Round up

 End of year round-up.

I started 2021 with an essay about colonialism and hedgehogs, published in The Clearing: https://www.littletoller.co.uk/the-clearing/on-entering-the-wrong-carriage-by-rachel-j-fenton/

'Everywhere is Now', my graphic poem about war, was picked up by Word City Monthly after I posted it on my blog. https://snowlikethought.blogspot.com/2021/01/everywhere-is-now.html https://miombopublishing.org/2021/02/09/everywhere-is-now-a-graphic-story-by-rachel-j-fenton-rae-joyce-wordcity-monthly-february-2021-issue6/

I reviewed Nigel Pantling's It's Not Personal (Smith | Doorstop, 2020) over on Everybody's Reviewing.

My poem ‘Dregs' was published in Neologism Poetry (technically their December issue but I didn’t see it until January): https://www.neologismpoetry.com/december-2020/?fbclid=IwAR1QB6Ttx9WpmsnR6vnJrvksPkzDMCA0Bit4BeY9NjxejkrzpzPkhVy3Rog

My story ‘We Are Not Victorians’ was shortlisted for the Bath Flash Fiction Competition and included in their anthology.

My poem ‘Miscarriage’ was published in Writing in a Woman’s Voice.

A selection of my poems made the shortlist out of over a thousand entries in the Disquiet Literary Contest: https://snowlikethought.blogspot.com/2021/03/disquiet.html

My review of Becky Manawatu’s novel Auē was published in The Guardian: https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2021/apr/28/it-was-so-gripping-i-read-it-in-two-sittings-11-books-to-pull-you-out-of-a-reading-rut?fbclid=IwAR1Cc0EZ6RgZQ1FPXPNJm7_YsbEuv7bTmyWabSTW0s8sm4os1oal4htXWsw

Between the Flags, my first foray in YA novel writing (and the sequel to Some Things the English which was longlisted in the inaugural Michael Gifkins Prize https://authors.org.nz/three-talented-kiwis-shortlisted-for-michael-gifkins-prize/ and went on to be shortlisted for the Cinnamon Press Debut Novel Prize and placed second in the Dundee International Book Prize) made it to the longlist of 12 out of over a hundred entries in the Michael Gifkins Unpublished Novel Competition https://snowlikethought.blogspot.com/2021/05/ya-listing.html.

My debut poetry collection Beerstorming with Charlotte Bronte in New York was published by The Ethel Press: https://www.ethelzine.com/shop/beerstorming-with-charlotte-bront-in-new-york-by-rachel-j-fenton

Nuala O’ Connor – author of acclaimed novel NORA – interviewed me about my debut poetry collection Beerstorming with Charlotte Bronte in New York. https://nualaoconnor.com/writers-at-work-rachel-j-fenton-interview/

Playwright and lesbian feminist activist Carolyn Gage interviewed me about Beerstorming with Charlotte Bronte in New York: https://carolyngage.weebly.com/blog/rachel-j-fenton-on-the-trail-of-charlotte-brontes-best-friend?fbclid=IwAR2xCBm8QMfBH2moAcUHLP9dZo13_KElNDFbCE_UHvrx0rCBc24FJbgkYxQ

And novelist and publisher Sylvia Petter penned this creative response to Beerstorming with Charlotte Bronte in New York: https://www.sylviapetter.com/2021/06/08/on-reading-rachel-fentons-beerstorming-with-charlotte-bronte-in-new-york/?fbclid=IwAR015GB722DWsiuTPHRbB06eFwiGTqwZRTb_biGMYLf0lIbs_gTwkXoGCRI

Beerstorming also got a mention on the University of Leicester blog: https://creativewritingatleicester.blogspot.com/2021/06/rachel-j-fenton-beerstorming-with.html?fbclid=IwAR3QKkCDL722J4xiA883NWSrzJbxlYSJnNxvRyvu535NJiZT3ilImr9RLAI

I was invited to give a talk bout Mary Taylor, at the Hampden Community Library, and was scheduled to talk at the Oamaru Public Library https://culturewaitaki.org.nz/waitaki-district-libraries/event/cancelled-rachel-j-fenton-biography-red-how-mary-taylor%E2%80%99s-blankets, and the Victorian Literature Festival, but these talks were unfortunately cancelled due to Covid restrictions. 

I was interviewed three times, by the Oamaru Mail and Otago Daily Times. https://www.oamarumail.co.nz/community/writer-overcomes-tyranny-of-distance/

https://www.oamarumail.co.nz/community/workshops-encourage-new-scene/

https://www.odt.co.nz/regions/north-otago/janet-frame-house-curator-moving

And in July I was in the shortlist of seven out of hundreds of entries into the Text Publishing Prize for my debut YA novel Between the Flags.

I reviewed Denise O’ Hagan’s poetry collection The Beating Heart: https://snowlikethought.blogspot.com/2021/08/the-beating-heart.html

Beerstorming was given a brilliant review by Emma Lee: https://emmalee1.wordpress.com/2021/09/29/beerstorming-with-charlotte-bronte-in-new-york-rachel-j-fenton-ethel-zine-and-micro-press-book-review/?fbclid=IwAR2RlCd2nHHdT7axGYifBxSLmJ6v1mczOMGAW6wjqqXAKu0ad_5JGkY-ogY

And my graphic memoir ‘Dance the Night Away’ was published in Overground Underground: https://overgroundunderground.co.uk/issues?fbclid=IwAR37AEn1wdT5hO-VmAL8fZAnNYXmOeciMZ06F5WdaKkX3cCi_DeAJBP4SU0

I also did the cover illustration for Robert Sullivan’s poetry collection Tūnui/Comet.

In October I took over as Curator at Janet Frame House: https://www.odt.co.nz/regions/north-otago/janet-frame-house-curator-moving?fbclid=IwAR3nUBd2mg-eUzlZE8XE9vA4ZrToVU--db-MDZsVc-kNajkfAnc4_QQHn7k

I taught zine-making workshops at the Forrester Gallery in Oamaru and judged the subsequent competition. https://culturewaitaki.org.nz/forrester-gallery/event/zine-workshops-rachel-fenton

I gave the Subhi Tresa Sebastian Memorial Lecture at Sacred Heart College, Kochi, India. https://twitter.com/RaeJFenton/status/1462875838559371264

And here we are in December and I’m mentoring a third year undergrad student for the Hallam Collective at Sheffield Hallam University – more on this soon!

I had a few other things published here and there and I’ve also been working on a novel and a collection of poetry, and I’m pleased to announce that my graphic biography of Mary Taylor, Betweenity, is forthcoming from Mary Egan Publishing.

It’s been a busy year and it’s also been a personally very challenging year. As ever, my work has given me something to focus on and pulled me through, as has reading the work of others. I wish you all much creativity and a happy New Year. Onward and upwards.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Beerstorming review

"Rachel Fenton’s Charlotte Brontë is the best friend anyone could want: someone who is there, who doesn’t judge and understands the drive to write [...] someone you can run seemingly-daft ideas past and get useful replies. Someone to share a beer with."

Many thanks to writer Emma Lee for taking the time and care to read Beerstorming with Charlotte Bronte in New York, and for writing this smashing review here. 

Nuala O'Connor interview

I've loved Nuala O' Connor's writing since first encountering her through blogging way back in 2009. She helped me get my first flash published and has been a steadfast supporter of my work since. I was thrilled to stupidity to meet her in real life in 2018, and her star has risen and risen, so I'm absolutely chuffed she's interviewed me about Beerstorming with Charlotte Brontë in New York as part of her 'Writers at Work' series on her website at a time when her acclaimed biographical novel NORA is taking critics by storm.

Petter pending

Perhaps the best compliment a writer can receive is that their work inspires that of another. The author of the fictionalised memoir All the Beautiful Liars, Sylvia Petter, has written this creative non-fiction response to Beerstorming with Charlotte Brontë in New York, and she's got another response pending publication.

Gage interview

 

The Berg Collection Reading Room at New York Public Library. 

 

June is Pride Month! So happy that radical lesbian playwright, actor and activist Carolyn Gage interviewed me about my debut poetry pamphlet Beerstorming with Charlotte Brontë in New York, and we also talked about Betweenity, my graphic biography of Mary Taylor, and so much more.

Leicester uni-storming

My thanks to Dr Jonathan Taylor for posting about Beerstorming with Charlotte Bronte in New York on the University of Leicester Creative Writing Blog.

Beerstorming

 

 

It's publication day - my debut poetry chapbook is here! 

My grandest thanks go to my brilliant publisher Sara Lefsyk of The Ethel Zine and Micro Press for making this dream of mine come true! Sitting up all night on the settee with a two month old on my breast when I submitted my poems, publication seemed as elusive as sleep. I'm forever grateful to Sara for bringing my chapbook into the world.

Disquiet

 

"Thank you for submitting to the 2021 Disquiet Literary Contest. We received over a thousand entries for this year's contest, many of them of exceptional quality. While we're sorry to say that your entry was not selected to be one of this year's winners, you should know that out of an impressive pool of work, yours made it all the way to the final judges on the shortlist.

In fact, our readers thought your entry skillfully wields the simplicity of its images to make for a vivid, enveloping reading experience. Rather than stretching language through syntactical feats, you trust the humble sentence to relay meaning in a way that is effective and clear. The world exists in your poems from the first line. The pacing [...] is emblematic of what these poems manage to do: make us feel, in transit, that we’ve found some stillness. We hope to see much more of your work in the future."

Fairly stoked to receive this feedback on top of my shortlisting! 

Miscarriage

Many thanks to Beate Sigriddaughter, for including my poem 'Miscarriage' in Writing in a Woman's Voice.

It's not agatha christie

Thanks to Dr Jonathan Taylor for including my review of Nigel Pantling's It's Not Personal (Smith | Doorstop, 2020) over on Everybody's Reviewing, not least because I got to indulge my love of mystery writing. If you want to know what Miss Marple has to do with Hannah Gadsby, you may only find it in this review!

Dregs

 

My thanks to Editor Christopher Fields for including my 'Dregs' at the end of this thoughtfully curated issue of Neologism Poetry, technically the last of 2020 spilling into the new year.

Yes but what review

Many thanks to Dr Jonathan Taylor and the team at Everybody's Reviewing, for including my review of Ian McMillan's latest Smith and Doorstop pamphlet, Yes But What Is This? What Exactly?.

Tarot

Many thanks to Editor Kit Willett for including 'Rock Oysters' and 'Auckland, Good Friday' in the inaugural issue of Tarot Journal. I'm pleased to have my work alongside poems by Ria Masae, Siobhan Harvey, and others.

Riptide climate matters

 

 

Proud to have work in this important #ClimateMatters issue of Riptide Journal, many thanks to Editors Sally Flint and Virginia Baily.

 

The issue is free to download, but for anyone having difficulty accessing the site, here is my poem:

 

Letters to Dad 

 

I write to you, Dad, who will not read my letters,  

who memorised The Rime of the Ancient Mariner  

and knew by heart the one-eyed yellow idol,  

was never idle but for the hours mined 

 in front of the hearth with the tv casting shadows  

on your big chin. Your chin, I have inherited. In age,  

I have yet to surpass the numbers of your birthday  

the last time we shared cake, a tell-tale crease  

curves from cheek to cheek regardless, shapes 

 an image of myself in your face 

 when you moved to land your fist. 

 Did you feel like you were punching yourself?  

One letter away from dead,  

does guilt hang weighty like an albatross,  

like me aged kid with my arms around your neck, 

 asking you, Dad, please will you read to me?  

You told me two-dimensional stories out your head,  

had imagination and could build sheds from scrap, 

but sat on my homework because it remained flat for you, 

who, when I choked, held me upside-down, 

like the book you couldn’t read,

 until rind fell from my mouth like pressed flowers.  

 

 

Rachel Fenton 2020

In verse

 

A big thank you to Editors Paul Farley and Andrew McRae for including my poem 'River Dove' in the beautiful anthology that is Places of Poetry, Mapping the Nation in Verse. It's a beautiful book. I'm delighted it is now launched and I can get my hands on a copy.

Takahē running

I couldn't be more pleased to have made the longlist of the Monica Taylor Poetry Prize for the second year running - many thanks to judge Siobhan Harvey! Wishing congratulations and luck to everyone else listed!

Word city

Many thanks to Darcie Friesen Hossack and the international team of editors, especially Nancy Ndeke and Sylvia Petter , for including three of my poems and one of my stories in the inaugural issue of WordCity Monthly.

Shortlisted

Stunned to learn that my poetry has been shortlisted for The Emma Press Poetry Pamphlet publication. Many thanks for the absolute labour of love that Editor Emma Wright has put into reading all of the hundreds of submissions. It's astonishing and humbling to me that my poems have made such a connection to have been selected among the final nineteen.  

A Quarter Life

A Quarter Life by Tyler Pufpaff

Review by Rachel J Fenton

When Tyler Pufpaff asked if I would review his poetry chapbook, I agreed with no idea of what to expect from A Quarter Life other than the poet’s own disclaimer that their chapbook represents their “experience with mental illness”, a disclaimer that is repeated in the brief note to readers in the book’s opening pages. Tyler Pufpaff is a poet of few words, I thought. Had I opened this book in a bookshop I would have read the Bukowski quote on the following page and stopped there. But I had agreed to review Pufpaff’s poems, so I read on.

My reaction to Bukowski is less a criticism of his work than a comment on the overuse of Bukowski quotes to act as some sort of shorthand for struggle, particularly the struggles perceived by white males. As a working-class woman, I feel perturbed by pleas of struggle by privileged groups and view them as performative rather than real. But given the brevity of the chapbook form, I can appreciate Pufpaff’s choice of epigraph. 

Any concerns I had about performativity are answered in ‘The Perfect Performance’, an eight-stanza poem that reads easily at a satisfying speed, much like the videogame referenced in it. The childish knee-jerks depicted are weighed against the wrongs of a woman – the mother? – in a push-pull of resentment and forgiveness. 

The emotional complexity of the first poem is given relief by the list of ‘Moribund’, in which what is lost by leaving home is balanced against the new struggles gained from being “[t]ruly independent”, presenting a sort of poetic equation. 

‘Delores’ loops back like sewing machine thread to catch up where the first poem left off, building on an uncomfortable association between violence and women and highlighting Pufpaff’s knack for editing. Care is evident in the placement of these poems. 

‘Painting in the Garage’ gives two perspectives of the same scene, a mind-scape where the paint is a metaphor for the layering of struggles and the difficulty in seeing through a thickening surface of illness that culminates in a suicide attempt in ‘Banal Platitude’. 

Interestingly, a sort of resurrection occurs in the following poem, titled like a journal simply with the date ‘June 18’, in which the poem’s speaker mourns a dead self who has been replaced by a self-destructive one. 

‘Flash Forward’ hints at a happy ending making the impact of ‘Ghost Rider’ more shocking. Accountability is swerved around to get to ‘Forgiveness’. What should be clear to readers now is that they are not in their own head, “[u]nfocused and stuck”. Even the sentences are coming unstuck: “feeling less immersed now than I’ve ever been with anything that I’ve lost a cause.’

Pufpaff’s ability to disorientate the reader is matched by his skill at guiding them through each poem, offering only as much complexity as is required for them to empathise with his mental health struggles while expertly leading them through to the next poem. There is enough variety of form to reward the reader visually when the heavy subject-matter is unrelenting. 

Where Pufpaff is strongest is in the poems that divide the poems on the page, such as ‘Ode to ceiling Fan’, giving readers a sense of split-thinking but also reasoning; however, the most emotionally satisfying poem is arguably the simplest. ‘Haircut’, in six repetitious stanzas, cuts to the heart of the loneliness of mental illness, the effect all the more poignant for its nursery rhyme allusion and such lines as, “I can cry if I pay for shampoo”.   

Staring at the ceiling becomes a genre in these poems, in which Pufpaff makes the ceiling the stage for his masterclass. The tragedy is that the poet seems unable to exit. A sense of claustrophobia builds from the second half of A Quarter Life, but instead of escape there is an elegiac ending that feels more like a lift-off than a last page. The hope, then, is that a more optimistic collection will follow.

Had I stopped reading A Quarter Life at the Bukowski quote, I would have missed the opportunity to read the resiliency-in-progress evidenced by Pufpaff’s poems, the desire to succeed in the face of mental illness despite – or perhaps because of – its unrelenting presence in the poet’s mind. Yet wherever the poet’s thoughts take his poems, his poems deliver the reader safely to a more thoughtful place to consider mental-illness from. 

A Quarter Life

Published by Tyler Pufpaff 2020

30 pages

ISBN 978-1-71-480028-5