For the Sake of the Forest: An Anthology from the Stanza Group

When Samantha Muir and I decided to start a poetry workshop in 2007 the world was a very different place. George W Bush was president of the USA, Great Britain had a new Prime Minister Gordon Brown and was a firm member of the European Union. Spain's Prime Minister was José Luis Zapatero. Andrew Motion was still England's Poet Laureate, Apple launched the iPhone and self-parking cars were science fiction. It's all changed now. Like a butterfly, our human environment often changes direction without giving notice, settling for a moment only to spin off to another adventure. Poets react to these changes, writing within whatever environment they find themselves, sometimes responding to the Zeitgeist whether it be cultural, worldly or political, and at other times drawing on past experiences, memories and pleasures. An examination of a decade of Stanza's poetry paints a small portrait of what was in the air around us as individual poets during this time. Spain is a fascinating, inspiring country with a spectacular range of culture, glorious landscapes and intriguing cities. Some works in our anthology will give the reader an idea of what it's like living and breathing in this delightful country. Yet other poems look at a wider environment, either via the personal poem as well as through poems directed more toward the public sphere. Whatever the inspiration behind the words, all the poems in this anthology have been through the Stanza workshop process. A writing workshop is a precious thing where a strong bond develops amongst its members. Few of us can accept criticism without hackles rising - causing an instinctive rush to defend territory - but in a workshop where honest comment is invited, and criticism listened to carefully, there is an atmosphere of trust and suggestions are taken in good heart. Members don't seek to rewrite the poems, but to help the poet towards the best possible expression of their poetry voice. No one in the group is slow to praise or applaud good work, nor offer critical comment, and our sessions are always conducted with good humour. Poetry is a difficult art and is probably the least revered and understood of all art forms. However, lack of public interest never deters the serious poet; s/he would write it anyway. The satisfaction of expressing something difficult or uncacheable as best one can - perhaps with a little help from friends - is satisfaction enough.

About the Author :
I have written poetry all my life but with serious focus from 1989 when I joined a workshop with John Fairfax, founder of the Arvon Foundation. My first major success was a third place in the National Poetry Competition in 1995. My first pamphlet collection 'A Mesh of Wires' (Smith/Doorstop) was short listed for the Forward Prize for 'Best First Collection' in 1999. I won the Poetry on the Lake's 'Silver Wyvern' prize in 2007, published my first full collection 'Explaining the Circumstances' in 2010, a joint bi-lingual collection with fellow Stanza member Terry Gifford in 2011 and a second full collection 'The Night Surveyor' in 2014 (All Oversteps Books). My last collection: 'Wolves Recently Sighted' was also published in 2014 (Templar Poets). Since 2002 I have facilitated Residential poetry study weeks and retreats at the Almassera Vella in Relleu, Alicante - www.oldolivepress.com. Jane Sargeant lives in Javea. For twenty years she has enjoyed exploring the history, literature, art and landscape of Spain. A regular visitor to the King's Lynn Fiction and Poetry festivals. Rod Davis ran a creative business in London for 25 years before dropping it all to work for charity. He took over a family property in Javea in 1986 and now lives as an artist in the historic centre, where he has his home, art studio and gallery. Writing has always been part of his life and he sees poetry as a natural extension of his art.