroot. It was a tough job, sampling the cakes in between book signings. 

 

Profits from both events have been sent on to Macmillan Cancer Support. Two down, three to go - the next event is at Gillingham library (Kent) on 24 September at 2.00 pm with guest poets and writers, plus a performance from Swale Sings community choir. The library will also have a selection from their Macmillan collection on display. 

 

From Page to Stage got a good write-up in this week's East Kent Gazette, including the rather nice photo of me taken by Gareth Arnold of Los Salvadores. He kindly took this as I was getting requests for author photos. This event is on 1 October at the Avenue Theatre, Sittingbourne. There are poets, bands, singers and even some gumboot dancing, plus an uplifting musical finale. Tickets £7.50 from the Avenue Theatre. 

 

More details of these events and a later one at Canterbury Library on 25 October, are on the Events/Readings page. 

 

'strange fruits' now features on the Message in a Bottle poetry magazine. 

 

If you haven't bought your copy of 'strange fruits' yet, there is now a Paypal button on the Cultured Llama site. 

Inscribing the Island and WordAid are hosting an evening of Poems For A Cause on 13 September at Faversham library, 7.00 pm . All books on sale will be raising funds for various charities, and there will be an open mic for poets following the readings. More info here.

Five years ago, I had the good fortune to be a columnist on BBC Radio 4's Home Truths (as Maria Bradley). The first of my columns was about my love of Led Zeppelin, and the script is reproduced as part of this article. There is more about the experience of writing and recording for Home Truths on the Reviews/Memoir page. 

 

As a quid pro quo for Peter Cook's article about me, and for his kind promotion of my book, 'strange fruits', here's a link to Peter's new book, Punk Rock People Management. Do take a look at his site and learn lessons for business from rock'n'roll.

 

Don't forget I'm the guest poet at the Jolly Sailor, Canterbury this Sunday, 11 September at 6.30. There is also an open mic for poets. I'm also signing books at Jittermugs cafe, Faversham on 14 September, 3.00 - 5.30 pm. And the big one, From Page to Stage at the Avenue Theatre, Sittingbourne, 1 October at 7.30 pm. Details of all these events and more on the Events/Readings page.

 

There are also new links on the Favourites page - to the Regenerate online journal and Medway Eyes, an artists' collaborative supporting and staging events in Medway.