Malfunction Junction

Tuesday 27th October 2015

Hand still not great. Pins and needles in right thumb before reaching the bottom of my second of three morning pages. Building work completed by Jeff and Gordon today. Just need doorframe repaired and carpets sorted. Been mainly reading today. Bits of Bukowski’s ‘The Days Run Away Like Wild Horses Over the Hills’ from 1969. Not really warming to it. Had another look at Steel Town Blues. Really pleased with how it turned out. Haven’t shaved since Friday. Being a bit of a slob this week. It’s been good to take time out. Feeling guilty for not doing much. But needed the break. 

9.22 pm.

Wednesday 28th October 2015

Grim, lethargic. Nine hours sleep doesn’t seem enough. Low motivation. My holiday week, I feel uncomfortable. My body tells me to take it easy. If I keep ploughing away with tasks this week exhaustion will hit harder next week. Listened to Never Mind the Bollocks today. Originally released exactly thirty-eight years ago. Still sounds good to me. Bonners FINEST beef curry – major fail. Surely, Bonners, this is merely Scotch broth with just a hint of curry powder: watery slop – vile. Watched The Shock Doctrine this evening. And some stuff on 9/11. Glutton for punishment. Sometimes you forget it’s dystopia out there. Sometimes you blame your own lack of optimism – then you re-watch documentaries, see recorded lies, all the propaganda. Read some Bukowski. Hands still hurting. Enough. 10.39 pm.

Thursday 29th October 2015

Thursday night is usually poetry night somewhere for me but I’ve been at home all week. Was asked by Mandy Maxwell to choose a song/s for the Stanza spoken word night’s music playlist. I picked the following: 1) Pictures of You by The Cure. 2) God Save the Queen by Sex Pistols. 3) It's Still Rock and Roll to Me by Billy Joel. 4) Sweet Jane by Lou Reed. 5) In League With Satan by Venom. Any of those five would be lovely. Getting back into the work. Preliminary plans for all of next week’s workshops, handwritten student feedback notes for evening class, previous lesson plans keyed in. This evening I added a load of pages to ‘Anomalies 1989-2014’. It’s going to take a long time to hone the final selection of more recent stuff. I’d like to include photographs, NaPoWriMo stuff that won’t be in the Red Squirrel Press book and maybe some morning pages. I’ll have a lot more than the 240 pages initially intended for the hardback book, but will prune back and have some spares so that I can chop and change. No two Anomalies books will have exactly the same contents. Anyway, it’s good to feel like I’m working again. Needed a few days but it was fucking miserable. I don’t do proper holidays. 11.09 pm.

Friday 30th October 2015

Threat of migraine stops play – or work, depending on how you view anthology editing. Had to lie down for an hour this evening. Got up for a sandwich, felt okay but now rough again. One of the worst weeks off I can remember. I’m wondering what next year will bring. Wondering if I’ll still be facilitating. Read lots of articles today: TTIP, why teachers are resigning, why most politicians are liars, child abuse in Australia, how to be a good poet – lots of stuff. But I’m beat and just want an early night. I’ll be out tomorrow to get food and later in the afternoon over to Jenni’s for Halloween tv night and lazy Sunday. Want to get away from the desk. Listened to Queen live at The Rainbow and Live in Budapest. Wish I got to see them in ’86. Seen Roger Taylor and Brian May on their solo tours but never Queen. Shame. Probably my favourite band. 10.56 pm.

Saturday 31st October 2015

In town early for food and card supplies. Read the opening pages of Hubert Selby Jnr’s ‘Last Exit to Brooklyn’, Charles Bukowski’s ‘Post Office’, Mitch Albom’s ‘The Five People You Meet in Heaven’ and Clive Barker’s ‘The Scarlet Gospels’. I’ve previously stated that the only way you'd get me to write a novel is by holding a loaded gun to my head – resulting in a two-dimensional narrative about a free-verse hack forced to write a novel at gunpoint. Watched ‘The Dresser’ starring Anthony Hopkins and Ian McKellen at Jen’s. It was fantastic. No Halloween horror for me tonight. 10.54 pm.

Sunday 1st November 2015

Politics Show. World Gymnastics. Final three episodes of Breaking Bad series two. Jekyll and Hyde. Cowboy hash, ginger cookies, chicken and mushroom bakes with Spaghetti. Nice lazy day with Jenni. Back home I googled ‘anti-novel’ and found a guy called David Shields who has a similar view of conventional fiction and narrative structure to mine. I like first person stream of consciousness and slice of life vignettes. 11.31 pm.

Monday 2nd November 2015

Read Harmonica by Geoff Hattersley in it’s entirety before breakfast. His factory poems in the middle section scare me shitless – people breaking their own hands with hammers to get off work. Monotonous ten hour-shifts, casual racism, sexism and homophobia. Makes me think of the old warehouse days. Don’t want to go back to that, thank you very much… Got most of my work done – lesson plans, proof-reading for Wishing Tree Writers anthology. Been reading about some of the trouble in Sweden at present – riots, economic instability. Going to have some porridge with pineapple chunks and off to bed. 11.07 pm.

Tuesday 3rd November 2015

Wrote three vignettes today. I’ll stop short of calling them poems or stories, but pleased with the content. Got a message from the college asking to phone regarding some feedback they’ve had. Sounds ominous. Read some of Tony Williams’ flash fictions on the way home. Love the one about mixing paint. Bus from Durham still goes to Moorside of an evening. Unfortunately the new Diamond 16/A services during the day take a ninety minute roundabout route – and no WiFi – so I’ll get off at Consett and jump on the 15 to Durham instead… Slugs on my kitchen floor again tonight. Cheeky little bastards. Really tired. Two sessions and hammered. Still got toothache, despite sensitive mouthwash, but not as bad as last week. 10.27 pm.

Wednesday 4th November 2015

Disappointing start to the day. One of the courses is to be dropped due to funding cuts. Might be struggling to keep going next spring. Had a pretty decent session, nevertheless. Priorities poem by Jadzia Race. The Landlady by Roald Dahl. Choice of fiction prompts. I stayed back to make up another small batch of Chris Hill pamphlets then read WORKS chapbook by Rollins on the bus home. My photocopy is better quality paper stock than the original. But as the original cost me seventy quid it won’t be leaving the house. Trimmed Chris’ pamphlets at home. Made up sample copies of Clay Path, the Wishing Tree Writers group anthology, due out this month, and wrapped up five copies of Jane Burn’s pamphlet for the Legal Deposit Office. Wonder what I’ll be doing next year. 

11.32 pm.

Thursday 5th November 2015

HUGE THANKS to everyone who chose Poetry Jam instead of traditional sparklers and fireworks - although we had quite a dazzling display of our own. Great to see Simon Green do his debut feature set so well and get such a great response. Lovely to hear his published work namechecked by Julie Hogg, who also gave us a great set. Fantastic to have jammers from the Consett Writers Group out in force supporting the event. Also well done to Carol Hutchinson for her first jam appearance with 'Hands' poem. And a reading from fellow Wishing Tree Writer Barbara-Ann Whiting. Thanks also to all the others who shared their poems. Aidan Clarke treated us to a stellar performance. I'm delighted that he chose to premiere his five years in the making 20 minute four-part epic 'Nightingale' this evening. Bigly thanks to Waddington Street Centre as ever for the brilliant venue and to staff member Fergus for manning the cafe and the lift home. Poetry Jam was set up to provide a platform for grassroots creativity to flourish alongside seasoned authors / performers and once again tonight it did exactly that. Thanks everyone. Totally chuffed. 11.59 pm.

Friday 6th November 2015

Big lie-in this morning. Then out in search of 90gsm paper for the Wishing Tree Writers anthology. Tesco have stopped selling it – as well as 100gsm and 120gsm. And nowhere else in Consett has it, so a trip into Newcastle tomorrow. Slept for a few hours this afternoon. Then back out this evening for more supplies. Poetry Jam pix uploaded. Wanted to read but am wiped out. Tooth only hurts when I eat cold stuff now. Checked out some longboarding videos and an article on a guy in America living in a little underground hobbit hole on less than five thousand dollars a year. He has all his stuff – cooker, bookcase, cd player, photocopier, clothes rack, electricity. He writes illustrated journal zines called Moonlight Chronicles. There’s downsizing and then there’s Daniel Price. 11.32 pm.

Saturday 7th November 2015

Long lie in reading ‘No Plot, No Problem’ by NaNoWriMo originator Chris Baty. Keyed in some notes this afternoon. Went into Newcastle to buy paper stock for the Wishing Tree Writers Anthology. Then back to Jen’s place around five. We watched a bit of Pointless then went out to get fish and chips. Watched Doc Martin and Top Ten Prison films for an hour. Lots of laughs along the way. 11.05 pm.

Sunday 8th November 2015

Good day at Jen’s. Talked about writing fiction then had chicken balti. Watched V for Vendetta again. Fourth time I’ve seen it. We’ll watch it next November as well. Columbo is a Sunday favourite. Today he was eating in just about every scene. “He’ll end up Cojumbo,” I said. Jen laughed. Read more No Plot, No Problem this evening. Hoping to finish it before bed. 10.55 pm.