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Welcome to The Jotter, my blog on books, writing, and culture.
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NEW POEM: 19.01.26
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Andrew Jamison
7 days ago1 min read
NEW POEM: 05.01.26
Subscribe to my weekly newsletter here for all my latest writing.
Andrew Jamison
Jan 41 min read
NEW POEM: 29.12.25
Subscribe to Andrew's weekly newsletter here for all his latest writing.
Andrew Jamison
Dec 15, 20251 min read
Death of an Artisan: A Poem
Subscribe to Andrew's weekly newsletter here for all of his latest writing. The following poem charts part of the fictional life of an apprentice baker, Georges Bertrand. THE BAKERY GIG It was my teenage summer job, the last resort. I left it late and all my friends had nabbed the waiting jobs, the bar jobs, in short the jobs with tips and regular hours. Nobody wanted the bakery gig. Ridiculously early starts, long shifts, in a basement, leaving you too knackered to go out d
Andrew Jamison
Dec 14, 20259 min read
A Short History of the Potato: A Poem
Subscribe to Andrew's weekly newsletter here for all of his latest writing, or upgrade to The Jotter Premium Plan here for access to all past and future writing. Boiled, it steams into the world on a plate on a Sunday at the head of the table with butter after church before a man a father of five in a shirt and tie and polished brogues and Old Spice with rough hands from dairy farming stock near the north coast with a glass of red and carrots and beef who has a separate dis
Andrew Jamison
Dec 14, 202512 min read
NEW POEM: 22.12.25
Subscribe to Andrew's weekly newsletter here for the latest updates on his writing.
Andrew Jamison
Dec 14, 20251 min read
NEW POEM: 15.12.25
Subscribe to Andrew's blog here for weekly updates on his latest writing.
Andrew Jamison
Dec 10, 20251 min read
New Poem: 08.12.25
Subscribe to The Jotter Premium Plan here for full access to all of Andrew's New Poems.
Andrew Jamison
Dec 3, 20252 min read
The Hungry Poet: My Life in Food — In Praise of Parmesan (POEM)
Read an exclusive poem from Andrew Jamison's third collection of poetry, Swans We Cannot See , and buy a signed copy here . In Praise of Parmesan The cheesemakers of Parmigiano Reggiano employ a special silver hammer to tap, precisely, each straw-coloured wheel with a rat-a-tat-tat, beat the bottom, the top, the sides, testing in totality its tones, its tune, to locate, listen out for any imperfections, decipher if it’s ready, to gauge its age, adjudicate whether this one pas
Andrew Jamison
Dec 1, 20251 min read
The Hungry Poet: My Life in Food — Eating Alone in an Empty Diner (POEM)
Read this exclusive poem from Andrew Jamison's first collection Happy Hour, which you can buy a signed copy of here. Eating Alone in an Empty Diner There’s nothing romantic about it, eating alone in an empty diner; there’s nothing healthy about it either, ordering the burger with American cheese (which isn’t cheese at all) and the Coke and the deep-fat-fried-from-frozen fries; there’s really nothing new about any of this: the highly strung, chatty New Yorkettes that pass with
Andrew Jamison
Dec 1, 20251 min read
NEW POEM: 24.11.25
This week's poem comes from Andrew's third collection, Swans We Cannot See , which you can buy a signed copy of here.
Andrew Jamison
Nov 19, 20251 min read
The Hungry Poet: My Life in Food — To Lime Pickle (POEM)
Read an exclusive poem from Andrew's third collection Swans We Cannot See , which you can buy a signed, first edition of here: To Lime Pickle Epitome of pizzazz, apotheosis of citrus, firecracker poppadom ambassador, you are a tightrope walk between here and a star of funky heat, your flesh a punchy, hit-me beat in a hit song about what someone did all summer long in a hot country in their youth; you are a walk-in pantry, lip-smacker starter, beer washed down bounty; if flavo
Andrew Jamison
Nov 5, 20251 min read
NEW POEM: 10.11.25
To read this poem subscribe to The Jotter Premium Plan here .
Andrew Jamison
Nov 4, 20251 min read
NEW POEM: 03.11.25
Read a poem exclusively from Andrew Jamison's second collection 'Stay', which you can buy signed, first editions of here .
Andrew Jamison
Oct 23, 20252 min read
NEW POEM: 27.10.25
Listening to Kings of Convenience In the arpeggioed, folky early stuff like ‘Toxic Girl’ the bass drum’s dumph-dumph-dumph which signals the lead solo stands out a mile, the timing of it almost as comical as the dink-dink-dink of the opening harmonic— somewhere between idyllic and ironic— and the bassline saunters, bum-bums along, like all good basslines, only noticed when they’re gone. This poem featured in Andrew's first collection Happy Hour , published by Gallery Press in
Andrew Jamison
Oct 20, 20251 min read
NEW POEM: 20.10.25
Pictured: The Quoile Bridge, Downpatrick.
Andrew Jamison
Oct 8, 20251 min read
NEW POEM: 13.10.25
Autumning There’s bound to be something in this, this autumning of August, this unsummering of the garden, and the sky that meant so much...
Andrew Jamison
Oct 6, 20251 min read
NEW POEM: 06.10.25
Read a poem exclusively from Andrew's third collection Swans We Cannot See .
Andrew Jamison
Sep 28, 20251 min read
NEW POEM: 29.09.25
Youth Club On a trip to Dundonald Ice Bowl once run by the Presbyterian Church I’ll never forget I found my brother with his mate Mervyn...
Andrew Jamison
Sep 22, 20251 min read
NEW POEM: 22.09.25
Heaven as a Newsagents In heaven there is Mary Miscampbell selling Turkish Delight and Gold and Silver Benson and Hedges, looking down,...
Andrew Jamison
Sep 16, 20251 min read
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