Today we tackle one of those seemingly mundane things in life. Yes, the shopping list! A staple in our everyday existence – but have you ever written down what you truly need?!
Have a look at this piece I’ve penned plus the tumult I suffered trying to rhyme the last line. I got a bit desperate as you will see.
Shopping List
A special thing to make you laugh
To cut your jadedness by half
You can afford to renew your humour
Avoid products containing trauma
And items that are melancholy
Simply select the brightest trolley
A juicy orange to cut in half
fresh soap to wash in the bath
Go to the section with the fresh outlook
Before you think about what to cook
Buy energy, and cross off doubt
That’s if they haven’t sold out
Confidence that you pre-ordered
(The grudge section ill-afforded)
Luxury items like poise and trust
But have that chocolate bar if you must
Your loving trolley the checkouts will scan
vibrance, patience, virtue – and spam!
I hope you liked that, PL’s. Forgive the Spam at the end but I was truly worn out at the end. Now, there’s a shopping trolley in all of us, so get writing in…..
Thanks for tuning in, Poetry Lovers, we’ll be back real soon. Don’t touch that dial!!
you heard right! We’re back in the talk show studio.
Today, our esteemed guest is that enigmatic and very talented poet Connaire Kensit! (Rapturous applause)
Now, settle down and make our guest welcome. (Connaire glides elegantly onto the talk show set).
Welcome to the show, Connaire. I’ve been looking forward to having you on for some time. Please fill us in on your background;
Connaire
Well, Heather, I had three Irish grandparents and one English granny. The family was middle class, but not rich. My mother and her mother had little education but plenty of traditional skills.
My father had studied English and French Literature at Cambridge University; he worked in education, and served in anti-aircraft gunnery during the war.
My mother also spoke French, acquired working in France as an au pair. When I was six they got my sister and me speaking French: we used it as a second language. This was my first step towards a career in linguistics. I worked on several other languages as a teenager, then at University studied Chinese with subsidiary Japanese. With each language I looked at its poetry.
My more distant Irish relatives were Christian, but I have no religion; I’m a third generation Humanist.
That’s so impressive, Connaire. A bilingual background is a real asset.
When did poetry become a part of your life?
With nursery rhymes, playground skipping songs, and then school English lessons, of course! I’m old enough for a song to be something you sing, rather than play recordings of, and as a teenager I started translating songs into English or French, from French, English or Dutch originals.
The translations were for singing to the original tune, so I had to match the original verse form. I still do verse-translations like that; the hobby came in handy when later I taught a module in literary translation.
Verse-translating is a way of producing poetry without having to think of anything to say, a bit like buying half-baked bread rolls to finish off in your oven at home. I did it long before writing any original poems of my own.
From 1972 my job included teaching linguistic science to students of literature. A convenient way of presenting linguistic concepts such as phonemes, morphemes, syntagmatic and paradigmatic relations and so forth to these students was to use examples from poems they were studying as literature.
To prepare my lessons I would analyse the structure of poems and work out how the poets must have gone about constructing them; it served as training in the poet’s craft. In 1978 it occurred to me, “I could do this myself”, and I began writing poems of my own.
1978 was a good year!
Which poem or collection is your personal favourite?
I find some poems more rewarding than some others, but which I like best varies with re-readings. I have a favourite haiku, one by Buson (Japanese,18th Century), which I translate Something stabs me: stepped on in our room, my late wife’s comb. So much implied by so few words!
Among narrative poetry collections I’m much impressed by the Lais of Marie de France (French, 12th Century). Such simple, lucid language, ideal for performance to an audience keen to know what happen next!
Among poets of our own time and place my current favourite is Wendy Cope. I love her mastery of rhythm, and her wit.
I love that amazing haiku.
What are you working on at the moment?
At any given moment I always have a bunch of unfinished poems. Some of them get finished soon, some after months or years. Can I be said to be “working on” what’s sitting in a drawer?
In 2016 we had a Putney Verse Workshop session on mnemonics (things like Thirty days hath September, April, June and November . . . ). I thought of writing one for remembering the names and order of geological periods—Cambrian, Carboniferous, Permian, Cretaceous and so on. I started on this but it began to grow into a lengthy epic on Earth History. I’ve done a few dozen lines and got as far as the Ediacaran era (just before the Cambrian). But new discoveries in earth sciences are coming thick and fast, so I’ll need to update my knowledge before continuing.
If I ever get it finished it will be several thousand lines long. It could be useful for geology students.
We’ll be fascinated to see the result. What’s the best reading you’ve done and the worst?
By “reading” I take it you mean public performance of poetry? In the past ten years I’ve been consciously working at improving at this, so logically my best performance should be my most recent, which has also been my most carefully prepared, and for which I had expert guidance from Ken Mason and Anne Warrington; that is my small part in the Cry Freedom show at Hampton Hill on June 4th this year.
My worst was probably in extracts from Hamlet in a school English lesson around 1955. This was before I learned to understand Shakespearean English, and one can’t perform well what one can’t understand.
That is so true, Connaire, but still we do it. Yes, your performance in Cry Freedom was stunning. You should be proud of that.
Well, thank you for coming on the show, Connaire and giving us such an insight to your life and work
(Rapturous applause as Connaire leaves the building).
Wasn’t Connaire a terrific guest, Poetry Lovers?!
Thank you so much for coming to the studio. We’ll be back with more poetry antics real soon
Now as we know by my most recent broken Handbag post, the loss of a much trusted item takes time to get over. However, we never think of the injured party’s side of things, and clever poet Sharron Green has given us the bag’s version of events. A very poignant view.
Wonderful piece, thank you Sharron. Do read on….
Emotional Baggage
I’m sorry dear Heather,
that I’ve let you down.
I love that you took me
on trips into town.
At poetry gatherings
we were a great pair,
I held you together,
and now I’m not there.
I was in charge of
your bits and your bobs,
your lippy and fags,
your hankies for sobs
your cardie on cool days
your brolly for rain
gloves in the winter
it was quite a strain.
And that’s why my handles
could handle no more –
you’re lucky they didn’t
give up long before.
But now’s not the time
for me to let rip,
we need time to mend,
or at least get a grip.
I’m hoping you have
a replacement for me,
a glance in your cupboard,
reveals two or three.
But one thing I’ll say
now that I’m not in tow
is thanks for the mem’ries
and on with the show!
@rhymes_n_roses
Wasn’t that wonderful?! So witty and astute. Thanks again, Sharron for such a well written piece.
Thanks for tuning in, PL’s. We’ll be back with more poetry adventures real soon….
Well, that talented poet Sue Burge came up with yet another extraordinary keyword in her weekly mind gym, a mythical pet named with the initial K.
I didn’t need to think twice about that staple childhood cover star of the Dandy. Not that I would have had Korky as a pet, more of a mate really. Second to Beryl the Peril who I longed to play with after school. Korky had a cunning yet very tender side…
Anyway, I’ve jotted down some thoughts, do read on….
Korky the Cat
Oh Korky the Cat
Behaving like the worst type
Of human being
Your round green eyes and flicked up tail,
inked so splendidly in feline glory
on the Dandy front cover
Spoke volumes every Thursday morning
Raising the day to a new level
No one could smoke cigars
And steal chickens the way you did
I never once questioned why you didn’t purr
Nor tolerated strokes behind the ears
And not got taken to the vets
H M 2023
Well, thank you Ms Burge for taking me down that inked comic route. Poor Korky got dropped from a great height in 1984 from The Dandy front cover before the comic itself shuffled off on 4th December 2012.
Thanks for tuning in, PL’s. Let me know who your favourite comic character was……
Yes, you heard right, Friday night was a triumph for The Booming Lovelies at The Guildford Fringe.
Upstairs at the beautiful Keep pub in an inhumane temperature, we embraced an audience of 17. Far more than we anticipated.
After a stiff gin and tonic downstairs, 40 fags and two bathroom visits I made my way upstairs in apprehension at what the coming night would bring.
The colourful Trisha and Sharron and I clung together that vital hour before. There was however nothing to worry about it seemed, as once that magic 8 pm came, the words and emotions seemed to flow. However, I forgot my words on at least two of the pieces. Bore!
Trisha started with Cold Soup & the Joy of Sex, I followed with Beryl the Peril, and Sharron read about her home town The Tree-Lined Village Square. We knew then that we were on an even path (kind of).
So 50 minutes later, or thereabouts, we finished in a haze of glowing perspiration, all three of us reading A Certain Age.
As if it wasn’t bliss enough, I could also do sketching while the others read. This is how I perceived the audience;
Not quite sure how a skinhead got in there but he’s probably an arty one. We look forward to our next gig at the Slaggs Fringe shortly. I’m the one leaning on the bar.
Seriously, thank you so much Booming Lovelies for this amazing opportunity.
Thanks for tuning in, PL’s. Off to Scarborough for a week, then back with more poetry action
The countdown is on! Less than a week to go before the Booming Lovelies take Guildford by storm! Forgive me talking in Bugs Bunny jargon but this is very exciting and there’s just one more rehearsal to go! Before the ultimate production.
After an exciting week of co-hosting at the Lightbox in Woking and then a triumphant Friday night at Paper Tiger Poetry, we turn to the ultimate production of the Booming Lovelies ….
Today we talk about a common loss that only a gal understands. Yes, the loss of a bag.
Our bags mean a lot to us and when the handle comes off a much cherished pale blue basket (see photo above), it is devastating.
My bag met its demise during a poetry reading at Turnham Green so I guess it was a fitting end at least. My clever pal Trisha Broomfield has written an apt and fitting tribute on such a loss. Great piece, do read on…..
An Ode to a Much Loved Pal
You’ve helped me my sweetness through so many years,
you’ve seen laughter, frustration elation and tears.
Wasn’t that just wonderful?! Thank you so much, Trisha. Beautiful piece that sums up our pain of letting go.
And talking of Trisha, (and me), please catch us with the marvellous Sharron Green as The Booming Lovelies at the Guildford Fringe on Friday 7th July upstairs at the beautiful Keep Pub. See you then….
Welcome back to the talk show studio, and we are honoured to have writer Alice Fowler on our show today….
Welcome to the show, Alice. Now fill us in a bit on your background ….
Hi Heather, thanks for inviting me on your blog. Well, for me it’s always been about the words.
While at university, I did work experience at a local paper, which I absolutely loved. After university, the paper offered me a job. I stayed there for a couple of years and then moved to national newspapers, where I worked for many years. I did everything from interviewing Victoria Beckham to carving up biographies for serialisation.
What a great start to a great career. When did writing become a part of your life?
The honest answer is at primary school. I attended a very small and old-fashioned primary school, which I realise now had barely changed since Victorian times.
We chanted times tables, sat silent with our fingers on our lips and were schooled in the ‘three Rs’ in a very traditional manner! Amidst all that, the headmaster – an austere figure in a three-piece suit – taught a subject called Composition: which really meant,writing stories.
I still recall some of the strange tales I scratched out in my red-covered exercise book, under his stern eye. Perhaps being taught by the headmaster convinced me creative writing was a higher calling. Certainly I formed that view early on, and haven’tchanged it since!
I’ve been writing fiction, both short stories and longer fiction, since my sons were young. Ten years ago we moved to Guildford and I was able to attend some local creative writing classes. I began entering short story competitions, just to see how I’d get on. Winning some competitions and being listed in others gave me fantastic encouragement to keep going.
I also review theatre for the Guildford Dragon website. That keeps my journalistic hand in, as well as ensuring my ‘artist’s well’ is kept topped up. I’ve been lucky enough to watch and review many productions by the wonderful Guildford Shakespeare Company and other theatre groups.
That is such a rich field, Alice. Fascinating. How did you conceive of The Truth has Arms and Legs?
There are twelve stories in the collection, written over around five years. Though I conceived the stories individually, there are certain themes running through them: for example, love, loss, reinvention and the complex relationships between parents and children. The transformative power of education is another theme, which resonates with my own life.
Overall, I’d say the collection explores resilience, and our ability as humans to expand and grow.
I submitted the collection to Fly On The Wall Press last summer, and was delighted when it was accepted.
That’s fantastic, Alice, and such a classy publisher too. Which story is your personal favourite?
That’s a good question. I think it has to be ‘Becoming Your Best You’, in which a woman resets the course of her life and marriage, through a conversation that takes place in a make-up artist’s chair. Though it takes place in a confined setting, the story travels very deeply through the woman’s life, to show how she’s reached this point. I had a lot of fun writing that story.
I’ve been lucky enough to receive some wonderful endorsements for my collection, including one from the acclaimed short story writer Wendy Erskine. Wendy did let slip that this was her favourite story too.
I know you had a successful reading at the Surrey New Writer’s Festival recently, which I was proud to attend – but what is the best reading you’ve had – and the worst?
I can’t answer that – because my recent reading at the Surrey New Writers’ Festival was actually my first! The festival’s ‘Best of Surrey’ theme struck a chord with me, and I was very pleased to be asked to kick-off the open mic.
I read a story called ‘Fight or Flight, April 1916’, which is a darker story than the one I’ve just described. It’s hard to tell what effect you’re creating as you read, but afterwards, several people told me they enjoyed it, and even mentioned it on social media.
I really enjoyed doing the reading, as it’s such a direct way to connect with readers. I sensed the poets who read that day – including you, Heather – were much more practised at reading aloud than I was.
I’d say generally there are fewer opportunities for short story readers to perform their work. I’ve been thinking for some time I’d like to stage a Short Story Showcase, inviting the many talented short story writers around Guildford to read aloud their work. Watch this space!
Well Alice, that story was truly absorbing and I look forward to reading more. Thank you so much for coming on the show. And good luck with your launch on the 6th.
There’s details below to get a copy of this fascinating collection, Poetry Lovers, and I can thoroughly recommend it.
The Truth Has Arms And Legs can be pre-ordered from Fly On The Wall Press here, or from Amazon or Waterstones or your favourite local bookshop. And you can use the app below;
Find out more about my work at www.alicefowlerauthor.com, Twitter @alicefwritesand Instagram @alicefwrites.
Thanks very much for having me on the blog Heather, I wish you all the very best for your writing too.
Thank you so much, Alice.
Wasn’t Alice a wonderful guest, Poetry Lovers. I’m looking forward to getting a copy of The Truth Has Arms and Legs.
Thanks for tuning in, PL’s. We’ll be back with more poetry adventures real soon…..
We’re quite literally on a countdown now to 7th July. This is when the Booming Lovelies will be performing at the Guildford Fringe. Upstairs at The Keep Pub is the place to be at 8 pm that magical night.
We did some great rehearsing yesterday in the lovely Sharron Green’s garden.
I thought of writing one for remembering the names and order of geological periods—Cambrian, Carboniferous, Permian, Cretaceous and so on. I started on this but it began to grow into a lengthy epic on Earth History. I’ve done a few dozen lines and got as far as the Ediacaran era (just before the Cambrian). But new discoveries in earth sciences are coming thick and fast, so I’ll need to update my knowledge before continuing. 
In the past ten years I’ve been consciously working at improving at this, so logically my best performance should be my most recent, which has also been my most carefully prepared, and for which I had expert guidance from Ken Mason and Anne Warrington; that is my small part in the Cry Freedom show at Hampton Hill on June 4th this year.
Heather Moulson 