Hey, howdy chap! Long time no see!
What a delightful poem. I can see you've been playing around with language in your absence :) Some lovely images in this, and a nice little twist at the end there.
Hope to see you some time mate :)
Comment is about Reflections (blog)
Original item by Mike Hilton
Glad you commented then Harry :)
I'd have written something but I've gotta be honest - I feel increasingly worn down by the endless grinding of this govt, and hugely worried by UKIP's popularity. Even round here in St Helens, although Labour won as per usual, UKIP came second in every single borough they had a candidate in, beating even the Tories. That shocked me.
And you are bang on re our medics.
Comment is about (blog)
Original item by Harry O`N eill
Sorry it's taken me so long to get round to commenting on this - saw it a while back but was a tad busy round then.
I absolutely LOVE this. Perfect haiku series - each one stands alone and fits beautifully together. You've captured the ghastliness and the eerie atmosphere so well. I hope this has been sent off to a war anthology (I'm sure you mentioned such a thing at the MH gig?).
Comment is about Passchendaele (Autumn 1917) (blog)
Original item by Ian Whiteley
Hahaa - speaking as a veteran of Glastonbury 2007 (THE wettest muddiest one on record!!) this proper made me laugh. Love the line about your sister's lippy :D
Have to say though, the punters there these days are less hippy, more materialistic, and much more likely to sulk if the weather doesn't go their way!! Kudos ain't worth shit if the sun don't shine apparently ;)
Comment is about GLASTO IN MY GARDEN (blog)
Original item by Daniel Dwyran
<Deleted User> (6895)
Thu 5th Jun 2014 23:31
brilliant David-as usual.xx
Comment is about Crash Survivor's Log (blog)
Original item by David Blake
I THINK THEY EXIST SO MY CAT CAN HAVE SOOOO MUCH FUN:)
Comment is about Can you see my flies? (blog)
Original item by Christopher Dawson
Really enjoyed this Daniel
Comment is about GLASTO IN MY GARDEN (blog)
Original item by Daniel Dwyran
<Deleted User> (9882)
Thu 5th Jun 2014 21:20
I didn't laugh at the Wildey's comments,honestly! you do believe me don't you Jean?....ahem.
new one on me as well,re the Freedom Tower.
One learn's something new every blogging day!x
Comment is about A QUESTION OF FREEDOM !!! (blog)
Original item by jean lucy thompson
Hi Dave
Thank you very much for your kind comment on 'Glasto'. I have since practiced reading it in a West Country accent since reading your commment. If I get to an open-mic night one day I will try it. Much appreciated.
Comment is about Dave Bradley (poet profile)
Original item by Dave Bradley
Superb title. I can still "feel the noise" ;) Nostalgia revisited for me in this one. Great depth to the work. Love it. Another great piece of writing Ian.
(I have a shorter poem in my blog relating to the Seventies. 'Smelly Bogs and Diamond Dogs' relating to that time of the decade which may tweak the strings of nostalgia for you).
I really enjoy your work and your links Ian.
Comment is about Children Of The Glamned (Resurrection Shuffle) (blog)
Original item by Ian Whiteley
Dave,
With this metaphor you could go in and out forever...It`s full of further possibilities.
(mind, you`ve used all the major ones)
Comment is about The cost of fascination (blog)
Original item by Dave Bradley
Although I hail from an earlier teen generation
with the glory days of Rockn'Roll uppermost,
I enjoyed this foray into the slightly nearer past
- with its (for me) evocations of what Philip
Larkin might have come up with if he had similar
empathy.
Consistently inventive, it is surely "one from
the heart".
Seems like only yesterday!!
Comment is about Children Of The Glamned (Resurrection Shuffle) (blog)
Original item by Ian Whiteley
Hi Andy N
It will be good to see you
The theme for the night is willpower
When craving starts
Try to resist
Send strong messages
To your brain.
I must not
I must not
I must not
I must not.
In the end
Temptation wins battle
Willpower looses control
Feeling guilty maybe.
But even if
Strict diet dies
That chocolate bar
Tastes so divine.
Comment is about Stockport WoL (group profile)
Original item by Stockport WoL
jan oskar hansen
Thu 5th Jun 2014 15:04
so is he a good actor or a brave poet?
Comment is about Steve Nash and Sophia Walker win Saboteur spoken word awards (article)
Original item by Greg Freeman
Good fun. Kind of makes a point too. It would perform well - one of those poems that leaves everyone smiling
Comment is about GLASTO IN MY GARDEN (blog)
Original item by Daniel Dwyran
see you all on Monday as will defo be there unless something goes wrong in the meantime.
Comment is about Stockport WoL (group profile)
Original item by Stockport WoL
thanks for your kind comments on the 2 war poems mate - this is a topic I'm really enjoying getting my teeth into - wait until you hear the audio versions :-) see ya on the 14th mate
Ian
Comment is about Jeffarama! (poet profile)
Original item by Jeffarama!
Babestation John??? Does that get your creative juices flowing then? ;-)
Comment is about John Coopey (poet profile)
Original item by John Coopey
thanks for the kind comments aND SUGGESTIONS RE 'pASSHENDALE' aNDY - I haven't made the change you suggested simply because the rest of the piece is written in first person perspective - so it's meant to convey a sense of being there - so 'fall like flies' works better than 'fell like flies' in that respect - if you see what I mean.
thanks mate
Ian
Comment is about Andy N (poet profile)
Original item by Andy N
thanks for the kind comments on 'slamming flies' Cynthia - I am trying to write a selection of war poems in first person differing styles. it seems to make them more real - thanks for commenting
Ian
Comment is about Cynthia Buell Thomas (poet profile)
Original item by Cynthia Buell Thomas
leah
Thu 5th Jun 2014 12:24
May's performer, Pete the Temp, a favourite with our audiences, is now teaching and boy, did he have a lot to say about the school system, amongst other things! 'Kids' Imaginations are depressed. Three hours of advertising and four hours of TV a day leaves no space for creativity'. He spoke of how kids don't laugh, see humour. 'Comedy isn't rewarded'. 'If I ruled the World, I'd make laughter available on prescription from your GP'. He talks of how individual problems are ignored. 'the kids who do not listen', the folded arms...' He said schools 'are sinister' and have become 'exam factories, with kids as obedient automatons, contained for a system of workers, which is making other people extremely rich'. It's about school detention, work hard, get a degree. Pete's trying to teach them to expand their minds. Not be afraid to think and write poetry. Use metaphors. Not be afraild they'll be laughed at if they write funny stuff.
He speaks of poetry used as therapy during times of stress and trauma. 'Write 15 minutes a day for 3 days'. It can stop high blood pressure, heart failure, cancer. (this writer got through her divorce by writing poetry day and night) However, if you're thinking too hard about it, it can have adverse affects. In which case, try running or something else. Pete describes himself as an 'activist' - one of many. 'There are more CCTV cameras in London than in the entire continent'! He counted 32 while sitting facing the Shard building! They have facial recognition, know habits of walking...undercover people who have babies with the people they're watching to make it easier for them to follow every move. 'It's very dark'. His poem 'Call to Arms' talks of '.. armies of guards and dogs....give us some space. Grannies are shivering from the cold. We are the flesh below the hard caps. Without us, there'd be no you'. There was much more. 'Don't go back to the person you loved and lost' 'It's like re-frying refried beans'! He still has an entire file on her but 'now here I am, scribbling her Out!'
There's no doubt Pete is passionate and dedicated to changing what he considers a world gone mad! He does it with clever and witty poems and a great performance style. It was hard not to cling onto every word. Definitely a highly loveable and memorable performer!
Meantime, our Open Mic started with the outstanding Lysander White, whose poem, similar to Pete's, 'If I ruled the World', (I caused the flutter in the stomach of the butterfly)...also captured the essence of someone who could do everything, including '…..extract sunshine from cucumbers'....(is he God? Nature?) Rich in metaphors, from start to finish. Michael Sherman then followed with some ideas from poetry classes which inspired him to write 'If ever there was a Spring day so perfect' (originally written by Billy Collins). His was 'that first kiss'. He encouraged the audience to 'try doing a similar exercise'. Then, 'The Message', trying to explain to a 110 year old woman, that 'your son is dead'.. Her response? 'That little bastard! He owes me money!' He then did 'The Seven Ages of Love'. 'Once we were slipping thin...now is the time for hand holding'...'Rock of Ages' was about getting older, that inevitable time stealer!
Barry Smith followed with Meteoric', 'from one incarnation to another'. He described the hurling of rocks...from the beginning of the World. 'Was there ever a beginning or is it just a continuous state?' Then onto 'South of the Isle of Wight', 'Mottistone Monument NT' describing the magnificence of the monument and added the 'tea room', tourist attractions.. Gilly Gillingham decided to write poetry for pensioners, and read of his 'loving partner, now frail'. How much they travelled together but hey, they missed Iceland. (Life's not over yet)! 'Who stole all my days' he asked in another poem, then, 'I haven't changed. I just look different. 'Even when not there any more, I will not change. Just look different'.
Ivor Bundell brought guitar but started with some love poems including 'Black and White' 'He fell in love with a movie star in glorious black and white'. Then, 'The Squid of Serendipity' glides in from the East. A musical tribute to Dylan Thomas brought 'The Towy and the Taff', written in a boat house. Angela Edwards, first timer at WA, an artist from Norfolk did 'A Wet Wednesday at Wells' ending with 'tomorrow will be a better day'. Then, 'September Sun', 'I raised my face toward the warm sun'. Her last poem, quite different, described the six or seven hours at A&E, with her mother in law. Medics rushing and the patient pleading to be left to die. 'She was not afraid. No, not death, but dying'. Phyllida Carr brought out some sunlight with her harmonica. She played 'Rock of Ages' (a running theme?), 'The Fox going out on a chilly night' and 'When the Saints go Marching Home. The room lightened with the sound of voices joining the music.
Audi Maserati, last but not least blew into a jar (it's a DAda thing) to describe what happens when his dog sees a cat. He pointed out that since the room had been painted, if you look upside down, it's a latte! He had everyone laughing. His popular poem of Buffalo Bill, Aristotle, Billy the Kid and Les Paul 'they polished off the biscuits and solved all the problems of the world' stole everyone's heart, yet again as well as a song about Barbara, a hefty female, who dipped into the water with her clothes on and came out with all parts clinging....someone he knew and never forgot.
All in all, a very good evening in a newly painted room which gave it a fresh feeling.
Review is about Petersfield Write Angle Poetry and Music + OPEN MI on 20 May 2014 (event)
jan oskar hansen
Thu 5th Jun 2014 08:16
Paxman has a point there are some academic poems
that leaves me unmoved
Comment is about Poets should engage with ordinary people much more, says Forward prize chairman Paxman (article)
Original item by Greg Freeman
ta very much Stefan n pat yuk about the toilet paper not a good image haha thanx anyway tc
Comment is about A QUESTION OF FREEDOM !!! (blog)
Original item by jean lucy thompson
<Deleted User> (6895)
Wed 4th Jun 2014 20:51
so whats wrong with Blackpool tower then jean? as long as you keep an eye out for seagull bombs-nothing! love your new mugshot! is it our imagination or are you getting younger instead of older-do you know something we don't?
'gnarled crevices'...that reminds us..we need some more toilet paper-haha!
seriously-very good poem.xx
Comment is about A QUESTION OF FREEDOM !!! (blog)
Original item by jean lucy thompson
<Deleted User> (6895)
Wed 4th Jun 2014 20:44
MC - I'd agree that the internet is great for giving us interactive on line sites like WOL; also for the ease with which we can now read poetry on line.
I'm questioning whether this shrinks how much people actually go out to buy books of poetry though. I also think that sites like Facebook and Twitter are very easy to get bogged down in. They can suck you in and steal the time that you might once have spent reading. Those are just some random thoughts I'm chucking out there though...
Comment is about Poets should engage with ordinary people much more, says Forward prize chairman Paxman (article)
Original item by Greg Freeman
New to WOL and just discovered this. I could feel my own heart begin to race along the further I read. Delightful Poem. Wonderful outcome Mike.
Comment is about Mother ! Can you see me ? (blog)
Original item by Mike Hilton
Hi Martin
'Glasto' was about having just as much fun... and mud... in your own garden without having to pay three figures for a ticket and far better toilet facilities than Glastonbury. Thank you for the comment. Appreciated.
I really like your poem 'He's not the one' especially as it gives the reader the hope that there may be a chance for the future. Nice one.
Comment is about Martin Elder (poet profile)
Original item by Martin Elder
Hi Lynn
Thank you very much for your comment and to welcome me to WOL it is much appreciated. On your 'Teardops in my Coffee' I love the first verse..
'My eyes as wet as the windows, mirroring my pain'
Sets the mind of the reader to think why. You just want the waitress to give you a little more time in the cafe. Lovely poem.
Comment is about Lynn Dye (poet profile)
Original item by Lynn Dye
Hello Daniel, welcome to Write Out Loud. Thank you so much for your kind words on 'Sleep'. Much appreciated. Look forward to reading more of your work.
Comment is about Daniel Dwyran (poet profile)
Original item by Daniel Dwyran
I enjoyed this too, Daniel, very amusing.
Comment is about GLASTO IN MY GARDEN (blog)
Original item by Daniel Dwyran
Ahh, many thanks Greg! Enjoyed both the reading and the writing :)
Cheers!
Comment is about Prayer to Imperfection: Lucy English, Burning Eye (article)
Original item by Greg Freeman
Thanks for this excellent review, Laura. It's great to have a proper performance poet among our reviewers!
Comment is about Prayer to Imperfection: Lucy English, Burning Eye (article)
Original item by Greg Freeman
Kenneth Eaton-Dykes
Wed 4th Jun 2014 12:32
Mays gathering was enriched by the presence of guest poet Ian whitely who performed excellently,straight from the head, a selection of his first class work with just the occasional prompting glance at the lectern,(wish I could do that)
In support Marion read a couple on behalf of a favourite poet of hers, While Eileen as usual gave us a demonstration of how to write and execute good presentation.
Thankyou to Joy, Chris, Jefferama, John,
and everyone who contributed to a successful evening
Special mention in appreciation of the delightful performance given by a young
lady duo of what sounded to me a medieval folk
song. Watched by an equally talented, proud Mum.
Thanks to Norman our compere for filling the short interludes with a mixture of poetry and amusing banter.
See you all on the 22nd June.
Review is about Write Out Loud - Middleton on 22 Jun 2014 (event)
With absorbing images and flashes of great authority as ever, oddly I didn't take in the title on the first reading: titles can be separated from the body of a poem, Death here seems too much, or too little. Always worth reading your stuff, when/where you send out work that's in your view complete: let me know!
Comment is about Death (blog)
Original item by Marianne Daniels
Listening to Paxo's speech I'm happy to say I agree with everything he says... but inquisition is a dirty word, with it's unamusing overtones of duress. Poets should be happy to explain their work, as best they can, but definitely under no great obligation to make a good case, they shouldn't be "put to the question" as the old system had it.
Comment is about Poets should engage with ordinary people much more, says Forward prize chairman Paxman (article)
Original item by Greg Freeman
Thank you for trying Graham, it is much appreciated x
Comment is about Raven (blog)
Original item by Marianne Daniels
Kenneth Eaton-Dykes
Wed 4th Jun 2014 11:33
Hi Daniel
Thanks for the kind comment.
After reading your splendidly well constructed excellently rhymed work, I sincerely return the compliment.
Are these pieces based on episodes of past experience? First World war work apart.
Comment is about Daniel Dwyran (poet profile)
Original item by Daniel Dwyran
thanx very much solar was looking up a photo for this in google image; called up freedom tower and up came the freedom tower in new York was actually unaware it existed :(
Comment is about A QUESTION OF FREEDOM !!! (blog)
Original item by jean lucy thompson
I like this very good. it strikes a chord with me. Why pay for the thrill of mud when you can an experience it at home.
Comment is about GLASTO IN MY GARDEN (blog)
Original item by Daniel Dwyran
I'm somewhat surprised by the comment about art
and poetry suffering from the effects of the internet.
If WOL is any guide, the 'net is hugely beneficial
in bringing the written word to a huge audience.
Its only downside...the dispiriting variations of thuggish illiteracy on show in various forums I've
found when browsing this information "super highway".
Comment is about Poets should engage with ordinary people much more, says Forward prize chairman Paxman (article)
Original item by Greg Freeman
Kenneth Eaton-Dykes
Tue 3rd Jun 2014 18:26
Hi Mike. Good to see you surfacing again.
Nice poem.
Was that dream the result of a healthy
nights kip.
Or one of the more pleasant symptoms of dragon chasing?
Comment is about Reflections (blog)
Original item by Mike Hilton
<Deleted User> (9882)
Tue 3rd Jun 2014 14:14
really lovely albeit sad poem Larisa.x
Comment is about Spring Meets Summer (blog)
Original item by Larisa Rzhepishevska
<Deleted User> (9882)
Tue 3rd Jun 2014 14:09
my kind of poem Jean,and beyond any doubt,your best one to date.Brilliant!x
Comment is about A QUESTION OF FREEDOM !!! (blog)
Original item by jean lucy thompson
Just joined, David.
And what would we do without Miles?
I have a lot of his cds from different periods.
Comment is about John Eliot (poet profile)
Original item by John Eliot
Thanks for the comment on 'Miles'. Didn't know you were here, John!
Comment is about John Eliot (poet profile)
Original item by John Eliot
I have oft quoted Adrian Mitchell before, and I shall quote him again:
Most people ignore most poetry
Because most poetry ignores most people.
Mark, brilliantly written. Do let the poetry world's best news editor, Greg, have full details of your show when you can.
A friend of mine was at a 'do' where someone said to Paxman, you're not big and you're not clever. Superb eh?
Comment is about Poets should engage with ordinary people much more, says Forward prize chairman Paxman (article)
Original item by Greg Freeman
Too right. What else can you say about the great man!
Comment is about Miles (blog)
Original item by David Cooke
<Deleted User> (12353)
Fri 6th Jun 2014 10:16
Steve seems like such a lovely guy and really is incredibly talented. He's not a shouty in your face performer so I was surprised he made the shortlist but seeing him win is fantastic. Just hope this gets him the recognition he deserves further afield.
Comment is about Steve Nash and Sophia Walker win Saboteur spoken word awards (article)
Original item by Greg Freeman