Thank you for your comments MC and Harry, much appreciated.

Comment is about Lullaby of the River (blog)

Original item by Lynn Dye

Bit like choosing between the devil and the deep blue sea, Harry! Well done, I enjoyed this, and what a clever baby - she has the right idea!!

Comment is about THE FLOATING VOTER SONG (blog)

Great stuff, Harry - enjoyed this, I liked Joyce Grenfell too. :)

Comment is about School time (blog)

Winston,
If you change `puke` into a three syllabler here, you`ve got a genuine satirical haiku (those things positively cry out for satire)

(Still prefer a queen over a president though, who the hell wants a President - look what the French might have got with the sexy money guy- Royalty is just accidental)

cheers!

Comment is about Revel (blog)

Original item by Winston Plowes

I couldn't have spewed it better myself Win. I'm not a fan of mass royalty fawning either.

Comment is about Revel (blog)

Original item by Winston Plowes

It`s the lapping that does it.

Lynn,I`m jealous.

Comment is about Lullaby of the River (blog)

Original item by Lynn Dye

M.C.
How effective the two line layouts and the rhyme is (together with your two last lines) in widening this little thing into a larger observation on life itself.

And all based on an actual incident!

EXCELLENT.

Comment is about PASSING ROYALTY (blog)

Original item by M.C. Newberry

Ha the shape is not the same here!

Comment is about Our Diamond (blog)

Original item by Nichola Smith

why do i get these symbols...

Comment is about So Far From Home (blog)

Original item by NICK ARMBRISTER

Hi again. It was the year before I was born! 1964. Had the pleasure to read that piece on local radio today :-) Win

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

Original item by M.C. Newberry

Hello Win - I found the BBC radio snippet you
mention. How it took me back! Thanks for that. I hope to post a cricket-related poem shortly.
MC

Comment is about Winston Plowes (poet profile)

Original item by Winston Plowes

Thank you Isobel.

I didn't realise there was a differnce but there is forum I use where it is an in joke. I penned this in response to being pulled up on it.

I better take a look at amount and number!

Thanks for the welcome.

Comment is about Few and Less (blog)

Original item by Karen Robinson

Now we know what floats your boat!
Seriously, this takes me back to a summer
holiday aboard a motor cruiser on the Norfolk Broads. The purr of pleasure indeed.

Comment is about Lullaby of the River (blog)

Original item by Lynn Dye

Haha, I'm sure there will be soon, Yvonne - once we get the work done on her that's needed. thanks for comment. xx

Comment is about Lullaby of the River (blog)

Original item by Lynn Dye

Thanks Ann

I find going on the website keeps me in touch with the poetry world.

Comment is about Nigel Astell (poet profile)

Original item by Nigel Astell

Excellent, Thomas. I'm disappointed you gave the game away about its provenance, though - I wanted to show off my limited literary knowledge!

Comment is about The naming of cats (blog)

Original item by Marnanel Thurman

Thanks for the background. I was just looking at the nuts and bolts. Hope I didn't tread on any flowers.

Regards

Comment is about shadwell smith (poet profile)

Original item by shadwell smith

You're welcome to it.

Comment is about Waiting for Maxim . . . (blog)

Original item by Ann Foxglove

Hi there chuck. Your comments on 'Rhyme Wounds All Heels' were mucho appreciated and will be acted upon. 'Heel' is a [fairly old-fashioned] word for an unpleasant person; forget who said it first but 'time wounds all heels' was a neat reversal of the old adage - I simply substiuted 'rhyme' for 'time'. Perhaps it doesn't work; it sounded funny at the time tho.

Comment is about Laura Taylor (poet profile)

Original item by Laura Taylor

Hi Kirsten
I meant no offence to Apples and Snakes and particularly not to you. We have worked with A and S a lot over the years very successfully at times.
What you guys do is valuable in getting some professionalism and quality into this huge, eclectic live-poetry scene. It was more the mismatch between the Arts Council's perception of what it is about and, I suppose, mine. I think they and A&S see it about performance. I see the live poetry scene's biggest benefit being its engagement with huge numbers of otherwise-non-participating 'poets', many of whom would not have known about the beneficial effects - dammit, the sheer joy - of writing what you want to write/say, and having a forum for your work, regardless of what boxes you tick, or categories you are deemed to be in. This gives a voice to the otherwise unvoiced.
Sure, performance skills are interesting for those who consider it a career path, but I would suggest that most of those on the open-mic circuit are there for the pleasure of sharing their words with others occasionally, being heard and appreciated for what they have to say, and how they have chosen to say it.
An evaluation of Write Out Loud's work compared us favourably with the WEA in terms of the educational value of what we are doing.
The overemphasis on youth is soul-destroying to those people - thousands of them/us - who discover live poetry, which is more accessible than published poetry, more fun, more sociable, late in life. It actually reinforces a sense of there being a small elite that does not want to know about the vast majority.
I do have issues with Apples and Snakes, though have good relationship with some of the individuals.
We have worked with A&S when it was us getting them an audience locally for a tour that was elsewhere playing to the janitor and his missus. A&S had their annual grant reduced to what to us is an eye-wateringly huge sum. We get nothing, and are subsidising our work out of our own pockets because we believe in it and the 1,000 visits a day to our site, the 12,000 unique users monthly are testament to the fact that we tick their boxes, not the funders'. We are doing a service to thousands of poets nationally, but told not to bother applying for portfolio funding. Forgive me for a bit of cynicism. I approached A&S to see if, given that you had the funding and we didn't, you could provide a workshop for our poets, so they could build on their skills. It was a flop because A&S brought someone up from down south who was a great performance poet, but no workshop leader. He 'delivered at' the participants rather than finding out where they where and what they needed.
Arts Council have told us to contact you with a view to working with A&S, as your funding is meant to be used in partnership with other players, apparently. I have tried to talk to your last two directors about and been ignored twice. We do have our dignity. So, again, forgive the cynicism.
I would be happy to hear about the work you do. Perhaps you could write us an article about it for the website? That would be appreciated.

Comment is about Live Poetry: An Integrated Approach to Poetry in Performance by Julia Novak (article)

Original item by Greg Freeman

Thanks Stella. that WD40 is wonder stuff.

Comment is about On the dispersal of water (blog)

Original item by Graham Clifford

I was wondering which she meant, because this was a deliberate mashup of Eliot's "Naming of Cats" and Henry Reed's "Naming of Parts". If you don't know both of them, it will make less sense.

Comment is about The naming of cats (blog)

Original item by Marnanel Thurman

Clever stuff! Love the bomb shape and the fun.. :)

Comment is about Fury said to a fish (blog)

Original item by Marnanel Thurman

Really enjoyed the whole..lovely stuff and a corker of a last line..aye those inner gubbins need to lose their squeaks!

:)

Comment is about On the dispersal of water (blog)

Original item by Graham Clifford

Ayup matey!
where the thump have you been hiding?
nice to see thee back young feller me lad.xx

Comment is about Dave Dunn (poet profile)

Original item by Dave Dunn

Hiya Thomas I think Ann most probably means T.S. Elliot The Naming of Cats

His ineffable effable
Effanineffable
Deep and inscrutable singular Name.

I enjoyed your cat read.

Comment is about The naming of cats (blog)

Original item by Marnanel Thurman

I've never pondered upon the difference between less and few before,but maybe I should have - if you'll forgive that sentence structure :)

Something I do notice, is the way people constantly confuse 'amount' with 'number'. Perhaps it's time to pull our fingers out of the damn and just accept that language is changing.

An amusing read. Welcome to WOL Karen.

Comment is about Few and Less (blog)

Original item by Karen Robinson

Thank you! Out of interest, which do you think the original poem is?

Comment is about The naming of cats (blog)

Original item by Marnanel Thurman

well read John

Comment is about The Three Hulats (blog)

Original item by John Coopey

when's the album out?

win

Comment is about The Cart Belongs to Paddy (blog)

Original item by John Coopey

great stuff John. Win

Comment is about Mr Gabardine Man (blog)

Original item by John Coopey

Bloater (A dictionary definition) - Bloaters are "salted and lightly smoked without gutting, giving a characteristic slightly gamey flavor" ?

Comment is about avant garde verse (blog)

Original item by John Coopey

Welcome to WOL Karen.

Comment is about Karen Robinson (poet profile)

Original item by Karen Robinson

Thanks Ann. Hope you like the image, too. JB is kind of not related, but his expression is priceless.

Comment is about On the dispersal of water (blog)

Original item by Graham Clifford

Clever - feel I'd like a couple more verses. Seems slightly incomplete to me. Maybe there needs to be more of a connection between the original poem and yours - PS. have you just got a cat? =.=

Comment is about The naming of cats (blog)

Original item by Marnanel Thurman

Lovely! Has a subtly about it which I like.

Comment is about On the dispersal of water (blog)

Original item by Graham Clifford

Thanks for reading, Shadwell. I appreciate the feedback. I think the way it was written was to contrast a real but flawed (i.e human) person with an idealised man (Maxim de Winter.) It was a written as a gesture to this person (now no longer around, sadly) inspired by once more being at the place where we gazed up at the "posh" hotel while on our walk along the south west way, all scruffy and windswept. Happy days!

Comment is about shadwell smith (poet profile)

Original item by shadwell smith

Thanks for reading, Shadwell. I appreciate the feedback.

Comment is about Waiting for Maxim . . . (blog)

Original item by Ann Foxglove

Thank you, Ann ~ I am letting my poems out for a spell... to give them a bit of fresh air. It's been a long while. I hope it inspires me to pick up the practice again. I am enjoying this site. I thank you for your welcome.

Comment is about Gina Mae Jarvi (poet profile)

Original item by Gina Mae Jarvi

Thanks Ann.
I have reached a time in life when the compactness and spontaneity of performance poetry appeals to me so much more than my "old life" of carrying huge ammounts of equipment around; and having to cater for the tantrums of other musicians who I would be working with.
With poetry I can travel light both physicaly and in mind.
I look forward to a long association with WOL.

Comment is about Pete Fisher (poet profile)

Original item by Pete Fisher

Thank you both for your warm welcome and kind comments!

Comment is about Nichola Smith (poet profile)

Original item by Nichola Smith

I enjoyed the mannered feel of the poem, leading in to that lovely denouement on the rock. I wonder, however, if you really need the MAXIM – NOT MAXIM – MAXIM – NOT MAXIM structure. Not too keen on "haversacked and anoraked" – seems a little bit too ‘poetry’ to my ear. I’d even go so far as to question whether you really need S2 at all. Its removal gives your ending more impact, I think, although I do like the ‘noses pressed to the sweetshop window’ line.

"at end of day" – do people really talk like that?

Just my thoughts. I liked this very much – I really did.

Comment is about Waiting for Maxim . . . (blog)

Original item by Ann Foxglove

Thanks for the warm welcome, Ann. I'll certainly do so soon.

Comment is about Rowena Love (poet profile)

Original item by Rowena Love

My Collins Gem dictionary defines "poem" as...
"imaginative composition in verse", whereas the Concise Oxford Dictionary defines the word as...
"metrical composition"/"an elevated composition
in verse or prose". However, your post seems
to fall outside both of the COD definitions
these since it is neither metrical nor elevated
(if you'll pardon the use of the latter term in the context of the content).
In fact, the thing is definitely a bit fishy!

Comment is about avant garde verse (blog)

Original item by John Coopey

Hi MNtality - welcome to WOL.

Comment is about MNtality (poet profile)

Original item by MNtality

Hi Phil - welcome to WOL. I enjoyed your piece of work here - why not try posting a poem in the blog section? More people will read work that is put on there.

Comment is about Phil Smith (poet profile)

Original item by Phil Smith

Hi Elisha - welcome to WOL :)

Comment is about Elisha Lloyud (poet profile)

Original item by Elisha Lloyud

Hi Donna - welcome to WOL. I hope you enjoy exploring the site.

Comment is about Donna Pucciani (poet profile)

Original item by Donna Pucciani

Hi Gina - welcome to WOL. I really like your use of language - hope you put some more poems in the blog section.

Comment is about Gina Mae Jarvi (poet profile)

Original item by Gina Mae Jarvi

Hi Jason - welcome to WOL. And good for you, getting started on this poetry lark while still so young! Nice lively stuff it is too :)

Comment is about Jason Holland (poet profile)

Original item by Jason Holland