British People in Hot Weather

Hello Poetry Lovers

On Thursday 21st April, I went to the wonderful St Anne’s church in the heart of Soho to see the launch of Paul McGrane’s new collection British People in Hot Weather

Set in this exquisite panelled room, the much missed Paul McGrane, formerly of the Poetry Society and the wonderful Poetry@3, launched his hot (geddit?!) new pamphlet published by Indigo Dreams

Paul started off with reading Welcome to my Country and The Government from his previous pamphlet Elastic Man. Another great recommended collection.

This built up our anticipation for his new collection British People in Hot Weather, from which he read Act, a wonderful detailed account of the poet’s first nativity play, and Kissing, and the lack of it in the narrator’s family. (To be honest, I used to hate all that sloppy kissing as a kid but I got the poet’s point.) The poignant and disturbing Need followed by the very visual Thrift. These powerful pieces spoke volumes.

Among familiar and new faces, there was open mic and I read a short piece called Paperboy that for some reason, I had written in shorthand! Which is okay as long as you can read it back!

Eating my sandwich downstairs in the foyer of St Anne’s during the 10 minute break, a nice man took pity on me and said I could get a cup of tea in the church. I assured him I was fine but blessed him for his kindness.

As we reluctantly wound down, Paul announced he was having monthly open mic sessions again at Walthamstow starting from the 19th May. I really look forward to going…..

Thanks for a great and enlightening afternoon, Paul

Paul McGrane is holding open mic at the Ye Olde Rose and Crown Theatre Pub, Walthamstow E17 from Thursday 19th May, and every third Thursday of each month. Do go along if you can. 3.30 to 5.30 pm http://Www.poemsnotbombs.eventbrite.co.uk

British People in Hot Weather is published by Indigo Dreams Publishing. Treat yourselves http://Www.indigodreams.co.uk

Thanks for tuning in, PL’s. We’ll be back with more poetry action soon…..

Cyrch a Chwta

Hello Poetry Lovers

Yes, that is an eye-catching title, isn’t it.

Last week, I took a fascinating poetry building blocks course with the wonderful Poetixu on Instagram and learnt some interesting new forms of writing poems.

The one that really stuck with me was the Cyrch a Chwta, an old Welsh form.

An Octave (8 lines), 7 syllables per line, all rhyming except the penultimate (line 7) and then the last rhyme has to rhyme with it at some point. Read on, hopefully for the uninitiated, this will be clearer than my muddled explanation.

Your performance was so dire
So Like a funeral pyre
It did not set me on fire
And don’t call me a liar
I knew you were crap prior
And I heard all this via
THE CRITICS WHO SAY YOU STINK!
I think that’s on the flyer

And then we were set a bonus task with using rhymes that aren’t necessarily the same sound

Why do you look so gaudy?
You flaunt it so completely
People will think you’re bawdy
And look at you so strangely
I just think you are greedy
You make all the girls angry
Don’t go out looking like that
Please don’t act like a floozy

H Moulson 2022

What fun! See if you can attempt that yourselves, and send them in on a postcard. Dobby will sort them, so be diligent. Thanks for tuning in, Poetry Lovers. We’ll be back real soon…..

Interview

Hello Poetry Lovers

Yes, I know. Another treat in the talk show studio. Today our guest will be Chris the Postman Poet! (Rapturous applause. Security is called)

(Chris glides down the lighted stairs effortlessly)

Thank you so much for coming on the show, Chris

The pleasure’s all mine. (Standing ovation. Host silences them with a look)

May I say I love that long hair. Do you blowdry it regularly?

Oh yes, I took great tips from Vidal Sassoon and Timotei

Well, it’s paid off. Lovely flowing locks there. Also adore the shirt. What a cool guy! (Audience cheer) Now, Chris, take that comfy seat and tell us about your background

Secondary education was largely a disaster for me. Doing the wrong thing with the wrong people. Less of a school – more of a regime. However, there was a brilliant undervalued art teacher who offered praise and encouragement and let me use his own watercolours. There was also a young forward-thinking English teacher, and I was lucky enough to be taught by him for a year. He read us Little Johnny’s Confession by Brian Patten. I didn’t realise how important this was at the time.

School finished abruptly for me after coming last in ”O” levels. A relief really. Then I was at the Ministry of Agriculture for seven years. Art took centre stage for me in pen and ink and watercolours, and I developed my style and started selling my work.

That’s amazing, Chris. There’s always a small ray of light, isn’t there. Some teacher with saving graces. Then you came into your own as an artist.

When did poetry become a part of your life?

During this time I was quite happy reading and enjoying poetry, along with other classic literature. Graham Greene, Thomas Hardy, Mervyn Peake, Iris Murdoch, so many great wordsmiths. Such great music and textures in words – The Tingle Factor! I was a sponge soaking it up. I became a postman nineteens years ago and it was a lifesaver! Painting and reading again. When you stop hitting your head with a hammer, it doesn’t hurt anymore. I started writing poetry four years ago.

I’m loving this journey, Chris. It wasn’t an easy one but you got there.

Who are your biggest influences?

Roger McGough, Adrian Henri, Brian Patten. How could they not be?! They’ve been simmering away in my head for decades! The mighty John Cooper Clarke. Always there. I love alliteration and the sound and rhythm of words, as he says: ”If it don’t sound good, it ain’t good.” The tragic Kirsty MacColl. She could write a funny and thoughtful story and put it into three minutes. And anyone who throws me a good line or idea.

That’s an impressive list, Chris. Are you working on a book or collection at all?

I probably am working on a book and if you’d asked me two years ago, I would have shouted Yes! The plague knocked my confidence and doubt crept in. When a live performance is up and running again, and I can do a proper gig, ask me then.

I know, we’re really living in limbo at the moment, aren’t we. And what live poetry there is now, it’s all very tentative. Well, I really hope you do. Your work is so funny and poignant (Audience cheer in agreement) Okay, we come to that most anticipated question; what is the best gig you’ve ever done, and the worst…?

Two gigs, if I may…. A few summers ago I was asked to do a 45 minute poetry slot at The Harry Edwards Healing Sanctuary open day. The building exudes a calmness and serenity, it felt like walking on air. The time went in a flash and was blissful. Forty people went away happy and smiling.

Dorking is Talking in November 2019, Isabel Morris’s brilliant poetry night – please come back! The Dirty Carols were the main feature and were staggeringly good. I was the first featured poet and after a shaky start, it went well. Isabel asked me back to do ”Cyclist” and the response was overwhelming. Thank you so much, Isabel.

As for the worst gig, my poetry is lightweight and I make no apologies for it. Although I do address serious issues. I want to make people laugh and perhaps take away a line that sticks in the mind. Sometimes open mic gigs can be very dark and claustrophobic, I want to run away screaming. I wrote ”The Poetry Imposter” after one of those gigs. Not a poem for a live set. Not yet anyway.

Ah Chris, you took me on another journey there. Yes, Dorking is Talking, what a great concept by Isabel Morris. Took me back to those heady and unsuspecting autumn days of 2019.

And you’re so right about some open mics, only another poet can understand that unwelcomeness.

Thank you so much for coming on the show, Chris (outstanding ovation from the audience. Security look nervous)

Now you must be going off somewhere really cool. The Lightbox disco perhaps?

I’ve got to condition my hair tonight, so I’ll probably give it a miss.

Me too. Feet up and watching Simon Dee for me. Thank you so much, Chris. You’ve been a lovely and insightful guest, hasn’t he, Poetry Lovers! (Pandemonium- Security are called). Our esteemed guest is smuggled out the building.

Wasn’t Chris the Postman a great guest?! Do catch him when you can, a lovely, funny and engaging poet.

Thanks for tuning in, PL’s, we’ll be back real soon….

Belated National Tea Day

Hello Poetry Lovers

A belated National Tea Day to you. Last Thursday I believe, and how could I not acknowledge such a cherished institution?! Especially with this wonderful piece from talented Trisha Broomfield and her beautiful poem that sums up how we feel about this lifesaving drink.

Thank you, Trisha. Please keep them coming. Read on, readers, this will ring true with all of us, I’m sure……

Who drinks my tea? (It’s National Tea Day!)


I prop myself up on one elbow
take my first sip of tea


thank my God for a new day
the bed is heavy


dreams fall away in jig saw pieces
people I’ve never seen
places I’ve not been,
I take another sip
the mug comforting my hand.

Aches of age harden
morning shapes itself lighter
than the night
brighter


and there’s no going back,
another sip
a daydream
and suddenly it seems
my mug is empty


I am today
and someone
has drunk
all my tea.

Wasn’t that just terrific?! Thanks again, Trisha, and thank you, PL’s for tuning in. We’ll be back real soon with more poetry adventures…..

Hannah Lowe

Hannah Lowe
Poetry Club
Supported by the TS Eliot Foundation
The Coronet Theatre
5th April 2022

I have to confess that apart from seeing this wonderful poet, I had an ulterior motive to exorcise memories of that former flea pit The Coronet. A cinema I frequented in the late seventies, a grim setting with unforgettable films like Jubilee. It was a dive, don’t be fooled by that sanitised image above.

Despite The Coronet now a theatre and beautifully cleaned up, the winding corridor still gave one the claustrophobic aura that a small cinema exuded. It was oddly appealing and something one once took for granted.

In the Coronet bar, where the reading was to take place, there was such gothic splendour and bohemian detail that complimented the fitting intimacy for this occasion.

The bar itself operated over a grand piano, which made it worth buying a gin and tonic. A dimly lit ambience embraced the audience who, like me, were eager to see Hannah Lowe, the 2021 Costa Book Award for Poetry winner. Having seen her read previously in 2019 at the Slip Off festival in South London, I looked forward to revisiting her work.

The radiant former teacher, incredibly modest about her prestigious award, greeted us on the stand and warmly began to read from the award winning The Kids, her collection of sonnets from her experience as a teacher in an inner-London school. This rang out clear with strong pieces like Simile, with the quote Timothy Winters has ears like bombs and teeth like splinters but it really focused on a girl no-one liked, Bobbi Bonniwell who the poet couldn’t forget – and now, neither would we. The startling All Over It opened the doors to the poet’s own family life with pupil, Dwayne. We were urging him not to back out the room as he does exactly that in the last line.

After the humorous and descriptive Pepys where classroom roles were reversed, Hannah Lowe gave us the joy of The Sixth Form Theatre Trip and the comparison of taking out dogs. Troublesome ones, disruptive ones but ones a teacher truly loved. Then we come to The Only English Kid where the pupil John is just that, his young shoulders carry the brunt of alienation and racial identity.

On this vein British Born gave us the irony of children bought up in cities of England and the bitter tang of racial prejudice. Very cleverly written and read. My heart lifted when the Art of Teaching was read, my personal favourite of this collection and the audience wallowed in such rich detail of this profession and pupils she knew so well, and looked into their souls. As a summary the theme was how to deal with bored kids, and lovely details of London slang.

I was so dreadfully moved over In H&M, and a teacher recognising a former pupil and how it stayed with them, and the girl shutting down before her. With great yoga class imagery and questioning the term Masterclass, Kathy, Carla was slickly projected and an ideal way to wind down this delightful session of poetry. A powerful book of sonnets and I would say parables too.

The Kids by Hannah Lowe published by Bloodaxe Books is worth a read and I’m pleased to say we’ll see a lot more of this prolific and talented poet in the near future. The next Poetry Club at the Coronet will be on 14th June. Well worth a visit.

Easter Parade

Hello Poetry Lovers

Happy Easter, and how could I not include a lovely seasonal piece like this from the talented Sharron Green?!

Although restrictions have loosened somewhat, we are still tentative towards going back to normality, and this poem is very relevant indeed.

A corker, Sharron, thank you so much. Read on, readers….

This Easter’s Unique


This Easter’s unique, unlike any before
Out in the garden Spring’s blossoms reign


Spring’s out in the garden blossoms galore
But here I am trapped inside what a pain


Trapped here inside what a pain and a bore

Daffodils and bluebells light up the lane


Bluebells and daffodils dazzle my core
But really I wish I could be in Spain


Wishing I could be in Spain by the shore
Supping sangria with no chance of rain


I can sup sangria but rain’s in store
Maybe I will make a daisy chain


A daisy chain linking loved ones once more
This Easter’s unique, unlike any before

Rhymes_n_Roses 2022

Wasn’t that a terrific piece?! For further treats and poetry, visit Sharron’s treasure trove website on http://rhymesnroses.com

Happy Easter PL’s and thank you for dropping by. Stay tuned and we’ll be back with more poetry antics real soon….

Poetry Basket Review

Hello Poetry Lovers

Welcome back to the Poetry Basket Review. Today we have an absolute stunner by the very talented Pratibha Castle titled A Triptych of Birds & A Few Loose Feathers. Her award-winning debut pamphlet gets a well-deserved hot review.

Pratibha has been highly commended in various poetry competitions, and longlisted for The Bridgeport Prize 2021, and joint winner of Hedgehog Poetry Press competition, Nicely Folded Paper in 2019. This is an impressive background and worth reading on;

A Triptych of Birds
& A Few Loose Feathers
by Pratibha Castle

A striking title and clever subheading, I was immediately engaged by Pratibha Castle’s award winning pamphlet, and jumped willingly on board for this journey. As much as I urge you to join me, do not be fooled into thinking this is an easy trip. There is a painful and dark bumpy ride before us, quickly becoming a mission you cannot resist, and wouldn’t dream of alighting from. The text opens up beautifully as the very visual Heartsease greets us, drawing us in gently. Merging nicely with the landscape and emotions of South Downs. When we reach Sparrow Love, our route takes on a tender and painful child’s view, and revealing to us the underlying pitfalls of human behaviour. The recurring birds draw a painful parallel.

Padraig – Who Drove The Snakes Out of Ireland is such a powerful catalyst making our voyage take an intense turn. Padraig meaning noble and Irish for Patrick, the reader is drawn in to the poet’s skill that weave between nature and childhood. A vivid piece, ending with dry humour of the father’s alleged sainthood. Loved it. However, the bitter turning point in the last verse emphasises how life changes for our narrator. The convent school that is as corrupt as any corporation. Ending with a very profound last line.

Descriptive powers come through in Riddles, my favourite line being ‘She purses citrus lips..’
Just one of the detailed descriptions that keeps the reader rooted. A difficult relationship with parents rings loud, and Homework only highlights this with the interaction with her father. This title can mean so many things to us, so intricately described as the conflicting emotions during commonplace routines. I particularly loved the ironed copy of The Times and the disturbing end stanza.

Soaking in this intensity, we say no to a rest stop and go on to read Koala. I tried not to let feelings of envy choke me, as I have always yearned for one of those – or do I now?! The dark connotations from a seemingly innocuous toy becomes something more complex altogether. Exodus is atmospheric with the terror of confession combined with the image of Mary Quant lipsticks. Only skilful writing could do this. This piece unravelled more about the poet constantly moving houses, facing another school of strict nuns and bullying.

Plums is so symbolic and intriguing and the reader feels the discomfort of that grim red leakage. The nature of birds that sits alongside human emotion is put over very succinctly.
However, my absolute favourite Hippy Chick Blues gives us the atmosphere of Portobello market, and borders on the romantic. The ardour is dampened down by her mother’s caution. Love this poem right down to the need-of-repair jeans.

The Only One Who Loves You takes us to London in ’68 from squalid bedsits to dubious communes. Most vitally, it is a razor sharp perspective of a young girl trying to embrace the sexual revolution. Love is an ether you can choke or float in is an unforgettable line.
Swans excels by poignant descriptions of living in a Finchley flat that is never a real home. Underlying Catholicism and Irish heritage are laid bare as a mother bakes. The subtext has a real sense of these things slipping away from under our noses. The writing works beautifully. On Reaching Heaven we arrive at a stunning tribute to a lost mother, emphasising the pain of separation that moves us all. The reader’s eye goes straight to the emotional structure and its moving message.

Refuge is a fitting stop to our journey, engulfing ourselves with surrounding beauty and descriptions. An incredible and intricate account of nature and emotion is a good way to conclude our trip, leaving us with so many images. I’ll happily jump on this poet’s bus again.

For a real treat, A Triptych of Birds & A Few Loose Feathers is available from http://www.pratibhacastlepoetry.com

Thank you for tuning in, PL’s. A terrific debut pamphlet I know you’ll agree. Tune in real soon for more poetry antics….

The Skin Game

Hello Poetry Lovers

Today, we have a beautiful touching poem from the lovely Trisha Broomfield that’s on such a personal subject and so much a part of us – our skin.

I couldn’t resist sharing this moving piece (and illustrating it too!). After this poignant poem, there is a second one not nearly so (skin) deep but still skin related and the things we used to put up with.

Anyway, read on;

My Skin

My skin is my mother’s, soft and yielding


scored by bra straps
scarred by childbirth


it is my father’s, strong and pliable
repelling the outer world
protecting his home and family


my skin is thin
lets others in
too sensitive by far
but my skin is my mother’s soft and yielding


my skin is my father’s strong and pliable
repelling the outer world.

Trisha Broomfield 2022

Seeing Skin

Red marks under breasts from cheap bras


Shoulders indented from their gruesome straps
Patterned knickers from Bargain basements


That folded into young buttocks.
Sanitary belts pulled on cramping stomachs


Later, Nikini pants that chafed between thighs
When those marks of living faded,
And before the winceyette nightie

was pulled on over greasy hair
You could finally see skin

H Moulson 2022

Wasn’t that just wonderful?! Thank you so much, Trisha. Please keep them coming.

Thanks for tuning in, PL’s. We’ll be back real soon….

Interview

Okay, Poetry Lovers, settle down! Welcome back to our talk show studio where we are expecting the lovely poet, Douglas Graham Wilson! (Pandemonium)

(The host raps a ruler on the desk There is rapt silence)

Now Now, you don’t want me to interrupt Security’s fag break, do you?! Lets give a very warm welcome to our guest today, Douglas Graham Wilson!

(Studio shakes with ecstatic applause)

Douglas glides elegantly down the lighted staircase

So, Douglas, welcome to the show. I admire your velvet bellbottoms

Oh thank you, you don’t think it’s a bit much with the loganberry cravat?!

(Audience emphatically disagree)

If a cool guy like you can’t get away with it, then no-one can! Isn’t that right, aud?!

(Ecstatic endorsement from the audience Five minutes of applause)

So, Douglas, thank you so much for coming on the show, tell us something about yourself. Such as how did poetry become a part of your life?

Thanks for having me. I began writing poetry around 12 years old after I was encouraged by my English teacher, Mr Black. We had to write a poem for an assignment and he was really impressed with my poem. I have been writing ever since.

My biggest influences are TS Eliot, Rumi, June Jordan and Charles Bukowski.

Very impressive influences .Teachers can be such a part of who we are. They can go one way or another, but for you, Mr Black sounded like he went the right way!

Now, tell us about your wonderful new collection

Of Love and Other Maladies consists of poetry selected from a larger manuscript of my poetry spanning around 20 years of work.

A highly commended collection, what is your personal favourite?

My personal favourite in the book is the poem Decomposition

Ah yes, a very powerful piece. Mine was Ethan because of the strong and heartrending interaction between two lovers. However, I had a wealth of favourites in there, including Decomposition

What is your next step? Live readings? Are you working on something else now?

Yes I will be doing readings at the next Celine’s Salon in Soho, and there are other plans in the works for other venues. I am also busy compiling another manuscript.

Excellent, we’ll watch this space. I can’t wait to read more work from you. Now,

(nervous gasps from the audience),

tell us the best gig you’ve ever done, then the Worst!

The best gig I ever did was the opening night of my debut performance poetry show, Indirect Confessions in Cape Town, South Africa. It was jam-packed and flowed so beautifully with a truly appreciative audience.

The worst gig I ever did was the closing night of my debut performance poetry show, Indirect Confessions, in Cape Town, South Africa.

We extended the run too much so audiences gradually dwindled; on the last night there was just a handful of fidgety people and for some reason sirens and garbage trucks outside kept on interrupting my performance at poignant moments!
We live and learn…

Oh no! Don’t those moments go on forever?! And in the same venue as your hallowed one too! Yes, we certainly live and learn

It’s been terrific having you on, Douglas, and a great experience. Now, you must be going somewhere really happening afterwards…

I’ve got to practise walking in my new platform shoes first, so it’s straight home for me.

Ah me too. Feet up in front of Z Cars Well everyone, give the lovely Douglas a big round of applause and er – take care up those stairs. What are those heels? 4 inches?

I will! Thank you and goodnight

Douglas cautiously climbs the lighted stairs

Wasn’t he just a wonderful guest, Poetry Lovers and studio audience?! Stay tuned for more poetry antics real soon….

Letter to my Daughter

Hello Poetry Lovers

Today, I would love to share this moving and poignant piece from the wonderful poet, Trisha Broomfield who I had the pleasure of meeting up with last week at the Cranleigh Arts Centre. Not only did we have a lovely slab of orange polenta cake but so many memories of reading poetry there returned to us.

Titled A Letter to my Daughter, I found it stirring and profound. It put me in mind of Dorothy Parker too, and the details of how a young girl has to live. Do have a read, and tell me how much you learnt these things in life the hard way! I know I did!

Letter to my Daughter

Don’t wear white to eat

beetroot or bolognaise,

drink coffee wearing black,

sip slowly,

wear lipstick to win an argument

glasses to return expensive items

to a shop.

Carry a bottle opener in your bag,

in case you meet

a lonely Aussie.

Keep accounts,

a diary,

your receipts,

your sense of humour,

pack a smile, use often,

it baffles those who have no smiles of their own.

Learn how to swear in different languages,

how to do a handstand,

how to sew and cook,

find a partner with these skills.

Learn to change a bulb,

a wheel,

your mind,

do not be defined

by those around you

you are your own person

and being alone is actually being

all one.

Learn to be unafraid

do not say ‘I don’t mind’,

you have mind,

exercise your right to use it, lose it

and change it often, (see line 23).

Fill your heart with love,

you will never have to search 

others for it.

Buy the best you can afford,

flowers, food 

clothes and carpets,

give freely to those who cannot afford

the same,

remember your name

and give it a clear voice,

it may have been my choice

but it is

your

life.​​

13/06/2018Trisha Broomfield 

Isn’t that a stunning piece?! Thank you so much, Trisha. Lovely poem, especially with all the life details in it. Please keep them coming…

Thank you so much for tuning in, PL’s. We’ll be back real soon from inside the studio – yes! There’ll be an interview! Book your tickets or get queuing now!!!