Earlier this year I joined a mysterious organization known as the Cult of the Spiny Hog, an offshoot of The Hedgehog Poetry Press, a United Kingdom-based poetry publishing company. For over a year I had heard whispers of this mysterious group, with hints and rumors of its Illuminati-like status, so with a certain amount of trepidation I submitted my application and was accepted into the organization.
Last week I received a package with the “holy writings” of fellow members of the cult, the nine books of poetry that you see in the first photo. If you look carefully at each volume, you will spot the shadowy silhouette of a hedgehog, the mark of the cult. So far I have not been asked to have it tattooed on my body, but I do not exclude that being a future requirement. The second image shows the way the bundle was packaged, with a mysterious face looking out through the translucent paper and the seal of the cult. The final photo shows different versions of the cult’s signature mascot.
How did this happen? How did I fall under the sway of this poetry organization? It began quite modestly when I subscribed to the blog of Irish poet, Damien B. Donnelly. A few months later I had the pleasure of meeting Damien in person in Paris in November 2019—you can read all about our encounter in my blog posting entitled Paris Portraits: Damien. If you too want to be throughly enchanted, check out this YouTube video called An Evening of Eating The Storms in which Damien debuted his poetry collection—it is an amazing performance.
Damien is an incredible poet and over time he and his fellow cult members have helped to reawaken in me a part of myself that had been dormant for decades. When I was in college, I immersed myself in French literature, spent my junior year studying in Paris, and made the totally impractical decision to major in French. As I now look back at those years, I hardly recognize that romantic dreamer as me. I am now beginning to dream again.
If you read my blog regularly, you have seen growing indications of poetry’s growing grip on my heart. In October 2020, I did a posting called National Poetry Day 2020 that talked about new poetry collections by Damien B. Donnelly, Gaynor Kane, and Katie Proctor, poets whose works I had read and seen performed at the Zoom poetry readings that I had started to attend regularly.
I knew that I was hooked in late December 2020 when I felt prompted by the pandemic to write a poem myself. I included it in a posting called Pandemic Poetry that also looked at a powerful collection of pandemic poetry by Gaynor Kane and Karen Mooney. One of the benefits of joining the cult is that I can submit poetry for free into the various competitions run by the publish, a step that I do not envision myself taking now, but can envision such a possibility in the future.
Why am I so smitten with poetry? If I reduced my answer to a single statement, I would have to say that it is because poetry speaks to my heart in a way that no other written or spoken words do. Contemporary poets express themselves in so many different ways and across such a wide range of subjects, that there is bound to be one that speaks to your heart—Amanda Gorman’s moving reading at the US inauguration opened the eyes of many Americans to the power of poetry.
I am not recruiting for the cult and I think there is a strict numerical limit on the number of members. However, I do encourage you to consider adding some poetry to your life. One of the easiest ways to to that is to listen to the weekly Eat The Storms podcast, in which the aforementioned Damien B. Donnelly hosts an hour-long show with poets and musicians performing from around the world. (The podcast is named after Damien’s debut poetry collection, which you can order directly from Damien at his website.)The podcast is already in its second season and new episodes come out each Saturday and are available on Anchor, Spotify, Podbean, Google, Apple, and other podcast platforms.
Here is a comment I left on the podcast’s website that gives you a feel for the scope of the poetry presentations in a single podcast—”Each of your podcast episodes, Damien, is an emotional rollercoaster as your poet friends explore a wide variety of themes in an amazing range of voices, both figuratively as well as literally (with accents from around the world). Where else could I letters to letters to Sylvia Plath juxtaposed with contemplations on Chagall; memories of Paris alongside perceptions from the parallel world of Wolf Planet; humankind’s fight with nature followed by personal memories from a Kodachrome image; greying mists of colorful memories with some black-and-white consequences of British archaeological discoveries? Those topics only touch the surface of this mind-expanding episode of this wonderful podcast.”
Let me end this posting with Damien’s signature closing line, “Stay bloody poetic.”
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
Mike Powell 
I’m intrigued, and will give the Eat the Storms podcast a try.
I have always enjoyed poetry, Mike. I follow a large number of poets and part time poets and I enjoy their works.
I am not surprised to hear that, Dan, since I know that you love words. The poets that I have met are really scrambling during the pandemic to generate interest in their poetry, given that poetry readings in person are still not possible. Zoom has turned out to be a wonderful medium for open mike poetry readings with a wider audience than meeting in a local pub, which seems to be the usual place of poetry readings in the UK and in Ireland. Obviously, though, you miss out on some of the benefits of being in a pub. 🙂
Who is to say that the pod cast and the poems less traveled should not be investigated and more traveled. It is nice to know there are some beneficial and worthwhile cults at work. Just be mindful of your volume while reciting in the wilds…
Many thanks for the many links you share here … saving a copy … will be indulging … a new month, a new exploration.
Thanks, Jazz. One of the coolest things about having a blog is the sense of connectedness that it helps to create. The folks who read my blog are a diverse group from all over the world, some with interests similar to mine and others with different ones. I recognize full well that the kind of art and the kind of poetry that appeals to me may not resonate with others–I know that is true also with my photography. I shared the links you mentioned as a way to introduce others to people and ideas that have attracted me. I know that only a few folks will click on through to them, but I am totally ok with that. I am merely laying out the path of breadcrumbs in case others want to follow. 🙂
Sounds like you are exploring your early roots, Mike. Poetry is a wonderful form of creative expression, satisfies the soul, and something that you can do for the rest of your life, so fulfilling!
Love their logo
Interesting, unique post. For me (lover of biography/memoir, fiction and nonfiction, and more), poetry is kind of like music of the Romantic period. I love certain pieces (Brahms’ German Requiem, Tchaikovsky’s early symphonies, Chopin pieces that I played or listened to when I was a teen…), but I don’t enjoy the genre as a whole in the way that I love pretty much every Baroque composition I have ever heard. So I love “Mending Wall” and “Forgetfulness”, but I don’t love poetry in a general sense.
And I wonder how lovers of poetry consume it. Do you read a poem silently, or out loud? Once, or several times? Do you memorize poems that catch your fancy? Do you sit down after dinner with a book of poems and just read them, one after another? (That’s hard to imagine.) Perhaps you can suggest how I might dip my toe in the ocean of poetry.
Thanks, Nina. How do I love poetry, let me count the ways. I tend to consume poetry in small doses. I have no set routine or time of the day–I may pick up one of the little poetry pamphlets when the fancy strikes me and read a poem or two. A lot depends on my mood and the subject matter. Some of the collections are theme-based, like one that is about the consequences of pandemic restrictions, and lend themselves to reading several in a row. Other poems are intensely personal and those ones individually cause me to pause and to ponder their meaning. I like to read certain poems aloud and when I mentioned to one poet that I had done that with one of her poems, she lamented that she could not hear my interpretation. So I recorded my reading and sent it to her. I don’t memorize poems in the way that I did when I was growing up. Do they still do that in schools? I can still recall some of those memorized poems to this day. When faced with the large volume of poetry pamphlets that I received, I feel a bit like I do when I am at a winery. I want to sample a variety of vintages to see what I like and then concentrate on those that appeal to me most. I am increasingly aware of the power of hearing poets perform their own poems and in hearing some of the “back stories” of their lives and their works. That helps to make poetry much more alive and less academic than it was when I studied it in school. I can sometimes get answers to the kind of questions that we considered in school about the author’s intentions.
Thank you so much for your long and thoughtful response to my comment/question. I’m going to try some of your strategies. I do like to memorize shorter poems. I often recite “Stopping by Woods…” or “The Road Not Taken” while walking in the park (or when washing my hands for the requisite 20 seconds–though they are a bit longer than needed). I would like to learn “Mending Wall”… but it’s rather slow going. So much else on my plate, somehow. I do feel that silent reading does not work for a lot of poetry, because the sound and rhythm are so much part of a poem’s impact, so if you can’t hear it, you can’t really appreciate it. Anyway, thanks again.
You are quite welcome, Nina. Your question triggered a lot of self-examination as I thought about the issues you raised, issues that I had not directly thought about before. I just checked out Mending Wall and it would be a bit much to memorize, as would Birches, another one of my favorite Frost poems.
Before I built a wall, I’d ask to know what I was walling in or walling out,
And to whom I was like to give offense.
(a favorite line)
Also: Something there is that doesn’t love a wall, that wants it down.
I like Birches too. Do you like Billy Collins’ poetry?
I must confess that I am not familiar enough with Billy Collins’ poetry to say if I like it. More works to be added to my reading list. 🙂
I haven’t read much of his work, but my favorite is https://youtu.be/wrEPJh14mcU.
That poem definitely resounds with me as aging starts to affect me more and more. I love hearing a poet reading his own work and the video production in the link you provided was really cool. Thanks, Nina.
I’m so glad you enjoyed it! I also love his poem about what a dog thinks about his master. Check out Two Poems About What Dogs Think. The second one is really funny. https://youtu.be/DOvbl3ZPPV4
That’s all, I promise not to recommend any more. I’ve pretty much exhausted my poetic mental database!
No problem with the recommendations. I think I may consider purchasing a volume of his poetry. I feel a little negligent that I don’t know more of one of our country’s Poets Laureate.
Gorgeous poetry package .. what fun to receive 🙂
I wish you much delight in your new exploration into this other tangent of your passions. It looks like you’ve found some wonderful new friends.
Thanks, Gary. A “tangent” is a good descriptor for my interest in poetry–it touches some of my other passions, but goes off in a different direction. During most of my career in the military and government, I did analytical work and now, later in life, I seem to be drawn to developing my creative side. There is something really stimulating about coming into contact (even virtually) with creative folks.
I echo that sentiment with great enthusiasm. Many artistic passions–this WP blogging community, my local folk music and bluegrass clubs among them–have led to some wonderful friendships.
Isn’t it fun to get those Hedgehog packages? And Damien is a marvel.
This is my first Hedgehog package, but I am pretty sure it will not be my last. 🙂
😀