What a buzz it was to read to a real live audience last Thursday. Around 16 people attended my reading at Putney Library and it could hardly have gone better. There was applause! There were smiling faces! There was even a Bravo!

I split my set into three sections, reading first from Triptych Poets, followed by some of the short poems in indoors looking out and a few urban nature themed poems. And for the last section, I read poems from London Undercurrents, reading poems from the north side of the river as well as the south, as Joolz couldn’t make it to Putney that evening. It was her poem What Did You Do in the War, Granny? that elicited the Bravo! I was a bit overwhelmed at the end, unused to live applause, and I think I made a little bow. Afterwards, there was time to chat to some of those who came and to sell and sign some books*. No wonder I was buzzing!

And it was great to have three guest readers from Clapham Originals, the monthly poetry workshop group I belong to, reading a couple of poems each to add some variety and show what a talented bunch the Originals are. My thanks to Claire Collison, Steve Hoy and Clapham Originals’ ringleader Tessa Lang for their contribution to a fizzing evening of poetry. A big thank you to the Putney Library staff, too, for being so welcoming and hosting the event.

*I have copies of indoors looking out and Triptych Poets available from my Shop page.

Photos: Nick Rogers