September: rampant curve

I’ve been invited to be Poet in Residence at Chapter Two Book Fair in Wells Town Hall this coming Saturday, 29th September. If you’re nearby on Saturday, do come and see me and my books sometime between 10am and 4pm. It will cost you all of 20 pence to get in, but you will also have a chance to see the rampant curve of the stone hand-rail on the rather grand staircase …

The hand-rail was cut
from honey-coloured stone,
speckled, coarse-grained,
lightly pitted, with a slight sheen.

He identified the local quarry –
long since closed –
from which it had been hewn
perhaps two hundred years ago.

What impressed us most
was the complex curve of it
following the rise of this
municipal flight of stairs.

It’s the most difficult task
a stonemason can perform, he said.
When you can carve a rampant curve
you can carve anything.

I will have some of my small-edition books for sale, and some poem-posters. There will also be a selection of one-off handmade books and experimental book-like work. Come and have a chat!