Sandi the Broom is a sweeper. According to Mutt, who I suspect may be considered definitive in these matters, she was the first. As far as I can make out, she abandoned what had been her home and at the age of about six or seven took to the streets to fend for herself. At … More Cleaning up
Obviously I have my own opinions on fashion. I am a believer in the old saying that, ‘A gentleman wears his clothes, they do not wear him.’ This has the advantage of explaining why my jacket and trousers need not necessarily match and occasionally hang more loosely than the current style dictates. When it comes … More Bearing all before them
What people always forget is that the houses of my patrons, (and the houses of others of their class) are full of single young women. Before anybody gets the wrong idea, they are entirely respectable single women. But what has to be admitted is that they are largely at an age when respectable single women … More All perfectly respectable
I confess that this tale casts poets in general and our art in particular in a poor light. Indeed I have wondered whether, for the sake of my muse, I ought to allow time to draw a shroud over the whole thing. But alas I cannot because the various implications of what was done still … More A poetic inheritance
I learned my trade at a desk in Miser Mumster’s counting house. It was an excellent apprenticeship. He made sure his clerks wrote clearly with a fair hand, and woe betide any of us who wrote anything illegible or smudged! I wish that he would stand behind those students of poetry who present their scrawls … More No accounting for taste
I never bumped into Orwan Bullip every decade. But Orwan and I went back a long way. If we’d come from a better background you’d have said we went to school together. In reality we had been schooled together, but we’d learned our harsh lessons as children on the streets of Port Naain. Even then … More A gaol break
I’ve mentioned before that the ‘Society of Minor Poets’ try to provide free meals for the young, the old and the indigent. It’s not just the feeding people that is important, it’s a chance for them to sit somewhere warm. It gives them a place where they can just talk and even, occasionally, be entertained. … More A free lunch
Tallis Steelyard 