Poetry People
Why is modern poetry so difficult, heavy, inaccessible, academic and elitist? Why do poetry people diss rhyme – which most ordinary people prefer?
Why is modern poetry so difficult, heavy, inaccessible, academic and elitist? Why do poetry people diss rhyme – which most ordinary people prefer?
A famous radio-commentary mistake occurred in a Test Match between England and the West Indies - although some say it was no mistake, and that the commentators had been waiting for the chance to come out with the punch-line. Either way, it is a famous cricket moment. The Test Match Special theme music is ‘Soul Limbo’ (from the album of that name by Booker T. & the M.G.'s, released in 1968 on Stax Records).
The News of the World systematically tapped phones for many years. It was not just the phones of celebs, royalty, and the famous – it included the phone of a murdered schoolgirl. And it was accompanied by lies, deceit, and corporate misbehavior that threatened to engulf Rupert Murdoch and his empire. To the surprise of many, he and his senior staff apparently knew nothing about these illegal goings-on, and didn’t ask where these exclusive stories were coming from. But a Parliamentary select committee report concluded that Murdoch "exhibited willful blindness to what was going on in his companies and publications," and stated that he was "not a fit person to exercise the stewardship of a major international company".
The Golden Hour is the hour before and after dusk (and also before and after dawn), when the light is soft and tinged with colour. It is when the daytime animals settle down – and when nocturnal animals begin to hunt. It is a time of peace, transition, and soft, magical, light.
A walk in the South Downs. Our rambler is a ‘man’ of a certain age who buys all the kit – but is really a fair-weather walker.
Meditation, relaxation – we all need time to unwind and slow-down. But some people end up taking themselves too seriously (‘Self-obsession in poor Nepal will make job worries start to pall’). They need to chill!
A farmer’s life is a hard one – especially if you are keeping sheep on a mountainside. But, at the same time, what is good for the struggling farmer can be bad for the environment and the rest of us (the non-farmers). So this rhyme is in two parts: firstly, the struggle of the upland sheep farmer, and secondly the plight of those affected by flooding caused by the removal of the upland trees and vegetation, and the widening of drainage channels. So on the one hand we can ‘pity’ the upland farmer, and on the other hand we can ‘curse’ the upland farmer.
The sadness and disillusionment at the end of a relationship that promised so much. And then the recriminations start: Fuck your tears - I slam the door and wish I'd never met you’. There must be a better way to say goodbye.
A Slobadon Milosovc, Sadam Hussein, style of mass-murderer is facing execution and prays for his lost soul. He knows his body will not survive, but he wonders whether his cursed soul can ever be forgiven?
A bit heavy this one – it is about the death of a child (‘when a child dies, the Angel cries’). It tries to capture the despair and grief of every parent’s nightmare. A difficult topic to write about.
A story of trying to ‘find yourself’ through religion, or drugs. But the narrator, now with his body wrecked, decides that the way to find yourself is not through external stimulants, but through internal peace – you can find yourself by just ‘being’.
Why do we pretend the dead were better than they really were? Why the hypocrisy?
Over-eating is todays curse – for many Westerners it is the ‘new smoking’. But what if you do eat all day in heaven? Wouldn’t that be wonderful? Or not?