I was once a firm believer in the philosophy: first thought, best thought. This is the belief in the purity … More
Author: Courtenay Schembri Gray
Poet from the North of England.
Grasshopper
Author’s Note: This poem was originally written on the 27th of March, 2023 and eventually published by Roi Faineant on the 4th of … More
Third-Place Winner: Where Flowers Give Birth to Snow
Author’s Note: I am delighted to announce that I came third place in London Writer’s Salon Hour Contest on the … More
February ’25: Of her still body there sprang a little blaze
Author’s Note: These entries are typically relayed as a play-by-play, but this month’s (and possibly continually) will be a collage … More
Breastplate
Author’s Note: Thank you to Charlie Baylis over at Anthropocene for not only choosing this poem, but for his edits too. * * … More
Between Fire and Ice: Imogen Wade, The Spectator, and what traditional poetry looks like today
“Some say the world will end in fire / Some say in ice.”—Fire and Ice, Robert Frost Last year’s National … More
The Ghost Apple
In 1862, Christina Rossetti published No, Thank You, John: a poem about a woman (quite firmly) rejecting the affections of … More
Poetry Postmortem #10: Love in the Asylum
After falling ill at the famed Chelsea Hotel, Dylan Thomas was taken to St. Vincent’s Hospital where he succumbed to … More
Slouching Towards Mayhem
“Burn, then, little lamp; glimmer straight and clear—Hush! a rustling wing stirs, methinks, the air…”—Emily Brontë, The Visionary A young … More
Born to Judge
“These born to judge as well as those to writeLet such teach others who themselves excel.” —Alexander Pope, An Essay on … More
Courtenay's Corner 