Rob M Francis is a poet and prose writer. In 2019, he was the inaugural David Bradshaw Writer in Residence at the University of Oxford, and in 2020 he became Poet in Residence for the Black Country Geological Society. His latest novel is titled 'The Wrenna'.

The Wandering Bard Podcast Season 3

Ep. 14 | Rob M Francis on Embracing the Uncertainty of the Publishing Process

Inés G. Labarta is a Madrid-born writer and artist currently based in the northwest of England. She is the author of a collection of middle-grade novels, 'Los Pentasónicos' (Edebé, 2008-2010) and two novellas, 'McTavish Manor' (Holland House, 2016) and 'Kabuki' (Dairea, 2017). She lectures in Creative Writing at the University of Wolverhampton. In this extract she talks about how she trained herself to wake up at 5am every morning so she had time to write despite having several part-time jobs and a PhD on the go!

Ep. 24 | Inés G. Labarta on Waking Up at 5am to Write

How can a few words on a page or read aloud affect us so profoundly? What compels poets to share their inner worlds? Time to renew your poetic license ready to enjoy the second of two special poetry-themed episodes of the First Impressions podcast, available on Spotify, SoundCloud, iTunes et al. 

For Episode 16, I’m joined by poets Adrian Slatcher (from 4:37), Mike Humphreys (41:41) and Eoghan Walls (01:03:28) who share their work and talk about the craft of poetry, their numerous and diverse influences, ethical dilemmas, nature vs. ‘pylon’ poets, the merits of zines, mags and pamphlets, publishing trends, and what makes poetry such an enduring form of expression despite (or because of) its lack of commercial clout. 

There is also music from Bonbon Experiment and Decaying Leather, plus news of Nb. – an exciting new zine based on Wyndham Lewis’ BLAST – and an upcoming novel from Eoghan that bloomed from poetic roots. 

Poems featured in this episode: 
A bridge used to be there, someone recalled by Serhiy Zhadan (00:00:01)
Role Models in Middle Age by Adrian Slatcher (00:05:16)
Chrysanthemums by Adrian Slatcher (00:21:03)
The Catastrophe by Adrian Slatcher (00:25:51)
Toy Soldiers by Peter Humphreys (00:40:58)
Digging Holes by Mike Humphreys (00:48:34)
It’ll Never Go Dark Tonight by Mike Humphreys (00:51:15)
Little Robert by Mike Humphreys (00:53:48)
Snow by Mike Humphreys (00:56:15)
Bird on the Shore, Culzean by Mike Humphreys (00:58:15)
What are you going to do? by Peter Humphreys (01:02:30)
Insomnia and the Wolfman by Eoghan Walls (01:13:02)
Elsa Says No by Eoghan Walls (01:16:42)
Elsa on the Cough by Eoghan Walls (01:20:57)

Links to some of my guests’ publications & projects (& other sites of interest): 

Adrian Slatcher: http://www.adrianslatcher.com 
Eoghan Walls: https://www.eoghanwalls.com  
Eoghan on Twitter: https://twitter.com/eoghanwalls  
Nb. zine on Twitter: https://twitter.com/nb_zine  
Bonbon Experiment: https://bonbonexperiment.bandcamp.com
Some Roast Poet: https://someroastpoetry.wordpress.com
More on Serhiy Zhadan: https://www.asymptotejournal.com/special-feature/mayhill-fowler-on-serhiy-zhadan/  
Poets for Ukraine readings, 27 March 2022: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hdFD_yMo5Kk&t=1029s  
Creative Writing at Lancaster University: https://www.lancaster.ac.uk/english-literature-and-creative-writing/ 
Manchester Poetry Library: https://www.mmu.ac.uk/poetrylibrary/  
Carcanet Press: https://www.carcanet.co.uk   
More on Blast! and the Vorticist Movement: https://www.tate.org.uk/art/art-terms/v/vorticism/blast-radical-vorticist-manifesto

First Impressions - Episode 16 - Poetry Special #2

In this episode, Inés talks about how she started sharing her rejection stories with her writing community - and how this helped demystify them. They are all not that special - everyone gets them!

Ep. 31 | Inés G. Labarta on Rejections as Part of the Writing Process

Dr Nguyễn Phan Quế Mai is a prose writer and a poet born in Vietnam and currently based in Kyrgyzstan. Her first novel, 'The Mountains Sing' was published by Algonquin Books in 2020 and has received international recognition. She has an MA and PhD in Creative Writing from Lancaster University. In this episode, Quế Mai talks about how difficult it was to find an publisher for her first novel since it dealt with very complex and serious issues such as war, rape, and trauma.

The Wandering Bard Podcast, Season 3

Ep. 32 | Nguyễn Phan Quế Mai on Facing Rejection When You Write about a Hard Topic

In this episode, Yvonne Battle-Felton talks to us about a meaningful place for her as a writer: Atlantic City. Yvonne Battle-Felton is an American writer currently based in England. She's written the critically acclaimed novel 'Remembered' and is the co-founder and director of Northwest Literary Arts. She's also a Creative Writing lecturer at Sheffield Hallam University.

Ep. 33 | Yvonne Battle-Felton on Atlantic City

A funky, rocky and electry cover of the Bean Machine Jingle from the Three Bean Salad Podcast starring Henry Paker, featuring Mike Wozniak and introducing Benjamin Partridge.

Three Bean Salad - Bean Machine (Noiselund Cover)

Novelist, poet, essayist, singer-storyteller and host of 12-hour marathon Brooklyn brunches Lancelot Schaubert joined me from New York for this episode of First Impressions. Lance also kindly shared some extracts from his widely praised, picaresque debut novel ‘Bell Hammers: The True Folk Tale of Little Egypt’, which while bitingly contemporary in a number of its themes has already been compared to the classic works of fellow southern US authors William Faulkner and Flannery O’Connor. 

His literary endeavours having appeared in Tor, The New Haven Review, McSweeney’s and elsewhere, Lance is in a great position to offer advice to other scribes. As well as digging into his novel, we discuss how he has maintained creative control of his projects; his influences and – off the back of the captivatingly performed audiobook of ‘Bell Hammers’ – how writers can best use their skill sets to publicise their output. Audio extracts from the novel, in which we follow the unusual courtship of protagonist Remmy and his beloved Beth, can be found at 00:00, 09:23, 18:14, 37:36 and 47:19 mins.  

We also discuss – in no particular order – the correct way to pronounce ‘Illinois’; the environmental exploitation of small communities; Lance’s recent release of a Leonard Cohen cover; how Neil Gaiman got the Little Egypt mythology wrong in ‘American Gods’; some essential reading when it comes to non-violent resistance through the ages; the surprises Lance uncovered while interviewing his grandfathers for ‘Bell Hammers’; sci-fi, myth and modernism and how we should avoid restricting ourselves when it comes to telling stories, and the narrative thread that runs throughout my guest’s fiction and songwriting. If you enjoy this episode, don’t forget to like/subscribe/review. Cheers!  

A few links to content connected to our conversation: 
Lance’s website: https://lanceschaubert.org/about-lancelot/ 

Lance’s book 'Bell Hammers' on Audible: https://www.audible.com/pd/Bell-Hammers-Audiobook/B0BXVS1WKQ 

Lance covers Leonard Cohen’s ‘Democracy’: https://open.spotify.com/track/0kbP3VMgliCmEUG7zIi07E 

Lance’s ‘All Who Wander’ album:
https://open.spotify.com/album/1QOE2t9zAKJjz8VySZJvRq?si=jMJNFiwDRAa2QvWmbdjwiA 

Your Audio Story, run by Jeremiah Jones, Lance’s podcast producer: https://youraudistory.com 

Antal Szerb’s 'Journey by Moonlight' (trans. Peter V. Czipott): https://almabooks.com/product/journey-by-moonlight/  

Jim Dale on narrating the Harry Potter audiobooks: https://www.audible.com/blog/videos/jim-dale-narrator-of-the-harry-potter-series 

Sufjan Stevens, ‘Come on Feel the Illinoise’: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rmJwraC4p5A 

‘Bloody Williamson: A Chapter in American Lawlessness’ by Paul M. Angle: https://www.goodreads.com/en/book/show/972220

‘The Hero with a Thousand Faces’ by Joseph Campbell: https://www.goodreads.com/en/book/show/588138 

Dr Martin Luther King’s Letter from Birmingham Jail: 
https://billofrightsinstitute.org/primary-sources/letter-from-birmingham-jail 

‘Letters to a Birmingham Jail: A Response to the Words and Dreams of Dr Martin Luther King Jr.’ by Bryan Loritts, John Perkins, Crawford W. Loritts Jr. and Soong-Chan Rah: 
https://www.moodypublishers.com/letters-to-a-birmingham-jail/ 

‘Beautiful Trouble – A Toolbox for Revolution’, assembled by Andrew Boyd: https://www.amazon.com/Beautiful-Trouble-Revolution-Andrew-Boyd/dp/1944869093 

The Non-violence and Satyagraha of Mahatma Gandhi
https://www.mkgandhi.org/articles/relevance4.htm 

‘Why Civil Resistance Works’ by Erica Chenoweth and Maria J. Stephan:
https://www.goodreads.com/en/book/show/10056014 
 
‘The Dark Tower’ (book series) by Stephen King:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Dark_Tower_(series) 

‘American Gods’ by Neil Gaiman:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_Gods 

Cōnfingō Publishing – an evening of spoken word in Chorlton, Manchester on 20th May 2023: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/confingo-publishing-an-evening-of-spoken-word-tickets-585737425407

First Impressions - Episode 24 - Lancelot Schaubert

In Episode 25 of First Impressions, I welcome back novelist Lancelot Schaubert for the second part of our chat. Now living in Brooklyn but hailing from Southern Illinois, where his excellent debut novel ‘Bell Hammers: The True Folk Tale of Little Egypt’ is set, Lance has kindly shared some more extracts from the freshly minted audiobook to punctuate our conversation (find them at 00:00, 13:48, 39:34 and 48:15). Along with the novel, we discuss his influences both literary and philosophical, and his thoughts on subjects ranging from Artificial Intelligence to learning Latin; civil discourse to snipe hunting, the latter topic inspiring me to provide a wee musical ditty at 23:39. 

We also talk about the follow-up to ‘Bell Hammers’, which began as a collaboration with Lance’s late father, whose untimely death from hairy cell leukaemia and Covid was partly caused by the dangerous and insufficiently regulated work described in his fiction. Finally, we talk about a terrifying situation Lance and his wife faced on their last visit to the UK. As ever, listen through headphones if you have them and please spread the word if you enjoy the pod. Thanks! 

A few links to content connected to our conversation: 

Lance’s website: https://lanceschaubert.org/about-lancelot/ 

Lance’s book ‘Bell Hammers: The True Folk Tale of Little Egypt’ on Audible: https://www.audible.com/pd/Bell-Hammers-Audiobook/B0BXVS1WKQ

‘Bell Hammers…’ on goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/en/book/show/48731251  

Douglas Berman’s short story ‘Ibex Brief’ on Lance’s website: https://lanceschaubert.org/2023/05/03/ibex-brief/ 

David Bentley Hart’s Substack: https://davidbentleyhart.substack.com 

Lance’s ‘All Who Wander’ album on Spotify:
https://open.spotify.com/album/1QOE2t9zAKJjz8VySZJvRq?si=jMJNFiwDRAa2QvWmbdjwiA

Jude Edwin-Scott’s new album, ‘Rambling Rose’, available as CD/digital download on Bandcamp:  https://judeedwinscott.bandcamp.com/album/rambling-rose?pk=595&action=buy

First Impressions - Episode 25 - Lancelot Schaubert (Part 2)

It is not everyday we are sent a 5 hour mix from someone we have asked to join our Phonica mix series; but when Sheffield & Manchester legend Luke Una sends one… you have to jump straight into it! Having become first recognised in the late 80’s and 90’s as one half of production team “The Unabombers” with Justin Crawford, Luke over the years has shown to be a master in all genres be it Balearic, to Brazilian to E soul, House, Disco and Techno, you name it! With his Worldwide FM show over the years gaining a cult following Luke has gained an even more of a broader crowd from his curation of his E Soul Cultura compilation series via the label Mr.Bongo (Both comps topping our EOY lists in 2022 and 2023). This exact vast taste (that is displayed in these compilations) is very much pummelled into this five hour journey of a mix like a piece of clay and sculpted into a fine piece of art. We had a chat with Luke about this timeless mix and what he has been up to lately: http://offtherecord.net/phonica-mix-series-119luke-una/

Phonica Mix Series 119: Luke Una

Welcome one and all to the first episode of Pet Projects, in which host Pete and guest Karl talk about Karl’s beloved, much-missed and inspirational dog, Lola, and his pet projects, leading to Karl offering some fascinating insights from the world of filmmaking in which he is quickly making his mark as a writer-director. A passionate advocate for Liverpool and northern talent, Karl talks about the making of his award-winning short film ‘Wake’ (shot on the Mersey ferry), his work-in-progress ‘Lucky Cat’ and how Covid encouraged him to pursue his vision more aggressively, in collaboration with his partners at their production company Seven Streets, and a fantastic cast and crew. 

The episode also contains a snippet from ‘Mr Moog’s Dancing Light Rats’, an ancient Decaying Leather song named for Pete and brother Guy’s childhood hamster, performed by their family band. 

Pet Projects is a collaborative project devised by writer and editor Peter Humphreys and artist and filmmaker Ana Rebolledo. 

More about today’s special guest: 

Award-winning filmmaker Karl Livingstone trained as a theatre actor before studying filmmaking at the University of Salford where he co-founded the Salford Film Society. He now runs the Seven Streets film production company in his native Liverpool alongside partner Catherine and partner-in-crime Selina. Their film ‘Wake’ (written and directed by Karl), set on the Mersey ferry and drawing on personal loss, won best narrative short at the Lancaster International Film Festival in 2024. Realised beautifully by a dedicated cast and crew, it also feature’s music by Karl’s father. Seven Streets’ follow-up, ‘Lucky Cat’ is currently in pre-production. Karl has also worked on music videos and is an outspoken advocate for the talent to be found in Liverpool and the north. His inspirations include Christopher Nolan, Hideaki Anno and Werner Herzog. 

You can find more about Karl’s work through these links >>>

Seven Streets on Instagram (@_sevenstreets_): https://www.instagram.com/_sevenstreets_/ 

Karl’s dad’s music on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/1XfQ6vPTIUDAZmHfcgkRFw?si=2dtLKugbQ-WzWKoRmf7Edg 

A few more links to subject matter covered in the chat >>> 

Lancaster International Film Festival: https://totallylocallancaster.co.uk/liff/ 

Lessons of Darkness, a Werner Herzog film: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vMIM-ma2juo 

Interview with Werner Herzog on the Adam Buxton podcast: https://www.adam-buxton.co.uk/podcasts/rhwkafw2z2x3xe6-6ysb3

Pet Projects - Episode 1 - Karl Livingstone

I'm a writer and editor based in Lancaster. Check out my podcasts Pet Projects (in which I interview creative types about their pets - and their projects), First Impressions (a surreal slice of literary cheesecake), and Monkey Scribbling (two older blokes reflect on their youth in the '90s through the letters they exchanged at the time). 

Pet Projects is a collaboration with Ana Rebolledo and Monkey Scribbling with Richard Pye. 

The family band I formed with my brother, Decaying Leather, in 1989 continues to write and record. Our music can also be found on SoundCloud and elsewhere.

First Impressions - Episode 16 - Poetry Special #2

Peter Humphreys

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