A pause

I had an upbeat blog ready to go out tonight, launching our September submissions window, but can no longer post it after what has almost certainly been the darkest day for the UK poetry community since I’ve been involved. I am of course referring to the tragic loss of 27-year-old poet and editor Gboyega Odubanjo. The BBC News story is here.

I am the last person in a position to speak about Gboyega; we never met, but the poetry community is small enough – just a village really – that everyone I regularly communicate with has just one degree of separation from this news, if that. I understand there was a gathering tonight at the Poetry Cafe on Betterton Street, London, to share hot drinks and memories of Gboyega, with “such warmth and such sadness.” But even in a room full of poets, the events of this week are beyond words; “desperately awful” still doesn’t quite get there. My thoughts, and those of all connected to Valley Press, are with Gboyega’s family and friends at this time.

I kept the mention of submissions at the top of this post not just because I know you were all expecting to read about them today, but because Gboyega was exactly the sort of person I’d most have wanted to hear from. Valley Press had the privilege of publishing his poem ‘Oil Music’ in our anthology Out of Time, and he’s right next to Emma Must (who I also encountered there for the first time) in the biographies at the end. He was at the beginning of his career, but already “one of the most important writers of his generation” (Rebecca Tamás). His debut collection, Adam, is forthcoming (I’m not sure from which publisher), but we should have had many, many more.

“He was, he is, the best of us,” wrote colleagues at Bad Betty Press, along with some sharp words about the events surrounding this loss. He had a few of his own, if you can bear it; there’s the stunning ‘Obit’ on Ink Sweat and Tears, and ‘Against Resting in Peace’ from the New Stateman. His pamphlets While I Yet Live and Aunty Uncle Poems are available from the Poetry Book Society.

Finally, this extraordinary reading of three poems was uploaded just eight days ago.

I am opening the comments section of this post to everyone, subscriber or otherwise, if you wish to share your own thoughts. Thank you for reading, and look after yourselves.