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SUBVERSIVE VERSE

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My eye was taken by a post about “Subversive Verse –

A Night of Edgy Poetry”; I thought I could do worse.

I found the place, I got a drink and paid the entrance fee

Then settled down to listen to this edgy poetry.

A bloke got up to waft his arms and thus began his rants

And followed up his diatribe with more that’s just as pants.

A second poet took the stage.  Let’s see what she would say,

“Fuck the Tories. Fuck the police” and “Fuck Theresa May.

Fuck the multinationals” and “Fuck the Bosses” too.

“Donald Trump’s an orange twat. So fuck the US too”.

For every poet all night long that’s just the way it went

Not a one would buck the trend with no-one in dissent.

I laboured through this stoically, a real conformist slog

It would have been more “edgy” here with Boris or Rees-Mogg.

It struck me as so very “safe”, this bland conformity

I found this whole “subversive” thing a bit mainstream for me.

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Comments

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John Coopey

Fri 11th May 2018 15:28

You're right about the wit, MC. And the political satire I hear at Open Mics contains no wit. And here is the proof. People smirk because the joke is on the Right. Would they do so if the same joke was on the Left? If not, it wasn't Wit. It was self-affirmation.

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M.C. Newberry

Fri 11th May 2018 13:34

All words in this great poetical world need to be...
1. Considered and carefully researched.
2. Suitable.
3. Thought through, corrected and revised as necessary.
4. Presented with respect for the material and the
intelligence of their prospective audience.
It's all not about rabble-rousing and playing to the gallery.
Speaker's Corner here - or one of the numerous marches/
demonstrations this great city allows - provides a venue for that sort of thing!
Of course, I will always lean towards stuff that contains
that all-too-absent quality - WIT - wherever it may emerge.

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John Coopey

Thu 10th May 2018 23:31

You hit on another of my pet hates, Albert. "Here's one I've just written" "This is still a work-in-progress" (So don't pester us with it till it's finished).
I've even seen people writing out a poem while other performers are on.
a) it's rank bad manners
b) it will be shite.

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John Coopey

Thu 10th May 2018 11:18

Darren, !

<Deleted User> (19421)

Thu 10th May 2018 08:24

:)

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John Coopey

Wed 9th May 2018 17:43

Fat chance, MC.

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M.C. Newberry

Wed 9th May 2018 15:19

Well written and well read - and I agree with Suki about
a reading and Brian about the language.
Now THIS deserves to be "Poem of the Week"!!

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John Coopey

Wed 9th May 2018 13:40

I wouldn't have the balls, Suki, being as I am something of a shrinking violet.

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suki spangles

Wed 9th May 2018 11:55

Hi there John,

Next time you are at this venue, read out this poem. You probably won't be thanked for it, but it will be worth it.
Cheers,
Suki

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John Coopey

Wed 9th May 2018 08:06

Quite, Hazel. I am more impressed by the woman who gives up a couple of hours a week to the homeless shelter than the one who writes a poem about it.

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Hazel ettridge

Wed 9th May 2018 07:18

Outrage is easy. Action to make things better, a little more difficult.

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John Coopey

Wed 9th May 2018 00:02

Surely not Spring, Trevor???!!! It shouldn't be allowed.
For me, Brian, the give-away is the arm wafting, ham overacting and lack of imagination.

<Deleted User> (18980)

Tue 8th May 2018 23:55

Throw in a fews f's and c's...anything can be made subversive.

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Trevor Alexander

Tue 8th May 2018 23:51

I think I was at that one too, and bottled out of reading my subversive sonnet about spring....

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John Coopey

Tue 8th May 2018 23:20

Thanks, Hannah. I do consider myself left of centre. But it does seem to me to be a silly paradox to call poetry "subversive" or "edgy" when everyone is spouting the same de rigueur stuff.
Quite right, Terry. Enjoy what you have. Envy is a queue.

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terry l shuff

Tue 8th May 2018 20:46

People are so angry, I enjoy my life. some day all of us will die. It will be to late for the angry ones to have ever enjoyed their lives. ho hum it's their choice.

<Deleted User> (18118)

Tue 8th May 2018 20:40

An important message there.
All rebellious in accord.
Really enjoyed it.

Hannah

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