a beautiful nightmare:)

Comment is about In Limbo (blog)

Original item by Simon Austin

Very much enjoyed this Ian, especially 'Rustling in their cardigans/of orange and amber'.

Agree with Harry about how 'screaming' it seems. If only trees could actually talk, eh?

Comment is about Winterfylleth (October) (blog)

Original item by Ian Whiteley

Thanks for your comment on 'Weather Crossword' Andy. I appreciate it. Cheers - David.

Comment is about Andy N (poet profile)

Original item by Andy N

I like the way this midway between poem and short gangster story like thing is so completely in charge of itself. And the way it makes you read it again to look for any clues as to whether it`s suicide or not.

The doubt about what the knock is for makes that last line dramatic.

Comment is about Hitman (blog)

Original item by Simon Austin

Ian,
I can`t remember ever reading of nature`s
decay being `humanised` in this particular way.

I like the `dry skin` and the `crimpoline`
and the `deadfall wood`.

(maybe `and crack` after that dislodge)

It`s screaming decrepitude somehow `jolts` the
normally passive autumn

Poetry-wise it makes you think.

Comment is about Winterfylleth (October) (blog)

Original item by Ian Whiteley

This reminds me of when, in the eighties, I once marched behind one of those magnificently rebellious young militants chanting `Maggie, Maggie, Maggie…Out! Out! Out!......and,as we marched by, an equally magnificent old ex- military guy dressed in a fawn blazer and straw boater stood saluting rigidly to attention and singing `God Save The queen`. I felt at the time that I would have willingly served with the one and under the other in any future conflict to defend my country.

Not withstanding the lung-opening relief to be got from such occasions, I feel I must record that I myself (and four members of my family – three married) were– under the Thatcher regime–able to attend university and get decent jobs. I am, therefore in agreement that benefit recipients should go to school. (provided that the education they get is meaningful)

It was the `business friendly` labour government that allowed the banks to indulge themselves in the reckless gambling that resulted in the present dangerous situation. I think that a far greater danger than the old left-right arguments is the presentation of still more opportunities for reckless gambling afforded by the vote-catching government help to buy scheme. I know they say they`re `watching it` but presumably someone was `watching` the last housing bubble.(and worried more about their own `money-catching than looking after the shop responsibly).

I can`t help worrying about all the talk about `protecting the interests of the city of London` (weren`t they the main guys who started all this)

All this class-war stuff is just fighting the last war but one).

Comment is about Assembly (blog)

Original item by Laura Taylor

I liked this, nice use of rhyme throughout, and an interesting idea. Good build up of tension, and leaving the reader to wonder...who? Has the writer planned his own death? A strange form of suicide? Or maybe that's just me. I like that it's open to that interpretation, anyway.

Comment is about Hitman (blog)

Original item by Simon Austin

Hi Andy and G

Many thanks for taking the time to read and comment. Will it do anything? Probably not, in all honesty, in terms of affecting Tory policies. However, the very important aspect of it is the strength of numbers, of the solidarity. A very public show of opposition. I myself took great strength from it. When you are spending your days veering between fury and frustration, to spend a day in the vast company of people who feel the same is very empowering.

Comment is about Assembly (blog)

Original item by Laura Taylor

Thanks to Poetry24 for publishing this on Wednesday 2 October I was away on holiday and missed it but it was a nice surprise none the less.

Comment is about 95% Sure Perhaps (blog)

Original item by Richard Alfred

I know what you're talking about. Keep bouncing back.

Comment is about Zzzz!! (blog)

Original item by M.C. Newberry

Thanks for bringing Little Machine to me. Somehow I had never heard them until now. Superb interpretations of poems that had become almost too familiar, brings new life to them.

Comment is about Oh frabjous day! Carol Ann Duffy's words with a Dire Straits vibe (article)

Original item by Greg Freeman

A marvellous asset to UK creative life - and how
amazing that folk should actually prize poetry
so much that they could consider stealing it!
I write as one lucky enough to have had a
published collection accepted (see the "cover"
accompanying this post) - and if anyone
should try to steal my book then I would feel
privileged for the unsought compliment implied!!

Comment is about Behind the scenes at the Poetry Library (article)

Original item by Greg Freeman

Thank you for your service. My late father was stationed in London throughout the Second World War with the OSS, and the city's bombing. He said his handprints were on every sidewalk of London. He asked me once if I understood how Britain survived the war, and when I was silent, said, "because the whole People are valiant."

Comment is about terry ireland (poet profile)

Original item by terry ireland

Food for thought: the ongoing personal puzzle of
the passing and the perennial - and their elusive
presence in our lives.
Welcome back.

Comment is about There are many..., There are a few... (blog)

Original item by Larisa Rzhepishevska

Go away MCN

Removed your comment - stop trying to show off

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

Original item by M.C. Newberry

Interesting. I would have thought the poem's
"question" would've been aimed at ITV etc. rather
than the BBC whose alleged bias chimes with the
job ads. placed in "The Guardian".
So - where was the missing coverage complained
of - and why was it absent?

Comment is about Regarding the BBC's lack of coverage... (blog)

Original item by Gray Nicholls

the truth to put it simply.

i love honest poetry like this.

Comment is about Regarding the BBC's lack of coverage... (blog)

Original item by Gray Nicholls

need to refer this to our Cathy, Laura. It's defo her cup of tea also.

For me - I loved it to put it simply.

It's a great piece and i hope the demo does do something. We have to hope it does i guess.

Comment is about Assembly (blog)

Original item by Laura Taylor

excellent, excellent Laura. Raises some serious points here... kinda annoyed me that the BBC and some of the other news didn't cover as much as they should have.

does raise the point will the demo do anything however? i hope it does, but am worried it won't.

Comment is about Assembly (blog)

Original item by Laura Taylor

Thanks Steve. That's true and the only fact. X

Comment is about The Prime of Life (blog)

Original item by CathyLCrabb

Yes. On Saturday, when I wasn't allowed to go, the other team awarded him their man of the match. I am usually quiet but not when it comes to harm. It's a good lesson to learn I guess in not being able to solve everything.

Comment is about Goals in Perspective (blog)

Original item by CathyLCrabb

Haha - loving the new profile pic :D

And exactly, re chips/JCC. Bloody hell, it's not like he's advertising arms or owt is it?!

Comment is about Ian Whiteley (poet profile)

Original item by Ian Whiteley

Cheers Greg and Dave. Yep Greg, it was :) I'm really glad this poem moved you so much.


MC - Jog on, you tiresome right wing troll. You make a bigger show of yourself each time you post anything. Sad thing is, you don't see it yourself.

Comment is about Assembly (blog)

Original item by Laura Taylor

thanks, once again, for your kind and supportive comments on the JCC thing Laura - totally agree with you about the 'chips' thing, he deserves it - we'd all give our right arms to make that sort of money out of poetry - it's only the snobs who think you should forever suffer for your 'art' lol :-)
Ta
Ian

Comment is about Laura Taylor (poet profile)

Original item by Laura Taylor

thanks for the kind comment on 'dust' starfish - much appreciated as always
Ian

Comment is about Starfish (poet profile)

Original item by Starfish

thanks for the kind comments on 'dust' Isobel - yes, I was pleased with that ending which just dropped upon me, unplanned, from the....dust :-)
Cheers
Ian

Comment is about Isobel (poet profile)

Original item by Isobel

thanks for the kind comments on 'dust' marksy - much appreciated mate
Ian

Comment is about Marksy (poet profile)

Original item by Marksy

thanks for your kind comments on 'dust' Dave - it's a real pity when you write something that you think is profound only to find that someone else had the idea a long while ago :-( still - great minds think alike I suppose - and they do say that no idea is ever really unique

also - a big thanks for your kind comments on the JCC poem Dave - much appreciated as always

Ian

Comment is about Dave Bradley (poet profile)

Original item by Dave Bradley

Hi Cynthia - the poem's original language is English.

I've just added a scan of a handwritten translation into Bengali, done by Saleh Uddin Talukdar and Afia Begum during a workshop - but unfortunately not sure if it's legible - I thought we'd be able to click on the image to open it bigger in a new window, but I don't think that happens.

During the workshop there was lots of discussion about the layers of images in Carol's poem; the connotations of the "chaste, virgin, untouched" imagery and the way it's connected with snow and whiteness; and the idea of the bricks, and how to translate the idea of something that is at once structured, and also muddled.

Comment is about link

It is that time again tomorrow!

Comment is about NPD (blog)

Original item by Mark Mr T Thompson

By all means, let us rejoice and celebrate the
freedom to protest against perceived injustice.
I'm not sure about who are "the many" and who
are "the few" when considering current national
sensibilities about the wider benefits of contributing through work whenever possible.
I'm considering the representation of lawyers
challenging a £500 per week cap on benefits at
the High Court. It is hardly likely to elicit
heartwarming sympathy from those working hard
for nothing like that gratis sum.

Comment is about Assembly (blog)

Original item by Laura Taylor

Thanks for the comments, one and all.
Ray - I was tempted to use "determined" in the last line but the alliteration of 'seem' & 'set'
appealed more and I was content to double up on
"to".
If you "sing" the first two lines - the word
'even' keeps the rhythm - IMHO.

Comment is about Zzzz!! (blog)

Original item by M.C. Newberry

Fabulous -straight to the point!
Best wishes, Steve

Comment is about Zzzz!! (blog)

Original item by M.C. Newberry

Thanks for looking in on red wine. Not my best work but and maybe too personal but I'll just say 'cheers'anyway, Steve

Comment is about Fragment (blog)

Original item by Laura Taylor

Enjoyed this Ian. Particularly liked 'raging zeitgeist troubadour'.

Comment is about Thirty Plus Years In An Open Necked Shirt (blog)

Original item by Ian Whiteley

Wholeheartedly agree with Greg. The way that the Tories have cynically and hard-heartedly worked with the right-wing press to make 'benefits' a 'bad word' is sickening. We should be proud that this country does so much to look after those with needs - that we act like a proper community. Of course there are abuses and the system needs monitoring and administering. But it is still a wonderful thing. But we're now in a state in which politicians can hardly dare stand up and say what great things benefits are - and they ARE!!. Just ask anyone in a poorer country or look at our own history. Well done, Laura.

Comment is about Assembly (blog)

Original item by Laura Taylor

Tories may sneer and mock, but I don't mind admitting, Laura, that I welled up reading this. What a moving, inspiring poem! Great that you mentioned Shelley, too. Don't know if it's true but I read somewhere that it was the greatest congregation of protesters in Manchester since Peterloo. Very fine piece of work. I will try and find this poem now and again, every time I feel I need to cheer myself up.

Comment is about Assembly (blog)

Original item by Laura Taylor

Great idea for a poem! And when you perform it you're gonna HAVE to do it in a Salford drawl ;D

I've nowt against him doing that ad btw, it's up to bloody him innit?

Anyway, thought the repetition of Johnny Clarke very effective, and you didn't do the predictable thing of incorporating loads of his lines in your own poem.

Nice tribute.


Bloody hell Ray!! Did ya?! Woooo!!! You can still be working class and like nice wine and cake you know. Ahem.

Comment is about Thirty Plus Years In An Open Necked Shirt (blog)

Original item by Ian Whiteley

Howdy Cynth!

Many thanks for your lovely note on 'Fragment'. Can't begin to tell you how strong and euphoric the feeling was. The hypnagogic state is very similar to an opiated one, and I think that led to the feelings. I've tried in the past to teeter within the hypnagogic state as I find it so immensely pleasurable, but it's a contrary beast and will not be controlled easily ha :D

Yes - I would agree completely with you about the different layers of poetry and its reception. Sometimes I think a piece isn't 'good enough' to blog, and then I think 'well, this was such a strong thing within me, and it's not as 'good' as X or Y or Z, in a certain way, but that's because it is a DIFFERENT animal altogether'. So I blog it, and be damned haha ;D

Anyway, thanks again :)

Comment is about Cynthia Buell Thomas (poet profile)

Original item by Cynthia Buell Thomas

thanks ray - amended for accuracy following your knowledgeable comment :-)

Comment is about Thirty Plus Years In An Open Necked Shirt (blog)

Original item by Ian Whiteley

;)))

Comment is about Zzzz!! (blog)

Original item by M.C. Newberry

bad dreams and PPI :)

Comment is about Interest Only (blog)

Original item by Paul Sands

I love this poem, and the way it unconsciously ( perhaps) reflects modern physics.

Comment is about Geraldine Monk (poet profile)

Original item by Geraldine Monk

I believe you. I applaud you! I envy you. Never lose that dream. Even the poem above, just 'scribbled' in haste, carries much power.

Most poems that I consider 'great' are very simple ones, easily structured, easily stored in memory, and not necessarily supported or propped up by educated dictums.

To be honest, I'm not sure 'great poems' are even possible anymore. As in: 'great to whom'? The scope, and sheer numbers, of writers and readers has broadened so much, that perhaps there will now be only 'great poems in certain circles'. We have such distinct strata now, each reaching a particular audience, that cross-over may be severely limited. I sincerely believe that one 'type' cannot claim to be better than another. Such dialogue will be entirely within a particular layer.

So keep writing, shafting your great talent straight out to the world in your own inimitable way.

Comment is about Fragment (blog)

Original item by Laura Taylor

"Song to the Sea" is stirring and deeply touching. The fourth stanza knocked me off my feet- to my eyes, a single poem.

Comment is about Fay Roberts (poet profile)

Original item by Fay Roberts

I totally agree that the word was taken out of context within 'social banter'. It wasn't smart. but it wasn't dreadful either, in the circumstances. The women in the group probably laughed. You'll notice the actual clip appeared very fast and only once, that I saw. In the correct meaning of the word 'slut', most of us girls (and guys) qualify at some time or other. I do have a problem with whether or not Bloom knew the difference between 'slut' and 'whore'. Maybe that's really where the UKIP gang had the inner knowledge, and needed to cut their ties asap.

Comment is about FADING BLOOM (blog)

Original item by M.C. Newberry

I do like work that seems to be 'unlinked' or 'linked wherever the reader chooses to connect'. This is not an easy poem, but it does have a certain dynamism. 'square' and 'cask' certainly got my attention, as they seem utterly the opposite. And the ending is quite profound.

Comment is about Interest Only (blog)

Original item by Paul Sands

beautiful poem

Comment is about Adam Lowe (poet profile)

Original item by Adam Lowe

Hi
My neighbours cat disappeared and was found much later curled in a ball under the stairs dead. I think they find a quiet place when they are ill. Fortunately, the field mouse was a figment of my imagination.

Comment is about Steve Higgins (poet profile)

Original item by Steve Higgins

I celebrated International Translation Day yesterday by trying a Spanish version of Fran’s poem! My Spanish isn't really up to the task of rhyming - but I had a go. I managed it OK a coupla times (usually by sacrificing the metre, ha) but the rest of the time I settled for a sort of vague assonance :-)

Things I noticed:
Line 3 – translated word-for-word, it woulda been really long; so I found a way to shorten it that I think works OK (Literally, “I came home; his empty wardrobe left me stunned”)

Line 8 – I coulda used the more normal verb “amancebarse” (to live together), but I think “vivir en concubinato” has the same florid, slightly tongue-in-cheek flavour of “live in sin”.

The “he picks his nose” line – I so liked the snappy internal rhyme of “nose/clothes” that I had to try and get a rhyme in - so I had to change the meaning.“Marear la perdiz”– literally “to make the partridge dizzy”– is a funny idiom that means a combination of mucking others around, stalling/time-wasting when you should be doing something important, and not getting to the point or getting on with stuff. It's a bit of a stretch but hey, I tried :-)

Last line – I completely ignored the “bloody”, cos swearing in another language is the quickest way to sound silly (well OK maybe not the quickest, but…) I'd love to know what someone with decent Spanish would say for this.
vik x

Comment is about link