Patricia M Osborne

It’s been a while since I posted but quite a lot has happened. I am now back on my two feet without any aids, other than the occasional use of a fold up walking stick when I get tired.

I was lucky enough to get dressed up and wear a hat, yes even a hat, and went off to the races with the girls at Royal Ascot. We didn’t do ladies day as it gets a bit busy and we weren’t lucky enough to be in the Royal Enclosure or Grandstand but in the Silver Ring instead. But hey you know what? I reckon it’s better to be down on the track where you really get to feel the atmosphere.

The girls were great and looked after me on the train and protected me from crowds and walking down the steps. And yes, there were a lot of steps but it was great to be out and about again and feel normal.

We picnicked and drank champers whilst placing our bets. Unfortunately this year I wasn’t able to go and stand at the track and watch the Queen’s procession so had to make do with my friends’ photographs plus the big television in front of me. I didn’t get a win, not even a place which is quite unusual for me, but hey the main thing is that I had a grand day. Good company, good food and good sparkling wine.

The poetry module at Brighton is now finished and I’m waiting on the result which should be any day. I’ve now completed my first year of the Masters. Where did that time go?

I’m hoping to start getting back into the novel writing. After Bucharest I found my concentration levels were too low to allow me to write any prose. However, since the poetry module finished three weeks ago, I have been re-writing some short stories to get me back into the swing again. I think I’m getting there. I still need to plan out George’s life so I can carry on with the sequel. Of course those of you that haven’t yet read House of Grace will be wondering what I’m talking about, but hopefully you won’t have to wait too long as I’m trying hard to get Grace out into the big wide world. Believe it or not this part is harder than actually writing the novel.

As a special treat for not posting for so long, I’m going to try and post the first few chapters of House of Grace so you can see what it’s like. I may not be able to get the formatting right so you’ll have to forgive me on that score.

Nine weeks ago tomorrow I had the dreaded accident in Bucharest.

For six and half weeks I was unable to put any weight on my left leg.

Two weeks ago I was given permission to weight bear – I had to learn to walk again.

Today I had physiotherapy and came out of the hospital using only one crutch. I have a feeling that where everything moved slowly up to now, suddenly I’m going to be back to normal in no time.

Being without the use of a leg, the necessity of a wheelchair and other disability aids, certainly makes you appreciate your body. The fact that many people are out there facing what I have on an everyday basis and not just temporary certainly makes you think. It’s been good research for writing but I think my husband would prefer it if I didn’t take my writing commitment quite so far in the future.

With a bit of luck in a few weeks I’ll not only be back to brisk walking but working my way to Zumba and running exercises again too. If the weather is fair over the weekend, I’m going to try and take a walk around my favourite lake.

I’m feeling positive in a big way. Although there’s only the slightest chance I’ll get back to campus this semester, I’m pretty sure, I should be in ship condition for my trip to Royal Ascot with the girls’ middle of June.

I have a hat to buy. ..

After more than seven weeks of barely moving out of the house due to my accident, things have changed. A week ago I was given the go ahead from the consultant to become weight bearing with crutches. This has given me a lot more freedom, although not total independence yet but I’m getting there.

The other night friends picked me up and off we went to a Word Fest quiz. Have you ever tried one? This was our third year running. I’m not the best at quizzes, I never seem to hear what the question is. If I do I find there’s too much noise for me to equate an answer. I know, excuses, excuses. I still find it great fun, offering moral support to my team and confirming that an answer is correct. Hmm, how come I always know the answer when I see it? A multiple choice for me would be better.

For my second outing I was lucky enough to attend a piano recital by Warren Mailley-Smith. Mostly the repertoire was Chopin, but that didn’t bother me as I could listen to Chopin all night. If you get the chance to go and see /hear Warren, go for it, he’s a fantastic pianist. You can find out more about him and where and when he’s playing, below.

http://www.warrenmailley-smith.com/

In the meantime when I’ve not managed to escape the house, I’ve been studying poetry theory and creating poems towards my poetry portfolio for the Master’s Poetry, Theory and Craft, module. I’m afraid some of the poems content are on the dark side. I blame that on me being stuck inside for too long.

I hope you are enjoying the bank holiday weekend and having better weather where you are than here. If it’s not raining it’s windy and cold. Come back summer weather – I missed you the when you arrived last time.

Well once again it’s been a while since I popped over but getting around on one leg takes its toll. I have however been very busy writing poems for my MA Poetry portfolio which is due near the end of May. We won’t talk about the essay that has to go with it. The poems are of mixed variety, from dark to light and fun. I’ve scraped the barrel and resurrected some old stuff and taken them to the next level – that began with giving them a good cull.

My poetry tutor pointed me and my fellow students to the direction of Roy Marshall’s blog and what he has to say about drafting a poem. Excellent information, why not take a look for yourself. You can find it here. https://roymarshall.wordpress.com/2015/04/18/drafting/

On a different front, have you ever tried changing a king sized bed on one leg? Well today I did exactly that and apart from a small amount of help to fit the corners of the sheet in the far side I managed quite well. That includes wrestling with the quilt and cover, hard enough when fully able but I wasn’t going to be beaten. It would have made for a great video as when not hopping I was rolling around on the bed to get to all areas.

Three more days for my appointment at the hospital fracture clinic and I’m hoping the consultant will give me the okay to start back on two legs fully weight bearing.  I’ll know a lot more after the visit. I’m missing uni with all my creative peers and getting out and about with my friends at home. I’m even missing housework!

It was poetry theory yesterday at uni which was very interesting but I do find it quite heavy at times. However, I loved it when we looked at what the poems mean. We looked at T S Eliot, Gertrude Stein and Hilda Doolittle (HD). What do you think of the above poets, are they to your taste? T S Eliot’s writing is something that doesn’t seem to go out of date, loved Gertrude Stein, only just getting to know her work and HD – well I think my writing style could be very similar to hers.
How about you? What do you prefer – Theory or Craft. Who is your favourite contemporary poet?

What a beautiful Tuesday morning. The sky is blue and the sun is peeping through.

Apart from writing, my other love is music. This afternoon I have my first piano lesson after a three month break. I’ve bought some new music to try and inspire me to move away from my pen and paper to hit the keys. With recommendation I’ve purchased Mendelssohn’s Song without Words as well as treating myself to Etudes by Philip Glass. None of these are going to be a breeze, I can tell you that. This means that today amongst the theory reading of Walter Benjamin’s, Modernism, and Poetry and Grammar by Gertrude Stein, trying to add words to George,  House of Grace sequel, somehow this morning I must fit in at least half an hour to spend on the piano. I love my piano but I love my writing more. Are you ever torn between two arts?

Another great creative writing session at uni on Friday. One of the things we discussed is what different poets have to say from the Bloodaxe, Strong Words. In particular what drew me in was an extract from Robert Graves where he states, ‘The outward ear is easily deceived.’ What he appears to be saying is that even if poetry is bad or fraudulent but read with a beautiful voice, the ear would be deceived to think it was good. What is your theory on that? Do you agree? By the same cloth how do you feel about a really good piece of poetry being read out aloud by an inexperienced reader? Would it still sound good? Food for thought. I’d love to hear what you think.

Following the theory side of things in class, we moved on to the craft workshop, my favourite part. We read out our own poems and then offered each other critique. The group has a diverse range of age but everyone fits in well. Lots of homework to be completed this week including writing a poem that can be read horizontally or vertical. Quite a challenge.

Hi Friends and Followers

Sorry I’ve not been around the last few days but the extra travelling up and down to Brighton has rather drained me.

I wanted to tell you about my first week’s classes at uni. Thursday was theory day, a day I was dreading. However, I had no need, the seminar was informative and stimulating, so much so that the time just ran away. We discussed ‘What is a poem?’ And in particular whether this sculpture, God, was indeed a poem or not. Take a look and let me know your views.

http://www.metmuseum.org/collection/the-collection-online/search/261000

On Friday a small group of us read out a contemporary poem from a living poet. I chose Aristotle by Billy Collins. Having only discovered his poetry a couple of weeks ago, I have to say that I’m well and truly hooked. We then read out our own poems and gave critique.

Just not enough time for these wonderful sessions, a day would be too short. Only the one this week on Friday which will be theory and craft combined.

Somehow I managed to miss this article on House of Grace. It went live with Ink Pantry Publishing on Monday 16^th February, 2015. If you haven’t already seen it, take a look now.

http://inkpantry.com/blog/writing-grace-debut-novel-patricia-m-osborne/

I look forward to hearing your views on ‘What is a poem,’ and in particular the Baroness’s poem, God.

Morning fellow writers and followers. Today I thought we would talk about stationery. That is in so much that I have a terrible fetish for the stuff. When people ask me what I’d like for a Christmas or birthday gift, my answer is always the same. Notebooks and pens please. My lovely late mother would get cross (in a nice way) and say things like ‘I’m not just buying you that.’ And I would say, ‘Why not? It’s what I like.’ A similar thing happened a couple of weeks ago, because I am approaching a big numbered birthday, one of my sister’s said that the family would like to club together to buy me something special. My answer, ‘A nice pen please, that I can keep.’ She was shocked, ‘that’s not very much.’ But you can get some lovely pens and what better to remind oneself of a special birthday and family, than something you can keep and use every day.

How many of you share this fetish? Novelist, Isabel Ashdown does. In fact it was after reading her article on her blog that prompted me to bring this subject up to day. Here’s a link to her article. Enjoy.

http://isabelashdown.com/2011/02/28/notebooks-pens-and-pop-up-pencils-one-writers-stationery-addiction/