My first US poetry journal

Really pleased to have my poem ‘Fifteen’ included in Robert Peake’s showcase of British poetry in issue 10 of the US Pacific coast journal Silk Road, which just arrived. He writes:

“So what is ‘British’ about these poems? First, there is a unique focus on language, its heft and chewiness. To some extent, all good poetry takes up this cause. But in Great Britain, one’s use of language is intimately tied to one’s place of origin. A phenomenal number of dialects, accents, and several distinct languages coexist in close geographic proximity. Place is therefore invoked the moment one opens one’s mouth. From Patience Agbabi’s cold fusion of hip-hop and Chaucer, to Liz Berry’s private defense of her father’s Black Country accent, to Andrew Philip’s Scots-language-infused quatrains–when it comes to place, language is as important as the soil (or concrete) under foot.” Teaser at:

http://silkroad.pacificu.edu/files/Download/sr10_teaser.pdf