Strong images and pathos. Well done!

Comment is about This Autumn (blog)

Original item by stephen smith

Great subject for a poem. Strong images

Comment is about The wind of the North (blog)

Original item by Rollo

What a sad, sad day. The Tudor has been the most iconic venue for Write Out Loud for almost ten years or so, at least since the Howcroft in Bolton chucked us out. I know that Joy is not alone in thinking this way, several others started their poetic careering about in Wigan. And we've had some cracking nights and brilliant slams too. The one when Fatima al Matar came all the way from Coventry to read her lyrical poem, and won, sticks in my mind. The only time a Muslim woman wearing the veil has won a Wigan slam. But so many nights really. On some, I counted over 80 people sitting, crowding around the door and the now-curtained area to see the show. And we must not forget that it was thanks to Gillian Forester that we got it going really.
Gillian funded a Write Out Loud night at The Tudor as part of the Wigan Words Festival. after its success I suggested to her that we should run the thing monthly throughout the year, and she supported that. The rest is mystery. I wish Russ and Frances the very best, and I congratulate John on having found an alternative venue with such alacrity. Here's to the next ten years, or whatever it is.

Comment is about End of an era for Write Out Loud Wigan as the Tudor closes its doors (article)

Original item by Greg Freeman

pasted from Facebook by Joy France
If I hadn't gone to the Write Out Loud open mic night at the Tudor in Wigan run by John Togher, almost 4 years ago, then poetry would have been a "one off thing" that I tried once to scare myself ( Louise Fazackerley '. had somehow got me to write a poem and perform it at Wigan The Soap Opera at the museum of Wigan Life!)
Instead, cos Jon Darby and Christine kept telling me about the Tudor, I went along. After lurking at the back for a few months I did my 1st Open Mic performance. The rest is history as they say! I didn't realise it but I'd fallen into the home of the most wonderful people around and that my life would be enriched forever!
Whilst I'm gutted to hear that the pub has closed i was thrilled to hear that tonight's WW1 "special" is on ---- in a very special venue. (below)
The "bear pit" poetry will move onward and upwards cos the PEOPLE are special (in many meanings of the word!).
I've always stuggled to explain WHY it's my spiritual poetic home, why it's unique etc. I usually say "You have to go along to find out"
I can't go tonight, but YOU can. It will be a different night cos of the theme and the change of venue but you'll get a warm welcome and quality poetry, probably with more than a dash of eccentricity and character!!!!

Comment is about End of an era for Write Out Loud Wigan as the Tudor closes its doors (article)

Original item by Greg Freeman

Awww - I am totally gutted. I haven't been able to afford the open mic nights for such a long time, but always make the Christmas night - and now it won't be there. No more bear-pit-special-brilliant-atmosphere.

The second time I ever performed was on that stage. I turned around in slow-motion, blinded by the lights, in total shock and panic, and couldn't bring myself to speak for a good minute. Then blew into the mic (I have no idea why - I think I'd seen people do it on the telly), drew a deep breath, and launched into 4 years of hurling myself round on stages. Met so many special people in there, real tribe, so many great bands, dancing til dawn, gabbing and smoking in the beer garden with all manner of deviants and misfits.

One of my favourite poetry moments was performing my Ohrwurm poem, at a crimbo bash. I had just delivered the line about Hawaii Five O, and the entire room launched into the tune, completely out of the blue, and kept it going :D :D de-de-de-de-der-derrrrrrr-de-de-de-de-derrrrrr :D :D

Awwww. End of an era. RIP The Tudor - I really hope someone like Russ comes along and keeps the fire burning.

Comment is about End of an era for Write Out Loud Wigan as the Tudor closes its doors (article)

Original item by Greg Freeman

So sad, and so many memories! But looking forward to tonight.

Comment is about End of an era for Write Out Loud Wigan as the Tudor closes its doors (article)

Original item by Greg Freeman

Hand Picked

Stiff and tired
But keeps going.

Bold and hard
The power part.

Gets tuned on
By instant groans.

Feeling touch sore
End in sight.

At long last
Found those crows.

Comment is about November Collage Poem: Organs (blog)

Original item by Stockport WoL

Thanks Cynthia :) It was originally published as "Bitter fruit" and then the music was set to "Strange fruit". It has haunted me for years: the imagery, the criminality and then sung in Billie's voice.
Thank you for appreciation

Comment is about Bitter fruit (blog)

You must be right, since I'm sure you have researched it, and I was going only on memory. I still wonder if the famous song is so seminal, that such comparative allusion is a bit risky without a direct reference.

Your own poem is really excellent.

Comment is about Bitter fruit (blog)

You must be right, since I'm sure you have researched it, and I was going only on memory. I still wonder if the famous song is so seminal, that such comparative allusion is a bit risky without a direct reference.

Your own poem is really excellent.

Comment is about Bitter fruit (blog)

Thank you MCNewbury
Your comment gives me hope

Comment is about IT'S SO HOT (blog)

Original item by Jack purvis

Interesting title Ian.

Doesn't go with the poke in the eye picture though.

It's also an strange concept that landing on a comet is in some way aligned to meeting God as the very comet itself seems to dispel the creationism myth.

MCN: As to future escapades diverting collisions, we better hope that Bruce Willis lives to a ripe old age then.

Sadly I think the African child line looks a bit of an afterthought to bring us down to earth, damning the poem with feint praise. Be good to even up the achievement/failure of humanity a little more.

Always a good read though,

regards,

Graham

Comment is about Philae Shakes The Hand Of God (blog)

Original item by Ian Whiteley

An intriguing vignette that seems at one with the
illustration that accompanies it. I thought
the final lines of haste and good mannered
reaction were pleasing...with the consistent
rhyming catching the hurry to regain
"respectability".

Comment is about IT'S SO HOT (blog)

Original item by Jack purvis

My nephew is over the moon (no pun intended)
as he was once part of the Logica logistics
working on the pre-launch requirements for
this tool of exploration. This is a truly
phenomenal achievement - with implications beyond its immediate purpose of assessing
the origins of the material of a comet.
It occurs to me that if a meteor is located heading on a catastrophic collision
course with Earth then we seem to have
taken a giant leap forward towards meeting
and removing such a threat.
As for Mankind's Earth-bound problems...they
seem to be assessed as global warming and
over-population. At least there is an
ongoing awareness of these and in the
meantime Nature takes no prisoners when it
comes to the human condition and failure to
use the brain in its defence.

Comment is about Philae Shakes The Hand Of God (blog)

Original item by Ian Whiteley

excellent stuff guys as always. some great stuff in this. always enjoy having a hand in these John.

Comment is about October Collage Poem: Sacrifice (blog)

Original item by Stockport WoL

Many thanks to you Cynthia :) And pish you don't 'do imagination'!! Behave!

Your poem The Aperitif is one of the best of the type that I've read Cynth. Do it!

Comment is about Jigsaw (blog)

Original item by Laura Taylor

Ha Cynth - I welled up when I was watching it last night. The absolute mindbending logistics of this - just WOW. Space travel excites the hell out of me. Looks like it's stable (for now) anyway!

Comment is about Transcendentalism (blog)

Original item by Cynthia Buell Thomas

Aye - love this. Totally take your idea that we can't fix our own problems down here, but the idea of space travel, the mindbending logistics of getting this to actually work - well, I confess I welled up when it landed.

Great poem.

Comment is about Philae Shakes The Hand Of God (blog)

Original item by Ian Whiteley

I was under impressiion it was called bitter fruit as that was what the original poem was called.

Comment is about Bitter fruit (blog)

I love it Daniel ....Just going through the 'motions'

A large environmental car thief

Made of a thousand witches potions...

A real cracker, still got me chuckling as I write this. Good stuff

Comment is about PORTREATH (blog)

Original item by Daniel Dwyran

I love the way this poem flows one line to the next. 'With the noise of spring dark and death by the fire'

Comment is about The moon's fame, child of the sun. (blog)

Original item by Danny Metcalfe

'the aftermath' is rich, isn't it? I look forward now to checking back on more of your work. You have a distinctive touch. I've been off-line with a defunct computer for weeks, and the new one is currently challenging with smaller and flatter keys.But I'm persevering.

Comment is about A.M. Clarke (poet profile)

Original item by A.M. Clarke

It is very atmospheric. May I suggest that you could drop 'the' in Lines 3 and 5. I tested it out several times and, IMO, the poem then takes another step upward to excellence. Sometimes little words are just like potholes in a smooth path.

Comment is about For An Evening (blog)

Original item by A.M. Clarke

So 'ekphrastic' means 'to interpret a picture of some sort, in poetry. I've been looking for that word for ages. Found it once and lost it again. There used to be many such poems on WOL. Ann Foxglove excelled in them. I did 'The Aperitif' myself.

I am motivated to try something similar again. Laura, this poem of yours is very original, as always. The ending is superb. I don't do 'imagination' all that well, looking out for stories of other people. I guess I have enough trials of my own.

Comment is about Jigsaw (blog)

Original item by Laura Taylor

Very effective indeed. He twists his ideas and words like skeins of wool off a loom, always with substance, tough and soft at the same time.

Comment is about Snow White (blog)

Original item by Twilbury Wist

This is a very good poem. I'm not sure if it should be called 'Strange Fruit' by title or content without specific reference to the original poem/lyric. I was shocked.

Comment is about Bitter fruit (blog)

Splendid - just plain splendid - brilliantly topical and timely.

Comment is about Philae Shakes The Hand Of God (blog)

Original item by Ian Whiteley

I do not know how it happened that this little piece became an entity for me, and was then shared, on the same day as mankind put a space machine on a comet. When the craft landed, I actually shivered with emotion at the ultimate juxtaposition of ideas - thus far. I am so glad I had the courage to take a chance, and that I did it today. Let's hope the 'stickers' grab tightly and stay secured for awhile. This is an amazing day!

Comment is about Transcendentalism (blog)

Original item by Cynthia Buell Thomas

a little disjointed methinks,but I get the gist.x

Comment is about Quite strange (blog)

Original item by Alem Hailu G/Kristos

Of Louise's performance at Sowerby Bridge last week, Freda Davis, who has run Puzzle Poets for years wrote to her mail list: "Lots of you missed the opportunity to hear what was possibly the very best poet we have ever had as a guest. I kid you not.”

She kids you not. Her work is mesmerising. And Louise has agreed to be our guest at Risk a Verse at the Red and Green Club this month, on 27th November (see gig guide) fresh from her appearance on the wireless. You will regret it if you miss the opportunity to see this rising star.

Comment is about New Voices winner Louise Fazackerley's 'Love is a Battlefield' is featured on BBC's The Verb (article)

Original item by Greg Freeman

Hi Daniel
Thanks for your comments on Do it again. I hadn't thought about performing it. sounds like s good idea. I will give it a go.

Comment is about Daniel Dwyran (poet profile)

Original item by Daniel Dwyran

How very true!
When I was a schoolboy back in the early 1950s,
one of my teachers, Ms Helen Tarry, wrote as much
in my autograph book...
The Value of A Smile -
It enriches those who receive
Without impoverishing those who give...

Comment is about So You Want To Be Happier? (blog)

Original item by Gareth Glyn Roberts

Placing the "poetic" aspect to one side in favour of addressing the content...
After a surgeon had performed a risky operation
his patient told him of being above and
looking down as the surgeon worked. That was
greeted with some understandable scepticism -
until the instrument he was using was described
in detail to him: something he had brought late
to the operating table when the patient was
already under anaesthetic and would not have
been able to witness anything. Thereafter, the surgeon kept a more open mind about such things.

Comment is about Transcendentalism (blog)

Original item by Cynthia Buell Thomas

That's a bit of a cryptic question, Tommy! But I can give you a straight answer. Not me, mate.

Comment is about Greg Freeman (poet profile)

Original item by Greg Freeman

Ah my mistake - it's missing from the word 'unknown' :)

Comment is about Transcendentalism (blog)

Original item by Cynthia Buell Thomas

Yayy!! Gwan girl!!!

She's proper talented is our Louise!

Comment is about New Voices winner Louise Fazackerley's 'Love is a Battlefield' is featured on BBC's The Verb (article)

Original item by Greg Freeman

Oh, sorry I missed it.
Seriously though, If I have got this right, a work that purports to be communicating concerns about male oppression of females, yet makes the male section of the audience feel unqualified to write about what they have witnessed surely, thereby, handicaps itself?
Frances, regardless of your concerns about the piece, I enjoyed your review in terms of its balance and erudition.

Comment is about 'Schlock!' Mesmeric, shocking, and over-ambitious (article)

Original item by Greg Freeman

Thanks Steve :) Yes, to both counts. I have drawn parallels with Billie Holiday's haunting song and the disturbing new trend now prevalent in India.

Thanks for reading and your very kind words.

Comment is about Bitter fruit (blog)

Not at all Cynthia, all subjects are fair game of course.
I read the piece several times and it makes fascinating reading with some nice words

I postulate (dig me)

the germ or the death of creation

we dream only what we want to dream, perhaps even what we have to dream

.......but I couldn't find a poem in it.

regards,

Graham

Comment is about Transcendentalism (blog)

Original item by Cynthia Buell Thomas

Yay! Go the team.

Comment is about Number of visits to Write Out Loud in October nears 54,000 and marks new record (article)

Original item by Greg Freeman

Thanks Greg. Great discussion going on on Facebook. This one is certainly a conversation starter.

Comment is about 'Schlock!' Mesmeric, shocking, and over-ambitious (article)

Original item by Greg Freeman

Thanks, you three, a whole lot. Harry, I find the mysticism of 'religion' absolutely fascinating, all forms having such a common denominator, currently or historically. About mind/soul, I think that questions evolve questions, and that, at this point in creation, answers do not yet 'materialise'. Today, even the brain is being severely subjected to empirical evaluation with physical criteria. It boggles the 'mind' what the human race has yet to discover about 'life'.

Greg, I'm not surprised. But one of the definitions of poetry is reducing the much to the minimum, and this took hours through days to condense, and still seem plausible. I'm hoping you do not mean simply that the topic addressed is unsuitable for poetry. 'little tilt towards poetry' is a splendid line.

For me, Science and Religion are inseparable partners: the one has no real value without the other.

Laura, I can't find the missing 'n'. Isn't that hilarious!

Comment is about Transcendentalism (blog)

Original item by Cynthia Buell Thomas

I'm sorry but for me, this reads like an essay with very little tilt toward poetry.

Comment is about Transcendentalism (blog)

Original item by Cynthia Buell Thomas

Awww - a lovely gentle wistful poem, this.

But wow, SIX?!! Oh my lord, I never made it past the one haha :D To be fair, she never slept more than an hour for 18 months. That MIGHT have put me off a tad! I was a single mother for most of her life too.

Anyhoo, yep, I know those feelings. My lass left home early this year, and if I may, I'd like to share my poem about that with you. I thought I was ready for her to leave, but when it came to it, it was a HUGE emotional rollercoaster, for the both of us.

http://www.writeoutloud.net/public/blogentry.php?blogentryid=40773

You know, they always will turn back to you, when they need you :)

Comment is about A Mother's Lament (blog)

Original item by Judi Strega

I meant to comment on this at the time - it's stayed with me. The panic, the confusion, the loss of control, the straining attempt to keep the real NOW, and not let go of it, not let it twist itself out of the grasp. It makes me think brain problems/injury/stroke/epilepsy. I become very anxious when I read it.

To make a poem of it - I do admire you for that. I love this one, Tommy.

Comment is about in bits (blog)

Original item by Tommy Carroll

It can't be the male menopause Steve - or maybe it's a joint menopause, cos I found this very moving too.

Tommy - you are such an unusual writer, so very original. Now see this has regular rhyming (which I'm not massive fond of these days), but it's so poignant that it lifts it completely.

Comment is about B ro ken mas onr y (blog)

Original item by Tommy Carroll

Couldn't agree more! A smile, a chat, a friendly look or gesture, brightens everyone's day, it really does.

Comment is about So You Want To Be Happier? (blog)

Original item by Gareth Glyn Roberts

I do believe this is the longest piece you have ever posted Cynthia.

Thought about tightening it up at all? Although it does have a swinging conversational flow to it and would probably perform quite well.

You've missed an 'n' in the 'know' in the 10th line, 4th stanza.

I disagree, by the way, heh, most especially with the 'allowed to dream' part ;)

I agree with Harry on the 'machine' aspect. I was very attracted to Cartesian dualism at first, but soon picked massive holes in it.

Interesting piece, mind (oops, pun unintentional ha) - feels like it's been building for a while :)

Comment is about Transcendentalism (blog)

Original item by Cynthia Buell Thomas

Ahhh I have recently got this out of the library, and it's sat on my shelf waiting to be read.

I was very attracted by the cover, funnily enough ;)

Nice one Helen!

Comment is about Helen Mort wins first collection prize with 'Division Street' (article)

Original item by Greg Freeman

I think it's really quite difficult to write good comic poetry - I know I struggle with it myself. The odd one, maybe one per year, may come out but I think you've got it or you haven't.

Our very own Dave Carr is one of THE best comic poets I've ever heard, and intelligent with it. He's had the room in fits of laughter many a time I've seen him. I wish I could write like that, but I can't!

Comment is about Roger McGough, London, 2014 (article)

Original item by Greg Freeman