Great tips, thanks ever so much. I actually never rehearse, much to my detriment. I will start though. The breath thing I always do, but the practice slow idea is brilliant. I have a 15 minute slot at the Castle Inn in Manchester on Wednesday so will use the tips you have given me to blow them away!

Comment is about Laura Taylor (poet profile)

Original item by Laura Taylor

Thanks for your comments on the Dylan Thomas piece, Dave. I had the crazy idea while down in Wales that those of a certain mind might have to move to Wales or Scotland in the future, and leave England to the little Englanders. Of course, the north would have to secede as well.

Comment is about Dave Morgan (poet profile)

Original item by Dave Morgan

You may Tommy. There is a similarity but you use your words so much better. I am not fishing for a counter compliment but credit where credit is due and it is a fact. My observation came from the two young lovers who sit, heads touching at my dining table pouring over their A level algebra. They had their first year results yesterday so I blogged in celebration! ;)

Comment is about Tommy Carroll (poet profile)

Original item by Tommy Carroll

I Need Minds

Sunday 10th January 2010 2:07 am (first posted Wednesday 6th January 2010 12:24 am)
....Ann, l came across this post by yourself "thisI like this too, it's subtle. And I always like .... dots in things - for some reason! I go to a local writing group and there was a new person there who said I shoudn't start a sentence with "And" !!! Pah!!! Might leave, or just start EVERY sentence with AND! Don't know why I'm gelling you this, thought you might understand. xx" Soo same as me too as well...xx Tommy ..

Comment is about Ann Foxglove (poet profile)

Original item by Ann Foxglove

Howdy Stu! Just wanted to say I am loving all the different styles you are kicking out. They are all like a daily surprise and I look forward to each new one :)

Comment is about Stuart Buck (poet profile)

Original item by Stuart Buck

Thank you for your comment on 'I AM...' :) Very much appreciated.

Comment is about Martin Elder (poet profile)

Original item by Martin Elder

Hi Tommy
Thanks for your comments on down the pub. I think I prefer witherspoons as opposed to the alternative.
Cheers
Martin

Comment is about Tommy Carroll (poet profile)

Original item by Tommy Carroll

Thank you for all your lovely comments! I am so busy at work crunching numbers I wonder why I ever went to LSE to do this work! I will definitely want to see what you created, so just bear with me till I finish with the madness @ work.

Comment is about Corr Lens (poet profile)

Original item by Corr Lens

Howdy Stu

Ha - thank you :) Well, I've been doing this for five years now! It might help if I told you that for the first two years, I spent the entire day before doing an open mic wanting to erupt from every orifice! I had shocking nerves! It does get easier the more you do it, trust me. And open mics are a wonderfully supportive space to learn your craft cos everyone knows how terrifying it is :) I still get nervous, but now it's mainly a brief feeling of 'shit I'm gonna pass out' right before I get on stage hehe :D

Hard-won advice:

Practice is EVERYTHING. Speak it out loud repeatedly. Do it until it sounds like it felt in your head when you wrote it - that's one of the hardest things to actually get right. Make your mouth used to the words. Find the pauses. Don't be afraid of them - they are powerful things.

Practice much slower than your actual performance will be. EVERYONE speeds up behind a mic. This will ensure that when the time comes, there will be balance.

Remember that no one wants you to fail. They all want you to do well.

If you're getting up on a stage and taking up other people's time however, make it fun/enjoyable/heartbreaking for them :) Don't you want them to feel exactly how you felt when writing the poem? Can't you feel how Jeff Mangum feels?

When you stand behind the mic, take a nice deep breath down to your gut. It takes a couple of seconds, no one will notice, and it will steady you and provide much-needed oxygen! Stops the initial vocal wobble too :)

Good luck and keep writing :)

Comment is about Stuart Buck (poet profile)

Original item by Stuart Buck

your youtube performances are fab! ive only just started doing open mics and its nerve wracking. you look like you dont suffer!

Comment is about Laura Taylor (poet profile)

Original item by Laura Taylor

My apologies for my early departure yesterday evening: I wasn't feeling too well (think I've been overdoing things somewhat; trying hard to stop doing so!) Thank you so much for your concern: I just love being part of this group! See you next time for the full two hours!!!
Love, Dorinda x

Comment is about Stockport WoL (group profile)

Original item by Stockport WoL

My apologies for my early departure yesterday evening: I wasn't feeling too well (think I've been overdoing things somewhat; trying hard to stop doing so!) Thank you so much for your concern: I just love being part of this group! See you next time for the full two hours!!!
Love, Dorinda x

Comment is about Stockport WoL (group profile)

Original item by Stockport WoL

Louise 'boobs' reminds me of my granny and her sisters some how. Tommy

Comment is about Louise Etheridge (poet profile)

Original item by Louise Etheridge

Hi Cynthia

Advice appreciated! Tis done and looks a lot better - thank you!

Comment is about Cynthia Buell Thomas (poet profile)

Original item by Cynthia Buell Thomas

Thanks MC for enjoying and commenting on Mary CMIT.
It tangles you up a bit but comes out right at the end!

Comment is about M.C. Newberry (poet profile)

Original item by M.C. Newberry

Hi Ray,
Thanks for reading and getting the point behind my words :0
Your sample piece is brilliant. Can I offer a more in depth critique of your work? I cannot, except I know what appeals to me as a lay reader, something that resonates with me :)
Preeti

Comment is about ray pool (poet profile)

Original item by ray pool

Thank you so much for your comment on D.T.
I am never sure whether to reply there or here. So this thank you may be overkill but it is here none the less. ;)

Comment is about Martin Elder (poet profile)

Original item by Martin Elder

Cheers Ray re 'tasty flesh'. You have a good grasp of the thrust of the piece.

Comment is about ray pool (poet profile)

Original item by ray pool

Cynthia- re Vertices lll, 'yet' means that despite the folding of the paper, this new alignment of words - the syntax of the letter remains. Folding the letter can not obliterate its content. Tommy

Comment is about Cynthia Buell Thomas (poet profile)

Original item by Cynthia Buell Thomas

Hello Harry, thank you very much for reading and commenting on Perfect.
This has been hiding in the notebook for some years and I finally (in desperation) finished it off and put it out there.
I'm really not au-fait with the poetry technical terms but appreciate your kind comments as always.

My very best regards,

Graham

Comment is about Harry O`N eill (poet profile)

Original item by Harry O`N eill

Your iconic 'eye' is a master stroke. It could be male or female. I'm still uncertain whether it is famed by fabric or long leaves; the texture suggests 'plant' wrapped about a human face. Either way, the picture is mind-startling. I was glad to see it again.

I remember the famous photo of the green-eyed girl from Afghanistan, Time magazine cover, years ago.

Comment is about David Blake (poet profile)

Original item by David Blake

thank you for your comments..please do read some more :) ill have a look at yours x

Comment is about Corr Lens (poet profile)

Original item by Corr Lens

Hi Cynthia Thanks for lovely coment on my Bruegel poem. It's a piece that has caused me endless problems over the years. I've been trying to sort it out for a new selection of my poems. The version here has had radical surgery, but after the comment of some of my poetry friends I am moving back closer to the original which has 4 X 6 line stanzas, but still hopefully sorting out some bits that weren't quite right. I'm glad that you like it. I often worry that it is the kind of thing that doesn't have much appeal these days!

Comment is about Cynthia Buell Thomas (poet profile)

Original item by Cynthia Buell Thomas

People write for all sorts of reasons. Good you have found yours.

Comment is about Cynthia Buell Thomas (poet profile)

Original item by Cynthia Buell Thomas

Corr, thanks so much for reading and your comments on my work on the lack of rain. I have been reading with alarm California's drought like conditions and Nestlé's attempts to privatize water. I love your comments, narcissistically, because they're so like mine ;)

Comment is about Corr Lens (poet profile)

Original item by Corr Lens

I'm coming back to you on your comment on Clippie. First of all its very gratifying to receive input from the fair sex, as it is a rarity and nice to know it has not been interpreted from a "feminist" perspective. I have not only the photo, but the paraphernalia that clipped the tickets and the rack! She seemed so fresh faced that time just disappeared in the interim.
Regarding the wider issue of mathematics, I feel it that the esoteric side of it should be more widely acknowledged, as it would humanize the subject and include the more far reaching consequences of a love of form and our utilization of it. There is nothing weird about science, but maybe more research should be done to broaden it out. The future is there to do it, so lets hurry up while we have time!!
The Kabbalah was adopted by the Jewish faith long before Christianity as far as I know. (The tree of life is worth checking out). Regards, Ray.

Comment is about Cynthia Buell Thomas (poet profile)

Original item by Cynthia Buell Thomas

I have an itsy-bitsy teeny-weeny inkling of Sacred Mathematics of Ancient Civilizations, enough only to be impressed by the thought processes of so long ago, and the relative lack of real progress made since then. There was a U.S. Mathematical Movement to reintroduce some of the ideas, complete with ancient vocabulary. It was worth a look-through, enough to appreciate it, not to master it. Ye Gods! So to speak.

Also, I know of the kabbala? (spelling uncertain). I'm pretty sure it came up in 'Foucault's Pendulum', and I had to search out some info, just for my own satisfaction. I have a lengthy computer printout somewhere, offering a kind of precis. Hardly adequate, but an effort to be a bit knowledgeable. I could be totally wrong about this connection.

Comment is about ray pool (poet profile)

Original item by ray pool

Q: 'the jaws of her open thighs' is superb. How can a woman ever relate to this expression?

A: How indeed?

Comment is about Cynthia Buell Thomas (poet profile)

Original item by Cynthia Buell Thomas

I appreciate your full appraisal on There is no God.. thanks for taking the time; the poem came about as a kind of comment on how divisive this subject can be, rather than a defence of religion - which after all has so many affiliates who cannot agree on the fundamentals.
I would say that there is a mystery in life which leads me away from purely material considerations, and I would go with your theory about continuing on after death; this is a hot potato in society (how can you discuss anything that can't be proved). I have had some unusual experiences that back up that version of life, but that's another story. It'll never be resolved, I fear. (not in this life anyway!)

Comment is about M.C. Newberry (poet profile)

Original item by M.C. Newberry

Hey Cynthia,
Thanks so much for your comment :) I have the singular ability to ignore butt hurt comments. My piece was directed more at myself than anyone here. However, it's not to say how utterly boring I find the works of those who are so intent on form, style, designated names that their work is no longer natural, pleasing or free flowing. Quite like the chef who measures agonizingly from the cookbook and creates a dish with something valid missing: taste.

Comment is about Cynthia Buell Thomas (poet profile)

Original item by Cynthia Buell Thomas

thanks John - for giving me a new perspective and some early morning good karma - both of which I need right now - I will press on

Comment is about Zach Dafoe (poet profile)

Original item by Zach Dafoe

Texture so silky smooth
black satin was good
soon to be replaced
because we just kept
slipping and sliding off
plus a slight injury
bruised my little head.

I agree she is gorgeous.

Comment is about Cynthia Buell Thomas (poet profile)

Original item by Cynthia Buell Thomas

Portsmouth Tongues and Grooves on sunday 23rd August :) *nudge* *wink*

Comment is about Louise Etheridge (poet profile)

Original item by Louise Etheridge

Hi again. Thanks for your comment on Seasonal Tides. It made me chuckle. I guess when I look back on some earlier stuff it can be a tad cringe!

Your comments reinforced that fact and raised a smile too :) x

Comment is about Cynthia Buell Thomas (poet profile)

Original item by Cynthia Buell Thomas

Hi Michelle, welcome to WOL, just been reading a few of your poems, good stuff, you will have to treat us to a rendition at WOL!

Anyway, keep up the good work, thanks for reading 'It doesn't sit right' have to have a good rant now and again! :-)

Comment is about Michelle (poet profile)

Original item by Michelle

Hey JC,

Just wanted to thank you for your comments on my work. It is nice to know that you enjoy it.

Much appreciated :)

Comment is about John Coopey (poet profile)

Original item by John Coopey

Cheers Andy

must dash just meeting the barmaids sister down at the pub she says she is looking for a house share we will tell her she has to share everything then we will have a housewarming tonight!

Comment is about Andy N (poet profile)

Original item by Andy N

Sarah has just got back to me there will be a display of all her work at another exhibition at St Mary's in the Autumn.

The Place, Space and Memory exhibition was just put on the website.

Comment is about Stockport WoL (group profile)

Original item by Stockport WoL

Strip naked
then look
love bites
all over
bronze suntanned
tender flesh
your wait
has ended.

Comment is about Katy Megan (poet profile)

Original item by Katy Megan

nice poems

Comment is about Ashley Reaks (poet profile)

Original item by Ashley Reaks

Hi M.C
Thanks for your comments on going with the flow. Yes you are right it does refer to Manchester. Although not a native Mancunian the North west has become my adopted home. But I feel that this journey can be quite familiar to any number of people commuting in any conurbation. I have memories of being carried up the escalator by the crowds at Victoria station in London in the rush hour many years ago.

Comment is about M.C. Newberry (poet profile)

Original item by M.C. Newberry

Hi Cynthia,

I can't thank you enough for your comments on 'The Has-Been Poet' and indeed others that you have commented on.

I was blown away by what you said and it means more to me than it probably should.

Perhaps my work is not current enough for some readers but I am drawn to formal stuff and I want to write it in a modern way, knowing only too well that not all will like it.

The fact that you do makes me more than pleased.

Thanks again x

Comment is about Cynthia Buell Thomas (poet profile)

Original item by Cynthia Buell Thomas

hi dan not seen you in a while, cheers for the comments on workers unite. it was meant to be a song, as my singing voice isnt up to much it became a poem....the cowards way out!!

cheers again daz

Comment is about Daniel Dwyran (poet profile)

Original item by Daniel Dwyran

hi dan not seen you in a while, cheers for the comments on workers unite. it was meant to be a song, as my singing voice isnt up to much it became a poem....the cowards way out!!

cheers again daz

Comment is about Daniel Dwyran (poet profile)

Original item by Daniel Dwyran

I've been waiting for some time now and the vampire still hasn't arrived!

Comment is about Nigel Astell (poet profile)

Original item by Nigel Astell

Brendan,
Posh Boys.

Bravo!...what is essentially (an intelligent) rant
which not only criticises, but lays out the reasons...and all in the form of a villanelle!

This is classy criticism (forgive the pun) advising us never to send Cameron for the milk if youre dying for a cup of tea`.

Enjoyed and hope to see more of yours.

Comment is about Brendan Buxton (poet profile)

Original item by Brendan Buxton

Andy, thank you for your comment on 'R'. Much appreciated.

Comment is about Andy N (poet profile)

Original item by Andy N

Glad you liked it - - - good luck with the West End Writers!

Comment is about Andy N (poet profile)

Original item by Andy N

Hi Cynthia, I have just read Michelle's 'The drunk' and concur with you. Your advice on the piece is excellent- replacing drunk with dancer. Excellent.

Comment is about Cynthia Buell Thomas (poet profile)

Original item by Cynthia Buell Thomas

Hi Daniel
Thanks for your comments on brighton beach much appreciated. They are memories for me of when summers seemed eternal and eternally hot. Now I am droning on like the boring old fart I warned my children I would become.
He he !
Cheers mate

Comment is about Daniel Dwyran (poet profile)

Original item by Daniel Dwyran