MAL FOSTER : a poet of the ordinary man

songs without music & other stories

Welcome to my website A Poet of the Ordinary Man, which, in essence, is exactly who I am. In the past I have used my writing as a kind of sprinkler stop valve to help get things out of a very confused, bitter and angry system. The therapeutic use of poetry has been very important to me, particularly since my teens and early twenties when, in those days, life was more than just a simple roller coaster ride.
I don’t pretend that my work is technically perfect and I've gone out of my way to break a few rules. So what! - Many of the poems here are indeed experimental. In fact, most run with a semi-autobiographical theme. They are forged from the heart and reflect my state of mind at the time they were written. Poetry is all about sharing your thoughts and creating a reaction and if that works - then I'm happy!

As for my future writing, let's see where the moment takes me! - All good things, Mal

More new poems & other stuff coming soon...

From Kathy Kelso, Poetry On-Line: A lesser known English poet, he may be, but Mal Foster's poems have thrived in recent years and are among some of the most widely read on the internet. His poem 'The Wedding' seems to pop up just about everywhere and has recently been included in the Australian Anthology 'Poetry Unlocked' that forms part of their secondary school’s educational curriculum. 'Poems 1976-2000' covers what Mal describes himself as his 'Debussy Period' and offers up some whimsical tales of self analysis, social awareness and 'dubious' love. Other poems include his much feted 'The Girl Addict', a story of the Stonehenge Festivals of the 80's and the thought provoking 'Preconception'. This is all very interesting stuff, it’s easy to read and you will no doubt want to re-visit some of the poems over and over again.

From Bill Littlewood, author of two National Poetry Foundation titles: “Mal has achieved a great deal since the emergence of WIRE Poetry Magazine in the 1990s and has published a fair volume of work by other poets that will stand as a worthy record; the most important part of which has been Mal's encouragement to new and younger poets. The ’emerging’ – some of whom will develop as a result; will no doubt pay him due credit. I hope they do! - I will long recall the regard shown by Mal to my own work and will send him my next collection when it is ready. Meanwhile, I will continue to follow his progress. Any poet blessed with the talent to write a poem such as 'Peepshow' has an obviously growing ability which will grow much further."

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MAL FOSTER : a poet of the ordinary man

What do we see in this collusion of mirrors - where do we go when we know who we are?

songs without music & other stories