Critical mass

The first months of 2024 have seen me step out of my new comfort zone of writing poetry, and turn my hand to poetry criticism. If I didn't feel imposter syndrome before, imagine the fear in my eyes now. (The fear in my eyes above is that I am taking a selfie.)

First, I was invited to contribute to PN Review, and commissioned to review a couple of poetry collections, which was an honour, if somewhat daunting, although the comments back were on the whole pretty positive and the amends (well, really additions – expand on what you really think) were minimal. I subsequently found out that my contribution was "typically stylish and brilliant", which is nice, and that PNR (to his friends) "will be hoping to publish her work again in future". The issue in which my two reviews appear has just hit the shelves, and you can find out more here.

So in between the writing of the PN Review reviews and the feedback, I applied for a six-week workshop series facilitated by Manchester Poetry Library at Manchester Metropolitan University for a tight band of eight new and emerging critics – and subsequently became a member of The Critic Collective.

Over the course of my career writing and editing for magazines and newspapers and culture websites and wotnot, I've written my fair share of reviews and previews of different art forms (literature, theatre, dance, cinema, visual arts, and even pantos; oh yes I did!), but I thought it would be beneficial to get more of insight into the "art" of criticism.

The aim of these workshops was to challenge expectations about what criticism is and can do, and consider criticism as a creative practice – drawing on art-writing and performance criticism, as well as using poetry as part of reviewing writing, events, recordings and exhibitions. 

We looked at and discussed various examples and approaches, and were treated to workshops from three guests: writer, translator and former editor of Modern Poetry in Translation Khairani Barokka, TS Eliot and Forward Prize-shortlisted poet Kit Fan, and John McAuliffe, Professor of Poetry at the University of Manchester and co-director of the Centre of New Writing, and Associate Publisher of Carcanet Press and co-editor of PN Review.

The Critic Collective lives on, is the aim, and the culmination of the six weeks is the commission of a review from each of us who took part. I'm still gathering source material for my piece, having decided to review not only Jos Charles's collection a Year & other poems just out with Broken Sleep Books (whose "A Call To Arms" campaign you should totally support – browse the bookshop here), but also her brilliant reading (and chat with Manchester Writing School's Andrew McMillan, below, as part of the new and very welcome live series – keep your peelers peeled on Creative Tourist for regular updates) at the Poetry Library round the end of April, bookending her residency there. As such, there is more to be studied, and I'm just waiting on getting eyes on that.