E Y E W E A R, THE BLOG - FREEDOM MEANS BEING UNAFRAID TO WRITE WHAT YOU THINK

OUR FOUNDER IS A VERY LIKEABLE AND SMART GUY WHO IS VERY RICH Eyewear Publishing Ltd is excited TO ANNOUNCE that we  love literary genius and  money-making potential, in authors. Not just in that order. Not just eyeglass-wearing panty-waist liberal progressive poet types from Chicago either. WE DO BIG BOOKS FOR PEOPLE THAT LIKE SUCCESS. BOTTOM LINE. We are ethical, ALSO. We do good in books, we are GOOD BOOK DOERS. PLUS, we plan to MAKE BOOKS GREAT AGAIN IN 2016! EVEN ON THE ROAD WE ARE CAPABLE OF MAKING DEALS THAT MAKE MONEY, FAST!     We plan to roll out a money-making literary work of genius weekly this year and next, in MODEL T FORD fashion, and will sell millions of books, because we have read THE ART OF THE DEAL . We are not bespectacled dummies. We are bespectacled smart people. BOOKS ARE THE NEW GUNS. Everyone should carry one.   EYEWEAR WILL BE GREATER THAN LONDON SOON. LOOK OUT WORLD, HERE EYEWEAR COMES! E...

SHE'S A FAN The STYLISH Eyewear 20/20 Pamphlet series - edited by Les Robinson and designed by Edwin Smet - is now up to 16 poets - and we're launching 8 of the collections July 29th, at The Rugby Tavern, Bloomsbury, at 7-9pm, in a pub famous for being a watering hole for Plath and Hughes . Fans of great contemporary poetry by new, emerging, and established poets cannot but find something to enjoy - and since each poet will be reading for only 5 minutes, it will be a relatively quick and fun event (plus drinks, chance to get books signed, chat, and generally mingle). Here are the poets reading, IN NO ORDER, including a guest from Ireland, Julie Morrissy, whose work with Eyewear is out only later - she's a taste of things to come (I will be reading from Jack Little's pamphlet, he is back to Mexico now).... GEORGE SZIRTES JULIE MORRISSY KEITH JARRETT DAMILOLA ODELOLA SAMANTHA JACKSON SHELLEY ROCHE-JACQUES LEILANIE STEWART V.A. SOLA SMITH

AHEM.  Eyewear 's been busy, planning exciting launches for our spring collection of titles, at The LRB in May, and also at the Mexican residence.  We also have Eyewear poet Don Share over to Glasgow for a reading.  Be patient - we have some astounding new poems, features, reviews, and opinion pieces coming your way. And, in the meantime, enjoy the weather!

Eyewear thinks that the whole point of July is to take it easy, soak up the sun, and stay outside as much as possible, reading, relaxing, and sipping lemonade.  As this is our ethos, the blog will resume in August, with poems by Stephen Burt , and reviews of many new and recent poetry collections.  Keep looking out for poetry in the meantime, and enjoy our numerous previous posts!

Eyewear is a blog that values the rule of law, within reason.  While, a week or so ago, the blog began featuring poems by poets writing on - and often in praise of - the American spy and whistleblower, Edward Snowden , at no time has the editorial policy been to praise or condone illegal activity, even if by a member of the intelligence community.  Indeed, the initial sense that Snowden was a hero has been somewhat dampened by his extraordinary personal flight, from Hong Kong, to Russia, then Cuba, and on to Venezuela, aided by China and Russia along the way. Friends of human rights should take pause at that odd list of allies, for when an agent of espionage is supported by enemies of America, suspicions must be raised.  What is Snowden up to?  Evading punishment, for one thing - but when Eyewear first praised the man, again, before he had been charged with a crime by the US authorities, he seemed to be stepping forward, as Socrates , and Christ , and Mandela did...

June is coming soon... and so are more poets to be featured, and many reviews.  But for now, I am off to the Poetry London summer launch tonight - and then to enjoy some sun for a few days.  Be well - and buy British indie poetry!

Happy May 1st.  Workers of the world, enjoy.  Readers of Eyewear , time to prepare to read some great new work... this month, we have some great poet features, reviews, and other stuff... just give me time to recover from our triumphant Goodenough College Bloomsbury launch of a week ago...

Eyewear returns soon, as Reading Week begins.  But not quite yet - it is my 47th birthday tomorrow, and I have a very busy day, including final work on the fourth Eyewear book we are launching end of April... but the wait will be worth it - some great poems, reviews, and poets, on the way...

Eyewear is on Spring Break.  When we come back in April, prepare yourself for brilliant poety features on major US poets, some insightful reviews of recent poetry, and other stimulating stuff for the eyes and mind.  Enjoy the holidays.

Eyewear , Britiain's best-loved and most-read poetry blog, continues to feature the very best poets in the English language - this coming week, poems sent in from two great American poets, Robert Pinsky and C.D. Wright .  We're honoured and delighted in equal measure.

This is Eyewear 's 3000th post. I welcome comments and poems celebrating the number 3000.

We have 35 (34 now) posts to go until we get to the rather lovely number of 3,000 posts!

Guess what?  Since starting this blog way back in 2005, I neglected to keep track of how many visitors we had each day (that means you, reader) - then, a few years ago, I did start keeping track.  And now the counter says over 700,000 peeps since, well, about half-way through our tenure.  So, cool.  We probably hit a million off the record years ago, but this will do for now.

This is Eyewear 's 2,900th post, smack in the middle of a misty cool November evening in London.  I googled the number, but found nothing much of import.  I welcome any interesting apercus on the subject.  I would like people to comment on their favourite post of this long-lived blog, so far.  Best answer wins a copy of Morgan Harlow 's Midwest Ritual Burning - if there is a best one.

Just back from Canada.  Expect more regular updates in the weeks to come...

Eyewear is on the road for the next fortnight.  Don't expect many if any posts.  Please continue to enjoy our extraordinary long tail of posts, featuring reviews, poets, and bits of controversy, though. Or maybe we'll meet up in person, along the way. In the meantime, Eyewear should add it endorses Barack Obama for President of the United States.

Eyewear is getting some shut eye for a fortnight, in order to take a much needed post-Olympic break.  See you end of August.  I wish you grass.  I wish you sun.  I wish you sand.  I wish you a hammock, and a cool breeze.  I wish you some poetry books, or a charity shop thriller, or both.  Maybe a G&T, or some lemonade.  In the meantime, feel free to enjoy our unrivalled back catalogue of posts stretching back to 2005.  Countless poems, reviews, and opinion pieces.  I wish you love and health.

Eyewear , despite the many hiccups, has been going now for over 2,750 posts (this is the 2,751st).  Boy are my arms tired.  Thanks for dropping by, from time to time, and taking a peek.  If you really want to help out, please consider checking out  http://www.eyewearpublishing.com/   and ordering a copy of our debut poetry collection by Morgan Harlow - it is a book of witty, intelligent American poems in a very elegant hardcover designed by Dutch artist and poet Edwin Smet .

Eyewear is tired of the sad and vindictive people out there in the blogosphere who think it makes sense to bravely stand up for themselves, anonymously, and insult me for taking a public stand.  The chief problem with the world of poetry (all worlds?) is transparency - there isn't enough of it.  I stand by my (admittedly evolving, like Obama ) views.  Nor do the contributors to this blog ever need to share these views.  I find it pitiful to be receiving very personal, nasty attacks, often daily.  I am a liberal Catholic capitalist - get over it.  I could pretend otherwise, but as the owner of a small business who regularly attends Mass, but is open to freedom of speech and votes for the Lib Dems - none of which ashames me - it would be madness to claim otherwise.  None of these views is without fault - show me which ideology, or belief, is flawless.  However, if I prefer not to roar approval of a victory for socialism in Greece and France which t...

According to the tracking stats I set up a few years ago, when Eyewear was already a few years old, this modest little site has now had over half a million visitors.  I can only extrapolate that in the first few years it probably had just as many, so- depending on your bent, you can either say Eyewear has now hit the million or half million mark.  Either way, it is a good thing to celebrate.