Cover: Photo (c) J. G. Betts. Wildflower meadow Coleton Fishacre Gardens Devon.
LUPO 46 sees its June offerings topped and tailed by those pillars of our verse universe Martin Parker and Melissa Balmain. It launches its summer issue with lawn tennis, then nods to an overpond icon, pauses over the ways of dogs, insects, birds of a sort, fleeing fruit, paintings, statues and beautiful if inert models before male pride is triply-punctured. There follow, genies, palindromes, wise words, garrulous gadgets in the brave new digital world, another slant on summer without balls and nets, unexotic Stafford, square plates rather than square pegs, biscuits, deafness, belladonna and cosmetic rip-offs, interspersed with brief thoughts on a variety of topics from fish to physicians and zombies to Zuckerbergs.
Offering short measures, but not short measure, in the Intervals are Alex Corrin-Tachibana, Bill Arnott, Rob Barratt, Jerome Betts, Jane Blanchard, Terese Coe, John Dunlap, Daniel Galef, Bear Gephardt, Max Gutmann, Robin Helweg-Larsen, Janet Jenkins-Stotts, Thomas Martin, Bruce McGuffin, L.A. Mereoie, Chris O’Carroll, Sarah Paulos, Christine Roberts, David Shields, Jessica Smith, Susan de Sola, Gail White, Liza McAlister Williams and Paul Willis.
On the competition podium, a ruthless recidivist gang of Grahamites lines up to receive the plaudits of the pitiless, in the shape of Damian Balassone, Melissa Balmain, Stuart Blair, John Cooper, Daniel Galef, Elizabeth Horrocks, I.V. Neversere and Robert Schechter.
Stepping aboard LUPO’s polyvalent vehicle for the first time come a golden horde or throng, namely Alex Corrin-Tachibana, Bill Arnott, Alex Barr, Aidan Casey, Neil Doherty, John Dunlap, Bear Gephardt, Janet Jenkins-Stotts, Thomas Martin, Thomas McColl, Eira Needham, Sarah Paulos, Christine Roberts, J.J. Shale, David Shields, Jessica Smith and Anthony Watts. A cordial welcome to this summer seventeen, as well as our return visitors, and apologies to those whose pieces have had to be held over till Issue 47.
Lastly, on a more sombre note, there were twelve pioneer contributors to LUPO's first issue back in March 2008 and it is therefore sad to have to report that the poet who opened the proceedings on that occasion, John Whitworth, is no longer with us. (See News)
