in plain sight

   Foreword

Poetry forms a foundational part of human life. It represents one of the earliest ways of recording history and passing on stories, and it plays a central role in our childhood development as we experiment with words. Given this, you’d think a love of poetry would continue to play a significant role in our adult lives. But for most, at least on a conscious level, that simply isn’t the case. Which is sad.

 I have little doubt the many distractions and diversions available in modern life played their part in poetry’s decline in previous decades. So it is both ironic and fitting that the digital age is responsible for providing general populations with the means and inclination to pick up their pens again.

Of course, there has been a spat or two along the way, as different people have shared their views (some quite forcefully) on what counts as poetry. But all in all, the artform, the means of communication, the way of sharing creative verse, has enjoyed a fabulous resurgence in recent years, and a number of internet communities now support hundreds of thousands of people around the world in sharing their stories, lives, loves and outlooks; re-establishing poetry to its rightful place in our hearts and at our hearths. How expansive, inclusive and healthy is that? An international language which requires nothing more than a desire to write - and the courage to do so.

Though the main thrust of my writing career is as a sci-fi novelist, I’ve always enjoyed writing poetry, and the following poems pull together elements of my life over the last few years. Some will undoubtedly say the content headings are clichéd, and that’s true. But they’re general headings most unpretentious poetry will fall into, and the whole point of the collection is to share thoughts, feelings, actions, events, that have surrounded my everyday life.

The work is unashamedly simple and straightforward. Don’t think too hard about the style, sentence construction, iambic meter, assonance or alliteration. Don’t focus too much on my grammar, or when and how I choose to rhyme. I really just want to share with you, through simple words and imagery, how I’ve felt at certain times, or written in response to different things - and hope that, occasionally, you find yourself there with me.

I originally called the collection ‘in plain sight’ solely because that is where most of my inspiration can be found. But then it occurred to me a second, deeper reason existed for the choice; when we bother to stop and notice, poetry is always there, surrounding us, narrating our everyday lives, helping us make sense of feelings and all ‘that stuff’ the world throws at us. It’s not obscure or exclusive. It’s ours - all of ours.