East Preston poet offers an “anthology of true expression”

East Preston poet Darren J Beaney promises an “anthology of true expression” in Honey Dew, his new collection of 21 love poems.
Darren J BeaneyDarren J Beaney
Darren J Beaney

The poetry pamphlet has been published by The Hedgehog Poetry Press; print edition £7.99 (inc postage), pdf e-book £3.99; available from https://djbeaney.wordpress.com/honey-dew/

Darren, aged 54, said: “It is an anthology of true expression. It has been described as a modern mature take on romance, fun and fresh without the ignorance of flowers and chocolate – in fact it is much bolder than that.

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“I hope it will appeal to readers of modern poetry and for those who still think romance has a part to play in 21st-century life and that being romantic can be fun and a bit tongue in cheek! It was written for an assignment as part of my MA in creative writing.

“Most of the poems were written in the late spring of 2019 and were submitted for the assignment. After receiving feedback, I did some further editing and then submitted the poems to the Nicely Folded Paper Competition run by The Hedgehog Poetry Press.

“It was selected as one of the winners. I then spent another six months or so doing some more editing until I was happy with the final versions that have now been published. The whole process from start to finish was really fulfilling and I hope the pamphlet has achieved my aim: to write a collection of love poems that are easily accessible and that do not take themselves too seriously.

“The sequel has been written, The Machinery of Life, and it has been sent to a publisher, so watch this space. I personally believe it is a stronger collection, with 25 poems and I hope it will see the light of day at some point during 2021.

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“I have had six poems published by The Hedgehog Poetry Press, three published electronically and three have appeared in printed anthologies (Postcards from the Hedge, Wishing You Were There, The House in the Forest). My poems Fallen Hells Angel and Red Night were both reproduced as posters for the Poetry from Art project and displayed at Shoreham railway station during Shoreham Wordfest 2018. My poem One Green Bottle was published electronically by Four Parts Press in 2019. My poem Is There Life After Death? was printed in For The Silent, an anthology in support of the League Against Cruel Sports, published by Indigo Dreams in 2019. My poem Sugarland was highly commended in the PENfro Book Festival Poetry Competition 2019 and appeared in the anthology Heartland published by Parthian Books in October 2019. My poem No Longer Beating was highly commended in the 2020 Brian Dempsey Memorial Competition and appeared in the What the Moon was Told anthology published by Dempsey & Windle in March 2020.

“In the mid 1990s when I discovered Simon Armitage’s work and realised poetry was not the stuffy art form that I had believed it to be, I started to write.

“I realised that the traditional rules of poetry are there to be manipulated. I also found that my writing was a useful tool to help me with the issues that I was experiencing at the time.

“I am part of a collective that host a bi-monthly spoken word night in Brighton – Flight of the Dragonfly (although at the moment we are using Zoom).

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