This episode is a part of Mark’s “A Journey Through Poetry” – a personal reflection of his life as a poet, a writer, and an author – in which he recites a different poem from every one of his poetry collections. In this episode Mark recites his poem ‘Begin Again’, from his poetry collection The Sound of Mark, and he gives some insight and some context into why he was inspired to write this poem in particular.
Podcast
Christmas At Mistletoe Cottage – December 24
On December 24th (Christmas Eve), my short story ‘Christmas At Mistletoe Cottage’ will be available to buy from Amazon as an ebook for Kindle.
“A heartbreaking short-story of a woman, a mother, a friend, a daughter, a werewolf, Olivia Hunter, as she faces spending Christmas alone, in her home of Mistletoe Cottage, and as she reflects upon feelings of loss, sadness, loneliness, and regret that plague her, and so many others, over the festive period.”
And accompanying my short story, there will also be a Subscriber Exclusive audio version available on Spotify via my podcast “The Mark Hastings Podcast”; and there will also be a special Spotify playlist, called “Olivia Hunter’s Christmas Playlist”, that you can listen to which ties into the short story.
You can preorder ‘Christmas At Mistletoe Cottage’ now from Amazon: https://amzn.eu/d/e1D4dun
Podcast Episode: Conventions and Conversations
In this episode I talk about recently attending Birmingham Comic Con and getting the opportunity to talk to English writer, director, television producer and author, Doug Naylor (best known as the co-creator of the cult British sci-fi comedy series Red Dwarf) about his new book Sin Bin Island and about writing, storytelling, and inspiration – including how we both approach writing a story. And I also talk about the three books that I currently plan to publish in 2026.
A Journey Through Poetry #37: Halcyon
This episode is a part of Mark’s “A Journey Through Poetry” – a personal reflection of his life as a poet, a writer, and an author – in which he recites a different poem from every one of his poetry collections. In this episode Mark recites his poem ‘Halcyon’, from his poetry collection Poet of the Sphere, and he gives some insight and some context into why he was inspired to write this poem in particular.
A Journey Through Poetry #36: Divergence
This episode is a part of Mark’s “A Journey Through Poetry” – a personal reflection of his life as a poet, a writer, and a author – in which he recites a different poem from every one of his poetry collections. In this episode Mark recites his poem ‘Divergence’, from his poetry collection The Storyteller, and he gives some insight and some context into why he was inspired to write this poem in particular.
A Journey Through Poetry #35: The Other Side Of The World
This episode is a part of Mark’s “A Journey Through Poetry” – a personal reflection of his life as a poet, a writer, and a author – in which he recites a different poem from every one of his poetry collections. In this episode Mark recites his poem ‘The Other Side Of The World’, from his poetry collection The Pathfinder, and he gives some insight and some context into why he was inspired to write this poem in particular.
My Poem “I Am Done”
I am done waiting
for things, for experiences,
for people, for answers…
I am done wasting my time
on what doesn’t matter,
and on those who can’t even lift a finger
to get in touch with me and others
for reasons that may never be made clear…
I am done worrying
about what never was
and what was never supposed to be…
I am done autocorrecting myself
for those who don’t seem to have learned
how to filter what they say
before they say it…
I am done giving people
the benefit of the doubt
to those who show by their actions and their inaction
what and who they really care about…
I am done with those people
who are like a weight around my neck,
who cannot accept that I don’t have a Time Machine
to go back and change the past…
I am done wondering
if and when I will get my heart’s desire,
because I believe that I have done too much,
I have seen too much, I have heard too much,
I have learned and I now know too much
to forget that the only way to find true happiness
is to live your life with a spirit of self-worth
and respect for yourself and for your loved ones,
because memories can only be made and shared
by those who show up when there is
a mutual need for the presence of one another…
I am done with the play of those who
just want to suck the life, the energy, the joy,
and the hope out of others
because they claim they deserve better
than what they have been given in life…
I am done with giving up -
and I will not be dragged down
into another level of the depths of darkness
or into another fight
by those who will never understand
that nothing changes
just because you choose to turn out the light…
I am sure that I am not the only one
who looks around the world and sees people
trying to get away with doing
whatever they want to do
without thinking about the repercussions,
and that is why I will never stop rebelling against
what I am told to believe -
and I do not apologise for saying
to those who may wish
to manipulate me in any way in the future:
I am done.
A Journey Through Poetry #34: The Time is Now
This episode is a part of Mark’s “A Journey Through Poetry” – a personal reflection of his life as a poet, a writer, and a author – in which he recites a different poem from every one of his poetry collections. In this episode Mark recites his poem ‘The Time Is Now’, from his poetry collection The Comeback Kid, and he gives some insight and some context into why he was inspired to write this poem in particular.
A Journey Through Poetry #33: Quintessence
This episode is a part of Mark’s “A Journey Through Poetry” – a personal reflection of his life as a poet, a writer, and a author – in which he recites a different poem from every one of his poetry collections. In this episode Mark recites his poem ‘Quintessence’, from his poetry collection Poet of the Multiverse, and he gives some insight and some context into why he was inspired to write this poem in particular.
A Journey Through Poetry #32: Silent Light
This episode is a part of Mark’s “A Journey Through Poetry” – a personal reflection of his life as a poet, a writer, and a author – in which he recites a different poem from every one of his poetry collections. In this episode Mark recites his poem ‘Silent Light’, from his poetry collection The Rambler, and he gives some insight and some context into why he was inspired to write this poem in particular.
Mark The Poet 