Authors Electric

Manifold Magazine folded many years ago on the death of its editor, Vera Rich. In each edition she would propose two challenges, one subject related, and the other to be written in a specific poetic form. I really looked forward to these – they were terrific stimuli to write something that might well get published. The Spectator performs a similar function, sometimes 150 words of prose sometimes a poem, 16 lines maximum. I only discovered these competitions a year ago; they kick-started me, and I’ve had several published. But near-misses also get a mention, so I thought I’d give some of them an airing here. Blissfully ignoring – something you dislike about your loved one The distinctive call of an eider duck Plus the sound of an airbed deflating Or the distant growl of the M25 Then the huffing of two hedgehogs mating. A grunt that trails off to a whistle is next, Then a silence, a false dawn of hope – But it never lasts long, and the snuffles resume, The top of that ...

 Fifteen years ago, on the 20 th December, Vera Rich died. Among her many other incarnations she was the founder of  Manifold , "the magazine of new poetry" which was started in 1962 and appeared regularly until 1969, when it was suspended owing to her taking a job as Soviet and East European Correspondent for the scientific weekly  Nature . It was only in 1998 that it proved possible to relaunch  Manifold . It published original poetry and had two quarterly competitions, one written in a particular form, and the other on a particular topic. Many poets loved these challenges, as being given a specific task narrows the mind wonderfully. I’m going to reproduce a few of the ones I had published here, and also some more recent poems which, although unpublished, have received honourable mentions in other magazines – also in response to a particular requirement. What I want to do is to show how an exercise can really stimulate the imagination, which is often preferable t...

It’s always useful to be able to see things from someone else’s point of view when you’re creating a character. I have tried to view the world from the standpoint of a devil hyena, a prehistoric bird and a flying carpet (not in the same book, mind you) and they’re easy because you’re starting from scratch. No one can tell you what priorities a phorusrhacos had, although like most predatory birds, it was probably food. And the feelings and priorities of a flying carpet are even more fun to imagine. This is an extract from Back to the Divide , in a carpet shop: “Let me introduce myself,” said the rug, its voice emanating from different bits of its surface. “I’m brand new, and I’m the very latest design. Top of the range. My name is Nimblenap; Nimby for short." Felix burst out laughing. The rug rippled with displeasure. “What’s wrong with Nimby?” “It’s an acronym,” said Felix. “Not In My Back Yard.” “I can land just about anywhere,” said the carpet, offended. “From the smalle...