#8: The Gold Star Effect ⭐️

The Maple Moon Podcast Needs Your Help! ✨

I have been extremely unwell since the New Year; on top of my existing health issues. Beyond that, finances are really quite dire for my household and we need help. This country really keeps you in the gutter and food is growing increasingly expensive. I’m existing on tins / cartons of soup and simple sandwiches. Though with this stomach bug I cannot eat at all. I am hoping to get my health back on track this year so I can continue doing this and all I love. I’m truly struggling both physically and mentally right now. If you can spare any donations towards my GoFundMe [https://gofund.me/00c33418e], I would greatly appreciate it. —Courtenay x Get full access to The Maple Moon at themaplemoon.substack.com/subscribe [https://themaplemoon.substack.com/subscribe?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_4]

#9: A Corpse Waiting to be Washed

In this episode I provide some much needed updates; such as what I’ve been reading and watching. I also discuss my feelings on approaching the end of my ‘20s. Mentioned: - Complete Plays by Aristophanes - The Birthday Party by Harold Pinter - Summerfolk by Maxim Gorky - The Way We Live Now by Anthony Trollope - Ulysses by James Joyce - I’m A Celebrity Get Me Out of Here - Big Brother - Stranger Things S5 (SPOILER WARNING) Support The Maple Moon Podcast: - GoFundMe [https://gofund.me/a4cd1d649] - Amazon Wishlist [https://www.youtube.com/redirect?event=video_description&redir_token=QUFFLUhqbHpvUjB1cTVybkV1V0g3UWs3YnJGeFl2bTk2QXxBQ3Jtc0trT2tIUjNPZS1rM200Y1NhQ24taldxYVpobEkwcVZHblZ4eDFHYUpOUHhIZG1QaEhIRWViWUhCSHVLUTVSTmpERXZQc24wRjBsLWNrdzJ4VTk1TkhSWFk5cHV6dTlJRThkSGRnTEdqWTFZanZKQVdPOA&q=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.amazon.co.uk%2Fhz%2Fwishlist%2Fls%2F3ATZWMP5QB1PB%3Fref_%3Dwl_share&v=G2gmosD3uYs] * For all press / PR enquiries, please contact me via email: courtenay.editor@gmail.com Get full access to The Maple Moon at themaplemoon.substack.com/subscribe [https://themaplemoon.substack.com/subscribe?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_4]

#8: The Gold Star Effect ⭐️

In this episode I discuss the issues with writing competitions, why I don’t care to follow them, why I no longer enter poetry prizes, and the culture surrounding writing prizes. Mentioned: - Mslexia’s Instagram Post [https://www.instagram.com/p/DP32uRzDjyX/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link&igsh=MzRlODBiNWFlZA==] - Hallowe’en Ghazal [https://vimeo.com/1069950069?fl=pl&fe=sh] by Kit Buchan - We Blue Stars [https://themaplemoon.substack.com/p/poetry-drafting-the-poet-as-gardener] by Courtenay Schembri Gray - The Poetry Review - Diane Seuss - Full Fathom Five [https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/154287/full-fathom-five]by Sylvia Plath Currently Reading: - Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell by Susanna Clark - The Golden Notebook by Doris Lessing Support The Maple Moon Podcast: - Ko-Fi [https://www.youtube.com/redirect?event=video_description&redir_token=QUFFLUhqbHpiSVFRUFlJdVhwN1J1WjI0UnJMUGR4OXVZQXxBQ3Jtc0tsRGZ1cFVZVzg5TzdCVWFCQkFlMDRlMVpmbnE5N3A5bUQ3VDRQQ3NXeGltVFNuZGhjQTNzRU4yT1ZkOEpWTVowcXU0MkFKdVVwXzdqeE92RnZySkRKeVQ3d0gtcHcwUWU5ajVsVUg4VzRlNWVUOTdKRQ&q=https%3A%2F%2Fko-fi.com%2Fcourtenaywrites&v=G2gmosD3uYs] - PayPal [https://www.youtube.com/redirect?event=video_description&redir_token=QUFFLUhqa2YxcGZIbkdXZWhodHpXZDFzc0ZaVDFvb0FHQXxBQ3Jtc0tsYXlPN2RCN2ZEU0dLSU1HSVl6Qm9tSDhjX2hNX1VsbnExSmNTbnJBTG0xXzkyVklTSjFaM2dxcnVfMDAwNUxWMHFwWTE2d2lSaVRXNnRpVkhJblJGVC1EMDhSX2RJY0FldFNMVVdBSG1yakFoMmpURQ&q=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.paypal.me%2Fcourtenaywrites%3Flocale.x%3Den_GB&v=G2gmosD3uYs] - Amazon Wishlist [https://www.youtube.com/redirect?event=video_description&redir_token=QUFFLUhqbHpvUjB1cTVybkV1V0g3UWs3YnJGeFl2bTk2QXxBQ3Jtc0trT2tIUjNPZS1rM200Y1NhQ24taldxYVpobEkwcVZHblZ4eDFHYUpOUHhIZG1QaEhIRWViWUhCSHVLUTVSTmpERXZQc24wRjBsLWNrdzJ4VTk1TkhSWFk5cHV6dTlJRThkSGRnTEdqWTFZanZKQVdPOA&q=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.amazon.co.uk%2Fhz%2Fwishlist%2Fls%2F3ATZWMP5QB1PB%3Fref_%3Dwl_share&v=G2gmosD3uYs] * For all press / PR enquiries, please contact me via email: courtenay.editor@gmail.com Get full access to The Maple Moon at themaplemoon.substack.com/subscribe [https://themaplemoon.substack.com/subscribe?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_4]

#7: Bright Stupid Confetti

Mentioned: - The Collected Poems of Sylvia Plath (ed. Ted Hughes) - Sylvia (dir. Christine Jeffs, 2003) - The Letters of Ted Hughes (ed. Christopher Reid) - Winter Landscape, With Rooks by Sylvia Plath - Bucolics by Sylvia Plath - Faun by Sylvia Plath - Red Comet: The Short Life and Blazing Art of Sylvia Plath by Heather Clark - Sylvia Plath in Devon: A Year’s Turning by Elizabeth Sigmund and Gail Crowther - The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath - Ariel by Sylvia Plath - Gilmore Girls Support The Maple Moon Podcast: - Ko-Fi [https://www.youtube.com/redirect?event=video_description&redir_token=QUFFLUhqbHpiSVFRUFlJdVhwN1J1WjI0UnJMUGR4OXVZQXxBQ3Jtc0tsRGZ1cFVZVzg5TzdCVWFCQkFlMDRlMVpmbnE5N3A5bUQ3VDRQQ3NXeGltVFNuZGhjQTNzRU4yT1ZkOEpWTVowcXU0MkFKdVVwXzdqeE92RnZySkRKeVQ3d0gtcHcwUWU5ajVsVUg4VzRlNWVUOTdKRQ&q=https%3A%2F%2Fko-fi.com%2Fcourtenaywrites&v=G2gmosD3uYs] - PayPal [https://www.youtube.com/redirect?event=video_description&redir_token=QUFFLUhqa2YxcGZIbkdXZWhodHpXZDFzc0ZaVDFvb0FHQXxBQ3Jtc0tsYXlPN2RCN2ZEU0dLSU1HSVl6Qm9tSDhjX2hNX1VsbnExSmNTbnJBTG0xXzkyVklTSjFaM2dxcnVfMDAwNUxWMHFwWTE2d2lSaVRXNnRpVkhJblJGVC1EMDhSX2RJY0FldFNMVVdBSG1yakFoMmpURQ&q=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.paypal.me%2Fcourtenaywrites%3Flocale.x%3Den_GB&v=G2gmosD3uYs] - Amazon Wishlist [https://www.youtube.com/redirect?event=video_description&redir_token=QUFFLUhqbHpvUjB1cTVybkV1V0g3UWs3YnJGeFl2bTk2QXxBQ3Jtc0trT2tIUjNPZS1rM200Y1NhQ24taldxYVpobEkwcVZHblZ4eDFHYUpOUHhIZG1QaEhIRWViWUhCSHVLUTVSTmpERXZQc24wRjBsLWNrdzJ4VTk1TkhSWFk5cHV6dTlJRThkSGRnTEdqWTFZanZKQVdPOA&q=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.amazon.co.uk%2Fhz%2Fwishlist%2Fls%2F3ATZWMP5QB1PB%3Fref_%3Dwl_share&v=G2gmosD3uYs] * For all press / PR enquiries, please contact me via email: courtenay.editor@gmail.com Get full access to The Maple Moon at themaplemoon.substack.com/subscribe [https://themaplemoon.substack.com/subscribe?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_4]

#6: The Way We Live Now

In this episode I discuss the problems with Arts Council funding, rewarding mediocrity, and the privileges of those with all the power in the writing world. I urge all my fellow writers listening to hear this message and speak out on the corruption going on in the arts. If we don’t fight for what we deserve then there will be nobody left other than those who hold all the cards. ‘I have no patience with the pretensions of would-be poets who contrive by toadying and underground influences to get their volumes placed on every drawing-room table.’ —The Way We Live Now by Anthony Trollope Mentioned: - Rebecca Kenny’s Instagram post [https://www.instagram.com/p/DQClCv_DJqJ/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link&igsh=MzRlODBiNWFlZA==] - The Rest Is Entertainment [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vd4n1_0D7Wk]episode: 16:34 - Majority of creative jobs go to friends or contacts in ‘closed’ process – BECTU [https://www.thestage.co.uk/news/majority-of-creative-jobs-go-to-friends-or-contacts-in-closed-process-bectu]by Katie Chambers for The Stage - NPO championing marginalised writers to close [https://www.artsprofessional.co.uk/news/ace-funded-literary-agency-dedicated-to-diversity-to-close]by Chris Sharratt for Arts Professional - The Way We Live Now by Anthony Trollope Places to Donate: - Médecins Sans Frontières [https://msf.org.uk/?gclsrc=aw.ds&gad_source=1&gad_campaignid=21031519423&gbraid=0AAAAADn6FKelVV6uuSPzyV0Bx0Fbs_Fty&gclid=CjwKCAjwx-zHBhBhEiwA7Kjq67GSprXCrMMQWJJ5WEAtILnbq14WFDC7OnjRYIf9gRXqBypRMriseBoCVrwQAvD_BwE] - Help Kurt Transition and Survive! [https://www.gofundme.com/f/help-kurt-transition] Support The Maple Moon Podcast: - Ko-Fi [https://www.youtube.com/redirect?event=video_description&redir_token=QUFFLUhqbHpiSVFRUFlJdVhwN1J1WjI0UnJMUGR4OXVZQXxBQ3Jtc0tsRGZ1cFVZVzg5TzdCVWFCQkFlMDRlMVpmbnE5N3A5bUQ3VDRQQ3NXeGltVFNuZGhjQTNzRU4yT1ZkOEpWTVowcXU0MkFKdVVwXzdqeE92RnZySkRKeVQ3d0gtcHcwUWU5ajVsVUg4VzRlNWVUOTdKRQ&q=https%3A%2F%2Fko-fi.com%2Fcourtenaywrites&v=G2gmosD3uYs] - PayPal [https://www.youtube.com/redirect?event=video_description&redir_token=QUFFLUhqa2YxcGZIbkdXZWhodHpXZDFzc0ZaVDFvb0FHQXxBQ3Jtc0tsYXlPN2RCN2ZEU0dLSU1HSVl6Qm9tSDhjX2hNX1VsbnExSmNTbnJBTG0xXzkyVklTSjFaM2dxcnVfMDAwNUxWMHFwWTE2d2lSaVRXNnRpVkhJblJGVC1EMDhSX2RJY0FldFNMVVdBSG1yakFoMmpURQ&q=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.paypal.me%2Fcourtenaywrites%3Flocale.x%3Den_GB&v=G2gmosD3uYs] - Amazon Wishlist [https://www.youtube.com/redirect?event=video_description&redir_token=QUFFLUhqbHpvUjB1cTVybkV1V0g3UWs3YnJGeFl2bTk2QXxBQ3Jtc0trT2tIUjNPZS1rM200Y1NhQ24taldxYVpobEkwcVZHblZ4eDFHYUpOUHhIZG1QaEhIRWViWUhCSHVLUTVSTmpERXZQc24wRjBsLWNrdzJ4VTk1TkhSWFk5cHV6dTlJRThkSGRnTEdqWTFZanZKQVdPOA&q=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.amazon.co.uk%2Fhz%2Fwishlist%2Fls%2F3ATZWMP5QB1PB%3Fref_%3Dwl_share&v=G2gmosD3uYs] * For all press / PR enquiries, please contact me via email: courtenay.editor@gmail.com Get full access to The Maple Moon at themaplemoon.substack.com/subscribe [https://themaplemoon.substack.com/subscribe?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_4]