Being in a bookshop always makes me happy. Being in a bookshop while a poet is reading his work and discussing it with insight and care makes me extra happy. So when we gathered at Wordsworth Books Gardens at the end of a long, windy day to celebrate the launch of The Algebra of Insignificance by Stephen Symons the world immediately felt like a better place.
Stephen is one of the finest poets I know, and it is a great joy to work with him and to share his writing with other readers. He was in conversation with John Maytham, who asked all the right questions to allow the audience to get a real taste of what lies at the heart of Stephen’s creative process.
An audience member shared how he always marvels at Stephen’s ability to not only remain accessible, but to allow nearly each line of his poems to shine as a poetic gem in its own right. And so it is …
Half the city is drunk on the black liquor of February heat.
A wad of forgotten letters from which a type of longing germinates.
Two lovers inhale the scene
and unfurl their white flags of surrender
over each other’s salt-sticky flesh.
Day will eventually
beat its wings and become flight …
Thank you to Wordsworth Books Gardens for hosting the evening and for being so supportive of Stephen’s work and of so many other local writers! Thank you to Stephen and John for the conversation. And thank you to all who attended!
Far beyond the rummage of whitewater
the sail of a yacht argues with the wind,
rolling and pitching in hesitancy
as if about to make
a life-changing decision.
Happy poetry reading, Everyone!
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