First Impressions

In this one-off preview episode of First Impressions – ahead of two poetry-themed episodes of the podcast – I speak to London-based poet Jacqueline Saphra about Poets for Ukraine, a fundraising/awareness-raising/spirit-raising project for which she is a driving force. This Sunday (27th March 2022), Poets for Ukraine will be running ‘a hybrid gala event’ at London’s JW3 featuring an international array of poets, which will also be available to view online. As well as discussing how Poets for Ukraine came about, and its aims, Jacqueline talks about the role poetry can play in a fractured world, recalls the powerful words of Russian poet Anna Akhmatova, and shares a sonnet from her acclaimed collection ‘One Hundred Lockdown Sonnets’ (Nine Arches Press, 2021). 

Jacqueline is a long-established poet and campaigner whose 2017 collection, ‘All My Mad Mothers’, was shortlisted for the TS Eliot prize. Along with their Facebook page, you can find links to the organisations Poets for Ukraine are supporting below (Goods for Good & Hope and Aid Direct); to JW3 in London who are hosting the night (where you can pledge and get tickets or a link); to the projects partners that are giving their backing to it, and to Jacqueline’s own website. Please take a look and support this great cause if you can.

https://www.facebook.com/PoetsForUkraine

https://poetryschool.com

https://poetrysociety.org.uk

https://www2.societyofauthors.org

https://jacquelinesaphra.wordpress.com

Well, I couldn’t stay away from podcasting until 2022 after all – the temptation to share a live recording of our literary event Mancaster Rocks was just too great. Why? Because this was the first opportunity in a couple of years to read on stage with my writing allies and for a supportive audience to mainline some offline literary performances supplemented with audio-visual invention.

王和平 PEACE WONG describes her music as dreamy, intimate, and atmospheric but like her influences Patti Smith and Leonard Cohen, Peace’s journey incorporates both music and writing; she also expresses her inner thoughts and feelings through spontaneous doodles – all merge into a unique artistic vision. Peace has moved from Hong Kong to Hualien, Taiwan, to study Creative Writing but this has not stopped her collaborating with video artists and hip-hop musicians near and far throughout the pandemic, as you will discover. We discuss the artistic process; linear vs. non-linear writing styles; dealing with the guilt of not producing/absorbing as prodigiously as planned; learning about life from older creatives, her book recommendations and much else besides. Peace’s debut album, About a Stalker, is available for your enjoyment on YouTube. More links to Peace’s highly original musical and literary endeavours are included below, along with the diverse range of artists who have inspired her.

Songs from Peace in this episode: 畏首畏尾 (fearful) (0:00), the core; the cure (10:23), 羊皮筏子 (15:03), disposable lover (16:00), Phantom Muyu Pt. 1 (18:15), 離開你以後我指甲都不用剪_leaving you i no need cut my nails (22:26), about a stalker (34:36), Step by step (38:40), 虎頭蛇尾 (39:53) // Song from Little Albert: Lazy Bao (27:47) // Song from Mitski: I Bet on Losing Dogs (42:17).

PEACE’s music on SoundCloud

This midsummer, what better company for Episode 10 of First Impressions than singer-songwriter and visual artist Jude Edwin-Scott? Jude’s work encompasses being at one with nature while never shying from the social issues at play in a world sharing the same heartbeat yet torn apart by social injustice. His highly original songbook is punctuated by traditional folk songs which he reinterprets with careful consideration of the original lyricists as they speak of worker repression and mining disasters, just as Jude documents in compelling words and melodies the fate of those subject to township living in South Africa, thrown to the wind as refugees or forced to relocate after being failed by the UK government in the aftermath of the Grenfell Tower fire.

We also cover growing up in a musical family in rural Cheshire where Jude’s dad Geoff wrote thought-provoking plays and music, and he played and collaborated with brother Tom, mum Juliet and sister Tess as well. Tom’s former band Fish Pie share an appropriately funky song here. There is also a heavy metal sojourn courtesy of Jude’s revived band Hidden by Trees, a paean to The Raven Folk Club in Chester (now online and offering lockdown solace), and generous excerpts from Jude’s forthcoming EP Inequality Blues, which is available to pre-order on Bandcamp now and released across platforms on Friday 25th June. 

The songs - Jude Edwin-Scott: Inequality Blues (1:24 and 34:34), Tell My Heart (6:51), Love Your Neighbour (8:28), Seagulls and Crows (14:28), Charlie’s Blues (19:37), Rambling Rose (29:20), Over the Banks (32:20), Little Princes (36:40), William Brown (41:20), The Gresford Mining Disaster (43:16) and Spinning Gold (52:45) // Tom Edwin-Scott/Jude Edwin-Scott: Crazy Days (10:50) and Shackleton’s Chair (45:46) // Fish Pie: Bad Karma (12:15) // Hidden by Trees: Good Mountain (26:55).

Jude Edwin-Scott – Inequality Blues EP (pre-order on Bandcamp)

Jude’s YouTube channel

Tom and Jude performing on stage together (London, 2016)

Hidden by Trees – Good Mountain (video with lyrics)

The Big Rock Room (heavy metal covers)

The Raven Folk Club

Moon Guitars

Underland by Robert Macfarlane (a  ‘long-term exploration of landscape and the human heart’)

Mixtape: a word that's music to the ears of anyone of a certain vintage and only a TDK90 in a cushioned envelope away from impressing those of all ages. Episode 9 of the First Impressions podcast pays tribute to audio old and new by ramming fresh tunage, brain-teasing readings and giddy comedy into your lugholes in a way that will leave you feeling like Russell Crowe after his bar brawl experience with an angular koala (see the same-namers sketch midway through). 

Far from a solo project, music this time comes from Venom Debonair and Decaying Leather (listen out for the alarming Joan as Policewoman cover) and spoken word from the pens of Bob Dylan, Frank O'Hara and Flannery O'Connor. Impressions animate Bennett, Bowie, Bragg, Caine, Danny the dealer, Lennon and others this time round, even as they recoil from my affectionate embrace. Enjoy! 

Venom Debonair tunes: The Best Years (05:22), Until (14:48) and Harm (29:16).

Venom Debonair on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/venomdebonair/

Strap yourselves in for a rollicking ride through the imagination of Manchester-based writer and artist Garth Simmons in Episode 8 of First Impressions as he introduces us to his highly original short story collection, Hole Punch. 

As well as being a master of the dark arts when it comes to fiction – his tales first began to hypnotise readers as social media posts dreamt up while he was temping – Garth is also a prolific podcaster. Like his genre-corrupting writing, his collaborative podcasts slanderhour and Semi (find them on Spotify, iTunes and elsewhere) do their best to defy description. What’s clear is that they share the same humorous elements and risk-taking mindset that illuminate Garth’s literary output and recall Chris Morris’ Blue Jam, which we discuss during our conversation. Links below to other subjects we take a pop at. The stories you will hear from Garth during our conversation are Wheelchair (0:00), The Man About Town (13:33), Drowned Oil Sick (20:44), Food (30:28), Atheism (35:03), Smear (37:07), Retirement (40:07) and The Man They All Respected (51:08).

Hole Punch (Kindle edition) https://www.amazon.co.uk/Hole-Punch-Garth-Simmons-ebook/dp/B08JLYC65H

Hole Punch on Good Reads https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/55442661-hole-punch

Hole Punch review in dytopic.co.uk https://www.dystopic.co.uk/hole-punch-by-garth-simmons-novel-review/

Garth reading ‘Pigs’ for Reform Radio https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GlGYMsMdfCw

True Blood by Flannery O’Connor https://uk.bookshop.org/books/wise-blood/9780571241309

Chris Morris’ Blue Jam https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BUePblNU860&list=PLF9818396FA36E90E

Happy New Year!! From Frankfurt Airport to Frank Spencer via Argentine author Mariana Enriquez, Emily Dickinson and The Dead Letters, Episode 6 of the pod was recorded in Buenos Aires and Cipolletti, Patagonia, in December 2020 and January 2021, and features further chats with my wife Ana Rebodello (see Episode 3) and brother Guy Humphreys (see Episode 2). There are also special guest appearances from mother and daughter schnauzers Luna and Karula and quieter inputs from executive producer Lucy Lu the cat. First off, artist, animator, editor and teacher Ana introduces the fantastical world of Mariana Enriquez. Later, multi-instrumentalist Guy covers his days with Cumbrian band The Dead Letters (Kendal Calling, Dry Bar), production/tuition tips and why it’s never a good idea to take your guitar to a party. Music this time round comes from The Dead Letters (line-up: Trevor Shepherd, Richard Wilson, Guy Humphreys), Guy himself, and our family band Decaying Leather. Please listen through headphones for the best possible audio experience. 

Here’s the link to the conversation between Mariana Enriquez and M John Harrison mentioned in my conversation with Ana: 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=svTwEkpWf5U        

More music from Dead Letters frontman Trevor Shepherd is available on deezer and Spotify via these links:

https://www.deezer.com/en/album/88021622?utm_campaign=messenger-message&utm_source=user_sharing&utm_medium=mobile&utm_content=album-88021622  

https://open.spotify.com/album/6PKC5HhtYTzspv0lM1aQjU?fbclid=IwAR1vMcPrOUfErqjiAXwn_5AsEmhYFirTTIxlEjo7HHLANi4pkg1C3LLb_v0 

This bumper episode of the pod is dedicated to friendship and features a chat with Peter’s lifelong pal Richard Pye. They talk about meeting at an all-boys school in the late ‘80s (2:00); helping organise the Wirral’s answer to Woodstock, ‘The Rut’ (8:30); Manchester before the skyscrapers (16:20), and Rich’s time as a getaway driver for the German FA during Euro ’96 (27:14). Poems this week are ‘Massacre at the Chorlton Poetry Festival, 2008’ (20:28) and ‘Quick, Save’ (26:05), based on a fleeting observation made at the now-defunct supermarket. There’s also a short story, ‘The Chatterbox’ (56:13), near the end of the show, along with Rich’s book recommendations for lockdown reading (52:14). Special thanks to estranged bandmates Matt O’K (keys/writing credit) and Pat R (guitar) who appear on the teenage dance anthem you’ll hear around seven minutes in. We've all had to be a bit reclusive this year - hopefully this conversation will remind you of meandering chats with your own mates. It's good to talk!

Curious about what it takes to be a writer? Manchester author Maria Roberts has come a long way since having her mouth sellotaped shut at school. Specialising in creative non-fiction she’s never waited for permission to express herself, and after writing a successful column for Manchester’s seminal City Life magazine, then setting up an equally frank and funny blog, was rewarded by a deal with Penguin for her first book, Single Mother on the Verge. Proud mum to Patrick, Maria has been censored and censured along the way, but as you’ll hear from this interview she hasn’t lost her infectious humour or willingness to spin a yarn. This episode ends with a poetic gripe about the writing biz on which we rely, and which relies on us – well, especially on kick-ass authors like Maria who connect with their readers on multiple levels. More from her soon!

First Impressions blends storytelling, humour, interviews, music and more. It's a bit all over the place, but then so is its creator, award-winning writer and editor Peter Humphreys. He claims the aim of the podcast is ‘to accentuate the positive and spread a little mirth during these difficult times, with an emphasis on the arts and all things literary’, but it could just as easily be a case of bandwagon jumping in the name of shameless self-promotion. It wouldn’t be the first time…