Limehouse Lizzy Come to Tamworth Assembly Rooms

Posted on April 19, 2013 by garylongden

It is some thirty four years now since I caught Thin Lizzy live, at the Hammersmith Odeon in London ,on the Black Rose tour. Arguably they were at their creative zenith, with Live and Dangerous already established as one of rock’s great live albums and from which most of the set was culled. In those days rock bands were adopted with the fervour of football teams, there was not much subjectivity, they were one of “your” bands, and that was it.

Time can play tricks on you. Equally it can offer perspective. Not only was it one of the great rock shows I attended, but as time has passed, why, becomes more apparent. They were no Johnny-come- lately, they had earned their live spurs on the Irish show band circuit and had gigged for a decade, their milieu was live, rather than recorded, performance.

Why so few black men have become rock stars is a bit of a mystery. Phil Lynnot was integral to the band’s image, and an incredible asset. At a time when racism was still commonplace, it was no obvious impediment to rock stardom, Jimi Hendrix had ensured that. Lynnot was a showman, the leader of the gang, MC for the evening, comic , and cheerleader. His down to earth bonhomie was an Irish parallel to Bruce Springsteen’s American grass roots appeal. Both ensured that when you came to one of their shows, they would personally guarantee that you would have a good time.

The twin lead guitar attack was favoured by several successful American Deep South bands, the Doobie Bros, Allman Bros and Lynyrd Skynyrd, although check out the intro to Sweet Jane on Lou Reed Live with Dick Wagner and Steve Hunter trading licks in ’75 and you will hear a template which was ideal for rock performance. Although Lizzy went through a dizzying array of guitarists in their time, it was that formula which served them well.

Lynnot died aged 37 in 1986. It seemed as that would close the book on the band. But as time has gone on, so the music has grown in stature. Lizzy without Lynnot was never going to be the same, but various reincarnations of the band have re-emerged in response to popular demand, Gary Moore when he was alive continued to play Lizzy hits, and tribute bands have also flourished to feed that increased, and increasing interest.

Foremost among these is Limehouse Lizzy. They comprise Wayne Ellis, Andy Fox, Greg Alcock and local boy Tim Read from Burton upon Trent. Tribute acts have come of age recently with several, Limehouse Lizzy amongst them, having been gigging in their own right for well over a decade. The obstacle that “it isn’t the original band” is over. Does anyone ever go to a Mozart concert and exclaim “It was rubbish, Mozart wasn’t playing?”. Either the music stands up, and the spirit of the band, is captured, or it isn’t, and Limehouse Lizzy do both.

Limehouse Lizzy play Tamworth Assembly Rooms on Friday May 31st, 8pm

https://www.tamworthassemblyrooms.co.uk/whats-on/icalrepeat.detail/2013/05/31/15060/-/limehouse-lizzy

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Cosi Fan Tutte, English Touring Opera,Grand Theatre Wolverhampton

Posted on April 15, 2013 by garylongden

!8th century Naples

English Touring Opera made a return to Wolverhampton Grand Theatre with two ambitious titles for Spring 2013; Cosi Fan Tutte, and Simon Boccanegra performed on successive nights, Monday night’s performance was of the former opera.

The music for Cosi Fan Tutte was written by Mozart and is the star of the show, with the original libretto by Lorenzo Da Ponte, who also collaborated on Le Nozze di Figaro and Don Giovanni ,and was first performed in 1790, two hundred and thirteen years ago. Currently it is amongst the top twenty most performed operas on the world stage. The phrase “Cosi Fan Tutte” first appeared in Le Nozze Di Figaro , literally “ Thus do all [women]” but is popularly offered as “Women are like that”. This production by Paul Higgins is sung in English using Martin Fitzpatrick’s translation and is performed with brio and panache.

CFT swing

Designer Samal Blak juxtaposes a simple, sometimes Spartan set, with pleasing costuming, and colour dominated by pastels and creams. The intimate setting of the Grand Theatre is ideally suited to this opera with the entire set focused on a garden swing for the first act, the inspiration for which came both from artistic depictions of the Garden of Eden – with characters under a willow tree – and eighteenth-century paintings such as Fragonard’s The Swing. However the physical absence of even a potted plant in the second act meant that the stage and props manager were able to take the evening off. Its traditional 18th century setting in Naples is most welcome.

The narrative explores suspicion, infidelity and jealousy in light comic mood but with a dark subtext in which close friends are manoeuvred into seducing each other’s girl-friend, testing the dynamics and limits of relationships.Although the infidelity of women is exposed through the ladies falling to temptation, Despina brazenly encourages them to play the field and wise Don Alfonso, rather than making a moral judgement, simply reflects that “Cosi fan Tutte”.
CFT the girls

Soprano Laura Mitchell plays Fiordilgi, one of Mozart’s Grande Donne, a demanding role with a range from the top of the stave plunging down to cellar deep low notes. The best known aria of the work “Come Scoglio”, in Act One, tested her early on with its taxing high tessitura ,but she was equal to it, she was even better in Act 2 with “Per Pieta”. Dorabella (Kitty Whatley) and Fiordilgi are convincing friends who fall in love with suitors, and are then duped by them. Whatley’s powerful mezzo-soprano occasionally dominated their duets, but it is soprano Paula Sides as housemaid Despina, who dominates the production and whose comic turns with the impressive Don Alfonso ( Richard Mosley Evans) are a highlight of the evening. Sides is the perfect buffa soubrette during “In uomini’ and excels in “Una donna a quindici anni”. Sassy and streetwise she makes the most of a wonderfully written part and revels in cameos as a physician and notary.

Paula Sides steals the show as Despina

The suitors playing opposite the young women are Guglielmo (Toby Girling) and Ferrando (Anthony Gregory). Director Higgins offers a nod to Commedia dell’arte traditions in the semi-white face of Ferrando and Guglielmo before they assume their Albanian disguises of which Sacha Baron Cohen as Borat would have been proud. Anthony Gregory contrasts beauty in “un’ aura amorosa” with the anguish of “tradito, schernito” in accomplished style, but the on- stage rapport with co-conspirator Girling lacks conviction.Their lascivious desires are bawdily explored, not least with the opening scene in which both enthusiastically polish their pommels.

Duets, parallel thirds, imitation and reprise are all prominent features of Mozart’s score, Higgins does well to mix and match to get the best out of all concerned, the closing sextet with its subtle physical movement reinforces the sense of fluidity and change in an opera which is essentially a dramatic examination of love. The complexity and beauty of the musical score is a delight, although occasionally you sense that some of the vocal combinations are written simply so that Mozart can show off his talent rather than to advance the plot.

The orchestra was directed by James Burton who brought the best out of the sections with the woodwind for which Cosi is renowned, the clarinets were sonorous and soared. Cosi has been described as a a heartless farce with heavenly music, but its accessibility and popularity are beyond doubt and was enthusiastically received by an appreciative audience for an enjoyable production.

The ETO are touring Cosi Fan Tutte, Simon Boccanaegra and The Siege of Calais to Aldeburgh,Durham, Buxton, Cheltenham, Warwick, Perth, Cambridge, Guilford and Truro till the end of May.

Gary Longden

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Quadrophenia at Tamworth Assembly Rooms is previewed by Director Simon Quinn

Posted on April 14, 2013 by garylongden

Quad tam

With Quadrophenia only just over a month away now, playing at Tamworth Assembly Rooms on Friday 24th and Sat 25th May, I spoke to Director Simon Quinn about his preparations.

Q. What attracted you to Quadrophenia in the first place?

1. I remember as a kid listening to The Who playing the whole album on John Peel’s late night show in ’73, then some weeks later in Wolverhampton I bought the album for less than a quid from a ‘record’ store that was closing down, so they must have been in a position where everything had to go. It was always a visual thing with me, the gatefold sleeve, the thick book insert and the fact the imagery was in black and white, it was all very theatrical and threatening; as of course the themes of subculture, mental illness and drugs etc were/are.

Q. Quadrophenia was released as an album in 1973. Four decades later how well do you think it has worn?

2. I’ve always believed that rock music concepts circa 1960’s and 1970’s have that capacity to hold the retention of their original audiences as well as the ability to attract new ones. The quality of the music aside, the themes within resonate with groups and individuals and somehow creates a personal significance that allows the mind to create and reminisce. With Quadrophenia the visual and ideological narrative surrounding the mod subculture is obviously appealing for young people today because of the never ending contemporary issues surrounding the movement itself; yet equally it holds memories for the 2013 older generation that of course was the pro-active generation of the times that Quadrophenia represents.

Q. Is there any new material in the production? How rigid were the demands of the Rights Holders?

3. The script is original-as was the script with last year’s project, The Wall. We have a greater emphasis on drama and poetry this time around, so it really is a rock music concept in every sense. As with The Wall we have devised a script that looks at the life and accompanying pressures of a central character who in many ways represents each and everyone of us. The Wall has Pink and Quadrophenia has ‘Jimmy’ and his problems with drugs, parental discourse, anti-social behaviour, mental ill health etc are exposed throughout through a variety of theatrical conventions. We had a tougher examination this time around in terms of acquiring permission to perform Quadrophenia-we had to send a proposal of how we intend to deliver this project as well as the evidence of what we achieved from The Wall before we were granted the rights to deliver. Paul Curran and Eel Pie publishing then ran the proposal past Pete Townshend for final approval.

Q. What influence did the film version of 1979 have on this production?

4. It would be true to say that the film was a crucial factor in stimulating interest from those who auditioned for the project because that medium was more widely known than the album. But we made it known from the start that we were working from the studio album and offering original conceptions and perceptions rather than just a total reproduction of the film-that is a work in its own right.

Q. Who is performing the music and what challenges did recreating The Who’s sound create?

5. The Pinch are performing the music-arguably one of the finest mod/rock bands in the West Midlands. We are also exploring the use of a solo guitarist to underscore some of the acting when The Pinch are not playing. I think you would need to ask The Pinch themselves regarding the difficulty in creating the sound.

Q. The Who have a fan base dating back to the 1960’s, how have the younger members of the cast responded to the material?

6. It is not a question of whether the younger people like or dislike The Who-it is more important that they like the concept of the project-although once hearing the album I think their appreciation of the music and the ideas has grown-also we have encouraged old and young alike to contribute their ideas throughout the rehearsal process.

Q. Quadrophenia is one of the great concept albums, what were the challenges of producing it for theatre rather than rock arena?

7. As with The Wall, a project of this magnitude presents a mixture of problems. We have a bigger cast this year so proximity and spatial awareness is problematic, when and where the music should slot in with the projection and the music, authentic costume is problematic. Yet these are integral components in qualifying the production as a piece of rock music theatre, rather than a rock concert.

Q. What audience are you aiming for, is this a nostalgia show?

8. It is a show that explores issues of the counter culture, subculture, attitudes to mental health, intergenerational behaviour, anti-social behaviour, drug misuse in a contemporary manner as well as trying to pay respect to the era it was original written for and about; so nostalgia or elements of nostalgia will rear up in someone’s psyche.

Q. The album is the most substantial and enduring testament to the Mod era. Paul Weller and latterly Bradley Wiggins have all championed the Mod cause. What resonance does Mod have in the 21st century?

9. It is a movement that still holds strong in today’s society , not because of the negativity in terms of its associated violence in the 1960’s, but more because of its intrinsic artistic and creative value through music, drama and literacy. The movement –similarly to that of punk and the new romantics-are creative forces that still impact upon today’s cultural landscape.

Q. Many contemporary musicians have aspired to write a rock opera, few have succeeded. The album only has one hit single, “5:15”, what is the secret of the albums’ success?

10. The longevity of The Who is obviously a key factor, the mod movement, the music and lyrics are both generic and personal, the theatricality, the texture of the 1960’s coming through the sound that paradoxically is anthemic for any era.

Watch out for another interview with poet and writer Mal Dewhirst about his role in contributing original material to this production. For more information on The Pinch who are performing live for the show visit their website on:
http://www.thepinch.net/

For ticket information:

http://www.tamworthassemblyrooms.co.uk/

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Driving Miss Daisy, Wolverhampton Grand Theatre

Posted on April 10, 2013 by garylongden

Driving

This play is held in high regard by actors because of the challenge it offers in two regards. Firstly, the two lead characters age 25 years in 90 minutes, secondly, the play is performed as a three hander, further intensifying the performing demands ( whilst reducing touring costs!). Fortunately the cast are well up to the task. Daisy is played by Gwen Taylor, her driver Hoke by Don Warrington.

Don Warrington

Gwen Taylor has most recently been in the public eye as Anne Foster in Coronation St, but her career defining role was in the fabulous television comedy Duty Free as Amy Pearce. Don Warrington found recognition for his role as Phil Smith in Rising Damp. Driving Miss Daisy is a Pullitzer prize winner , yet its strength lies in the opportunities it offers for the actors to act, rather than its profound script.

Gwen Taylor

Pre Black Civil Rights America is the back cloth to most of the story. Rather than make this an “issue” play, author Arthur Uhry neatly sidesteps the big questions to instead make it a play about personality and relationships, how they juxtapose, jostle and settle. So the play is not quite as it seems, this is no polemic on racial equality, instead a slight affectionate exploration of two contrasting characters into old age, and it is as this that the play works.

The history of race relations in the American deep south is quite different in England creating potential for the political dimension to travel poorly in a multi-racial community like Wolverhampton. But the focus on character, rather than action, sometimes to a fault, steers it clear of local bear –traps.I saw only two black audience members.

Taylor touchingly plays out the gradual decline of old age. Her head sinks turtle-like into her shoulders, her movement becomes fragile- uncertainly precise, and her voice develops a reedy thinness. Yet, although her physical powers are in retreat her spirit is not.

The set is initially disconcertingly simple, comprising a staircase and bookcase on one side, a desk moving in and out of centre stage, and a bench on a small revolve which, when matched with a couple of chairs and a steering wheel, becomes whatever car Hoke is driving Miss Daisy in. It is a back projection screen which creates the sense of time and place using archive news footage to good effect.

Ian Porter has the tricky task of playing Boolie, Miss Daisy’s son a ruthless businessman and slightly unsympathetic son. The role is awkward because it is an integral part of the journey that unfolds, but dramatically, can unbalance the chemistry created between the two leads. In this production, director David Esbjornson allows Boolie a more strident presence in a bold move.

Ian Porter as Boolie

A core message that skin and background may divide, but the power of the human spirit unites, is the feel-good engine of the play, American schmaltz which teeters just the right side of good taste, garnished with humour that Gwen Taylor clearly revels in. As an essay on growing old, it takes some beating, but its single set, and lack of action narrows the profile of those to whom this will appeal. Touring plays have a tough time finding theatres prepared to take a chance against the mass appeal of musicals. It is to the credit of the Grand that they brought this production to Wolverhampton and to Julian Stoneman associates that they brought the production to the Black Country.

Driving Miss Daisy plays at the Wolverhampton Grand Theatre from Tues 9th through to Sat 13th April

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Boxed Set- Paul Francis

Posted on April 9, 2013 by garylongden

Paul Francis
Paul is a retired teacher from Much Wenlock with a growing list of published credits. An accomplished and regular performer on the Midlands and Borders poetry circuit, his writing, and subject matter, is eclectic and diverse. Cross- fertilisation between cinema, television, novels and music is routine and well established. Surprisingly, poetry has been slow to reflect the artistic impact of film, and film has only just started to notice poetry for artistic inspiration (Beowulf). Thus, Paul has chosen shrewdly to explore poetic territory with a rich seam of potential which has hitherto been barely explored.

Any such enterprise poses two immediate problems. Firstly, which films to choose? Secondly, how to present work about films which the reader may not have seen, or been aware. Wisely, the choices are mainstream and accessible – Eastwood, Polanski and Jodie Foster, Cockleshell heroes, African Queen and Sopranos. The poems themselves are drawn not only from the original works, but also from commentaries, biographies and gossip contained in the eponymous “Boxed Sets”.

Half of the collection is devoted to Sopranos Snapshots in sonnet and sestina. That discipline of form is a clever device as it forces the author quite consciously to move from one discipline to another. Sestinas are fiendishly difficult to execute well, in Tony Soprano, the author pulls off that feat in some style. The word repetition is perfect for an extended series as is the sense of inevitability and fate that befalls the characters.

Brief Encounter was the poem which struck me as being the most fully realised. A poem with a title which has transcended its original place, and a platform image which is embedded in cinematic history as a classic, risks falling flat in such august surroundings, but it soars. It is seen through the eyes of a female cinema goer:

“She smells the smoky laughs of men
Who scorn romance, but she believes
She is allowed to dream..”

Not only does it speak of the emotions of the protagonist, it also sums up the authors’ desire to dream which he shares so demonstrably in all the poems.

Boxed Set , the poem, appears as a poetic epilogue after the Sopranos Snapshots sequence and is both backwards and forward looking in its position, which is neat. On the one hand it rails elegiacally:

“Those were the days. A huge, obedient crowd
Feasts on that screen. They just can’t get enough
Sighing as one,..”

On the other, in the present day:

“So I stay home alone. It’s not a crime
To settle down and lock the door.
I scroll the menu. I shall take my time,
Consider all the options, keep control
Break off ,maybe, for context, background stuff;
Choose what I want to watch, then watch some more.”

And in turn, so the reader will want to read some more, scroll the menu, and take their time. This collection is immensely satisfying and I suspect demands a sequel, so substantial is the material upon which to draw.

Boxed Set is available from Liberty Books, Much Wenlock TF13 6JQ priced £3.

Gary Longden

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Lawn Lore- Nadia Kingsley

Posted on April 9, 2013 by garylongden

Nadia Kingsley

Lawn Lore is a wonderful poetry pamphlet borne out of a brilliant idea. Nadia lives in the countryside in a rural idyll in Shropshire, but with imperfect grass on her lawn. One day she was moved to ask a friend who specialises in grasses to examine a two metre square quadrat. This involved them both considering in close detail that which previously would have gone unnoticed,and unremarked upon. This work was created from that fresh perspective.

The eleven poems themselves are written in deliberately small print, so small, that unless the reader possesses the eyesight of a teenage sniper ,magnification is required. Nadia helpfully supplies a magnifier with the pamphlet so the reader may study more closely her words, as she considered more closely her lawn. A delightful detail is that each beautifully presented copy is handstitched with a green thread.

As well as being a poet, Nadia is also a scientist and her poems reflect the style of a scientific report, yet the writing is of joyous celebratory discovery. They also consider place, Here considers how Perennial Rye is selected for Rugby pitches for its hard wearing qualities, yet her garden offers sanctuary from mankinds’ need to control and manipulate.
Each grass is introduced by its Latin name encouraging the reader once more to explore further, exploration being the key theme of Lawn Lore. Ranunculus Repens is the last poem, and amongst the most satisfying, juxtaposing the childs’ tradition of using its flower to determine a liking for butter from its reflection and its poisonous qualities- it all depends how you look at it, doesn’t it?

The premise for Lawn Lore is startlingly imagined and lovingly executed in a manner that will delight poets and botanists alike, as it did me, published by Fairacre Press.
http://www.fairacrepress.co.uk/books/to-buy/
Gary Longden

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Much Wenlock Poetry Festival Sunday 7th April 2013

Posted on April 8, 2013 by garylongden
Much Wenlock

Much Wenlock

This was my second visit to this festival, now in its fourth year. A product of the creative force of local bookshop owner, and poetry aficionado ,Anna Dreda, a strong and varied programme augured well, as did the crowds milling around as I arrived in the late morning, before formal proceedings had commenced.

There was plenty to do for the casual visitor. Kurly McGeachie was on hand in an impressive yurt to provide poetry workshops for children, and Deborah Alma , AKA “The Emergency Poet” ,provided emergency poetic treatment for those seeking it in her vintage ambulance. Both benefitted from the comparative warmth that their respective shelters offered as well as doing a grand job with passers-by.

The Emergency Poet

The Emergency Poet

Poems & Pints – George & Dragon PH

This was a free event, hosted by Mark Niel, at lunchtime as an open mic . It was packed. Mark’s genial bonhomie oiled the wheels of a succession of talented poets, several of whom have performed headline spots elsewhere. In many respects it captured the spirit of the festival; inclusive, warm, enjoyable and high quality. A significant proportion of those whom attend poetry festivals are themselves poets, so it is always wise to provide a creative outlet for those who want to perform to new audiences, and listen to unfamiliar voices.

Mark Niel

Liz Lefroy and James Sheard – Priory Hall

Liz has been a student , and Jim is a senior lecturer at , Keele University. They made for a shrewd and inspired pairing at a performance that was pleasingly well attended. Wisely ,they read two sets each in rotation, a device which allows for contrasting material, as well as contrast between performer.

Liz Lefroy

Liz Lefroy


Previous appearances by Liz have been well covered in both Garyswordz and Behind the Arras. She specialises in memorable phrases as in the opening to Roadside Shrine; “I pass your death each morning”. Her award winning debut collection, Pretending the Weather, is already a year old, but she has a wealth of material in her notebook . A childhood shaped by her clergyman father inevitably looms large, but her poems draw upon the rich imagery of Faith, rather than overtly celebrating or rebelling against those traditions, offering a modern context, as a good preacher might from the pulpit. A Place Called Solomon does this particularly well. Night Coach, a journey ostensibly about a trip from Stoke to Vienna, with its “thick coffee and bad toilets” set against a backdrop of “streaks of neon” suggests more obliquely a journey that transcends the physical. Yet there is no doubting the fierce visceral emotion in The School Concert in which she declares that “I disgraced you by exploding” , a sentiment that all parents will recognise.

James Sheard also spoke of journeys and parental love. The latter most memorably in That Hour, dedicated to his son. On first hearing, it appeared to joyously romp between a formal metre and free verse underpinned by a repeat that worked well performed. His journeys were of geographical displacement, a characteristic of those born to military families, and displacement between languages.

James Sheard

James Sheard


As his reading unfolded he then introduced the concept of vertigo, in the sense of being suspended above, particularly as experienced by those involved in poem translation was introduced, but it also found form in the distance between father and son, and himself and his late mentor. I would have loved a question and answer session in which he could have developed the theme more fully. His writing is economic and unfussy, some of his compounds, “ goldmean and thumb rub”, intriguing. However what distinguishes his work for me is an ability to describe a familiar scene with a phrase that flares up and illuminates. “Landings” from a forthcoming publication, was the standout poem of his performance for me ,opening with:

“We wanted a land where we could watch the weather-
See how one hill drew down the drapes of rain, and how another
Would flash its skin in a fall of sunlight”

And I was there.”Sometimes a poem clicks like a well-made box.”

Owen Sheers and Menna Elfyn – The Edge

The golden boy and golden girl of Welsh poetry was quite a prospect, and much anticipated by a large and expectant audience. As a child of parents Swansea born and bred, both offer a sense of place and heritage close to my heart. The Borders crowd gave them a welcome as if for a homecoming.

Owen Sheers has an impressive cannon of work behind him. He draws upon his Welsh heritage freely whilst offering it a 21st century setting. He read extensively from his soon to be published Pink Mist a verse drama developed from a play written for radio . This was a brave move. His published poetry is widely known and admired, and he was available to sign books, sales of which would undoubtedly have been enhanced by a “greatest hits” set. Yet, any artist is keen to expose fresh work to performance and scrutiny, a process which invariably refines the end product. What was lost in familiarity was compensated for in freshness.

Owen Sheers

Owen Sheers

Pink Mist tells the story of three young soldiers from Bristol embarking on a tour of Afghanistan told in various first person voices including those of the women left behind- hence the pink mist. It draws upon many literary traditions not least that of The Odyssey, and the quest to return home. Its rhyming was light, bright, tight and unobtrusive with a strong, insistent metrical structure. Sheers is a consummate reader of poetry, assured, confident, and clear with a melodic lilt to compliment the material. A fine performance.

No modern Welsh language poet has been published more than Menna Elfyn who is a standard bearer for the Welsh language, culture, Welsh language poetry and poetry in her homeland. Menna performed in Welsh and English to a sympathetic Borders audience. As a translator of Welsh poetry, and someone whose work is translated into numerous foreign languages, she memorably described poetry in translation as like kissing through a handkerchief. Her Welsh language reading was certainly easy on the ear, but it is true that when you add up the number of Welsh speakers, take away those not interested in poetry, those able to appreciate her in her mother tongue is inevitably modest.

Menna Elfyn

Menna Elfyn

Menna’s work is not only meticulously crafted, it is also written with a smile, a facet most admirably apparent in “Babysitting at the Crematorium” when she babysat an infant before retiring to a cafe, informally called “The Creme de la crem”. Some poems came from her collection Murmur, yet her words resonated with a roar rather than a murmur, my favourite as the son of Swansea parents was “The Cockle Woman” a delightful vignette on those women who would roam the pubs and clubs with locally harvested cockles in a wicker basket, I loved the idea that someone would purchase simply to lighten her load.

And so a day of poetic delight drew to a close on a festival which drew together old friends of mine, and provided a forum to forge new ones, as well as to hear new poetry performed in a complimentary environment.

Gary Longden

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April 2013- What’s On, Midlands Spoken Word

Posted on April 6, 2013 by garylongden

The festival season kicks in strongly this month with a very strong bill at Much Wenlock and Cheltenham, amongst others.

Festivals

Fri 5th-7th April Much Wenlock Poetry Festival

http://www.wenlockpoetryfestival.org/

April 10th- May30th Leek Arts Festival

Home 2

Sat 20th -28th Apr The Cheltenham Poetry Festival;

http://www.cheltenhampoetryfest.co.uk/

Sun 2ist Apr Stratford upon Avon Literary Festival -until 5/5:

http://www.stratfordliteraryfestival.co.uk/

30th April -6th May Chipping Campden Lit Festival

http://www.campdenlitfest.co.uk/contentok.php?id=88
————————————————————————————————————–

Day by Day

Mon 1st The Poetry Train , Slade Rooms,Broad St Wolverhampton, Open mic, £3 in details from ts@tonystringfellow.com

Mon 1st The SW@N Club – Spoken Word at the Newhampton, Wolverhampton,Meets every 1st Monday of the month at 8 pm – 10.30 pm. Admission – suggested donation on entry.Peter Chand hosts

Tues 2nd Nightblue Fruit at Playwrights Cafe Bar & Bistro-,7:30pm until 10:05pm.

An eclectic mix of talented regular performers plus regular new guests bring Coventry alive with verse, verve and style.
Playwrights Cafe is a friendly and welcoming Cafe with fantastic food & drinks in a lovely setting on the cobbles near the ruins of Coventry Cathedral. Now in our 10th year we continue to attract new and existing poets, some of those who have visited over the years are: Mike McKimm, Mario Petrucci, Jon Morley, Kei Miller, Jen Hadfield to name but a few !
Requests to read and perform poetry are taken on the night. We advise you arrive no later than 7.30pm to stand a good chance of reading.Lots of reasonable and free car parking nearby (tariffs often end at 6pm but please check on http://www.coventry.gov.uk/carparks

http://playwrightsrestaurant.co.uk/contact

Tues 2nd John Donne Day, Polesworth Abbey
John Donne Day 2013. John Donne Day 2013. 2pm – 8.30pm, Tuesday 2 April 2013.
The 400th Anniversary of Donne’s Poem – Good Friday 1613 Riding Westwards (written after staying in Polesworth)
The Abbey Church, Polesworth Abbey, High Street, Polesworth, Warwickshire, B78 1DU.

Workshops, talks, walks, discussions from 2pm. Gala performance of poetry of John Donne and newly commissioned work from 7pm.
£9 afternoon & evening. £5 just afternoon or evening. http://johndonneday.eventbrite.co.uk/ Twitter @johndonneday

Polesworth Abbey CIC; Birmingham City University: Institute of Creative and Critical Writing; Writing West Midlands.
Made in the Midlands.

The Programme

John Donne Day 2013, Tuesday 2 April, 2013, The Abbey Church, Polesworth, Warwickshire. A Made in the Midlands afternoon/evening of talks, walks, readings and performances.

2pm – 2.45pm. Reading ‘Riding Westward’: a seminar on John Donne’s poem, ‘Good-Friday, 1613, Riding Westward’ and related poems – Dr Anthony Mellors, Reader in Poetry and Poetics, Birmingham City University
3pm – 4.15pm. Writing in Response: a poetry writing workshop in response to John Donne’s poems and Polesworth Abbey Church – Dr Gregory Leadbetter, Director, Institute of Creative and Critical Writing, Birmingham City University
3pm – 4.15pm. In the Footsteps of Poets: a walking tour of Polesworth Poets’ Trail – Malcolm Dewhirst, writer and developer
3pm – 4.15pm. Reading On: Some Poems to Read in Response to John Donne – Dr Anthony Howe, Senior Lecturer, Birmingham City University
5pm – 5.45pm. Reflections on John Donne and his poetry: a chance to share personal views on his work
5.45pm – 7pm. Break: food will be available in Polesworth and nearby villages
7pm – 8.30pm. Riding Westward: A Gala Performance of Poems by John Donne, read by Dr Derek Littlewood and newly commissioned poems from Jane Commane, Malcolm Dewhirst, Jacqui Rowe and Greg LeadbetterThurs 4th April Blackdrop @ Canalhouse Bar, Canal Street, Nottm 8-10pm. £3. Event open to age 16+
A night themed ‘Teach it’ featuring the hit sensation Rap Battle Teacher – Mark Grist!… Plus YOU in the open mic!

Tues 2nd Word ,Y Theatre, East Street, Leicester LE1 6EY, just opposite Leicester Train Station7pm performers, 8pm, Audience, Open mic plus kim Moore. £6in
WORD! is the longest running poetry and spoken word night in Leicester. Based at The Y Theatre, Leicester, it takes place on the first Tuesday of every month, between 8.00 and 10.30pm. The evening is composed of an open mic, followed by a booked act-
Thur 4th Gorilla Poetry – Rutland Arms, Brown st, Sheffield, S1 4El, (Off West St) 8pm (7.30 doors) with Dave Atrill, Adolfus (Addie P. Abbott) and Supernova.

Thurs 4thBlackdrop Open Mic @ Canal House Bar, Canal Street, Nottm featuring Mark Grist the rap Battle Teacher (youtube wonder).8-10pm £3

Our event has an open mic, slots are approx 5mins long. Blackdrop is open to over 16s.

Poetry. Story. Comedy. Rap. Hip-hop. Song. Must be own original material. ALL WELCOME.

*(Thanks to Writing East Midlands for kindly agreeing to support our 4th April event)

Thurs 4th Good Impressions Spoken word, Cafe Impression, Atkins Building Hinckley, LE10 1QU,7.30pm £5in Hosted by Tom Phillips,ist Thursday Monthly

Thurs 4th Parole Parlate, Farewell event, Little Venice, St Nicholas st , Worcester, 730 pm, £3 in:

Fri 5th Esquires open mic, Hales St Coventry, CV1 1Jd- 7.30pm free in,poetry, music and performance
Sat 6th Poets place, York st , Birmingham 4pm-6pm with Carl Sealeaf

Sat 6th Lichfield Cathedral library tours:
and- April 24,
May 11 and 29
and June 22.
Tours to offer rare glimpse of Lichfield Cathedral’s historic library
Visitors to Lichfield Cathedral will be able to get a behind the scenes look at the historic building with a tour of the main library.

A number of bound treasures are housed on the site, including Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales (c1420) and Henry VIII’s Great Bible (first edition – 1539).
A trained guide will showcase some of the theological, literary geography, philosophy and natural science texts.
Canon Anthony Moore, Chancellor of Lichfield Cathedral, said: “It is only on very rare occasions that we are able to give the general public access to this atmospheric space.
“The range of rare manuscripts and early printed works in our library is quite staggering. It’s an opportunity not to be missed for anyone with a love of architecture, history or books”.
The tours will run on
April 6 and 24,
May 11 and 29
and June 22.
Tickets cost £9 and can be booked by calling the Cathedral Shop on 01543 306150.

Sun 7th Oct Buzzwords, Exmouth Arms,Bath Road Cheltenham, Gloucestershire GL53 7LX, 7pm Workshop, open mic plus Chrissie Gittens, £5/£3

Mon 8th Pub Poetry Nottingham The Canal house, 48-52 Canal Street, Nottingham, NG1 7EH,8pm, 2nd monday : Free in, Open micContact Nick on pubpoetry@nottscomedyfestival.co.uk

Mon 8th April – a special event – Flying Donkeys have been invited to perform at the Theatre Royal, Nottingham. Join Sophie, Mel and Roy for a specially devised show “Strange Tales from the Flying Donkeys”, with music, song and stories from around the British Isles. First half features a few open mic floor spots – book tickets in advance direct with the Theatre Royal http://www.trch.co.uk/index.aspx?articleid=20115 or Tel 0115 989 5555

Mon 8th pure and good and right, Sozzled Sausage, Leamington Spa, CV32 4NX, with Ash Dickinson

Tuesday 9th ‘City Voices’, City Bar, King Street, Wolverhampton. WV1 1ST 7.45pm Free admission.

Tuesday 9th ‘Mouth and Music’, the Boars Head Gallery, 39 Worcester Street, Kidderminster, DY10 1EW. 8.00pm Tickets £3.00 with Dhotti Bluebell

Tues 9th Spire Writes, Havana Whites,12 Corporation St, Chesterfield. 7.30pm, Open Mic, Matt Black, Dwane reads

Tues 9th City Voices’ in Wolverhampton. 7.45pm Free, with Liz Lefroy

Tues 9th Tales at the Edge, White Lion Inn, Bridgnorth, Shropshire,Tales at the Edge is one of the country’s oldest and most established storytelling clubs, meeting in Bridgenorth on the 2nd Tuesday of every month (except August) at 8 pm.

Tues 9th Scribal Gathering,The Crown, Market Square, Stony Stratford.7.30pm
Was it because we suggested last month that the year had cast off her ermine gown in favour of a strapless verdant little number, that we have been cast into the coldest spring since 1963? You all remember 1963 – it was the winter of love: Hypothermia began in 1963, which was rather late for me, between the end of the Chatterly ban, and the Beatles’ first LP, or something like that.

Anyway, enough larkin’ about, Scribal Gathering is back on the second Tuesday of April for a sub-Siberian snowcase of music and poetry, assuming the food parcels have arrived by then and we’ve all been able to dig our way out of our emergency shelters and the polar bears haven’t got us.

This month’s special guests are Alan Bainbridge, taking the mic as the featured poet, and Ernest Herb, the one-man house band, covering themselves in deep-heat oil and getting up against the radiators. Plus the shut-that-door open-mic will be welcoming all performers of any style, genre and especially those with Antarctic survival skills, to play, perform, set fire to the furniture and generally try to stay alive until the Red Cross gets here.

So if you want to have one last evening of open mic music and poetry entertainment before facing the very real prospect of dying of frostbite whilst wearing all your coats at once with the central heating full on, then wrap yourself in goose fat and tin foil and try and get to the Crown for a gathering that the archaeologists will be talking about in years to come.

Wed 10th Apr – Flying Donkeys storytelling club, “Bluebeard” with Cat Weatheril in the second half, 8pm at the Voicebox, Forman Street, Derby, DE1 1JQ. Be prepared to be thrilled! Tickets £7 at the door or Tel 01332 840007 or email info@flyingdonkeys.co.uk.

Wed 10 th The Quad Derby QUAD, Market Place, Cathedral Quarter, Derby, DE1 3AS Second Wednesday 19.30 Free in, A monthly night of performed poetry for everyone, new performers always welcome or just come and listen, More details from QUAD or contact Les on T: 01332 206 734, http://www.derbyquad.co.uk

Weds 10 The Kingdom of the Heart , Guildhall Theatre, Market Place Derby.7.30pm is an evening of storytelling and music based on two rarely heard Czech wondertales. Storyteller Katy Cawkwell, returning to performance storytelling after a few years bringing up her young family, has partnered with a wonderful cellist, Sarah Llewellyn-Jones, to tell a story of keeping hold of the meaning in life, amidst the everyday. Three age-old characters – a hard-working fisherman, a restless young king and the youngest son of twelve, find doorways into a shining golden kingdom where the cares of this world fall away. What happens when they reach through into this other world, what strange sights and challenges await them and will they ever be happy if they go back to their previous lives?
Tickets for Flying Donkeys regulars are specially discounted to the usual price £7 full price, £5 concessions.
However, this offer is only available if you book online BEFORE the day of the show.
To book click this link: http://www.derbylive.co.uk/Public_Event.aspx?ID=1520

Fri 12th Wednesbury Art Gallery and Museum, open mic poetry, 7.30pm, free admission

Fri 12th solihull Poetry Slam, solihull artys complex, homer rd, solihull, 7.30pm, £7,50pm, with marcus moore and sarah jane arbury

Friday 12th April, 7.45pm, tickets £7.50. Part of the Solihull Comedy Festival, so poets will be asked to perform humorous verse only. The evening also includes a Quick Quip Quiz. Fabulous prizes. Twelve places on a first-come-first-served basis.

Sun 14th tell me on a Sunday, ikon gallery, Birmingham with Cat Weatherill and Jane Campion Hoye. Fur and Fin 5pm, free in.

Wed 17th , Storytelling Cafe Kitchen Garden Cafe,York Rd, Kings Heath, 7.30pm (Doors 6.30pm)

Wed 17th Templar Poetry, Lamb & Flag, The Tything, Worcester, 8pm; Open mic, third Wednesday, Alex officiates contact:Alex McMillen, Alex McMillen,Templar Poetry, PO BOX 7082, Bakewell, Derbyshire, DE45 9AF,Tel: 01629 582500, Mobile: 07918166975
info@templarpoetry.co.uk

Wed 17th April,NANTWICH POETS @ WILLASTON,WILLASTON SOCIAL CLUB, 7 WISTASTON RD, WILLASTON,CW5 6PU, Great venue, plenty of secure parking. 7 30pm (new earlier start time!!!) OPEN MIC, Come along and share your best poems,Guest poet: Gill McAvoy

GREAT VENUE ROOM (PRIVATE FOR THE NIGHT) WITH LIGHTING AND SOUND SYSTEM. PLENTY OF PARKING SPACES AND GOOD BEER AT GOOD PRICES.

OPEN MIKE EVENT, SO COME AND SHARE YOUR BEST POEMS

SLOTS FOR EARLY BIRDS: THERE ARE FOUR 3-POEM READING SLOTS FOR THOSE WHO REGISTER EARLY.

COMPÈRE: TBA.

MAKE IT A SUCCESS AND WE’LL HAVE A REGULAR MONTHLY / BI-MONTHLY SLOT.

HOPE TO SEE YOU ALL THERE!!

E: bob.doughty@btconnect.com or postems@btconnect.com T:01270 663802

Fri 19th word up, Yorks bakery Cafe York st, Birmingham, 6.30pm, open mic, free in. Have a question? Want a slot? Message us on here (fb), email us at: word–up@hotmail.com, to tweet us: @wordup_brum

Sat 20th April – “Seven Deadly Sins” at Cromford Mills Cafe, Cromford, Derbyshire, 7.30pm. Info on show as above. Tickets £7. Book direct with Cromford Mills, Tel 01629 829555

Sun 21st Sunday Xpress Fourth Sunday Doors 1500, Start 16:30 Adam & Eve Bradford Street, Birmingham B12 0JD Open mic
jameskennedycentral@yahoo.co.uk

Sun 21st Rhyme and Tells at the Six Bells in Bishops Castle, Shropshire,Meets every 4th Sunday of the month (except for public holidays) at 8 pm – 10.30 pm. It is free admission and an open session for poetry, prose and storytelling.
For further details please contact Mike on 01588 680685.

Tues 23rd Purple Penumbra Open Mic poetry,Langley Theatre Oldbury:7,30pm, free in

To all good folk of England, brave and true,
(And those unblessed with such a glorious state)
An invitation here is sent to you
To fill your soul with sonnets on this date.
The twenty-third of April is renowned
The day of our Saint George and cross of red
And William Shakespeare’s Birthday can be found
To occupy the calendar’s same bed.
Purple Penumbra brings this happenchance
For spoken word adherents far and near
To tread soft in a fine poetic dance
With wisdom, wonder, wit and charm and cheer
So join us as we trip the purple haze
And touch the sky-creative to amaze.

HOW TO GET THERE:

Bus services:
126 from Birmingham to Wolverhampton, ten minutes from the Navigation bus stop, and
120, Birmingham to Dudley just two minutes from Rhodia Works bus stop, Station Road, Langley.

Train services:
6 minute walk from Langley Green railway station.

Car:
Put B69 4SP in your satnav, or…
From the M5, Junction 2,
at the big island take the 4th exit onto the A4034 (Churchbridge)
take the first right at the traffic light (slip road) B4170, Park Street/Park Lane towards Langley
at the Langley Green island, keep left on B4182, Park Lane
take the first right into Whyley Walk
The free car park is 60 metres on your left.
The Barlow Theatre, (or Oldbury Rep) is in front of you.

Tues 23rd Stafford Knott storytelling Club, Ye Olde Rose And Crown,10 Market Street, ST16 2JZ Stafford
If you are already a lover of performance storytelling or if you’d like to find out more – or if you have a story to tell, here’s some great news! Tuesday April 23rd sees the opening of a new storytelling club and venue in one of the best pubs in Stafford. Brazilian storyteller Ana Lines and English storyteller Cath Edwards are the hosts at The Olde Rose and Crown [LINK] and are thrilled with plans to welcome some wonderful tellers over the coming months.
In an amazing example of synchronicity, our opening …night, April 23rd, is both St George’s Day and Ogun Day, so bringing together English and Brazilian culture! No, we couldn’t believe it either! So
for this special occasion we will be telling multicultural stories and inviting tellers from the floor to contribute stories (of around 10 minutes) around the theme. Chain mail is optional, bring your own
dragon.
Our future events will bring enthralling performances from some of the best professional tellers,
with an opportunity to tell your own stories in the first half of the evening.
Note the date, the fourth Tuesday of the month. 7.30pm to 10pm, £5 on the door

Wed 24thPackhorse Poets,The Packhorse Inn, Crowdecote, near Longnor,Derbys on the fourth Wednesday of each month, 7.30pm

Wed 24th Poetry train,Lyche Gate Tavern, Queen Square, Wolverhampton , 8pm poetry open mic

Thur 25 Bilston Voices Café Metro, Church Street, Bilston. 7.30pm start. £2 admission.Ann Hastings, Maggie Doran, Jackie Evans and David Calcutt with Nadia Kingsley who will be reading from their new collection ‘road kill’).

Thur 25th Hit the Ode, Victoria PH, Birmingham City Centre 7.30pm. Hit the Ode brings the most exciting poets from the region, the country and the world to the heart of Birmingham. Join us! We have poems. Poems which taste of burnt eggs and black coffee; poems hot like summer afternoons should be; poets quietly buzzing like the wires on a pylon. Good poems. Come and get them.
Featuring Jess Green, Tim Clare and Lillian Allen.

Tues 25th The Telling Space, Mythstories, *NEW VENUE* (relocated from Wem) Mythstories,The Shrewsbury Coffeehouse,5 Castle Gates, SY1 2AE,Wem, Shropshire,The club meets on the 4th Tuesday of every month unless otherwise stated. Please check the website under ‘opening hours and events’ http://www.mythstories.com or contact Dez or Ali on 01939 235500 for further information.
Meet at 7 pm for refreshments (bring food to share) or at 7.30 pm for stories. A chance to listen or an opportunity to tell. Admission is free.

Wed 24th “42″ Open Mic Night (Gothic, Horror, Sci-Fi & Fantasy) Lunar Bar, New St Worcester, 7.30, Free in:last wed monthly E-mail: 42openmicnight@42genrearts.co.uk

Thurs 25th The White Shining Land, Mac Birmingham, 7.30pm £8
Newman University College Presents

The White Shining Land (By David Calcutt)

WORLD PREMIERE A group of travelers is crossing the ocean, heading for the ‘promised land’ of their dreams. To pass the time, they tell stories… about their lives back home… or folk tales that have been passed down to them… stories they will always carry with them, wherever they go… David Calcutt’s astonishing new play blends stories in different styles – from slapstick comedy, to the fantastical and the macabre. It is bo…th a powerful visual spectacle, and a moving meditation on the themes of migration, exile, hope, and loss..

Tickets available from:

http://www.macarts.co.uk/event/the-white-shining-land–by-david-calcutt

Fri 26th The White Shining Land, Mac Birmingham, 2pm/7.30pm £8
Newman University College Presents

The White Shining Land (By David Calcutt)

WORLD PREMIERE A group of travelers is crossing the ocean, heading for the ‘promised land’ of their dreams. To pass the time, they tell stories… about their lives back home… or folk tales that have been passed down to them… stories they will always carry with them, wherever they go… David Calcutt’s astonishing new play blends stories in different styles – from slapstick comedy, to the fantastical and the macabre. It is bo…th a powerful visual spectacle, and a moving meditation on the themes of migration, exile, hope, and loss..

Tickets available from:

http://www.macarts.co.uk/event/the-white-shining-land–by-david-calcutt

Fri 26th Spoken Worlds 19:30 The Old Cottage Tavern , Byrkley St,eet, Burton-upon-Trent DE14 2JJ Open mic gajwriter@btinternet.com

Sat 27th Luke Wright at the Audlem Festival

sat 27th Smart Poets at Yorks bakery,2pm, Newhall St, Birmingham

Sunday 28th Sunday Xpress, Adam and Eve PH, Bradford st Digbeth, 3pm. poetic mayhem open mic

Mon 29th Earlsdon Poetry Festival,Kendall’s of Earlsdon in Coventry 54 Earlsdon St Coventry CV5 6EJ,024 7667 5575 8pm, free in, Antony R Owen, Barry Patterson

Tues 30th Word Wizards Buckingham Hotel Buxton 19.30. Open mic three minute slam format More info Poetryslamuk@aol.com

——————————————————————–

Thurs 2nd May shrewsbury Coffee House,Pauline Fisk, supported by Steve Thayne, Ros Trotman, Ruth Cameron, Steve Harrison

Fri 3rd Artist Reveal Yourself, AE Harris Building, Jewellery Quarter: Artist Reveal Yourself is a multiple art form festival hoping to shine a spotlight on locally produced art and performance. They got in touch with me
recently to ask whether I may be able to help put together a spoken word programme. It certainly looks like a great chance to perform in a new space, in front of a new crowd, and to meet local musicians, photographers, visual
artists, theatre performers.

There will be two 2-hour spoken word poetry events (both to be held at AE
Harris in the Jewellery Quarter):

– Friday 3 May from 20:00 to 22:00
– Saturday 4 May from 18:00 to 20:00

On each of these two days, there will be 8-min support slots for the taking.
Please email bohdan@applesandsnakes.org if you would like one; we’ll be
allocating them on a first come, first served basis.

If you think you know anyone who might be interested, please help us spread
the word and forward this message to them. For more details about the event,
visit https://www.facebook.com/events/485060818229224/?

Sat 4thArtist Reveal Yourself, AE Harris Building, Jewellery Quarter; as above

Posted in Midlands Poetry What's On | Leave a comment

John Donne Day, Polesworth Abbey 2013, 400th Anniversary Celebration

Posted on April 2, 2013 by garylongden

Donne rightly enjoys a position amongst the poetic greats of the English language. The 2nd April, the day of this event ,was the 400th anniversary of Donne’s celebrated poem Good Friday, 1613, Riding Westward, reputedly inspired by his visit to Polesworth. Beyond Shakespeare, we do not do enough to celebrate our literary heritage, so this day was particularly welcome.The established links between Polesworth and Donne served to give the day an unique sense of time and place. Donne wrote his poem in a letter to his friend, Sir Henry Goodere, who was then the landowner of Polesworth Hall – which became Polesworth Vicarage in the 1930s.

The turn- out was distinctly A team with a distinguished team of local academics and an eminent audience, there were several intriguing moments as both tested each others’ poetic credentials. The speakers comprised Dr Anthony Mellors, Dr Anthony Howe, and Dr Gregory Leadbetter all of whom hold positions at Birmingham City University, each with diverse and illuminating insights into Donne and his poetry.A walk mid session along the pPlesworth Poetry Trail, lead by, and brainchild of, Mal Dewhirst, was a reminder of the ongoing capacity of Polesworth to inspire, and produce, great poetry to this very day.

Perhaps the most satisfying aspect of the session was the unanimity between the speakers that Donne, and Good Friday, 1613, Riding Westward , was “difficult” poetry ,a comforting message for mere mortals. Fr Phillip was also present to offer a spiritual interpretation sometimes as counterpoint to a strict literary view.

Good Friday, 1613. Riding Westward
By John Donne 1572–1631 John Donne
Let mans Soule be a Spheare, and then, in this,
The intelligence that moves, devotion is,
And as the other Spheares, by being growne
Subject to forraigne motion, lose their owne,
And being by others hurried every day,
Scarce in a yeare their naturall forme obey:
Pleasure or businesse, so, our Soules admit
For their first mover, and are whirld by it.
Hence is’t, that I am carryed towards the West
This day, when my Soules forme bends toward the East.
There I should see a Sunne, by rising set,
And by that setting endlesse day beget;
But that Christ on this Crosse, did rise and fall,
Sinne had eternally benighted all.
Yet dare I’almost be glad, I do not see
That spectacle of too much weight for mee.
Who sees Gods face, that is selfe life, must dye;
What a death were it then to see God dye?
It made his owne Lieutenant Nature shrinke,
It made his footstoole crack, and the Sunne winke.
Could I behold those hands which span the Poles,
And tune all spheares at once peirc’d with those holes?
Could I behold that endlesse height which is
Zenith to us, and our Antipodes,
Humbled below us? or that blood which is
The seat of all our Soules, if not of his,
Made durt of dust, or that flesh which was worne
By God, for his apparell, rag’d, and torne?
If on these things I durst not looke, durst I
Upon his miserable mother cast mine eye,
Who was Gods partner here, and furnish’d thus
Halfe of that Sacrifice, which ransom’d us?
Though these things, as I ride, be from mine eye,
They’are present yet unto my memory,
For that looks towards them; and thou look’st towards mee,
O Saviour, as thou hang’st upon the tree;
I turne my backe to thee, but to receive
Corrections, till thy mercies bid thee leave.
O thinke mee worth thine anger, punish mee,
Burne off my rusts, and my deformity,
Restore thine Image, so much, by thy grace,
That thou may’st know mee, and I’ll turne my face.

The TLS summarises the significance of the poem admirably as follows:

Friday, March 29, 2013, marks 400 years since the composition of one of John Donne’s most important and enduringly popular poems, “Goodfriday, 1613. Riding Westwards” (among the many variant titles existing in manuscript, this is the one printed in the first edition of Donne’s poetry, 1633). The poem, one of a small number by Donne which can be dated, records an intense religious meditation at a crucial turning point in the author’s life – and, by extension, in the intellectual history of early modern England. Born into a dangerously devout Catholic family in a time of heightened religious sensitivity, Donne eventually joined the Church of England and became one of the most celebrated preachers of his day. A daringly controversial erotic poet whose scandalous marriage cost him a promising secular career, he ended his life as Dean of St Paul’s Cathedral, a moral compass for the nation.

Although we must always remain wary of conflating Donne with the speakers of his poems, it it certainly suggestive that this 42-line poem, conceived as Donne entered his 42nd year, was written at exactly the time Donne made his decision to take orders, in spring 1613. (After overcoming many “distractions or diversions” cast in his path, he was eventually ordained in 1615.) The poem was probably composed on a journey which saw Donne visit Sir Edward Herbert at Montgomery Castle in Wales, and Sir Henry Goodere in Polesworth, Warwickshire. Following his return he announced his “resolution of a new course of life and new profession” – divinity.

As in so much of Donne’s devotional verse, “Goodfriday” is structured around a “collision of the liturgy with the ego”, as Kirsten Stirling has put it. The speaker expresses guilt about travelling west on the day commemorating Christ’s crucifixion in the east, fulfilling personal obligations when he ought to be performing religious duties. However, awed by his contemplation of the crucifixion he reasons that he is facing the right way, and the direction of travel therefore directly enables the poem’s devotional climax.

First, the poem explores the overwhelming nature of the crucifixion vision itself. To witness God’s death on earth would lead to a kind of paradoxical death difficult even to imagine (and Donne rhymes “dye” with “dye” at this point to powerful effect). How could a human being behold hands which could encompass infinity, or comprehend the “endlesse height” of heaven “Humbled below”? Given these visual impossibilities, the back of the head – said by Galen to be the seat of the memory – offers the more appropriate means of contemplation.

Alongside these misgivings, the speaker also begins to fear that his own inner worth is inadequate to approach God. He begins by asking ‘Could I’ in lines 21 and 23, a question with logical implications. Via “durt” and “dust” this becomes the deeply psychological question “durst I” by line 29, as the speaker, realizing that Christ’s gaze is on him, doubts his own worthiness even to receive God’s corrections. Having his back turned to God allows the speaker to be scourged: “Burne off my rusts, and my deformity”. As in so many of Donne’s Holy Sonnets, the poem concludes with a call for urgent, violent transformation. Yet unlike those poems, with their desperate dependence on God’s agency, the final action of “Goodfriday”, harmonizing with “thy grace”, is initiated by the speaker: “I’ll turne my face.”
* In 1613, Good Friday fell on April 2. On April 2, 2013, a celebration will be held at Polesworth Abbey, which will include new poetry specially commissioned for the occasion.

http://www.the-tls.co.uk/tls/public/article1236615.ece

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Lichfield Poetry Walk, Sun Mar 17th, 2013

Posted on March 25, 2013 by garylongden

All photos by, and reproduced with kind permission of, Gary Carr.

The pre walk briefing

The pre walk briefing

Almost a year ago, I attended a poetry walk in Hartington, led by Derbyshire Stanza. They meet monthly, and invited Birmingham Stanza to join them for the day. It was a fabulous day out, even though (because?) it rained, inspiring much poetry, and forging new friendships. Later that year a return visit was organised for an urban walk in Birmingham which was a similar success. As a member of Lichfield Poets, a visit to Lichfield, located between Derbyshire and Birmingham, seemed the next logical step, and so the idea of a Lichfield poetry walk was born.

More pre walk briefing

More pre walk briefing

Lichfield itself is ideal for a walking tour; compact, pubs, restaurants and cafes galore, public toilets, buildings steeped in history, and places and people of historic significance.The tour was not a tourist walk where much information was supplied, instead it offered locations to prompt thought, and perhaps poetry.

John Smith, Captain of the Titanic, without an iceberg in sight.

John Smith, Captain of the Titanic, without an iceberg in sight.

No tour of Lichfield is complete without taking in the Cathedral, and poets like pub gardens, so entering a pub garden to get a view and conjure some artistic inspiration seemed like a good idea.

Prince Rupert's Mount, now the pub garden of the George & the Dragon, from where the Royalists bombarded the Parliamentarians

Prince Rupert’s Mount, now the pub garden of the George & the Dragon, from where the Royalists bombarded the Parliamentarians

The main approach to Lichfield Cathedral

The main approach to Lichfield Cathedral

Lichfield Poet, Brian Asbury, who could not be present had written a fine poem called “The Bullet’s Tale” included in the Lichfield Poets anthology “Battle Lines” about the killing of Lord Brooke by a Parliamentarian sniper in the Cathedral tower rampart in Dam Street. This was too good an opportunity to miss so I read the poem, pretty much in the spot where the incident happened.

Gary Longden performs “The Bullets Tale” at Speakers corner, the crowd is in front! There were no snipers this time.

All in all it was a splendid day which prompted the following contributions, largely in cinquaine form. I am a fan of the cinquaine form, which comprises five lines,, 2,4,6,8.2 syllables. it offers more room to breathe than the haiku, and can be linked together in multiple cinquaines, particularly as a cinq cinquaine, very effectively. I find it ideal for places, and my fellow poet walkers soon explored its potential. For more information on the originator of the form, Adelaide Crapsey, read a previous blog:https://garylongden.wordpress.com/2011/05/13/adelaide-crapsey/

These were written on the day, unedited and unpolished. Although some may be further developed, they are a vibrant snapshot of what went on. Some are titled, those that are not should just come under the generic title of Lichfield:

Recruitment

My Lord
called for service
Pikemen,archers, farmers
Staffordshire peasant fodder had
No choice

join us
For politics
For faith and family
face the musket shot of once loved
Brothers

Follow
The beating drum
March to the redcoat war
Where law succumbs to tropical
Fever

Still our
Staffordshire boys
take your silver shillings
To the Empire,bringing the bones
Of men

Cannon Fodder

They were
sworn to their lord.
Pikemen, archers, bondsmen,
Staffordshire peasantry who had
no choice.

They signed
for politics
for faith or family
facing the muskets of Roundhead
brothers,

followed
the beating drum,
marched to the redcoat war
where British rule of law was dressed
in braid,

they went
for a soldier,
better than poverty,
tommies and squaddies expecting
a life.

So long
our Lichfield boys
took your silver shillings
to Arabia, brought back the bones
of men.

Kathy Gee, Worcestershire Stanza
——————————————

Captain Smith

He stands
Overlooking
Clipped lawns and flwer beds
His ship sank long ago but shame
Endures

George Fox

George Fox
Quaker leader
released from Derby cells
Shouted to folk in Market square
Listen

Janet Jenkins – Lichfield poets

————————————-
In the
Cathedral cold
Sleeping children at rest
Grandfather unable to keep
From death

Wait here
They might reply
The cabinet maker
Uphosterer undertaker
Et al

Martyrs
Meet here weekly
Most meet death by burning
the stake as comfy as it gets
I hear

Is it
Any wonder
How Charles Darwin turned out
grandfather teaching Botany
And all

I am
Hanley’s own
Unwanted, find my home
in another place, so Lichfield
I grace

Margaret Holbrook
————————————————

The Memorial to Captain Edmund John Smith

Stoke born
Seaman by trade
Titanic his ending
Body lost at sea, memory lost in
Exile

two saints
Chads Cathedral
Edmund in a dung hill
One faith unites human actions
besides

Ian Ward- Lichfield poets

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Poets
on the warpath
Changing everything here
My heart makes its way through the streets
The start

Outside
Snipers inspire
A hooded hiddden craft
Boats by botanical gardens
Float near

Three heads
Burnt at the stake
In England’s county shire
The last of martyrs on the pyre
Street life

Three spires
three bodies burned
Three waterways wet the moggs
Hinging history together
Old town

Sally Taylor – Derbyshire Stanza
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Reflect
in the shadows
In the shadows of time
Titanic, Smith, darwin
Live on

Paula Tate – Derbyshire Stanza

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Farquhar
Raised his standard
then his pen and soon a
Mighty regiment of women
Was fleeced

Dumb John
Took a shot
And got Brooke, Roundheads cheered
“How did you do it John?” they asked
Can’t say

Garrick
Actor of fame
Earned his bread and butter
With fine speeches and large slices
Of ham

Darwin
Disappointed
By his dreary grandson
was pragmatic; said “I’m sure he’ll
Evolve”

Phil Binding – Derby Spoken Worlds

——————————————

Peer out
Erasamus
What are you looking for?
A number fourteen bus? or us
Poets

Martin Ward – Derbyshire Stanza

——————————

Johnson
In mosaic
This language of colour
His small details pieced together
Defined

Red Wreath
Against cream paint
leaves flake from dry poppies
memory circles short lived silence
Time weights

Sarah Leavesley- Worcester stanza

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To know
Lichfield is to
know taverns and poets
walk the lexicon of streets and know
Britain

I am
Lichfield City
Of philosophers
I am ecclesiastical
Write me

Alison Riley – Derby Stanza

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Lofty
Spires words ideals
rain riven stones stand proud
inside hide attitudes of blue
rinse town

Ancient
Stepds trodden by
Better minds than mine but
Perhaps their wisdom seeps into
My path

Twisted
Alleys sneak round
House sides that open out
In unexpected garden square
Delight

This is the unexpected garden

This is the unexpected garden

Show me
A way, lead me
On paths of truth help me
Open my heart as bishops have
or should

Fox found
God in silence
But shouted his despair
At the church in Lichfield to no
Avail

Heather Fowler- Lichfield Poets

———————–

George Fox
Unshackled now
Denounces lichfield greed
Wrapped up in Quaker righteousness
Shoe less

Cold stone
Still radiates
A fires faint heat aglow
Reflected against stained glass stare
Still now

Gary Longden- Lichfield Poets

————————

Guiness
On two men’s hats
Coloured black white and green
On saint Patrick’s day in Lichfield
Slanthe

Martyrs
Thomas Hayward
John Goreway and a Joyce
Lewis remembered on a plaque
In square

George Fox
Quaker man stood
in bare feet in winter
denounceing Lichfield City
Godless

Marjorie Neilsen – Lichfield Poets

———————————

Happy
mem’ries at day
Lichfield Cathedral is
Beautiful history being torn
Apart

The bright
mosaic face
Of Samuel Jonhnson
How many tiles there I wonder?
Lovely

Jodie Ford- Worcester Stanza
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Cafe
Amigos where
Tapas grills while Kings head
Regiments form fr Staffordshire
Defence

A boy
With a fish tail
And a green skirt sits on
A green tortoise, I want him
To spout

Gary
Orates a poem
At Speaker’s Corner rails
We see the shot a sniper took
To here

The Spark
Caf is where
The inpiration comes
before the hot steak sandwiches
Appear

three spires
Conduits, cess pits
walk on, can’t sit, click click
Quick notes, cinquaines our day in
Lichfield

Jereny Duffield- Derbyshire Stanza

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George Farquhar

Writer
Of plays and words
So strong they can turn him
Into recruiting officer
Of men

Captain John Smith

I’m here
See how I fold
my arms and keep my back
Straight, unloved in my home town but
Stil proud

The Vicar’s Runner

Goblet
Of glass I hold
The daily ale for men
One measure their thirst in pints, tied
To cloth

Henry

I sit
Here perfectly
Still as they carve the stone
My pose shows a King knows this is
Boring

Claire Walker- Worcester Stanza

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Trees weep
silhouette tears
around Smith’s effigy
frozen against sky, like his life,
on ice.

Housing
rotarians.
A respectable air,
the Beaux Stratagem at the George…
today.

Roof tiles
and alleyways
amaze the ghosts of this
labyrinth where young Darwin’s mind
was honed.

Early
entertainment,
the ultimate game show
for market square martyrs; you burn,
you win.

Poet
speaks borrowed words.
Fires them like a sniper,
conjures a bullet’s short life from
nothing.

So much
living past here,
the undertaker’s shop
a shock. Events are eternal,
people die.

Gary Carr- Derbyshire Stanza and Spoken Worlds

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In this
Field of the dead
So much remains of the past
That there is so little space
For now

In spite
The house stands and
Against the times
Is witness to a family’s
Dispute

Secrets
Unveiled by
Visitors allow old scenes
So familiar to be viwed
Anew

Ben Macnair -lichfield poets

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