Oh, poor Song of Sixpence! Did it die from an inflation related malaise? Has it been taken into custody by Mr Darling? I am very sorry that there is now an hiatus where there was once something beguiling and valuable.

Comment is about Isobel (poet profile)

Original item by Isobel

Thanks for reading and your comments on 'Requiem..' - glad you liked it.
Cx

Comment is about Winston Plowes (poet profile)

Original item by Winston Plowes

Good luck with your appointment. Hope it goes well Gus. Thank you for your valued comments on recent works. Much appreciated and noted.

Comment is about Gus Jonsson (poet profile)

Original item by Gus Jonsson

Facsinating! What an absolutely amazing place to live. Do please email me some novel snippets -- I would love to read them. Thank you for your elucidation. And I was playing about with the karma/kama thing due to sometimes having some very silly moments. That was one of them. Oh yes, sometimes I am a mess of giggles. The Ian Banks Wasp Factory reference (sorry, it's rude of me to presume everyone has the same reading list) -- and this is a spoiler -- the protagonist is raised as a girl, tells the story as a girl, but is actually discovered to be, in a very wonderful and awry denouement, a boy. Virginia Woolf's Orlando lives through several centuries and changes sex every time the era shifts. They might be interesting references for you -- both are damned good reads and have a lot to say about sex and gender.

Comment is about Gus Jonsson (poet profile)

Original item by Gus Jonsson

Merci... that is quite a lofty place for me to be ; )

I see where Moxy is coming from with the tenses as I read through a few more times...
I get you - so I understood, but analysing each line you go from past to present and back again too many times...

I always enjoy reading your work and you have great style...

Comment is about Gus Jonsson (poet profile)

Original item by Gus Jonsson

The KaRma Sutra, though... wouldn't that be something? I like the book for box. Was it a box room you recall? What about the devil's picture book? And what is your fascination with evil? You make it sound (con)sumptuous. Just wondering.... Strange how a room from childhood ends up relocated in the mind. Still unsure about the lunging timelines/tenses. How did you manage to signal these in the original book? You didn't do an Orlando or a Wasp Factory? And how different is the idea in poetry? I'm fascinated by ideas that seem to flit from medium to medium, each time altered or undermined. And why did you use the word 'liken'? Excuse interrogation. Nobody expects the Spanish Inquisition.

Comment is about Gus Jonsson (poet profile)

Original item by Gus Jonsson

Thanx Winston
For your comments re Pandora's Box... you look well on the narrow boat... see you soon.
Gus

Comment is about Winston Plowes (poet profile)

Original item by Winston Plowes

Thanx Jeff

Re comments on 'Jennifer'... I do write a lot of poetry with hidden meaning... But wouldn't be great to be that young again... and know what we know now... Your Manky RitzGreat ..great read.... didn't know you wore mini skirts...
Gus

Comment is about Jeffarama! (poet profile)

Original item by Jeffarama!

yes yes , lovely new picture :)

Comment is about Winston Plowes (poet profile)

Original item by Winston Plowes

Like the new picture. I'm going to Wigan on 14th - will you be going? Hope you're well.
Cx

Comment is about Winston Plowes (poet profile)

Original item by Winston Plowes

Thanks:)

Comment is about Andy N (poet profile)

Original item by Andy N

Oui Steve, je pense que c'était une photo pris par Lee Miller : )

Comment is about Steve O'Connor (poet profile)

Original item by Steve O'Connor

Thank you Sian for taking the time to read and comment on my poems... so appreciated... and as the saying goes:
'Tis better to have loved and lost
Than never to have loved at all.'

Comment is about sian howell (poet profile)

Original item by sian howell

Hi. Nice to see u on here ...I didn't know u were the guy at Hulme who read so beautifully and it is a pleasure to see ur work on here and I do admire your style a lot. Thanks for reminding me that we have met before :) think there was a problem with chat earlier.

TC speak /see soon

Good luck with degree . I have just finished 2nd yr of MA and feel very 'light'

Comment is about Simon Rennie (poet profile)

Original item by Simon Rennie

Well that is praise indeed... you are very kind, of course I am not like this in real life ...just a quiet old grey thing.

Gusx

Comment is about sian howell (poet profile)

Original item by sian howell

Cheers guys, much appreciated.

Comment is about Simon Rennie (poet profile)

Original item by Simon Rennie

Yes Ditto Ditto... The very best of luck with your exams!
See you soon
Gus

Comment is about Simon Rennie (poet profile)

Original item by Simon Rennie

Good luck with the exams: hope they go very well indeed.

Comment is about Simon Rennie (poet profile)

Original item by Simon Rennie

Thankas for your comments on 'Requiem' - much appreciated.
I don't always comment on your work, but I do like it, tend to identify with it too. I think there are a few of us on here who are a little bruised by love, life, and the universe!
Cx

Comment is about sian howell (poet profile)

Original item by sian howell

No - I wasn't trying to say too purple! - maybe a tad mauve? a little lilac, perhaps? :-)
It's a bugbear of mine, I'm afraid, overuse of adjectives. English teachers everywhere constantly tell children to use lots of nice descriptive words, and the longer, more obscure, more fancified those words are - the more gold stars the children are given. I'm as guilty as the next man for using 96 words where 3 will do - I love the sound of my own voice! - but....
I think a story should be able to stand on its own, with adjectives giving colour and depth to it. The 'remove all adjectives, make it make sense, replace only those that provide colour and depth' exercise is a very useful one, and certainly helps 'tighten up' your prose. And god knows! - everybody's better off for having their prose tightened!
Cx

Comment is about Gus Jonsson (poet profile)

Original item by Gus Jonsson

Hello Gus,
thank you for your kind comments on Springtide, sorry for the delay in responding, life and stuff getting in the way, deb

Comment is about Gus Jonsson (poet profile)

Original item by Gus Jonsson

Hello Sian, thank you for your kind comments on Springtide, sorry to take a while to respond i haven't been able to be here for a while, thank you for taking the time to read it, deb x

Comment is about sian howell (poet profile)

Original item by sian howell

Stunning stuff Dermot.
John

Comment is about Dermot Glennon (poet profile)

Original item by Dermot Glennon

Merci beaucoup Gus...
I struggled a bit with that line and my only problem is too many so's
(I use it a lot!) and ending the previous line with 'you' and then starting the next with 'you'
Je ne sais pas... I sort of like a bit of a jolt in the middle... I have revised others so who knows - I may end up doing so eventually with this as well...

Comment is about Gus Jonsson (poet profile)

Original item by Gus Jonsson

Really depends on what mood your in, I'm all for encouragement but mediocrity.. never... let the critic critique... thats what enables us to reflect, reappraise, ajudge in a reviewing light... As for the losening of inhibitions using the key of alcohol... well we all go there.
I don't want WOL readings ever to turn into a PC correct evening... a Readers Digest or Ladies Friend evening ...Good Bad and the Ugly... if something stings in the morning ..at least its made you think...
Ramblin now...
Gus

Comment is about Seamus Kelly (poet profile)

Original item by Seamus Kelly

Thank you for your comment :)

Comment is about Memoir. (poet profile)

Original item by Memoir.

Hi Sian, yes I've had the odd one or two in my time! As you live in Somerset its unlikely I'll bump into you very soon, which is a shame! But if you're up here let me know and of course keep reading, writing and in touch! Jeff X

Comment is about sian howell (poet profile)

Original item by sian howell

Hi, I really like your work...fantastic style, especially in 'a world I know.'

Comment is about Memoir. (poet profile)

Original item by Memoir.

It can be... I suppose - but in what way if she appears to be so feminine?
Especially in this poem - how is she virile???
And why this choice of a word?
Am I making you think too much ; )

Comment is about Richard Brooks (poet profile)

Original item by Richard Brooks

Love your profile! So funny...
and your poem DEFYING GRAVITY
(amongst other things)

I can so identify with these words ; )
'take the law and ditch it
and draft one of
your own.'

Comment is about Bill Mitton (poet profile)

Original item by Bill Mitton

Merci...
Il y a du sens dans ce que vous dites...
plutôt dit: Est-ce que c'est pour le mieux ou le pire?

Comment is about Gus Jonsson (poet profile)

Original item by Gus Jonsson

Hi Jeff, I live in somerset...where the cider comes from ! Sian x

Comment is about Jeffarama! (poet profile)

Original item by Jeffarama!

Great line: "comforting and dirty as bathwater."
Really vivid image that lasts - nice one. :D

Comment is about Memoir. (poet profile)

Original item by Memoir.

'avioswineproof bivouacs with perspicacious windows for them to look out on the world.' I'm on the case. Patent's just been applied for, am looking at mulched bank-note papier mache life casts they can trot around in (photo-realistic portraits on exterior) with charcoal air filter and state of the art biocide fumigation rumpus.

Comment is about Malpoet (poet profile)

Original item by Malpoet

Hello Sirrah! It's scary being back but fortitude is everything. Well, it's something and it's nowt.
PS I spotted a dalmanda in a bivouac.

Comment is about Malpoet (poet profile)

Original item by Malpoet

Hi Sian, which way to turn? Follow your heart - or maybe not that doesn't always work! Ha, thanx for your comment on Crossroads - I think I'm just going with the flow I think and its kinda nice! Where do you live? It doesn't say on your file, be nice to bump into you at a poetry event sometime! Jeff X

Comment is about sian howell (poet profile)

Original item by sian howell

Awww... 'Love Book' is so adorable...
'Love Book - The Finale' not so much : (

'This Love' is Beautifully written...

Comment is about The Lost Poet (poet profile)

Original item by The Lost Poet

So many nicely written poems...
I especially like 'Bliss'

'I move close
Gently kiss his lips.
His eyes open and look deep into mine.
Arms draw me into his embrace,
We both smile.
Bliss.'

Mmmm... it is Bliss : )

Comment is about Valerie Cook (poet profile)

Original item by Valerie Cook

Really like your poem titled 'The Poet and His Muse' has a sort of fairytale quality...
She seems so feminine in every way so this line I find interesting in that I don't understand it's inclusion 'Virility her virtue.'
Care to elaborate?

Comment is about Richard Brooks (poet profile)

Original item by Richard Brooks

Je vous corrige un peu...

'Oh oui, ma Francine chérie,
Vous finissez par me connaître meilleur.' (mieux)

'Est-ce que ce pour le plus mauvais j'est de la merveille ?' Je suis désolée, mais je ne comprends pas du tout ce que vous voulez dire...

p.s. I liked the first picture much better as it was more mysterious and showed the tower... ; )

Comment is about Gus Jonsson (poet profile)

Original item by Gus Jonsson

Got a good laugh from 'work is shit'

Love 'the day i was a guest on the book show'
These lines are quite witty ; )

'so post psychological evaluation
what do you do for relaxation
darling of the nation?
slip your hand in mine
and with sublime coordination
indulge me in some mutual understanding'

Comment is about John Darwin (poet profile)

Original item by John Darwin

Hi Jeff, Thanks for the comment...and you are right! The title needs a bit more to it, I'm not sure what yet, but working on it, any suggestions would be greatfully received! x

Comment is about Jeffarama! (poet profile)

Original item by Jeffarama!

"I am trying to remember
there’s a day that’s going to be,
when I won’t sit with silence sat
so clammy next to me.
I am trying to remember
there’s a day I'm going to find.
It’s beneath the swollen grin
of my slack window blind."

that's great. Reminds of Suede lyrics.

Comment is about Dominic Berry (poet profile)

Original item by Dominic Berry

Hi Steve, I know your comments were general not personal .....whereas my poem was personal not general Sian X

Comment is about Steve Regan (poet profile)

Original item by Steve Regan

Merci Gus...
Hahaha... vous me faites toujours rire.
Le secret est de choisir une seule position ; )

Comment is about Gus Jonsson (poet profile)

Original item by Gus Jonsson

Hi Sian,

I'm a fan of your work. My point about men being done down in poetry wasn't targeted at you specifically ... as you probably realise.

It's just that, as a man and a writer, I sense there is an increasingly feminised culture in publishing and the media generally that makes it quite difficult to be male.

A lot of comedy and drama, as well as poetry, contains the implicit message that men are bad and women are good. If only the reality were so simple.

I'm beginning to feel that the situation has become so bad that it is affecting freedom of expression, which as writers and poets we ought to champion.

No-one raises an eyebrow when a piece of literature attacks a man or shows a man's character to be deeply flawed. Yet if the same is done to a female character, especially if written about by a man, everyone cries "misogynist". There is something very wrong at work here.

Comment is about sian howell (poet profile)

Original item by sian howell

Hi Steve, thank you for your comments..I am aware of the potential to 'do men down' in poetry..however, I am only talking from one person's perspective ...not all men are bad ...some are quite nice really...I'm almost certain of it. Sian x

Comment is about Steve Regan (poet profile)

Original item by Steve Regan

HI Gus, thanks for your comment and yes and much more. I was in a major mind funk the night I wrote that poem. I had read so much, I was sick, and so tired of world games.Yeah you got it and its more then that, but boils down to that.The poem before that one is about the same thing, but more leaning on false world religions. Im christian, however not part of any one group, and Id never join up, not with what I know about them all. xx thanks for reading it, hope your ok.

Comment is about Gus Jonsson (poet profile)

Original item by Gus Jonsson

hiya man

topper work, great to see work with a love of poetic language and a real joy of creativity.

keep up the pukka work

:-)

d

Comment is about Gareth Durasow (poet profile)

Original item by Gareth Durasow

Hi there!

I have recently deactivated my facebook account - just couldn't be bothered with it anymore , but feel free to send email !

TC

Comment is about Alan Summers (poet profile)

Original item by Alan Summers