The best we can do is read poems that outlived their makers, sad but so; we can hunt for clues to why. The second-best we can do is read up on the old stories – Greek, Hebrew, Roman, Norse, Celtic, Arabian, African – so we know a little of what these poets knew and their poems still know. And simply so we hear those stories, for real poets are campfire people.

Glyn Maxwell

Folkdays: Folktale Closings

FOR MORE FOLKDAYS CONTENT, SEE MY BLOG. It has grown late, and the campfire has reduced to smouldering embers, which glow in the breeze that begins to creep in from the surrounding dark. As the flames recede, so does the story: both have spent hours dancing in the air, and both now begin to wane. … Continue reading Folkdays: Folktale Closings

Folkdays: The Oak King

FOR MORE FOLKDAYS CONTENT, SEE MY BLOG. With Midsummer only a day away, it feels apt to use this week’s Folkdays post to write something about the traditions and folklore associated with the summer solstice. There were so many things I could have written about: whether it be beliefs, rituals, celebrations, or traditions. Yet, one … Continue reading Folkdays: The Oak King

Blog: Weekend Paintings

Over the weekend, I’ve been experimenting a little more with my rose petal pigments, and have branched out in my designs to include leaves and birds. I’m really happy with the results. Take a look below!

Folkdays: Rose Lore

FOR MORE FOLKDAYS CONTENT, SEE MY BLOG. I’ve been working with roses quite a bit recently, as I’ve been making pigment from rose petals and using them to paint the flowers themselves. They’ve crept into my life in all sorts of other ways, too: I’ve recently written a piece about thorns (and the Anglo-Saxon rune … Continue reading Folkdays: Rose Lore

Blog: Rose Petal Pigment

To brighten my small flat during lockdown, my parents brought me over some beautiful bouquets of flowers. I noticed, when the stamens of the lilies began to fall, how they stained any surface they touched a deep russet. I decided then to collect them, and try to use their powder as a natural pigment to … Continue reading Blog: Rose Petal Pigment

Folkdays: Rainbows

FOR MORE FOLKDAYS CONTENT, SEE MY BLOG. We’re living in a very precarious and frightening moment in time. Looking back through history, humanity has faced moments like this many times before; look through the lens of folklore and myth, and we see that humans have always been able to combat our fear with creativity. Today, … Continue reading Folkdays: Rainbows

Folkdays: Cave Art

FOR MORE FOLKDAYS CONTENT, SEE MY BLOG. Some weeks, for these Folkdays posts, a topic will reveal itself to me and more-or-less demand to be written about. That is precisely what happened this week. The phenomenon of prehistoric cave art has been on the peripheries of my mind for a while: a writing residency that … Continue reading Folkdays: Cave Art

Folkdays: Hedgehog Lore

FOR MORE FOLKDAYS CONTENT, SEE MY BLOG. For the past few evenings, my parents’ patio has been visited by a hedgehog, who appears quite brazenly from out of the undergrowth to feed at the birds’ ground table! Enticed back night after night with the promise of scraps of corned beef, he has grown increasingly comfortable … Continue reading Folkdays: Hedgehog Lore

Folkdays: Folktale Openings

FOR MORE FOLKDAYS CONTENT, SEE MY BLOG. Come and have a seat. The campfire has been lit, dusk is drawing on, and the golden flames appear ever more vivid as the sky darkens. Somewhere, a blackbird trills his evening song. Look into the depths of the fire. Perhaps you see blue there too, maybe green? … Continue reading Folkdays: Folktale Openings

Folkdays: Bluebells

FOR MORE FOLKDAYS CONTENT, SEE MY BLOG. I am blessed to have grown up in an area where bluebell woods abound. At this time of year, the Clent and Walton Hills, Uffmoor and Hagley Woods, and Wychbury Hillfort are carpeted with swathes of this beautiful flower. Though I cannot walk through these indigo seas this … Continue reading Folkdays: Bluebells

Folkdays: Rag Trees

FOR MORE FOLKDAYS CONTENT, SEE MY BLOG. The walks, especially the less-trodden tracks, around the Clent, Walton, and Wychbury Hills are where I get most of my inspiration, and where I feel my creativity recharging. One of the most special spots on these walks is the dell behind St Kenelm’s church. The spring is said … Continue reading Folkdays: Rag Trees

New Thread: Folkdays

The third and final of my new threads is something I am calling ‘Folkdays’. A portmanteau of the words ‘Folklore Fridays’, these posts will explore a little element of folk culture: folktales, lore, or anything I find that fits in with my current research. As well as researching folklore for my own poetry, I am … Continue reading New Thread: Folkdays