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Poetry from the allotments to give you a glow ... Steve Pottinger, Emma Purshouse, and Dave Pitt

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If you’re looking for something to cheer you up in these dispiriting times of Covid phase two, look no further … I stumbled across this on social media the other day, a wonderful film-poem by the masterly performance poet Steve Pottinger, called ‘Come to Me Now.’

It’s a poem written for a community project about the seasons on Boundary Way allotments in Wolverhampton that enjoys a view of the Shropshire hills. It’s warming, crafted, lyrical, uplifting, and has a wonderful rhythm. There is something magical about it.

Here are some of the lines: “A sense of purposeness in the gathering in … the tomatoes in the polytunnel stay obstinately, resolutely green … when the sun still works, and The Wrekin is there in the distance … turning the soil, putting in your shift … when life is a moment you pluck between finger and thumb”.

Don’t take my word for it. Watch the whole poem here, in the film by Rachel Gillies:

https://vimeo.com/468911085?fbclid=IwAR3svBTLO8hU5mMd2FH4aHc5eOJOUiyXUe4vsGytKLN_qW-qt6JNedtgp4k

The poetry collective that is Poets, Prattlers and Pandemonialists – Steve Pottinger, Wolverhampton poet laureate Emma Purshouse, and Dave PItt  –  were commissioned by Boundary Way allotments to create a poem each about the allotments, as part of an arts and heritage project backed by the Cultural Recovery Fund. Steve said: “We visited the site, chatted with some of the folk there, and wrote the poems. These were then turned into a video by local community filmmaker Rachel Gillies.”

Here’s ‘Boundary Way Plots’ by Emma Purshouse, with more luscious lines such as “slugs and sparrows of outrageous misfortune …  the drama of sweetcorn … schemes sprout like mare’s tail … rich pickings from a raspberry bush … raise a glass of parsnip wine”.

https://vimeo.com/468909858

Dave Pitt’s poem ‘The Joy of Herbie’ is written from the point of view of a painted allotment shed, “watching the old couple have a well-deserved brew, their smiles and flashes of sunlight in their eyes giving away their love, and their pride”.

https://vimeo.com/468912765

Enjoy! 

 

◄ 'He was down to nothing, a gypsy’s fare'

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Greg Freeman

Thu 29th Oct 2020 14:50

Very kind of you to say so, Trevor. These poems are real gems, aren't they? 'Girl From The Black Country', you say? I enjoyed Emma's collection Close very much https://www.writeoutloud.net/public/blogentry.php?blogentryid=85122

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trevor homer

Thu 29th Oct 2020 13:55

Hello Greg, have to say I do enjoy your editorials. They are written with a real feel for the subjectivity of the piece.
Having performed many times with this crew of black country wastrels, [my Girl From The Black Country is an homage to Emma], I congratulate you on introducing the WOL community to the best the region has to offer. Thanks again for your editorship of what is a very diverse and eclectic, genre.
Regards Trevor

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