You can see my blogs from Hay Festival in Kerala. Part 3 of Sunday, the final entry, should be going up soon. I had a blast. Highlights include having dinner with Jung Chang, not letting the monsoon rain stop a bunch of Welsh poets from having a good time in Kovalam, being touristy with Dylan Moore, drinking with Simon Armitage, Cat Weatherill, Ed Vere and co and the finale beach party. Big thanks to Germaine G for donating her mini bar supplies to us when we arrived at the after party to find the hotel bar was open to sit at, but not actually serving drinks. I also tacked on a mini beach holiday. Result.
There is a wonderful extended review essay 'Ecological Literacy' by Steven Lovatt in the latest issue of New Welsh Review exploring recent books that seek to restore natural and cultural ecologies and recognise how the cultural nature of our landscapes is preserved in language. It offers an in-depth look at This Common Uncommon by Rae Howells, and here are three of our favourite snippets: "Rae Howells’ new poetry collection, This Common Uncommon , is a fierce and loving affirmation of the local, exemplifying the sort of care-full attention to the interdependence of people, other animals and plants that will be required if anything worthwhile is to be saved from the present ruin." "Howells confirms the evidence of her first collection, The Language of Bees, that she is a highly adept poet, possessing one of the most distinctive voices in contemporary Welsh writing in English." "If West Cross Common is developed for housing, nobody can now claim ignoran...
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