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Revealing GLJ’s 2023 ROAR Showcase Winner: Kim Whysall-Hammond
Green Lion Journal is proud to announce our 2023 ROAR Showcase: Kim Whysall-Hammond. Over the next week GLJ will post Kim’s poems and her Q&A. Her work will continue to be featured on GLJ in the ROAR showcase until December 1st, 2024.
Experiences are life. Fantasy and intellectualization, though integral to the human condition, serve to aid and guide us through this turbulent thing called living – the procession aggregate. Whether to enlightenment or self-destruction (or neither/both), we will not only dream and think, but experience through it all, again and again, time’s arrow unrelenting in its verse of “You are alive.”
The internet has created a time of unprecedented sharing. Never before have we been so exposed to the inner and outer narratives of so many people. In this jungle of human diversity, the question of the interconnected human remains thus: Will we find, or lose ourselves? While reading Kim Whysall-Hammond’s work and words, I felt the skeptic inside me recede, to lean toward the former.
Reading poetry has always felt like reading secrets to me, a shapely Roman à clef, a skeleton key of words. Kim’s use of poetry as a kind of autofiction (popular in the current time) speaks to many, and her rejection of what is sometimes referred to as “the poet’s logic” – that aesthetically versed words imply validity – is refreshing. The growing modern consensus of poetry seems to be that poetry is a way to tell the truth – in full frontal freedom. To employ the senses – sight, hearing, smell, taste, touch – to invite others into our experiences and to, inversely, be invited into them. “Good poetry talks to you.” writes Kim, and so her poems speak to us, with clearly stated themes and intents. Her poetic devices such as anaphora and allusion are serviced not to mystified, but to define.
So Kim’s work is richly defined, through experience. Through her feeling, witnessing, being alive. I can think of no better way of signing off than with more words from Kim, “The internet abounds with poems of all sorts, and long may it do so.”
Long may we do so, these poems of life.
-RB
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“My poems arise out of an experience.”: Q & A With Kim Whysall-Hammond, our 2023 ROAR Showcase Finale
“[M]y poems arise out of an experience, […]”: Q & A With Kim Whysall-Hamond
Q. What is your earliest memory of poetry?
A: My earliest memory of any poetry would be of Nursery Rhymes – my favourites were Mary Mary Quite Contrary and Baa Baa Black Sheep. I always, even at an early age, questioned why a little boy got stuff and not a little girl.
I first wrote poetry in the Infants section of Primary school. We wrote about sunrise and sunset, learning new descriptive words as we went. Of course, all our poems rhymed. A new teacher introduced us to poems that didn’t rhyme. I can remember being shocked! Later on in my schooling I won prizes for my poetry.
Q: You said in your submission bio you got into poetry late. When did you become drawn to the
art form and what were the first steps you took into publishing?A: Actually, I have always read and written poems, but I came to sharing and publishing poetry late (in my early fifties). In 2012 I started working at a Physics Lab 30 miles north of where I live. The twice daily car journey across rolling green hills inspired a burst of poems, which I eventually started sharing on a WordPress blog. Someone left a comment suggesting my poems were good enough to send to magazines. Amazingly, the first poem I sent out was accepted straight away, by Helen Ivory at Ink, Sweat and Tears. Of course, I’ve had the usual tide of rejections since then, but enough acceptances to keep me submitting. I still share poems on my blog.
Q. There are hundreds of types of poetic forms. Is there a particular form that speaks to you? Why?
A: No, there isn’t. I tend to write the poem as feels right. I always speak a poem out loud once I think it is finished, to check the flow. Most of my poems are free blank verse.
Q. Do you ever experience writer’s block? How do you overcome it?
A: There are times when I don’t write poems and times when poems or poetic phrases and ideas keep popping into my head. I tend to accept the quieter times as part of the process. After all, I can always edit some existing poems to make them tighter and better.
Q. Some writers have methods that help them write. Do you? Will you share it with us?
A: Virginia’s solution – a room of one’s own. That is, make space and time for your writing. It doesn’t need to be regular hours, you don’t need to write every day, just give yourself some time. If in trouble, go for a nice long walk. That helps with practically everything!
Recently, while developing a collection of poems for possible book publication, I realised that I probably needed a few more. I was in a fallow phase and so I used an excellent book from Happenstance Press to get me going. It is Unlocked by Sue Butler & Helena Nelson. They present a poem, discuss it then give ideas for writing your own poem in response.
Q. Several of your poems in this collection are about daughterhood, particularly in regard to the maternal bond (or lack thereof). Will you share with us why you chose this subject?
A: I loved my mother, but this love often felt unrequited. After her death, I began to think about what had happened between us. Why she may have resented a daughter who had opportunities she did not have and whose birth caused her to lose a job she loved. Many of us have had similar experiences and so I thought these poems may speak well to your readers.
Q. In regard to poetic form, what does ‘confessional’ verse mean to you?
A: A poem where the poet is sharing an experience with you, where you can take part in the experience. This encompasses a lot of poetry! Good confessional poetry can help us empathize with other people.
Q. Singer/songwriter Leonard Cohen once described poetry as “[…] the evidence of life.” Do you believe this to be a true or well-thought statement? Why or why not?
A: The full quote is “Poetry is just the evidence of life. If your life is burning well, poetry is just the ash.” I love Leonard’s body of work, but to me, this is one of those quotes that sounds great but is all show and no meat. I don’t think it is true for me. Poetry to me is an expression of feelings, reactions, thoughts, all set in a certain form that distinguishes it from prose. Good poetry talks to you. The quote I would prefer would be from Adrienne Rich*:
“Most often someone writing a poem believes in, depends on, a delicate, vibrating range of difference, that an ‘I’ can become a ‘we’ without extinguishing others, that a partly common language exists to which strangers can bring their own heartbeat, memories, images.”
Q. Do you think trauma and poetry are connected? If so, how?
A: Poetry is one way of expressing trauma, of telling it, of making sense of it. In this sense, then trauma and poetry are connected. But poetry cannot always be about trauma, and certainly should not be. We need joyous poems and especially now we need poems that tell of a better future. Those are the sort of poems that I am now working on.
Q. What place does poetry hold in your life currently?
A: Reading and writing poetry is a very important part of my life. I self-identify as a poet! I enjoy all parts of the writing and publishing process, including the rejections – long ago I read that you should aim for 100 rejections a year and I do.
All my poems arise out of an experience, something I’ve seen, felt, survived, witnessed, a story from a friend. They help me capture those moments, something I’ve been doing since my teens. Even my Speculative poetry is sparked by things in my life. I have been recently writing and publishing a number of SolarPunk poems, poetry that tells of a better future. For example, a scary rainstorm became an emergency on Mars and my fear of heights informed a poem about floating in Space.
Q. Do you think a poem can save a life?
A: Yes of course. Poems can speak to people on a deep level. Early on in the pandemic I shared “Everything is Going to be All Right” by Derek Mahon on my blog. This poem had calmed me. A reading of it was broadcast in Ireland, and I think that reflects the Irish relationship with poetry. I’m a great fan of Anthony Wilson’s* curation of Life Saving poems.
Q. How or why do you think poetry is important to the world?
A: Poetry has always helped us to understand and appreciate the world we live in. Its importance is reflected in the way we use poems in wedding ceremonies and at funerals. Reading and writing poetry is now an important part of many people’s lives. The internet abounds with poems of all sorts, and long may it do so. People are using poetry to express themselves, to fulfil that urge to create – both of which are important human traits.
*Editor’s Note: Link to Adrienne Rich’s essay Someone is Writing a Poem
*Editor’s Note: Link to Anthony Wilson’s Life Saving Poems Series
Kim Whysall-Hammond grew up in London in a working-class family, but now lives deep in the English countryside. She obtained a degree in Astronomy from UCL and has worked in both Climate Research and Telecommunications. A late comer to publishing poems, her poetry has appeared in American Diversity Report, Alchemy Spoon, Amsterdam Quarterly, London Grip, North of Oxford, Ink, Sweat and Tears, Marble Poetry, Crannóg and others. Her speculative poetry has appeared in Andromeda Spaceways, Eternal Haunted Summer, Frozen Wavelets, Kaleidotrope, On Spec, Silver Blade and Star*line. She also has poems in anthologies from Palewell Press, Wild Pressed Books, Milk and Cake Press, Experiments in Fiction and Brigids Gate Press. Find more of her work at https://thecheesesellerswife.wordpress.com/
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Day Seven, 2023 ROAR Showcase: Rose Bower by Kim Whysall-Hammond
Rose Bower
for Gita, wherever you are
Enchantment beckoned at the end of your garden
many climbing roses intertwined into a
a concealing bower wherewe spied on hidden lovers
hunted magic deer that leapt
skywards and away from
our orbital arrows that encircled the worldwe swapped shoes and dresses
each handmade by our mothers
each smelling so different
you said all my people smelled of milk
I thought all yours were spice scented
and beautifulwe kissed each other’s palms
held our breath as pirate raiders crept by
evaded an amorous Sultan
sucked the tart sweetness of pomegranates
taken from your mother’s kitchenwe found brambles amid the blooms
you did not know blackberries at all
then loved them more than pomegranate
because they grew in our magic place
you mother thought they were dirty
like mewe thought this would go on forever
that we would grow up together
then, you were suddenly gone
moved away to where
a school would accept a Ugandan Asian girl
Kim Whysall-Hammond grew up in London in a working-class family, but now lives deep in the English countryside. She obtained a degree in Astronomy from UCL and has worked in both Climate Research and Telecommunications. A late comer to publishing poems, her poetry has appeared in American Diversity Report, Alchemy Spoon, Amsterdam Quarterly, London Grip, North of Oxford, Ink, Sweat and Tears, Marble Poetry, Crannóg and others. Her speculative poetry has appeared in Andromeda Spaceways, Eternal Haunted Summer, Frozen Wavelets, Kaleidotrope, On Spec, Silver Blade and Star*line. She also has poems in anthologies from Palewell Press, Wild Pressed Books, Milk and Cake Press, Experiments in Fiction and Brigids Gate Press. Find more of her work at https://thecheesesellerswife.wordpress.com/
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Day Six, 2023 ROAR Showcase: Wilma by Kim Whysall-Hammond
Wilma
I sit on the stairs
of another woman’s house
one I love deeply
my mother was the star to her
rockfast grace and kindness
but stars burn out and dieWilma still shines
her back may be bent but
her eyes glow
this house was sanctuary
and freedom to me
the love she and hers gave me
gentle and calm
Kim Whysall-Hammond grew up in London in a working-class family, but now lives deep in the English countryside. She obtained a degree in Astronomy from UCL and has worked in both Climate Research and Telecommunications. A late comer to publishing poems, her poetry has appeared in American Diversity Report, Alchemy Spoon, Amsterdam Quarterly, London Grip, North of Oxford, Ink, Sweat and Tears, Marble Poetry, Crannóg and others. Her speculative poetry has appeared in Andromeda Spaceways, Eternal Haunted Summer, Frozen Wavelets, Kaleidotrope, On Spec, Silver Blade and Star*line. She also has poems in anthologies from Palewell Press, Wild Pressed Books, Milk and Cake Press, Experiments in Fiction and Brigids Gate Press. Find more of her work at https://thecheesesellerswife.wordpress.com/
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Day Five, 2023 ROAR Showcase: Incremental Understanding by Kim Whysall-Hammond
Incremental Understanding
In the lineup of superheroes
you were the lost housewifeyour dream of family and many children
came late and was never enougha restricted life left you resenting
your daughters busy careerall that lost time smelt of lemons
Kim Whysall-Hammond grew up in London in a working-class family, but now lives deep in the English countryside. She obtained a degree in Astronomy from UCL and has worked in both Climate Research and Telecommunications. A late comer to publishing poems, her poetry has appeared in American Diversity Report, Alchemy Spoon, Amsterdam Quarterly, London Grip, North of Oxford, Ink, Sweat and Tears, Marble Poetry, Crannóg and others. Her speculative poetry has appeared in Andromeda Spaceways, Eternal Haunted Summer, Frozen Wavelets, Kaleidotrope, On Spec, Silver Blade and Star*line. She also has poems in anthologies from Palewell Press, Wild Pressed Books, Milk and Cake Press, Experiments in Fiction and Brigids Gate Press. Find more of her work at https://thecheesesellerswife.wordpress.com/
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Day Four, 2023 ROAR Showcase: Toxic by Kim Whysall-Hammond
Toxic
I’m so tall, I’m so tall
Yet you raised me to be so smallAs waves wash an uncaring shore
So I would wash you with my loveAs they caress rocks and pebbles
I used to kiss your uncaring cheekWaited with the patience of waves
For you to regard meTo see the woman I had become
As someone you could be proud ofThat tide went out years ago
I now walk a different shoreI’m so tall, I’m so tall
Yet you raised me to be so small
Kim Whysall-Hammond grew up in London in a working-class family, but now lives deep in the English countryside. She obtained a degree in Astronomy from UCL and has worked in both Climate Research and Telecommunications. A late comer to publishing poems, her poetry has appeared in American Diversity Report, Alchemy Spoon, Amsterdam Quarterly, London Grip, North of Oxford, Ink, Sweat and Tears, Marble Poetry, Crannóg and others. Her speculative poetry has appeared in Andromeda Spaceways, Eternal Haunted Summer, Frozen Wavelets, Kaleidotrope, On Spec, Silver Blade and Star*line. She also has poems in anthologies from Palewell Press, Wild Pressed Books, Milk and Cake Press, Experiments in Fiction and Brigids Gate Press. Find more of her work at https://thecheesesellerswife.wordpress.com/
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Day Three, 2023 ROAR Showcase: Soap Aisle Woolworths 1960s
Soap Aisle Woolworths 1960s
Soap smell, overpowering, strong
transfixed me
eyes stinging watering
nose and throat burning raw
I could not escape
how the counters towered over me
I was there looking for you
had lost you in all those aisles
had been crying for so long
before the scorchingThen you found me
told me off for straying
roughly wiped my eyes
so that they stung once more
pulled me away
out into bright sun
complained about the interruption to your shoppingA singular event, until, three years ago
in a Lush store, soap smell burned me again
marching out the door
I suddenly recalled
you hadn’t comforted me then
hadn’t hugged meI cannot remember any hugs from you
mother dear
although you hugged
wept over
my dead baby daughter
Kim Whysall-Hammond grew up in London in a working-class family, but now lives deep in the English countryside. She obtained a degree in Astronomy from UCL and has worked in both Climate Research and Telecommunications. A late comer to publishing poems, her poetry has appeared in American Diversity Report, Alchemy Spoon, Amsterdam Quarterly, London Grip, North of Oxford, Ink, Sweat and Tears, Marble Poetry, Crannóg and others. Her speculative poetry has appeared in Andromeda Spaceways, Eternal Haunted Summer, Frozen Wavelets, Kaleidotrope, On Spec, Silver Blade and Star*line. She also has poems in anthologies from Palewell Press, Wild Pressed Books, Milk and Cake Press, Experiments in Fiction and Brigids Gate Press. Find more of her work at https://thecheesesellerswife.wordpress.com/
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Day Two, 2023 ROAR Showcase: Prehistory by Kim Whysall-Hammond
Prehistory
Scattered objects unearthed
from the prehistory of my childhood
before writing was invented
and the alphabet was still a rhyming chantA single dusky pink ballet shoe
stuffed worn mannikins
one disc faced in grey
a miniature fully functional typewriter
shiny plastic necklacesImages exist of sunny afternoons
in pools or by rivers
I carry a floating balloon
with a cardboard gilded fish drifting inside
wear short cotton dresses
long hair scooped up into ornate shapesFrom this evidence
a narrative may be reconstructed
of a cherished daughterWe know better you and I
Kim Whysall-Hammond grew up in London in a working-class family, but now lives deep in the English countryside. She obtained a degree in Astronomy from UCL and has worked in both Climate Research and Telecommunications. A late comer to publishing poems, her poetry has appeared in American Diversity Report, Alchemy Spoon, Amsterdam Quarterly, London Grip, North of Oxford, Ink, Sweat and Tears, Marble Poetry, Crannóg and others. Her speculative poetry has appeared in Andromeda Spaceways, Eternal Haunted Summer, Frozen Wavelets, Kaleidotrope, On Spec, Silver Blade and Star*line. She also has poems in anthologies from Palewell Press, Wild Pressed Books, Milk and Cake Press, Experiments in Fiction and Brigids Gate Press. Find more of her work at https://thecheesesellerswife.wordpress.com/
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Day One, 2023 ROAR Showcase: Mother Love by Kim Whysall-Hammond
Mother Love
Let me tell you about my mother
about silences and love withheldthe need to communicate
and the need to escapelonging to be praised for what I had achieved
not for the compliant proper girl I had never beenwe kept things light for a long while
sharing shoes and a love of good dressingAt the end she didn’t want me
at the end I failed to grieve for herstood silent at the wake as strangers told me
of the lovely lady who made them want to love herbereft of my mother for years
I was wounded once more at her death
Kim Whysall-Hammond grew up in London in a working-class family, but now lives deep in the English countryside. She obtained a degree in Astronomy from UCL and has worked in both Climate Research and Telecommunications. A late comer to publishing poems, her poetry has appeared in American Diversity Report, Alchemy Spoon, Amsterdam Quarterly, London Grip, North of Oxford, Ink, Sweat and Tears, Marble Poetry, Crannóg and others. Her speculative poetry has appeared in Andromeda Spaceways, Eternal Haunted Summer, Frozen Wavelets, Kaleidotrope, On Spec, Silver Blade and Star*line. She also has poems in anthologies from Palewell Press, Wild Pressed Books, Milk and Cake Press, Experiments in Fiction and Brigids Gate Press. Find more of her work at https://thecheesesellerswife.wordpress.com/
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Okay Super-Procrastinators! Last Day To Submit To Green Lion’s 2023 ROAR Showcase
It’s here! The deadline is rapidly upon you!
Submissions have been sliding under the door all year, it’s been a delight peeking at and seeing all the wonderful and moving pieces being sent in, but the submission window is now rapidly closing; get your poems in while you can. The last day to submit for the 2023 ROAR Showcase is today! Submissions close at midnight. You’ve got some time left, but don’t procrastinate too long – get cracking! Send in 5 to 7 pieces of original work in the body of the email or in a single attached document to greenlionroarjournal@gmail.com with the subject line “Submission [Your Name] Roar.” Work that balances on a reoccurring theme or purpose will likely be favored. Be powerful, be vulnerable, be brave. Each poem should have a maximum count of 106 lines. Prose pieces should not exceed a standard page (8.5 x 11). Poems that exceed this limit by a few lines will not be rejected but will be strongly disfavored. GLJ accepts poems and prose published on personal blogs.
Go read the work of our current ROAR champion, Candice Louisa Daquin, to get a feel for what GLJ is looking for.
Admission is free, so you’ve got nothing to lose.
As always, stay brave. I’ll hopefully be seeing you soon. ♥