This week Milton Keynes has evidently become the third place in the UK to appoint its first Poet Laureate.
Upon reading the article about the chap (seems pleasant enough) it becomes obvious that he is expected to be a cultural flag waver for the town and its functions.
Although this is essence isn't a bad thing (it's certainly not something that I would be capable of) it has made me wonder whether poetry in the modern sense has become the birthright of the Performer as opposed to the purely literal poetry writer.
As WOL is ostensibly a site for the Performance side of poetry (within which I happily reside like a fat cuckoo) I ponder whether the balance of Performer/Non Performer is firmly with the former. Also, is the concept of PL's in and around the country a good idea?

I think anything that makes people more aware of poetry ought to be a good thing - although (and I've mentioned it before) there seems to be quite a lot of TV ads with awful poetry in them. One about cheese springs to mind - though it is read by lovely Pete Postlethwaite who died recently, so at least it sounds good.
I guess I could be St Agnes's poet laureate if they asked me - maybe I'd get 40 cans of Scrumpy Jack instead of the barrels of port or whatever that C.A.D. gets! It sounds as if what is required is a cross between a Town Cryer and a poet though.

If you are blind but not yet deaf,
Can mix your words like a chef,
And learn your lines
(Without trite rhymes),
Then you can play with verse and
Yet defy the worst.
If you can stand sober at the mike
Without fear of heckling or dislike,
If you can take a thought, a dream
And on the stage make it seem
That thoughts are drawn
And sounds have dawn
Then you will be a performance poet, my man.

Ha ha - you may be knocking out half of all Tudor poets with this definition (the standing sober bit in particular) Jane - but I love it!

I elect you Poet Laureate for Bolton - flying the flag for all us females! xx

To the original question...

I'd agree with Ann about any publicity for poetry being good. That Milton Keynes should be so high up in flying its own flag, surprises me ;-) - I'd never seen it as a centre of culture - but then I don't think Bill Bryson ever did it any favours in 'Tales of a small Island'.

I think you should challenge yourself Graham and write a performance poem about Milton Keynes, its architecture and grid system!

Bill Bryson on Milton Keynes - brilliant. Wonderful book, with the scene in the Glasgow pub being the most priceless.

Interesting one to raise Graham - one question - who would decide what areas would have PLs? MK and Bolton and Wigan are easy - they are discrete entities. But what would we do over here? Would there be a PL for Merseyside jockeying for position with PLs for Liverpool, Sefton, St Helens, Knowsley etc. Would the PL for Manchester be seen as an intruder by the PLs for Sale, Trafford, Salford etc. Clearly a neutral, well-run body like FIFA would be needed to sort it all out.

Funny! :)

Hi, Graham,Isobel, Dave and Ann,
I am in favour of poetry everywhere and think there could be lots of Mersyside PLs, they could do solo verse and come together, like the Flying Pickets, and recite acappella. You should try it together. A verse each with a joint rhythmic chorus. Get those fingers and thumbs ready!

My worry is - I'm not Cornish - so I don't think I could ever try for it! Not that I would anyway. But it raises the thought - do you have to be local/a native, whatever? To be the PL???

It appears that he has done a lot of appearances and charity stuff and the like. An all round good egg, so good for him. But I wonder how much his ability as a poet was taken into consideration?

I suppose it would help if a PL didn't have stage fright and was able to get up there and perform their stuff. I don't think it should be a pre-requisite for the job though - poetry can be read after all - printed in newspapers and local gazettes. Far more important I would have thought to have a quality poet. But who does the choosing?
I'm not sure I would find it easy having to write to order, particularly if that involved bigging up an area.
Regarding Ann's question - I would imagine that you just had to be resident in a locality in order to qualify - which might seem odd if you had a thick accent from another region.

Dear Graham, Ann, Jane, Isobel and Dave,

Greetings Fellow Poets, I’m Mark Niel, the new Poet Laureate for Milton Keynes. I had no idea my appointment had triggered such a healthy debate.

I believe that a non–performer can be a poet laureate as well as a performer. In fact most of the regional schemes I know of, the laureate is decided by a written competition. I do write for the page as well as performance and I hope this versatility will allow me to choose an appropriate style as suited to the occasion. Great emphasis has been placed on the “honorary” and “ceremonial” aspects of my role. The etymological roots for both these words meaning “cheap, as in unpaid”!

I hope to use the position to promote poetry in all forms and open the door for other local poets to be seen and heard. I also hope to support literacy initiatives and library campaigns. We have a strong local scene here and increasingly our poets are getting out and about, some of them have been “scouted” for commissions and performances by Festivals and organisations such as Apples & Snakes. The laureateship follows hot on the heels on the election earlier this year of a Bard for Stony Stratford (which lies within the boundaries of Milton Keynes). Happily, we all get on well and support each other’s activities. For the past three years, we have been going mob-handed to open mic nights in London and across the Midlands terrorising audiences with our close harmony poetry and trying to show there’s more to Milton Keynes than concrete cows, thousands of roundabouts and Lego land houses.

In fact we’re very much into cultural exchanges so if you’d like to experience us first hand give us a shout.

My website is A Kick in the Arts www.akickinthearts.co.uk and my blog is called “How to be a busy poet and still live in poverty” at www.pawhouseboy.blogspot.com

Best Wishes

Mark

Well there you have it (horse's mouth etc). Thank heavens I was nice about it and didn't slag Mark off. I should have known his name though shouldn't I?

I don't think I've ever slagged off MK either, so still good there too.

Isobel, I think you should already be applying to be PL in your neck of the woods.

Ann, I think Cornwall could be yours too.

Crumbs - just how heart warming is this thread? When I saw Mark's contribution earlier, the thought did occur to me of how lucky it was that Graham didn't slag anyone off LOL. In fact the whole tone of the thread was quite noble - which has to be a first for WOL!

It's great to see that you still have time to keep abreast of WOL Mark - good luck with your post - it sounds like you'll make a grand job. I particularly like the fact that you aim to support other poets branching out and the arts in general. x

Hi Mark,
Congrats on your post, only just seen this thread, are you still on the poetry arena at Latitude? If so I hope to catch your set. I have a photo assignment at same time.

Some of us need no appointment. I am without a shadow of a doubt the finest poet ever to have come out of Chapel Haddlesey.
Incidentally, Dave is right. The scene described by Bryson in a Glasgow pub is one of the funniest things I've ever read.

I knew it John, I bloody knew it. How about being PL for THFC as well?

Shouldn't that be poets laureate?

I wanted to be poet lariat,
was at the end of my tether
couldn't seem to write the sort
of verse that hangs together.

By Julian Jordon, legend in his own...
opinion.

I seem to remember Tony Hillier who was at the first WOL weekend is "Swindon's Community Poet" - is that the same thing d'you think?

Thanks everyone for the for the comments. I have been a Write Out Loud member since 2008 and the WOL site played a crucial role in helping me find open mic gigs and encouraging me to go out and perform. The Woody Allen quote in particular was very helpful. (80% of success is showing up).

John,I agree that both expressions of poetry (page and stage) need each other.

Pete, I am on at Latitiude on Friday at 9.30 pm and on Saturday at 4pm.

Best wishes

Mark