YORK poet, storyteller, journalist, songwriter and radio presenter Miles Salter has come up with his Fix for a seven-year hiatus.

He has released a poetry book of that name on his own new imprint, Winter & May – “it’s a way of saying ‘for all seasons’, reasons Miles – after a burst of writing in the pandemic ended the lull since his second collection, Animals.

“The long gap wasn't intentional,” he says. “I went through seismic mid-life crisis. That really slowed everything down. My life was a mess for a while. Some of the poems came out of that. I had a couple of years where I didn't do much at all, no writing or anything. Just tried to look after myself and keep going. It was very grim.”

At the epicentre of that crisis was the end of his marriage in 2016. “It took a long time to recover. I was devastated, and suicidal for a while,” says Miles. “One of the poems that wasn’t included in the book was about looking for ways to end my life. There was a period in 2017 when I wanted to die. A friend of mine said, ‘You cannot do this to the kids’, and they were absolutely right.”  

One poem, Said, details exchanges between Miles and his ex-wife from the days of their separation. “It was a very difficult time,” he says. “I wanted to save the marriage but it wasn’t possible. That poem reflects what happened. Let’s say I was trying to capture two different voices.”

Given Miles’s propensity for candour, is there anything he would consider too personal for poetic expression? “Fix is very confessional. It's a risk to write about personal things. Some people have read the book and found it a little uncomfortable, because of the subject matter, although they also said it was moving.

“I feel that vulnerability is important in all art. Otherwise, how are you going to touch people? Overall, I think the balance is about right. Those poems are a record of something traumatic, but there are funny poems in the book too!”

How has Miles changed as a poet over the past seven years? “I think I'm becoming more careful in the writing, perhaps a bit more lyrical and subtle. I like to think that is a sign of maturity,” he says.

“I always liked muscular writers like Philip Larkin, Carol Ann Duffy and Simon Armitage. They all were 'zero bull****' in their writing. But you can have impact without raising your voice too loudly. I think I'm getting better at that.”

Miles sums up Winter & May’s ethos as “Books For Humans”, prompting the question of how he has progressed as a person in that time. “There’s a very long answer to that, but a succinct response would be: more mature, a little older, a little less naive about the world.

“I know myself better. A bit more determined to not mess about, and keener to be more successful than before. Life is short. I want to make the next few years count.” 

In his collection of apocalyptic, sometimes discomfiting yet hopeful miniature narratives and prose poems, Miles’s observational writing spans climate change; the rise and fall-out of love; loneliness and grief; rock’n’roll; the rites of passage through childhood, adolescence and beyond, and life’s flow put on hold in pandemic lockdown, his tone ranging from deeply dark to darkly witty, quizzical to surrealist.

All huddle together under the umbrella of Fix, a title with myriad meanings. “The big theme of the book is living in an imperfect world. The title was an allusion to addiction, to being in a fix, to trying to make things better. I liked the ambiguity,” says Miles. “[Fellow York poet] Antony Dunn had a book called Bugs, which has three meanings. Maybe that was in the back of my mind.”

If Miles could “fix” one problem to improve the world, it would be climate change. “We're all in big trouble,” he says. “I have two children and I am scared for them. It's very frightening. I keep writing about it, as if warding off a bad dream that keeps coming back.”

How do people respond when you say you are a poet, Miles? “Ha! I don't really say that. I say I'm a communicator,” he communicates.

Musician, poet and broadcaster, Miles has kept busy despite the stultifying frustrations and uncertainties of the pandemic cycle of Government-enforced lockdowns.

His band, Miles And The Chain Gang, released a couple of videos in 2020, When It Comes To You and Drag Me To The Light, and are working towards making an album. “We’ve been going two years, and it’s been a slow burn. That’s partly because of Covid,” he says. “But the songs are really strong and the band are brilliant. I’m optimistic about what we can do in the future.”

He also presents The Arts Show on Jorvik Radio, an hour-long evening slot for which he has interviewed luminaries such as cookery book writer Nigel Slater, young adult author Melvin Burgess and Barnsley bard Ian McMillan.

“Talking to Ian was great,” says Miles. “He was one of those writers who really inspired me; he’s so good at wearing different hats, but it’s always about communication and connecting with people. That’s where I feel happiest. Communicating makes me feel more alive.

“I just feel happy when I'm using words or music to make a connection with people, tell a story, create an atmosphere, impart information. It makes me happy. I'm getting better at it. It's taken a while, but I'm improving.”

Miles Salter’s Fix is available via Ohm Books at info@ohmbooks.com, priced at £8.95.