Way More Than Luck

Friday Poem – ‘A Late Aubade’ by Ben Wilkinson

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This week’s Friday Poem is ‘A Late Aubade’ by Ben Wilkinson from his collection Same Difference. You can hear Ben chatting about the book on the The Seren Poetry Podcast which is available now on all podcast platforms.

This cover shows an abstract painting made up of dark blues and greys. There is a face-like smudge in the centre and splashes of red, yellow and green on the left hand side. The text reads: Same Difference, Ben Wilkinson.

Same Difference is the formally acute second collection by Ben Wilkinson. Carefully crafted, and charged with contemporary language, the poems play with poetic voice and the dramatic monologue, keeping us on our toes and asking just who is doing the talking. Throughout, he ‘steps into the shoes’ of French symbolist poet Paul Verlaine (1844-96), reframing his voice for modern readers. Brimming with everyone from cage fighters and boy racers to cancer patients and whales in captivity, Same Difference is gritty, darkly ironic and often moving – a collection for our times.

A Late Aubade after Verlaine How long since we last lolled here all morning, the house quiet and still, snow falling beyond our bedroom’s window and warmth? Now we’ve time to uncover each other after what seems like months apart – losing ourselves in that same tender art to open one thought onto another – even this grim half-light has a charm of sorts. Times like these grant us leave from the world – those claims it makes of everyone – and the constant doing that comes to nothing; the snow still falls and the streets are frozen. Instead, let this moment be perfectly held: return us to something we hadn’t thought missing.

The Seren Poetry Podcast is a new series of in-depth interviews with Seren poets. Episode 6 with Ben Wilkinson is available to listen to now.

Simply search ‘The Seren Poetry Podcast’ in your favourite podcast app and follow or subscribe to have all future editions delivered straight to your podcast feed. Available on all platforms including Apple Podcasts, Spotify and Google Podcasts. Don’t forget to leave us a review if you like what you hear.

Same Difference is available on the Seren website for £9.99

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Friday Poem – ’Jürgen Klopp‘ by Ben Wilkinson

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This week’s Friday Poem is ‘Jürgen Klopp’ by Ben Wilkinson, a new poem written to celebrate Liverpool FC winning the Premier League for the first time in 30 years.

Way More Than Luck Ben WilkinsonWay More Than Luck is the vivid debut collection of well-known poet and critic Ben Wilkinson. At its heart is a series of poems inspired by a lifelong devotion to Liverpool Football Club. We meet former players, coaches and re-live moments of both stoic despair and wild joy, where vivid themes are adroitly enacted in poetic forms.

“…an absorbing read that we are way more than lucky to have.” – Ian Duhig

Way More Than Luck is available on the Seren website: £9.99

Create your free Seren account and enjoy 20% off every book you buy from us.

Friday Poem – ‘Two Clouds’ by Ben Wilkinson

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This week’s Friday Poem is ‘Two Clouds’ by Ben Wilkinson from his debut collection Way More Than Luck.

Ben will be reading for us as part of the Seren Stay-at-Home Series tonight at 7:30pm. Tickets are only £5 and are available here*.

Way More Than Luck Ben WilkinsonWay More Than Luck is the vivid debut collection of well-known poet and critic Ben Wilkinson. At its heart is a series of poems inspired by a lifelong devotion to Liverpool Football Club. We meet former players, coaches and re-live moments of both stoic despair and wild joy, where vivid themes are adroitly enacted in poetic forms.

“…an absorbing read that we are way more than lucky to have.” – Ian Duhig

Way More Than Luck is available on the Seren website: £9.99

*All ticket holders for the Seren Stay-at-Home Series also get an exclusive 30% discount code to use on the Seren website.

See the full Seren Stay-at-Home Series programme here.

Friday Poem – ‘Sundays too my Dad got up early’, Ben Wilkinson

Friday Poem Sundays Ben Wilkinson
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This week’s Friday Poem, ‘Sundays too my Dad got up early’, is a sneak peek into poetry critic Ben Wilkinson’s startling debut, Way More Than Luck (publishing 28 February).

Way More Than Luck Ben WilkinsonFrom the thumping heartbeat of the distance runner to the roar of football terraces across the decades, Ben Wilkinson’s debut, Way More Than Luck, confronts the struggles and passions that come to shape a life. Beginning with an unflinching interrogation of experiences of clinical depression and the redemptive power of art and running, the collection centres on a series of vivid character portraits, giving life to the legends of Liverpool Football Club. By turns frank, comic, sinister and meditative – ‘the trouble with you, son, is that all your brains are in your head’ – these poems uncover the beautiful game’s magic and absurdity, hopes and disappointments, as striking metaphors for our everyday dramas.

 

Sundays too my Dad got up early Ben Wilkinson

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Way More Than Luck is available to pre-order from the Seren website: £9.99

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