The Keeking Light

We had a bit of sunshine this week, one whole day of it on Friday from sunrise at 8am-ish to sunset at 4.30-ish. The return of the sun is a big deal in the north of Finland, but even in Southern Finland it has had a huge impact and immediately boosted everyone's moods. It has been a very dark and dreary winter this year, not just because the sun sets early and rises so late. It's been so overcast during the daylight hours that we haven't actually had more than a few hours of direct sunlight for maybe two months. It dampens everything and everyone in the country. So one day of pure sunlight, icy cold, is like a shot of adrenaline. Even if it's been followed by more snow and overcast weather. 

This feeling that spring is possible has given me a boost to move into looking for some new projects. So I'm applying for a grant, the first time I've tried it in Finland. Luckily, this application can be in English as I'm not up for an all Finnish application. I'm pretty sure I don't have a chance, but it's good practice and I can see how the process works. My writing group is also jumping into a new phase and we might eventually want to ask for some money. We've got a great group of enthusiastic and diverse writers, so we might has well push the boat out a little. 

I haven't written many grants and I don't have the knack as some people I have met who know the buzz words, the way to make something simple sound important and impactful. I don't invest a lot of personal emotion in them, but I also don't work only as a writer, so any money I get is bonus and totally unexpected. The money for writing time is definitely needed if I want to actually put some serious effort in my worj. Currently, I fit it into the weekend, around things I need to do for my work, my kids. I'd love to be a full-time writer, but I can't for my kids' sake. I'll throw this grant and another project I've applied for totally into the hands of the Fates and take what they give me in return. 

Publication news: I'm so delighted to be included in the most recent issue of Eemis Stane, a primarily Scots language publication. The team is just brilliant and so helpful with getting the Scots in my poems jist richt. I'm still learning, so it's been great to work with them and to be included, though Scots for me is a learned language, rather than a native tongue. The scope of the magazine is amazing and global even though it's focussed on a minority language, from a sample of Catalan translations of a Scots novel to a whole collection of great Scots poems and a review of a book of Scots translations of Chinese poets. I feel like I'm a small part of a new vitalising movement. 

Here's hoping more sunshine is on the way. 

2022 Writing Review

I thought when I finished my course (I finished my course!!!) and handed in that last assignment I'd have more time to do things that had been shuffled aside these last three months and for most of 2022 really. But here I am three weeks later and I feel like I'm still struggling to get on with things. I'm unsure if it's a lack of motivation, the lack of a whip encouraging me to move forward or the fact that we're still buried under a dark and snowy winter here in Finland that's holding me back. 

It's taken me a week to even write this entry, but here it is, halfway through  January and I'm just looking at my submission and writing stats for 2022. 

34 new poems written  

84 submissions to journals or other opportunities

4 books submissions

66 rejections

4 book rejections

28 acceptances

53 poems published in 26 publications 

15 blog posts   

Acceptance rate: 32% 

Compared to 2021:

61 new poems

144 submissions to journals or other opportunities

3 book submissions

108 rejections 

5 book rejections

38 acceptances 

68 poems were published in 39 publications

21 blog posts

Acceptance rate: 26%

I submitted and wrote less, so I didn't hit my 100 rejection goal. However, my acceptance rate has jumped up again and I've had a couple of exciting projects over the year. This includes lots of audio work: my iamb poetry page, working with the Helsinki Writers to produce a poetry recording with Helsinki Open Waves and the Eat the Storms poetry podcast.

I've also had work included in Fevers of the Mind, Sunday Mornings at the River, Empty House Press, Black Nore Review, Scrawl Place, Frogmore Papers, Fly on the Wall, The Martello and Black Bough among others. Of course, my poetry collection still wasn't published, but I'm trying not to think about that. 

A few books that I've read and enjoyed in 2022: 

Karen Campbell's Paper Cup. A total surprise that I picked up in Helsinki. I knew nothing about it but saw the author had worked at the Glasgow City Council, so I was intrigued. The characters were so well-drawn and engaging, and the story was unexpected and fun. I loved the settings of Glasgow and Galloway, the use of Scots that fit so well. The story is a "stramash of memories" for the main character and me, going through Glasgow and university life around the same time I was there. Really worth reading.

I rattled through the three Laidlaw books by William McIlvanney and loved them. Crime novels with a depth of character and Glasgow sketched in such a beautifully realistic way, totally captivating. I also read Docherty which was an insightfully written family saga, but it just didn't grab me in the same way though I could see McIlvanney's deft skill in many places. 

Another fave was Merryn Glover's Of Stone and Sky based on a community in the Cairngorms. My reviews of some of these books can be seen in my Scottish Book Tour posts starting here.

I have a pile of poetry books to read, but they require more focus than I've had recently, so I hope to get back into reading them more now that my course is out of the way. 

2023 is a year of getting back into the things I love. The course was for my work. I enjoyed it, but it was more to help me move forward in my job and do better for my school kids. Writing is for me, so I hope to focus on that more. A few plans are crawling into motion, so I'll see how they pan out and keep looking for new opportunities. 

Welcome to 2023. Enjoy.