Some painful memories don't fade. You have my
condolences - assuming all is true. Team England might sympathise!
My own school sporting misery stems from trying the
"googly" in my slow left arm bowling and being hit for
six virtually every delivery of that six-ball over and
enduring a mean faced master called Stevens (see - I
still recall his name) mock my efforts after the match.
When you are pre-teen, the pain tends to stay in the
mind. Maybe Stevens was fatally felled by an errant
boundary in later years after I changed schools. Well,
I can dream, can't I?

Comment is about 84-0 (blog)

Original item by John Coopey

Afternoon Stu and thank you so much for your comments on Fragile. I am most chuffed that you feel this piece would sit quite well in a published book and coming from someone who's work I admire is an added bonus. I can't wait to check Kim's work out. I'm now going to walk around the house, point at myself in each mirror I past, wink, click my tongue and mouth 'get you'! ;).

Comment is about Stuart Buck (poet profile)

Original item by Stuart Buck

JC - back in the 1960s, when "The Sound of Music" was
doing the rounds, my brother and I decided to see the
matinee showing at the (now demolished) Regent Cinema
in Paignton. We found ourselves surrounded by hordes
of kids, their voices squeakily raised in enthusiastic
accompaniment whenever Julie broke into song...most
notably in "Doe...a deer - a female deer..." etc.!!
A fond memory that still brings a smile.

Comment is about JULIE ANDREWS IS EIGHTY TODAY (blog)

Original item by M.C. Newberry

Those blanks are your finest work to date, Tommy!

Comment is about ((titter)) (blog)

Original item by Tommy Carroll

So JC you read through my cunning wordless structure!

Comment is about ((titter)) (blog)

Original item by Tommy Carroll

No, Graham, it isn't at all. It's about combining interesting words - which have the capacity to inspire and entertain, in the widest possible sense of the word - with a performance which makes an audience member want to listen to them.

That's what 'Write Out Loud' MEANS, and it's why this website is such a good idea. There are literally thousands of sites all over the web where people post poetry. This one is there to inspire people to write and perform. To imply that those of us who perform our words are somehow 'lesser', that the mere fact of performance means that ipso facto the work has somehow to be less 'valuable' than if it is simply destined for the page, that a listening audience is not as discerning as a reading one, is horribly patronising.

The problem with these poetry awards is that it IS the same people all judging and praising each other, and very few of them cut any ice in the wider world from where I'm looking (but then I'm looking outwards rather than inwards into a tiny wine glass strewn ghetto!)

Comment is about Poetry Review editor Maurice Riordan urges prize judges to declare any interests (article)

Original item by Greg Freeman

I had the hots for her when I was a boy.

Comment is about JULIE ANDREWS IS EIGHTY TODAY (blog)

Original item by M.C. Newberry

Drink and sex, eh, Tommy? You can't beat it.

Comment is about ((titter)) (blog)

Original item by Tommy Carroll

I like the way your brief infatuation is described in an intoxicating manner, your usual wine turned into a fiercer heavy spirit, almost brutal!

You're looking back at a hangover and looking forward to the next with nought a care?

Always enjoy unravelling your thoughts.

Graham

Comment is about If we (blog)

Poets policing poets,
Friends of friends
back scratching,
your turn to win,
poems mean prizes,
thousands of poems
read in a month...as if.

Comment is about Poetry Review editor Maurice Riordan urges prize judges to declare any interests (article)

Original item by Greg Freeman

My beautiful mountain poet! Thank you. How goes life? Sex?

Comment is about Corr Lens (poet profile)

Original item by Corr Lens

But that has always been my point MCN. Performance poetry is ALL about the performance and not the work itself.

Comment is about Poetry Review editor Maurice Riordan urges prize judges to declare any interests (article)

Original item by Greg Freeman

It's good of you to give thoughts on The solitary drinker. I've slipped a bit lately - things on my mind, but I meant to imply with the line about spirit that whatever our passing of time we essentially take our own course and that may exclude others on a different course. A bit subtle as spirit can mean anything! The trouble with poetry can be stating something emphatically can cause a hiatus in the thinking and I reckon this poem is an example of it. Thanks again - yours was dead clear and therefore more accessible. I could go into weird world if I wanted but nobody would like it probably!!

Comment is about Stuart Buck (poet profile)

Original item by Stuart Buck

Unfortunately there was a police raid on the private apartment in which I did it and all known copies kept there were destroyed.

There was talk of a remake but once the filming location was leaked to the boys in blue it had to be cancelled.

Comment is about Martin Elder (poet profile)

Original item by Martin Elder

I'll begin by stating an "interest" insofar that on a topic
of personal appeal - the poetry of Wilfred Owen - I once
submitted a poem to mark his life and work. However,
I have considerable respect for the views and achievements of Attila the Stockbroker on the subject
The existence of "competition" in poetry is itself
contentious. To judge one concept and its expression
against another is a bit like throwing snowballs into a fire.
If commercial gain is an aim, then poets should be
researching markets...willing to fund the promotion of their efforts along the way.
These competitions and their prizes seem little more
than a cosy conceit - a useful "earner" for those so eloquently described by Attila.

Comment is about Poetry Review editor Maurice Riordan urges prize judges to declare any interests (article)

Original item by Greg Freeman

It would be nice to think of that other object of material
desire - the mobile phone - being usefully employed.
There is a side-effect from these lines - the introspection
towards "family" that excludes or downgrades the needs of others outside its concerns.
"Guilty Conscience" assumes many forms and is always a
stimulating subject for consideration and debate for the
simple reason that it is essentially a most "human" failing.

Comment is about Luke 10:25 (blog)

Original item by Stuart Buck

Hello Lynn,
In this quarters poetry review there is a review on a book by Kim Moore which contains a 17 poem run called 'How I Abandoned my Body to his Keeping'. This piece would slip beautifully anywhere in there I can imagine. I love the last stanza, and the theme of the piece as a whole. Its very clever. I cant comment to much, as I dont feel I have been in a close enough situation to come across as genuine, but I enjoyed the poem very much.
Stu

Comment is about Fragile (blog)

Oh, no, they won't like that, will they? A cosy little clique who fawn over each other - doesn't really matter though, does it, 'cos nobody outside it cares about their silly awards anyway....

Comment is about Poetry Review editor Maurice Riordan urges prize judges to declare any interests (article)

Original item by Greg Freeman

an odd one this. i certainly see the likeness to my piece, the self imposed barriers we put up to keep us safe are indeed sad and fascinating at the same time. its a good topic for a poem and one that I imagine plenty of poets have plenty to say about. Its a good character study and an interesting piece.

Comment is about THE LONELY DRINKER (blog)

Original item by ray pool

HI Stu. There is so much that is de humanising about cars and our isolation within them . I discovered this transition from when I had a motor bike. Maybe without the family inside you may have been a freer soul at that moment. Then again there is an implicit danger in the sudden impulse. We all know of the rubber necking habit causing hold ups, but that's another story.
The good Samaritan theme is a vibrant one, and the story is compelling . Excellent stuff. Similar in nature to my attempt The Lonely Drinker. Like the title, it lies uncommented upon ! regards, Ray

Comment is about Luke 10:25 (blog)

Original item by Stuart Buck

i dont have a microphone. but im told there will be a video of me performing coming to a youtube near you very soon. my computer is from the early nineties. i doubt it would even support a microphone. but dont let my technophobia stop you!

Comment is about Zach Dafoe (poet profile)

Original item by Zach Dafoe

Great photos of all the poems Andy

Next theme is Shades

There was the light
till autumn shades came.

Winter shadows cast darkness
waiting for sunstroke days.

Comment is about Stockport WoL (group profile)

Original item by Stockport WoL

Great photos of all the poems Andy

Next theme is Shades

There was the light
till autumn shades came.

Winter shadows cast darkness
waiting for sunstroke days.

Comment is about Stockport WoL (group profile)

Original item by Stockport WoL

Ha! Can't believe you had the teasel too!! :D

Many thanks Stuart. I had ideas for the photo for ages, but it took a certain recent event for them to crystallise.

Comment is about Perspective (blog)

Original item by Laura Taylor

It was a production that lingers in the mind afterwards, Maggie. Well done to all concerned. Yes, I'm looking forward to seeing John Agard perform in Portsmouth!

Comment is about Multimedia and the message: Zones of Avoidance brings home unavoidable truths (article)

Magnificent, Julian ... as was Rooney's goal on that occasion, of course. Albert Camus used to play in goal ... but did TS Eliot ever perform such an overhead kick? I think not. Or have I strayed off the point ... ?

Comment is about Revealed - the poetic ardour of TS Eliot, and Wayne Rooney (article)

Original item by Greg Freeman

His goal against Manchester City in Feb 2011 was described by the commentator as absolute poetry:

Saturday, 12 February 2011

Absolute poetry

If, according to the commentator,
Rooney’s overhead kick
was absolute poetry,
in what sense was that?
Probably less that of Aristotle’s poetics,
though some would consider it epic.
Not the later formalists.
Perhaps in the mid 20th century sense,
as a fundamental creative act,
though use of language was considered essential.

The language of football,
perhaps,
or gymnastics.
After all, he had flung himself,
assonance over tetrameter.
There was
euphony and rhythm.
Sprung rhythm, to boot,
and had an incantatory effect
on all who witnessed it.
Particularly Jo Hart.

Perhaps it was in the sense
of Tatarkiewicz’s second concept of poetry,
that of expressing emotion.
Rooney’s increasingly,
until that day, edging towards
the nihilism.

As Valéry observed,
poetry has a more general meaning,
one difficult to define:
an expression of a state of mind.

The word
derives from the ancient Greek
poiesis: to create.
Art was, to them,
a following of rules
and of form,
except for poetry,
the only art
allowed to create something out of nothing,
like Rooney’s kick.

If this is going over anyone’s head,
well, good:
According to the commentator,
that would make it
absolute poetry!

Julian Jordon

Comment is about Revealed - the poetic ardour of TS Eliot, and Wayne Rooney (article)

Original item by Greg Freeman

Thanks for coming along Greg and for the early morning review. Much appreciated. The after show discussion on Wednesday went really well and it was good that Dave and Kieran from PUSH Recovery Community were there.

Looking forward to seeing you for John Agard's Roll Over Atlantic at The Square Tower.

Comment is about Multimedia and the message: Zones of Avoidance brings home unavoidable truths (article)

Fucking good little poem Tommy.

Comment is about **** *** ******* (blog)

Original item by Tommy Carroll

Hi Ray - I like your interpretation although I have to confess the holiday purchase was imagined - I have no idea where the little perpetual desk calendar came from beyond the fact that it's been in the family for as long as I can remember - but it's one of those delightful ornaments that might well have been purchased on a whim in Brixham or Torquay or somewhere else.

My auntie in Australia once sent me table place mats for Christmas - pictures of Australian wild flowers printed in China on Polish linen and posted to England - how shit travels these days.

Comment is about perpetual desk calendar (blog)

What makes this so interesting for me Colin is the purchase being made on holiday, as if to mark the event and thereby somehow extra important. I think that alone means you have to honour it!
There used to be shell boxes, ashtrays with lighthouses; and most strange of all, when I worked in Blackpool, a miniature metal Blackpool Tower , underneath marked "made in China."

Comment is about perpetual desk calendar (blog)

meh

Comment is about perpetual desk calendar (blog)

this is wonderful. mixing nostalgia with repression and anger. a tough subject dealt with beautifully with subtlety and touches of humour. and i remember teasels sprayed silver as well. i use to put googly eyes on them and pretend they were hedgehogs. northern Christmases!

Comment is about Perspective (blog)

Original item by Laura Taylor

Thank you for your comment on Nodding Bitch and you have given me some food for thought. Apologies for the late reply. Thanks again for reading.

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

Original item by M.C. Newberry

More words of wisdom, more questions to ponder, from this
thoughtful stimulating source.
The medical profession is a source of huge relief and
comfort to countless sufferers from life's physical and
mental woes but it is certainly not perfect and needs to
keep an open mind towards change and other treatments
that passing time makes available. How gratifying that
reports of newly found treatments and variations on
previously discovered antidotes are being seen so often
these days. This is an exciting time in so many ways in
the approach to relieving pain and disease. There may
be justification in the attacks on perceived profiteering
by pharmaceutical companies but research and proven
useful outcomes do not come cheaply even in a global
world and sensible government oversight and control
would not go amiss.
The evasion by "authority" in offering proper financial and
social support to the victims of its policies is to be
deplored and corrected at every opportunity. It should
NOT be left to the charitable organisations to shoulder
this burden alone. Our taxes represent money available
to government to take this sort of action in support of
those who serve us in the face of danger and injury in theatres of conflict and disease.

Comment is about An Evolution of Attitude (blog)

Original item by Noetic-fret!

Many thanks Ray :) I really enjoyed writing it :)

Ooo yes, we will! Just got a great big log from another local park t'other night :D

Comment is about Perspective (blog)

Original item by Laura Taylor

New diseases invented around me...I like that line. Its true though. Enjoy it.

Comment is about What if.... (blog)

Original item by Jojomon

Hi Laura. I just delved into Perspective. Bowled over I was by the sheer beauty of imagery and the way you hammer in the emotion with the words. No way out, compelling. Now I am pleased that you like at least one of my efforts ! All the best in the darkling days to come with logs and fella. regards, Ray

Comment is about Perspective (blog)

Original item by Laura Taylor

Thanks, Stu . Your observations are always perceptive and intelligent and you peel back the layers . This was a very direct reference to a dear friend and written in a genuine state of guilt. What more can you do ?

all the best with the submission by the way.

Comment is about Stuart Buck (poet profile)

Original item by Stuart Buck

Thanks, Stu . Your observations are always perceptive and intelligent and you peel back the layers . This was a very direct reference to a dear friend and written in a genuine state of guilt. What more can you do ?

all the best with the submission by the way.

Comment is about Stuart Buck (poet profile)

Original item by Stuart Buck

i like this. its remorseful and cynical and darkly humorous. good use of repetition and its a nice take on the usual 'all my friends are dying' shtick that a lot of people pull out.

Comment is about DON'T WE ALL (blog)

Original item by ray pool

Thank you Attila - I thought it was just me who hated the "teacup class" pretentious poets but I'm not alone. You've inspired me to revisit a stage somewhere near me ASAP and rant a wee bit. By the way, heard you read Never Too Late on Steve Lamacq's 6 Music show last week and it was lump-in-throat inducing.

Comment is about 'Poetry books will sell if people can relate to what you are writing': Attila the Stockbroker (article)

Original item by Greg Freeman

strange fruit indeed. always holidays version for me, never simone (although she has her merits). i was going for an off colour nursery rhyme so clearly i succeeded in some way. also, it rhymes. its only two lines but still. thats good for me! thanks david, im glad you took so much from it!

Comment is about Orchard (blog)

Original item by Stuart Buck

hello. for some reason WOL isnt telling me when people comment on my poems. annoying. anyway, thanks for the comments. sins of thy father indeed. all seems so cyclical and unescapable.

Comment is about incarnartion (blog)

Original item by Stuart Buck

HI Martin, I'd like to say that you've sussed this subject out perfectly ! I'm afraid with the atmosphere of such bars I've always felt a bit vulnerable in and have to resort to bullshit to get by. Luckily as I've got older it doesn't matter so much!
Great poem.
Thank you for comments on On the open plain. Just a moment of time spreading out.

Comment is about Down the pub (blog)

Original item by Martin Elder

very effective , and has an almost detached feel , quite disconcerting - perhaps like children's stories that are sometimes full of menace.

Comment is about Orchard (blog)

Original item by Stuart Buck

Thanks for your comments Laura. You are right about the Typo Cheers.

Comment is about We (blog)

Original item by Martin Elder

Thanks for clearing that up Nigel. Are there any copies of your movie available.

Comment is about Martin Elder (poet profile)

Original item by Martin Elder

I love the way that this character is leaving it all behind and thinking about what's to come. Nice one

Comment is about ON THE OPEN PLAIN (blog)

Original item by ray pool

Nice poem Andy. I particularly like criss-crossing into brutal rhythms

Comment is about International Exiles (blog)

Original item by Andy N