LITTLE MIRACLES AT LANGLEY

Over the weekend of 25th June 1999 I had the pleasure of meeting many fellow editors and poets from all over the country at Geoff Steven’s Purple Patch magazine’s Poetry Convention at the Barlow Theatre, Langley, near Birmingham.

A talk on SiFi Poetry by Steve Sneyd proved illuminating for those not familiar with the genre in that there is much to be gleaned from Byron, Shelley and many other poets throughout history where references to scientific and astronomical subjects/theories abound.

Gerald England had much to say on the advantages and disadvantages of Poetry on the Internet. He answered many questions from the floor from those unfamiliar with information technology and a discussion ensued about the copyright laws that may or may not apply.

There were readings by Sam Smith, Kopan Mahadeva and Maureen Weldon and two workshops were run - one by Sheffield poet Mike Hoy and the other on the Haiku by Pam Hewitt

Among the magazines represented were Krax, Poetry Scotland, Poetry Monthly, Journal of Contemporary Anglo -Scandanavian Poetry, Aabye, New Hope International, HQ (The Haiku Quarterly) and Borderlines.

There were Poetry Groups represented - Poets Anonymous, Anglo-Welsh Poetry Society and The Cannon Poets.

A Hot Air Balloon Competition took place where those, who were willing, read their favourite poet to a panel of judges and the losers were unceremoniously (in theory I’m glad to say) hurled out of the basket (gondola) until there was only one poet left which was Derrick Woolf, editor of Poetry Quarterly Review, reading excerpts from Coleridge’s Rhyme of the Ancient Mariner.

There are those poets around who are only too ready to sneer at such efforts made on their behalf, but in the warm and slightly heady atmosphere of the Barlow Theatre little miracles did happen - moments of congratulation, poems tested and found to be successful, wit in abundance and - you never know - friendships forged which even the failiure of a poet booked to read to appear failed to dampen - all this while Birmingham went about its blustering business and the traffic roared around its motorways!

I was grateful to be there and (at the risk of embarrassing him further) many others have willingly expressed their gratitude to Geoff Stevens for organising it!