Mike Barlow

This barter of enthusiasm 3
Mike Barlow, Helena Nelson and Martin Figura choose favourite funny-serious poems by e. e. cummings, Mark Halliday and Peter Howard
Smiley yellow ball photograph by Chaitanya Pillala on Unsplash
Smiley yellow ball photograph by Chaitanya Pillala on Unsplash

Whichever life we live, it’s the other calls
Carl Tomlinson reviews Hotel Anonymous by Mike Barlow (Pindrop, 2021)

Essential poetry from Wayleave Press
Richie McCaffery reviews two Wayleave Press pamphlets — Rib by Sharon Black and After by Jane Routh

Hotel Anonymous
by Mike Barlow — Someone in the room next door / is practising the oboe, those clear / woody notes going over and over / the same bars, never finding perfection, / never satisfied but reminding me / of one particular