Published poems

All she needs do is let go in Dreich Season 9 Issue 4 (Number 100) 2025
Beyond the village in Dreich, Season 4, No. 4, March 2022
You in Dreich, Season 4, No. 4, March 2022
Finding myself in a book in Dreich, Season 4, No. 4, March 2022
Language of the poppy in Dreich, Season 4, No. 4, March 2022
Anne Bonny and Mary Read, 18th-century pirates in The Poetry Shed, November 2021
God isn’t listening to me in Sarasvaki 62, August 2021
Lady Willendorf in Sarasvaki 62, August 2021
What’s a girl to do? in Sarasvaki, Summer 2021
Polly Swallow, fisher-girl from Whitby in Sarasvaki 62, August 2021
Wife of Fenrir in Dawntreader, June 2021
Loss of love for a seahorse in Dream Catcher, issue 43, July 2021
Sea Witch in Seaborne, May 2021
Boudicca in Dawntreader 54, April 2021
Kalypso has questions in The Ekphrastic Review, March 2021
When death is not enough in The Ekphrastic Review, March 2021
Terentius Neo the baker in Amethyst Review, February 2021
Unchanged: Burial Mounds in the Landscape in There is no plant B, Stafford Green Arts Anthology, February 2021
Geneology of blood in Amethyst Review, January 2021
Fox on the Allotment, in Green Ink Poetry, January 2021
Walking with Ghosts in the Abergavenny Small Press (ASP) Literary Journal, January 2021
Winter Haiku in Spelt Magazine, December 2020
Emergence in Visual Verse, September 2020
Accidental Loss in The High Wolds Poetry Anthology, October 2020
A walk on the beach becomes a poem in the Tide Rises, The Tide Falls, October 2020
One of these days it’ll ‘appen in The Adriatic, September 2020

Heaving with the dreams of strangers

Winner of the Dreich Slims Competition 2022 Title list

Loss of love for a seahorse Fox on the Allotment Queen bees Beyond the world of selkies Uncertain ground Language of the poppy No ordinary man Tattoo On becoming a hare Lady Willendorf What’s a girl to do? Sea Witch All flesh burns to ashes Genealogy of blood Letter from Daedalus to his son Terentius Neo, Pompeii baker Polly Swallow Cleaning Pieta The day an iceberg arrived on my shore Heaving with the dreams of strangers
Extracts from reviews for Heaving with the dreams of strangers

One of those rare collections that manages to bridge the mythical and mystical to the land of the everyday. The poems are strange, rich and wonderful, with exciting turns and interesting imagery. Skill with a lyrical line and deft use of pace and pause draws the reader in and keeps them there from beginning to end. One to return to.
Wendy Pratt, @wondykitten, When I think of my body as a horse (Smith/Doorstop winner of the Poetry Business Book and Pamphlet Competition 2020).

Myths, history, animals and childhood trauma swirl around this astonishing debut chapbook. Readers are led by the hand through the uncertainties of life, through love and emptiness. To misquote a poem – ‘her…skin invites us in’. A beautiful and unsettling read that left me wanting more.
Lynn Valentine, @dizzylynn, Life’s Stink and Honey (Cinnamon Press, 2021).

A journey through myth and history, redolent with the scents and sense of the sea, landscape, nature and transformation. These are poems that shapeshift from quiet power to loud-striking beauty, creating a world and landscape you will want to visit again and again.
Louise Longson, @LouisePoetical, Hanging Fire (Dreich, 2021) and Witch Bottle (Alien Buddha Press, 2022).

This assured debut brings to life historical and mythological characters including women pirates, venus figurines, norse gods and the old testament. The language is as sparse and elemental as the landscape the work inhabits, where nature is the silent spectator to tender moments of fleeting connection.
Susan Darlington, @S_sanDarlington, Never Wear White (Alien Buddha Press, 2022) and Traumatropic Heart (Selcouth Station Press, 2021).

Thetis

Thetis, a narrative poem retells the Trojan war through the eyes of Thetis, mother to Achilles.

Published by Esplanade Press (Scarborough) Thetis was launched at Gallery Six in Scarborough, November 2022, following the cancellation of its original launch at Rotunda Nights alongside poet Vikki Feaver, due to the Covid lockdowns.

Thetis is now available to download here or hard copies (£10 with P&P) can be ordered via watlingsue@gmail dot com

Sample reviews for Thetis

Bob Lister – classics educator and author of Changing Classics in Schools

Just finished reading Thetis for the second time. It’s been a great pleasure to read this take on the story and an inspired idea to do so from Thetis’s perspective: given how central she is to the whole narrative thrust of the Trojan War, it is perhaps surprising that no one else, as far as I know, has told the story from her standpoint.

I was very impressed by Sue’s ability to condense individual episodes, like the uncovering of Achilles in Skyros, so economically; and I was particularly taken by the description of Thetis’ appearance – I loved ‘think mackerel’.

If I had an issue it was with the occasional shortening of names (Ach, Aphy) which just didn’t sound right to my ear. But what a great addition to my Iliad-related reading list!

Tony Rowson – author of Walking with Camels

[Thetis is] Brilliant spotting of a new look at an old story. As it unfolds we see this shape-shifting sea nymph feeling the grief of a mother, the anger that comes with it, the protective instinct that drives her, and of course the story of invasive abuse by those in power.

I like the way you introduce a crisp, short, sharp, and sometimes shocking use of language. Clipped phrases. Sentences brought to a minimum. Still, they make a meaning. That brings me to the Achilles Heel of this book. The structure of each line, with its crispness, is a strength. For the reader it creates a pace that carries you through the whole poem. Fast, it can easily build to the furious. In essence, it was a bit like riding a horse. I had to control the punctuation myself to stop the narrative running away from me.

Some lines I had to re-read to get the meaning, the feeling, not to overrun on some grieving or mood swing, which would have the effect of taking the drama out of the story. To avoid making it a habitual, afraid to stop, read, it needed your punctuation. Your tweak of the reins to slow or your (modest) kick through the spurs to go faster.

But let us not deny the good things you have achieved with this book, which needs more reading by more people. You have created a fresh window on viewing a classic tale that touches and exposes so many emotions. You have brought a hidden character to the fore. Through this we see a different take on Troy, the Greeks, the Gods, etc. Wonderful! I look forward to reading more of your work in the future.

Sarah Wallis – author of How to Love the Hat Thrower, Precious Mettle, Medusa Retold and others (see http://www.sarahwallis.net/) Sarah tweets as @wordweave

Thetis The pace of the text is galloping but assured, in controlled short staccato lines, never threatening to run away with itself or the focus, these events are seen, reported on through the eyes of Thetis, always with an eye on her precious son. It is a text that is fully alive and immersed in its telling and employs some modern vernacular too. The text incorporates a useful glossary of who everyone is in this enormous cast of characters, both Greek and Trojan, so if you’re not familiar that should be no barrier to reading this wonderful book. It is in fact an excellent place to start, even if you know nothing about Troy, The story is captivating and can be read for its own charms, in short a book that will appeal to all readers who love a good story and not just those interested in mythmaking anew.

Thetis (cover endorsement from Sue Wilsea, Raw Material (Valley Press, 2016) and Staying Afloat (Valley Press, 2012).

Sue Watling’s ambitious Thetis is a tour de force. The way she melds narrative myth with contemporary idiom is remarkable. Yet this is not simply a modern version or translation of classical myths. Thetis also offers lyrical poetry which could stand alone as being of the highest order while remaining accessible and eminently readable. The end result is something powerful and unique, showcasing Sue’s impressive talent for dialogue, imaginative story-telling and spot-on description. I have no hesitation in recommending Thetis to all readers – not just those of poetry. You will not be disappointed!

Forward to Thetis extract by Felix Hodcroft, Life After Life After Death

We are drawn to myths because these ancient tales are still the bones beneath our flesh, our lives. Again and again, myth asks seminal questions… above all, we know we will die so how should we live? Disappointingly, artists often revert in their tellings and re-tellings of ancient myth, to the greatest hits of the best-known heroes. This book is different. The narrative poem foregrounds the mother of greek warrior Achilles and, by doing so, offers a fresh perspective on the siege and war of Troy. Sue retrieves Thetis herself from centuries of neglect and presents her as equal in mythic force to those better known stars of Greek mythology.

Interview with Paul Brookes from Wombwell Rainbow, June 2022 https://thewombwellrainbow.com/2022/06/16/wombwell-rainbow-interviews-sue-watling/

Thetis was featured Scarborough Mysteries with on Kate Evans www.scarboroughmysteries.com