I’m slowly starting to return to some sort of normality. I’ve got a lovely sheaf of gold stickers to put on the copies in my stash, my pink trophy has been shown off to various poetry friends, and for my office I have a gorgeous big framed print of the book cover with the certificate neatly placed at the foot of the mountain. (The mountain of the cover image, not a literal mountain.)
I’m slowly starting to return to some sort of normality. I’ve got a lovely sheaf of gold stickers to put on the copies in my stash, my pink trophy has been shown off to various poetry friends, and for my office I have a gorgeous big framed print of the book cover with the certificate neatly placed at the foot of the mountain. (The mountain of the cover image, not a literal mountain.)
Last week (I think?) I did an interview with Morrin Rout for Bookenz on PlainsFM which has just aired (you can listen to it here) – I think it went well, but I’m hopeless at being able to judge these things. I always spend the next hour/s after doing an interview kicking myself for not phrasing things well, or missing something I wanted to say, or … you get the idea. But Morrin is great, and she and Ruth have been great champions of literature for decades, so it was lovely to be asked back. And in case you’re wondering, I read Chronicle of the Year 793 and Lost, as well as discussed some of the (many) (very poor and completely pathetic) reasons why it took me so long to get tumble together.
Coming up quite soon I’m going to be taking part in a private single-session poetry class based on the book. One of my students, the indefatigable Shirley Eng, will be running it. This first session will be small and restricted to Poetry Class people – we want to see if this works at all in a safe environment, and in-person things still feel a bit weird. I do intend to offer an online version as well (assuming Shirley and I are still on speaking terms after this), but again it will probably be a fairly limited number.
BUT … if enough people are interested in hearing about the book, or in a class based on the book, there are a couple of other things I’m quite keen to try. One would be an Ask Me Anything (about the book) on Zoom, although I’m still a bit unsure about the logistics of that one, or whether there would be any interest in what would essentially be a question and answer session. But I figure it’s worth seeing if that appeals – I still have all the journals and workbooks that the poems came from, so it could become quite an interesting session.
The second would be an online poetry exercise class, using the exercises that produced specific poems in the book. I figure that people may as well make use of the fact that the author is also a writing tutor!
If any of these things tickle your fancy, let me know in the comments below, and I’ll see what I can put together.
A Dark Feathered Art 
Hi Joanna what great ideas! I especially like the sound of the online poetry exercise class, which I’d be very interested in attending!
Keen on the earlier-canvassed Shirley instigated class, even more so now. Interested in anything about the tumble process.
Yay – I’ll be opening up enrolments soon, so you’ll be able to leap in then. Can you expand on what you mean by “the tumble process”? What aspects are you curious about? (Give me the best possible chance of being ready for your questions when the time comes …)
The selection process, how you initially, then OUP, decided what was in or out. The actual structure decisions that take the reader from beginning to end through 3 parts. Why Terry Pratchett and why the tradition of using an opening quote as a frequent feature in literature. What guided the altered left tab layout on eg: p14, 15-16, 30 etc?
And can we get gold stickers retrospectively for our copies of tumble pretty please. Also, what changes for you professionally now that you’ve been accoladed beyond the interviews?
Basically nosey stuff!
Yes absolutely to the gold stickers – I have them in my purse, just in case, so next time you see me just remind me.
As regards the questions … sounds like good AMA material to me!
I like the idea of a book-based class but wonder if it’s all going in one direction – that is, reflecting what you have already done/thought. What would happen if you went in the other direction and used the tumble poems as the starting point – perhaps some of them grouped to see what we pick up from your ideas of groupiness – and see where we end up? I think I am worried about an exercise with right/wrong answers.
Hmm, interesting. My intention was that the poems would really just act as an example of what the exercise could create, and give me an excuse to wheel out the exercise again. Not something you could get wrong or right.
The smaller R4W class that Shirley is putting on will be looking at the groups of poems and talking about those sorts of aspects … I think!
SO happy for you! I’ve just listened to the interview and it was lovely to hear you read. Brought back memories of Ty Newydd.
You are a shining light.
Anna
Anna! How lovely to hear from you! I’m glad you enjoyed the interview. Ty Newydd feels like either yesterday or a lifetime ago, doesn’t it? Hooray for the incredible shrinking cohort of 2003!
Shrinking cohort, indeed. Do you remember Tamar Yoseloff giving a workshop? Anne Berkeley? Hear about anyone else?
https://www.tamaryoseloff.com/blog/tag/Anne+Berkeley
I do indeed remember! I’ve heard from Barbara a couple of times, ditto Sheenagh, and OtherJo has a novel coming out quite soon which sounds amazing https://www.joanna-quinn.com/. How about you?
I’m looking forward to reading your collection and Joanna Quinn’s novel. I have had contact off and on with Barbara too, and have read To the Boneyard.
I managed to sneak a couple of extra weeks at Ty Newydd when there were a few spare MPhil places. And I went back for a masterclass with Gillian Clarke and Robert Minhinnick a few years ago. It is a special place.