Garyswordz

Regular poetry events are not easy to sustain. I organised my first event a few weeks ago and was educated in exactly how much hard work goes into making them happen. Those who organise them regularly are heroes, and that includes Gary Carr who promotes Spoken Worlds. A key ingredient is creating something which is unique, which makes you want to attend, and feel that you are missing out if you don’t go. At Spoken Worlds, as well as having “three halves,” that defining characteristic is providing a platform for performers to experiment with new or reworked material.

Steph Knipe from Fradley is a quirky delight who specialises in off-beat poetry about microwave ovens , food sent in the post and wheely bins. Her poems are regularly published. Tonight she sprung a surprise by bringing along her guitar and putting one of her familiar poems, Bovine Ailments , to a folk style accompaniment. It worked very well, providing an extra dimension to what is already a very satisfying piece. I hope that she will feel encouraged to experiment further and try setting more of her work to music. Although the relationship between lyrics for music and poetry is an uneasy one, I think that Steph is on to something here.

Mal Dewhirst is experimenting in a different way by writing fresh contemporaneous lyrical poems themed on Pink Floyd’s The Wall for a summer production in Tamworth Assembly Rooms,Tuesday 5th – Fri 8th Jun from 7:30pm. I have had the pleasure and privilege of hearing this unfold. It is an exciting project with one piece in particular, March of the Worms , capturing the spirit of Roger Waters circa the mid 1970’s, and the zeitgeist of the all pervading dominance of the Internet in the 21st century.

I have become increasingly interested in the link between epic poetry and storytelling in recent months .That link is one that Margaret Torr has also been exploring as she told an extending rhyming story of a monkey and crocodile , it was a bold move, and one which paid handsomely. Ian Ward has been working exceptionally assiduously over the past year putting in the hard yards of performing and testing his poetry at many venues. His latest move has been to create an imaginary village to explore the fantasy world which he loves to create. It is an ideal vehicle for his poetic milieu and one which has considerable potential.

Dwane Reads made his Spoken Worlds debut in confident style. An out-an –out Performance Poet, his material ranged from donkeys on Blackpool Beach to traffic jams on the A50, the latter of which was his best piece. His material had promise, however the delivery was a little strident, the volume stuck on loud. Dwane explained that he was eager to secure new performance slots in his poetic journey, I suspect that as he does so, the light and shade which is required in performance will emerge.

Ray and Terri Jolland performed a very accomplished Shakespeare pastiche, Janet Jenkins orated on a murmuration of starlings, Tom Wyre read from some well worked Mysteries compositions.Rob Stevens not only read well he also finishe the eving with a fine song about the Miners Strike.maybe in the future we will see a collaboration between Steph,Rob and Mal? Spoken Worlds returns on Friday 20th April, 7.30pm start, free admission.

Gary Longden 24/3/12

A heavyweight bill ,with four out of the five readers published poets, brought out another strong attendance, such that the start had to be delayed, a measure both of the success of the event, and the pulling power of poetry in Bilston. Hosted by Emma Purshouse , the sales table groaned under the weight of the various publications credited to the evening’s authors.

First up was Dave Finchett with a well prepared set. He opened with a trio of love poetry, which is always high risk, albeit underpinned by the safety net of the sonnet form, but he pulled it off. I particularly enjoyed his description of street lights as “fiery pinheads of the night sky” in Light Pollution. But it was Bullshit a knockabout satire on the foibles of middle –management which drew the most applause including his memorable description of a “thicket of middle managers”.

Jacqui Rowe, co-editor of Flarestack Poets, informed me that the next poet, Joel Lane, was the first poet ever to be invited to submit a collection for publication to Flarestack, which has resulted in Instinct, a collection of erotic poetry. Frustratingly, he only read a handful of poems from the collection. Instrumental, about musician Charlie Parker, was excellent. Instead he bravely elected to read a short story about a mystery cancer cluster on a local estate. Joel is sharing a joint launch of Instinct with David Hart at the Birmingham MAC on 22nd April.

Closing the first half Jacqui Rowe herself stepped up to perform, visibly relishing the freedom of not having to carry the responsibility of hosting Poetry Bites, her own bi-monthly poetry evening in Birmingham. Most of her reading was from Paint, inspired by her recent residency at Wightwick Manor in Wolverhampton, the ancestral home of the Mander family who made their fortune producing paint in the 19th century. Curiously Theodore Mander married Flora Paint, so a title for the pamphlet was not hard to come by! The poetry itself is moving and beautiful, with the pamphlet available from her website, but my favourite poem of her reading came from her most recent residency at the Warwickshire Museum, Ways of Looking at an Otter, a response to an exhibit of an otter skull some 170 years old.

In the battle of the Poetry Houses, Jane Seabourne, stepped up representing Offa’s Press ,to read largely from her collection Bright Morning. Jane is an easy, comfortable performer whose warm style and performance manner seamlessly merge with her readings in winning combination. She is just as at home with the lightness of Ten Signs of Spring, as she is with the domesticity of How to make a Chocolate Sponge whilst later tackling the subject of a survivor of childhood abuse with tenderness and power.

I encounter David Calcutt ,who has been published by Oxford University Press regularly, yet never tire of his imaginative writing which is always delivered with boyish enthusiasm. Nature, mystery, magic and forests are recurrent themes, yet his writing is always precise and realistic, as was evidenced in his opening poem Cattle, the fantasy always grounded. His descriptions always remind me of holiday brochure photos, based in fact, yet garnished to please. He remains the only person whom I know to write a worthwhile sequence on curlews.

Bilston Voices returns on Thursday 26th April with Jack Edwards, Iris Rhodes, Liz Lefroy, Bobby Parker and Win Saha, 7.30pm start.
Gary Longden 23/3/12

Fresh from a hugely successful States of Independence publishing fayre event at De Montfort University , held annually, at the weekend, Shindig made its bi monthly appearance at the Western Public House. Another healthy audience comprised those for whom Saturday was simply not enough poetry, and regulars who had been unable to make it. The standard of performance never fell short of high.

The four headline performers were particularly strong this month, and diverse in styles. Michael W. Thomas is a poet, novelist and playwright who has lived, been widely published, and performed ,in several countries. His literary credentials are formidable , and stretch from Finland, to Florida and back to Albania, where he vies with Norman Wisdom for the international affections of the Albanian people. He now lives in Worcestershire. His tone tonight was reflective and elegiac. A poignant sonnet dedicated to his father, moved through childhood reminiscence, to a particularly fine piece about schoolmate footballers cloaked in the spirit of Bobby Moore, Geoff Hurst and Jack Charlton. His most striking poem was Your Buffet… a wonderful piece inspired by the practise of American hobos to leave secret signs on telegraph poles and wires alerting others of their ilk to local rewards and dangers. Michael performed with a rucksack at his feet containing his writing. I thought that it neatly symbolised a man whose writing is as travelled as he has been.

Host Jonathan Taylor affectionately described the next two poets as the country mouse and the town mouse respectively- in both cases, they were mice who roared.

Aly Stoneman is Nottingham based , and was promoting her new pamphlet, published by Crystal Clear Creators, Lost Lands. Her presentational style is fey, beguiling , gentle, and easy, as is her writing. The lost lands are the connections we make between places and landscapes which have held significance in our lives, how they came about, and how they change with time. Her skill lies in her ability to juxtapose broad brush written landscapes with pin sharp observation which resonates. Fall of Snow spoke of transience, a landscape which is created then disappears, Waterline was quite beautiful. She is currently working at a hippy-lit English road-trip novel , A Beginners’ Guide to Running Away, and her self-styled description of hippy-lit neatly describes her, and her fondness for myths, water, wilderness and human beings.

Some thirty five years ago I first saw John Cooper Clarke perform as a support act for Punk band the Buzzcocks as he dodged beer cans thrown from an impatient crowd. Fortunately the Shindig audience is more civil. Andrew “The Mulletproof Poet” Graves gladly acknowledges his debt to the Performance Poet pioneer as is evidenced by his performance style of delivery. He describes himself as “a troubled poet for troubled times” and wryly observes that all poets are “miserable bastards on the road to self destruction” ( a claim left unchallenged by a poet full audience). Reading from his new pamphlet, published by Crystal Clear Creators, Citizen Kaned, he took us through Love in Strange Places, delivered an homage to Yuri Gagarin’s historic first manned space flight with Vostock 1, and ended with his signature Middle Aged Mod, I could not help but select Quadrophenia on my i-pod for the journey back home. Although unashamedly Performance in style, Andrew is no ranty shouty big mouth, his well chosen subject matter is matched by the economy, vibrancy and brio of his language. May the pennants on his scooter aerial flutter boldly.

Jonathan Davidson is director of Midland Creative Projects Limited, Associate Director of the Birmingham Book Festival and Chief Executive of Writing West Midlands. He is an award winning published playwright and poet ,but a reluctant performer, which is a shame, because his performance on the night was quite brilliant. Light, self-effacing, amusing and entertaining ,he took us on a joyous trip through his wonderful writing with a smile. The tradition at Shindig is not to applaud a poet other than upon arrival in anticipation, and upon departure, in appreciation. However such was the sharpness, wit and joy of The Manager Writes ,a waspish satire on the mangled English and thoughts of a football manager’s notes in his club’s programme, that spontaneous cheering was the deserved, and only possible, outcome. His readings from his two collections, Early Train and The Living Room ,were predominantly homely, but never overly sentimental and always laced with an acerbic aside. I do hope that Jonathan can be persuaded to read more regularly.

Shindig regularly boasts floor readers of the highest standard. Once again we were not disappointed. Past Birmingham Poet Laureate, National Radio’s 1&2 DJ, and local commercial and BBC radio DJ, Charlie Jordan, casually sauntered up to the mike and let her wonderful, memorized poem Words do the talking for her. Love poetry is difficult to pull off in front of an audience for several reasons. Firstly, as it is invariably a first hand account, it risks being intensely personal, and although significant to the writer, may not connect beyond. Secondly, over the centuries, Catullus, Donne and Shakespeare have set a standard which is hard to beat. Which is why I was drawn to Lindsay Waller-Wilkinson’s two efforts, Scars and I Know. She combined restraint with emotion, and anguish without vulgarity.

I always enjoy listening to Deborah Tyler –Bennett. Hitherto I have heard her only perform historic period poems. Her enthusiasm for her writing, sense of time and place, and general joie de vivre cause me to reflect that if I was transported in a time machine back to Victorian times, Deborah would be the ideal companion to show me around. Tonight she only went as far back as the 1960’s and 70’s, but was no less engaging. James Bond Will Return was a nostalgic return to the rat infested flea pits of the era, but it was Cheerful Revisited, dedicated to Ian Dury which stood out. Cleverly replicating the metre and rhythm of Dury’s Reasons to be Cheerful Part 3, it pulled off the very difficult task of mimicking , but redefining the original ( and brought back fond memories of seeing him perform).Authentic and fond, she never allowed the source material and images to swamp her writing which is the bear-trap in such pieces.

The Old Man of Hoy provided fertile ground for a magnificent landscape poem by Jayne Stanton, and the Elephant in the room provided a neat twist for Matt Merritt’s nature themed poetry, to pick just two more performances from a strong field of floor readers.

Jonathan Taylor for Crystal Clear Creators ,and Jane Commane and Matt Nunn for Nine Arches Press, are to be commended for assembling both such a strong cast of performers, and creating a relaxed easy ambience for them to perform in. Shindig next meets on the 21st May, 7.30pm start, free entry, sign up for an open mic slot on the night.

Gary Longden 19/3/12

Held as part of the St Patricks festival celebrations, this was a night of poetry spoken word and song in a pub that has seen more St Patricks day celebrations than most. The Old Crown reputedly can trace its history back to 1368, but much of the existing building is mere 16th century with Queen Elizabeth the First having been an honoured guest. That sense of history gives any evening held here a sense of place.

A good turnout was orchestrated by the combined skills of Laura Yates, Northfield Arts Forum co-ordinator and Pat Murphy Wright, Cultural Development co-ordinator for Irish in Birmingham, a charity providing welfare and cultural services to the Irish community in Digbeth. Birmingham and the Midlands has a thriving poetry scene currently, operating from a wide variety of venues. Given the rich Irish tradition of poetry, Pat is absolutely right to apply her efforts to cultivating that tradition amongst the Irish community in the city.

Laura Yates shared hosting duties with Kurly McGeachie and both had their work cut out to accommodate all the aspiring performers before closing time. Antony R Owen read not only from his own work but also that of Joseph Horgan, from his collection, Slipping Letters Beneath the Sea. Typically Horgan’s poems are short, the subject matter often exploring the dislocation of an ex pat Brummie now domiciled in Ireland. The contrast between his urban roots, and his rural present ,is another source of dislocation, and finds expression in his city poems. Joe skillfully acts as an observer on both a Birmingham shaped by Imperial migration, and an Ireland shaped by economic migration. His observation that the more that societies reach out, the more they contract in their perception of what their core identity is,was a point shrewdly observed.

Councillor Reg Corns read a moving introduction to his book about the mid 19th century forced emigration of Irish citizens to Canada aboard the notorious coffin ships to a destination that was forced to create mass graves for those who had died in the appalling conditions of the journey.tet the evening offered plenty of light and shade too. Shirley Cooper, a stalwart of the Old Crown entertained, as did Alan Wales with his offbeat Celtic musings from Under Deadwood. Young Worcestershire Poet Laureate Laura Deadicoat’s poem on horses could not fail in such a setting and the evening was closed with a traditional Irish song, current Birmingham Poet Laureate Jan Watts having opened proceedings.

The Big Irish Night is part of an occasional series, details of future such events and other associated cultural activities can be found on the Irish in Birmingham website: http://www.irishinbirmingham.com/blog.php

Gary Longden 14/5/12

“It’s in the reach of my arms, the span of my hips, the stride of my step, the curl of my lips.I’m a woman, phenomenally .Phenomenal woman ,that’s me.” So quoted host Jan Watts, current Birmingham Poet Laureate, from acclaimed American feminist poet Angelou Mayou to open an evening of poetry performed by women, but to a mixed audience, with a strong male contingent. Promoted in conjunction with Birmingham Libraries, Sue Wilkinson and Librarian of the year ,Nikki Bi, were on hand to help with the organisation.

Charlie Jordan from the Decadent Divas

Ensemble performances are growing in popularity . In Birmingham, the Decadent Divas, Charlie Jordan, Laura Yates, Lorna Meehan and Maggie Doyle have been pioneers of the style. The new show, which ran to around 20 minutes, was entitled Love and Marriage and comprised almost entirely new material with just a few fond echoes of the previous show. Maggie Doyle mused that “life has a habit of re-arranging life”, Charlie that we move from “falling in love to standing in love” in two memorable lines. Finished only a few hours before, an already strong script will tighten still further with familiarity. I was also mildly shocked to learn that the Grace Jones song Pull up to my Bumper referred to her backside, and not the back of her car……….

Naomi Paul is a similarly experienced performer , and it showed with The Truth About the Goddess of Rhythm and The Grey Rabbit, the latter a wonderfully atmospheric tale of her journey as a hippy bussing across America, evoking the spirit of The Grateful Dead and Paul Simon whilst retaining her Englishness. Kate Faulkner trod the safe ground of body image, Jude Ashworth cast a spell with Astara. It was a particular pleasure to see Sam Hunt’s disciplined presentation of Dolls House, about child abuse, and a delight to hear novelist and poet Christine Coleman for the first time, especially her tour de force, Becoming a Seal. From Smart Poets Penny Hewlett read a very strong trilogy, two of which were sonnets on a converstional theme. Compelling and innovative, Penny’s writing is always worth watching out for.

Cathy Gee explored Ladies in Linen prior to a particularly strong closing trio. Jacqui Rowe, who had mentored several of the performers , was as polished as ever, reading from Paint and reminding all of the importance of Jeannie Senior. Over the past couple of years Janet Smith has emerged as an outstanding poetic voice, her understated polemic in Flares debuted with the ink still drying on the page, was excellent. Egg and Caligo I cannot wait to read on the page, their fine first impression quite evidently merely an alluring outer layer for the potency of what lies beneath .

Closing the evening was the only straight performance poetry of the night, from Scrubber Jack, a Coventry poet who tells of life as a scrubber, or a cleaner to be more precise. Base , crude and earthy, it was also honest, touching and great fun and went down very well. The venue is a fitting place to perform poetry, and the good sized audience went home rewarded and entertained by a strong bill.

On the 3rd May, Jan Watts is running another women performer event themed on loss, gain at the Library Theatre starting at 7.30pm, between the 16th and 21st she is running a poetry workshop at Erdington Library. Rachel green from Community Vibe also trailed a collaborative project with Jan Watts called Poetry City an initiative to broaden awareness and the appeal of poetry in the city.
8/3/12

This event was sponsored by Nine Arches Press, publishers of Krystanovic’s latest and posthumous collection , Moses’ Footsteps ,for which the evening was a launch. A Croatian national, he had lived in Birmingham since 1992 and studied Creative Writing at the University of Birmingham , was a member of Writers Without Borders, Cannon Poets and the Society of Children’s Book Writers & Illustrators. Milorad had also worked as a language teacher at the Brasshouse Centre in Birmingham. The full room was testament to the enduring quality of the affection and admiration felt for him following his recent death.

The collection itself is a delight, and a triumph of the dedication of co-editors Jane Commane and Matt Nunn, in association with various local poetic luminaries. Poetry which is written in one language, and in that cultural tradition, is not easy to translate, even with the author there to help. Yet the themes are universal, not least of bridges, bridges between languages, cultures, places, times, pain and recovery. The primacy of atmosphere, ambience and tone, over straightforward narrative possessing an ethereal dimension.

A glittering roster of readers lined up to read their own selections from Krystanovic’s work, reminisce, and explain the reasons for their selections, the latter being both instructive, and illuminating. Martin Underwood, Myra Connell , Julie Boden and John Alcock drew upon their personal experience with Krystanovic as a friend and fellow poet. Jonathan Morley spoke of his experiences when as editor he published The Yasen Tree with Heaventree Press, Jane Commane of her contemporary experiences on editing Moses Footprints. Birmingham University academic Dr Luke Kennard’s selection of “Midday Flower Density” was notable both in its delivery, worthiness, and his observations of the poem’s merits.

A fine evening, and an event fitting to celebrate the life and work of a man whose reputation is assured. Moses’ Footprints (2012) and Improvising Memory (2010) are available from Nine Arches Press, and follow on from The Yasen Tree (Heaventree Press, 2007), The Language of Wounds, Where Spirits Touch and Four Horizons/Ceteri Vidika were also previously published.

Gary Longden 3/3/12