poetry

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Kathryn Bevis Obituary

Kathryn Bevis is white woman with shoulder-length brown hair. She is wearing a blue beanie hat and a purple scarf and is looking at the camera and smiling.

We are very sorry to hear the news that Kathryn Bevis has passed away.

Kathryn’s relationship with Seren first began during lockdown, when she was a regular open mic reader at our online First Thursday events. Since then we have been honoured to publish her work in Poetry Wales Magazine and more recently in both her acclaimed pamphlet Flamingo, and debut collection The Butterfly House.

Perhaps one of the finest poets of her generation, Kathryn captured hearts and minds with her innovative use of form, language and metaphor to describe everyday life, experiences of women and terminal illness. She had a skill for finding light in the dark, celebration in sadness, and joy in the smallest moments.

Kathryn was a great supporter of other writers. As founder of The Writing School Online, she ran workshops, writing courses and offered mentoring to writers across the UK. She performed at events and festivals across the country and her love for poetry, positivity and, above all, her family and friends always shone through.

Kathryn’s passing is an immense loss. Knowing and working with her was an honour and a pleasure and the entire team sends their heartfelt condolences to her family and friends. For all those who knew her, or will come to know her through her work, we hope that you too will find love, celebration and joy.

Photograph of Kathryn taken by Tina Norris.

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Glyn Edwards shortlisted for Wales Book of the Year

Cover of In Orbit by Glyn Edwards shown with a sticker reading Shortlist 2024.

We’re delighted to share that In Orbit by poet Glyn Edwards has been shortlisted for Wales Book of the Year 2024.

In Orbit is a deeply moving account of love, longing, and loss. On receiving news of a beloved teacher’s death, a man struggles with the loss of a relationship sustained by deep admiration and unrequited love. Memories of their shared journey are separated in three orbits where the man’s past, present, and future are punctuated by intense grief.

Wales Book of the Year has four categories in each language – Poetry, Fiction, Creative Non-fiction and Children & Young People, with one of the four category winners announced as the Overall Winner, and claiming the title Wales Book of the Year. There are twelve awards in total with a collective prize fund of £14,000. In both Welsh and English there are four category winners, one People’s Choice winner and one overall winner.

Glyn’s collection is shortlisted in the English-language Poetry Category alongside I Think We’re Alone Now by Abigail Parry (Bloodaxe Books) and Cowboy by Kandace Siobhan Walker (CHEERIO Publishing). You can view the full Welsh and English-language shortlists for all categories on the Literature Wales website. The winners will be announced in a live Award Ceremony in Caernarfon on Thursday 4th July.

In the meantime you can support your favourite book on the shortlist by voting for Wales Book of the Year People’s Choice Award via the Nation.Cymru and Golwg360 websites.

Vote now

Glyn Edwards was recently featured on The Seren Poetry Podcast where he chatted in depth with Sarah Johnson about In Orbit, poetry and his writing rituals. The Seren Poetry Podcast is available now on all podcast platforms.

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Friday Poem – ‘Dannie’s Rock’ by Tony Curtis

Photo of foamy waves washing against a rocky shore

This week’s Friday Poem is ‘Dannie’s Rock’ by Tony Curtis from his new collection Leaving the Hills.

Dannie’s Rock i.m. Dannie Abse Countless low tides leaving the Ogmore beach wide For walks, French cricket and burying fathers. Out to the west, half way to England, it seems, The sea baring its black teeth shows Tusker Rock, Ynys Twsgwr, tu skar, stark above the flat water, Fangs shown only because of the wrecks – A wheelhouse, ribs, blown open boiler room, Propellor, capstan, winch and chains, The long-broken spine of the S.S. Liban lost in a storm, And many others. The dead sailors and a child, All those who floundered, drowned, falling From the tilting decks to their cold deaths. A colony of starfish and mussels and goose barnacles Live and prosper on what we leave. The sea scans the same measured syllables, Songs that sound out of the scored waves. There are more stories to tell – Britten, Debussy, Always more music to raise from the chains of the deep; For these blind rocks, Dannie, Could never satisfy the hungers of our sea.

This poem was first published in Poetry Wales Magazine. You can download their special ebook Doctor and Magician: A Tribute to Dannie Abse, published to celebrate Dannie Abse’s centenary, from their website.

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Friday Poem – ‘The Butterfly House’ by Kathryn Bevis

Blue Morphos butterfly resting against a sunlit windowpane

This week’s Friday Poem is ‘The Butterfly House’ by Kathryn Bevis from her highly anticipated debut collection. We’re hosting an online launch for The Butterfly House on Zoom on the 10th April. Details of how to register for the event are below.

The Butterfly House i.m. Ray Holloway Yours is the only death I’ve ever known. We sat with you for hours and stroked your hands. And though it was January — the pond a frozen oval — though each blade of grass had etched itself against the ground and each frail thing had hidden from the stalking frost, a butterfly flew to your window, sudden and strange, with wings that throbbed like a heart. The day we buried you, we saw another: crimson sails unfurled, its body putting out to sea. Today’s a pilgrimage. I rest in mist and heat. Red lacewings gather their silk skirts as I trace a swallowtail’s trembling pulse. Together, apart, together: a pair of blue morphos shiver like black-fringed scraps of sky. Clear as leaded panes, glasswings feast on nectar. They close themselves like hands that meet in prayer, then open up to cup the tropic air. Since my diagnosis, I see them every time I close my eyes. Their flaming wings. Their too short lives.
Join us for the virtual launch of The Butterfly House. Kathryn Bevis. Wednesday 10th April 7-8pm. Celebration publication of Kathryn's debut collection with guest readsers Dillion Jaxx and Jonathan Edwards. Online via Zoom with captions by Otter.ai.
Register to attend