Pimento Poets

Today I went to my first meeting of the Pimento Poets who meet at the Pimento Cafe on Steep Hill in Lincoln.  As well as a stimulating meeting with some interesting people, I got a lovely cup of Strawberry tea as well! 

I was dreading a room full of familiar faces.  Those faces that are members of every writing group and yet don't actually seem to write anything new.  The talkers!   But I was pleasantly surprised that I only recognised one person (other than Alana who had suggested the group to me)  and that was because he had attended a poetry workshop that I had also been on.

The group meet in a little room at the top of the cafe.  There were 9 attendees (including me) with at least 2 missing.  I was glad to see I was not the youngest - nor the oldest!  I wondered afterwards what the other members thought of me.   Where did I fit in amongst such a group?  I gave little away in the 'introduction' other than to say I had started writing again after having my son.  Still feel a little worried that this has somehow pigeonholed me as some kind of mad mother, but I hope my poem (All The Shades of Black) spoke for itself.

The poetry shared during the couple of hours I was there, was well written and thought provoking, but the themes were many and varied!!  Passion, Relationships, Death, American Culture, War and Religion, Photographs and memories, Lighthouses, and a type of poetry (Sketchetry I think he called it) from John which required two readers.

It was nice that there was time for chat between members.  We discussed many things; including punctuation, inspiration, and the effect our physical and mental health has on our writing.  I loved the idea of 'Shock You Backs' within poems; a phrase (thank you John) I had never heard before, but now want to analyse if I have any of these within my poems and whether they might add something.

A great first meeting and I hope to be able to attend many more!