Retreating

So, for the first time for 7 years, I'm taking a Twitter break, you won't find me over there right now. (There is some fake account, @boyletania, which looks like me but isn't me!). I have just been on a blissful three-day meditation retreat, and it spurred me on to strip away some of my self-created mind-chatter. If I could only tweet once a day, that would be fine, but Twitter has become such a big part of my life, and a mostly joyous one, that I don't seem - or didn't seem - to be able to do that. So I'm having a break. I may be back in a month, in a new way. I am watching myself to see if I feel the urge. I suspect I want to try more one-on-one conversations rather than one-on-5000 - but I will miss you all! I will see if write more, write differently, write about loss & sadness... :)

I am half way through my PhD and really want to experience every moment of it, allow myself the gift of total attention to it and to the book I am working on. It's all going so fast, I don't want to miss it. 

In other news, I have two new poems in the brand new issue of Shearsman magazine, available here, and my poem, Lessons in Flanders Agriculture, which won 3rd prize in the Ruskin Poetry Prize, will be published in POEM magazine. Not sure exactly when, but - yippee!And I have a new - and LONG - short story coming out in the Summer issue of Ambit magazine. I'm all print right now, which is delightful. There may be some radio news coming up, as well as a collaboration with the wonderful Jo Bell - whose new poetry collection, Kith, comes out this month! Will keep you posted!