What a morning! I was up before the sun today, catching the fabulous mist and doing research along a Wiltshire chalk stream. The White Horse looked amazing, the horses and fungus were keeping company in the fields and my tally of birds included Pheasants, Red Kites, Carrion Crows, Eurasian Skylarks, Eurasian Linnets, European Goldfinches. I was surprised that the latter three feathered friends hadn’t emigrated to somewhere a lot less chilly. Autumn is such a colourful time and I love having the excuse to pile on jumpers and wear fluffy boots again.
Karen Downs-Barton is an award winning poet. Minx, her first collection, is published by Chatto and Windus, Penguin Random House in March 2025. Her pamphlet, Didicoy, won the 2022 International Book and Pamphlet Competition and was the Poetry Book Society recommended pamphlet 2023. Her writing incorporates experimental form and multilingualism alongside lyric pieces exploring an Angloromani heritage, times in state child care, and in diverse occupations including a magician's assistant. Karen has appeared on BBC Radio 4's The Verb, Ledbury Literature Festival, and is currently touring, promoting Minx. Karen gained a Doctorate in Creative Writing from King's College, London and is a regular workshop facilitator for Creative Future UK. Follow her on social media at: @downsbarton Instagram, @karendownsbarton.bsky.social
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