J Graham
Wed 23rd Dec 2015 21:19
Love it!
Comment is about Money Talks (blog)
Many thanks for this review, Deborah. I've sent a letter to Santa, so hope it might turn up in my stocking.
Comment is about 52: Jo Bell, Nine Arches Press (article)
Original item by Greg Freeman
Cheers, Laura ... I send festive greetings to you and all around you in return
Comment is about The year when poets were moved by tragedies at sea (article)
Original item by Greg Freeman
Wed 23rd Dec 2015 18:25
Absolutely, I nearly accidentally swallowed my own head when I heard she was to be canonised: St Teresa! Now that is truly obscene.
Thanks for taking the time to comment, I'm not sure what the crack is on here but thanks for the welcome
Comment is about Where's Me Brief?: She Knew Ronnie Biggs When He Was Still Someone Worth Knowing (blog)
Original item by Declan Grimes
Thank you, Harry, very much.
Comment is about Child of Beauty (blog)
Original item by Cynthia Buell Thomas
Harry I'm always grateful for your time in commenting. Have a merry and peaceful Christmas yourself and I look forward to "speaking" again in the New Year!
Graham
Comment is about Harry O`N eill (poet profile)
Original item by Harry O`N eill
A Merry Christmas to all.
And appreciation for the team.
Comment is about Looking back and looking forward: wishing you all a fulfilling and creative new year (article)
Original item by Greg Freeman
Lovely Cynthia,
It Just proves that used in the right sphere, of the right persons, at the right historical event, what might otherwise be regarded as archaic forms of address are absolutely spot on right.
besides being individually beautiful
(It`s strange how we don`t use that word about poetry much these days...I mean...Poetry!)
Comment is about Child of Beauty (blog)
Original item by Cynthia Buell Thomas
Nice summary there Greg - all my very best to you and yours x
Comment is about The year when poets were moved by tragedies at sea (article)
Original item by Greg Freeman
Thanks Julian, for everything :) All the very best to you and all my fellow poets - live long and prosper ;)
Comment is about Looking back and looking forward: wishing you all a fulfilling and creative new year (article)
Original item by Greg Freeman
'A rite of passage for British warriors'--
as the new defaces the old, forever and ever
amen.
we are the sand that yellows lofes secrets
Comment is about The Flower Ladies of Tallinn (blog)
Original item by Stuart Buck
The gravity of the final line suits me best
Comment is about trunk (blog)
Original item by Stuart Buck
weeps
marry me stu.
I'm weak for frantic listings and ramble and run-on. And the general martyr message of this piece.
Comment is about ∞ (blog)
Original item by Stuart Buck
snapsnapsnap
Made me think of figureskating feet, triumphant in the cooling heat of rythm and rhyme or arithmia for poignancy--potency--scrawled on nothing as perfectly temporary as a bookmark, single serving, but married to the spine of floppy books for life.
I went to a recital once with 6 such bookmarks to read.
Comment is about Sink Ink (blog)
Lynn :)
xo.
Reminder to myself to read you back when I wake up.
Comment is about azucar grim (12/20/2015) (blog)
Original item by Zach Dafoe
Wed 23rd Dec 2015 11:35
Ria, this is beautiful, great images so full of love x
Comment is about William Green (blog)
Original item by Ria Richardson
Lynn Hamilton
Wed 23rd Dec 2015 10:00
Love it Mr B. Its brilliant, again!
Comment is about azucar grim (12/20/2015) (blog)
Original item by Zach Dafoe
Lynn Hamilton
Wed 23rd Dec 2015 09:48
Dorinda
You know me - always thinking too big!
Comment is about Stockport WoL (group profile)
Original item by Stockport WoL
Merry Christmas to all members old and new this year. Keep posting and more importantly keep commenting on your fellow members' work. Happy New Year for 2016.
Comment is about Looking back and looking forward: wishing you all a fulfilling and creative new year (article)
Original item by Greg Freeman
I apparently missed this piece on Monday night.This is you at your best Nigel glad I haven't missed it now
Comment is about Cambridge University Bares All (blog)
Original item by Nigel Astell
What a lovely poem this is Ria. A picture so finely drawn of an older man
Comment is about William Green (blog)
Original item by Ria Richardson
.. " hello Tommy ... the joke beside the photo was that the girls names would be in Russian, but all attempts at copy/paste wouldn't print the letters .. just tried again - had to delete and re-do .. !! "
Comment is about Tommy Carroll (poet profile)
Original item by Tommy Carroll
It feels so good to be at home for the festive with your family... Filled with much joy!
Comment is about 2dayj.jpg (photo)
Original item by Shai Jan lehutjo
Lynn Hamilton
Tue 22nd Dec 2015 20:35
I thought it best to double check before replying! Thanks for reading and commenting Son of God
Comment is about Human Monopoly (blog)
Do it if you can. But if you can't, do the best you can.
Circumstances have a way of dictating what gets done
but the humanity in these lines is what we should all
aim for.
Comment is about Her mother I'll be (blog)
Original item by tina
Never one to be bound by formulaic writing, I let the
rhythm dictate the flow. Your comment about the "grandmother" line is noted but I was determined to get
the tribute inherent in that word into the verse somehow
and I've amended the line slightly.
Comment is about MOVING ON - for my sister (blog)
Original item by M.C. Newberry
A personal memory that will bring us recollections of
other times when youth and innocence had days full of
excited optimism in the comforting confines of a caring family - and remind us that others have been - and are -
far less fortunate.
Comment is about Christmas Reminisces (blog)
Original item by Tom Doolan
Last night, I enjoyed a BAFTA televised tribute to the
widely successful series "Downton Abbey" in which a
tribute was paid to the "crew" behind the enterprise.
Accordingly, it seems entirely fitting to adopt that tribute
to those (the "crew") working to keep WOL up and running.
And how happy the coincidence that the first name of
the creators of each project should be "Julian"!
Congratulations to everyone concerned - and a very Happy
Christmas to you all.
Comment is about Looking back and looking forward: wishing you all a fulfilling and creative new year (article)
Original item by Greg Freeman
Cheers David; very pleased to get your interesting take. You know me too well - I was upset enough to write this.
With respect, mate.
Comment is about MORE NEWS OF A GOOD KIND NEIGHBOUR (blog)
Original item by ray pool
Stu, you wouldn't necessarily know about this small cul de sac of terminology! A gamble on my part . I enjoy a light batter of comments.
John, another interesting and personal point you have made. Health and safety are paramount today. rightly. Maybe the whole ethos of our industrial past will become ludicrously glamorised in our nostalgic future. Ray
Comment is about ON THE LAST DEEP COAL MINE CLOSING (blog)
Original item by ray pool
I am sorry, John, but I have to correct you! - I began my working life as a humble junior, not rising to the dizzy heights of a secretarial role until some years later! - perhaps you mis-heard me - and yes, my memory serves me well! (well it does for long time ago, but not always for what happened last week!)
Have a lovely Christmas, one and all!
Love and blessings...Dorinda x
Comment is about Stockport WoL (group profile)
Original item by Stockport WoL
I have not got the advantage of research on this poem, but it pulls no punches and has a great earthy natural feel . Basic truths which need looking at in detail!
Ray
Comment is about Sonnet to 1680 (blog)
Original item by jeremy young
leah
Tue 22nd Dec 2015 14:53
Write Angle celebrates Poetry & Music Jollys at the 'Folly'
Christmas is always a special time for Write Angle. So much to be done, that an evening of poetry, comedy, music and food, is a 'welcome relief'! Epecially at our new 'Folly Upstairs' – a warm, cosy place to sit back on sofa or chair...and enjoy, or get up and show what you can do!
December's Guest Performer Paul Lyalls took to the stage with a giant leap – the 'only poet who has a code by which his life is lived'; 'Carpe post meridien' (Seize the afternoon) and he does! He tells of how he was entered twice in the Guinness Book of World Records; as the first poet ever to perform at the new Wembley Stadium, then for having the smallest audience ever!
His stories and poetry go on without stop. He was with Denzel Washington when they passed a homeless man. Having had a good day, Denzel bent down and gave him $50. The man jumped up and shouted, 'Hey everybody! Will Smith's just given me 50 bucks! He then recited 'Some things that only happen in the movies. '... any lock can be picked with a credit card or a paper clip. Only in the movies can one bullet blow up a car…
Paul said, when he reached 40 not long ago, he immediately realised 'life starts at 20'. Then told of a friend who was so excited at reaching 50 – till he saw a magazine in his doorway. 'SAGA', advertising rails for your garden, but the one that really got him was 'slippers with headlights'. He had the audience laughing from beginning to end. My favourite though is when his wife asked' what are you thinking' (he hates that) and he didn't want to tell her he wished he was in IKEA in a cupboard waiting for someone to open the door, so he'd jump out and say, 'excuse me, What country am I in'.
Paul is a wonderful and polished performer. He is funny, warm and – his timing is perfect –He involves the audience and they're with him from start to finish!
At the Open Mic, Bruce Parry read 'War Time Christmas Underground', a moving poem about the bomb coming and those at Bethnel Green. 'Everything chipping..falling' Then, a story of a girl who wanted a yellow skipping rope but he didn't want to buy it for her so he offered her everything else but she insisted on the yellow rope. He finally had no choice but buy it for her. As she left, laughing and happy, a brilliant shaft of moonlight lit up the calipers on both her legs. Nick Eisen, newcomer and professional poet, read 'Ho Ho Frickin Ho'. Santa was tired, bored – it was time to protest. 'Santa's going to strike', ending with, 'I'll purge your urge to buy'. Then 'DIY', a poem describing the assembly of items in flat packs. If that doesn't make one stay away from DIY, I don't know what would. 'Assemble all shown in C in diagram 2..tighten bolts, ending in 'you've now assembled the human condition, an interactive work for which there is no guaranteed instruction manual!'
David Roberts did 'Wind Messenger', about a black cat with wings sent to Earth. Then from a painting called Winter'. 'The end of things and looking forward to the blossoming of Spring.
G. Rimes did 'Identity Mistaken' about a man named Barry looking for employment. Chris Sangster did 'Carbon Credit Christmas'. 'Do angels leave carbon footprints? The world is cooling, not warming. We're not as smart as we think..the earth is used to self-healing.' Then, 'The New Train of Thought' about a woman looking from her work window, at the train to Gunwharf Keys passing, on a raised level – day after day, watching the passengers and 'fluorescent light, her only light'. Come Christmas, though, she's happy. He then played the ukelele, 'Hope you have a happy day'. The audience joined in. Jake and Leah added their Christmas poems for the holiday.
There must be something about newcomers to Write Angle; so often, they win the raffle, this time a £50 meal voucher from Côte, the French restaurant in Chichester. A fantastic place with great food and service! How do we get these wonderful restaurants to offer us raffles? (someone asked) We don't know but we can't thank them enough for supporting us the way they do!
All in all, a very good evening with lots of laughs and good spirits!
Review is about WRITE ANGLE POETRY & MUSIC +OPEN MIC on 15 Dec 2015 (event)
Powerful, indeed, Ian.
I am a bit more ambivalent about it these days. The industry was good to me for 20+ years (still is if I count the pension) and it was easy to fall in love with it.
On the other hand it was the fervent wish of every mother that "no son of mine is going down the pit". And we are conflicted these days by a sadness that the pits have gone with a recognition that we have got to abandon dirty fuels if we want a world for our grand kids.
Comment is about Black Christmas (blog)
Original item by Ian Whiteley
Sad to see the end of an industry that was so good to me for 20 years (and more if I count my pension).
We are,though, more ambivalent about dirty fuel these days.
Comment is about ON THE LAST DEEP COAL MINE CLOSING (blog)
Original item by ray pool
A personal trip through your memories, MC. Well suited to the dactylic 3/4 (or is it 6/8 - I can never tell) rhythm.
My only observation would that I found the "grandmother" line a bit of a hiccup.
Comment is about MOVING ON - for my sister (blog)
Original item by M.C. Newberry
Thanks Laura x
Comment is about Poetry student Shirley-Anne Kennedy gets off to flying start (article)
Original item by Greg Freeman
Merry Christmas Julian & Co.
Merry Christmas one and all x
Comment is about Looking back and looking forward: wishing you all a fulfilling and creative new year (article)
Original item by Greg Freeman
I grew up in the United Church of Canada, a merger of the Protestant Presbyterian and Methodist disciplines, presumably a valiant effort to offset the intense and often vitriolic bickering between the two denominations. The UCC allowed, even encouraged, unbiassed Biblical scholarship among the laity as well as clergy. At eighteen I seriously considered the ministry as my 'calling'. But I soon discovered that very few people really 'wanted to think'; most wished only 'to be told what to think.' And that squashed any desire to become a 'preacher girl'.
I stayed deeply connected to the Church for many years, studying and singing. I began to sing in a choir at age six, and continued both in church and concert hall until quite recently. The musical heritage of the Christian Faith is simply beautiful, in every genre, historically, and perhaps most especially at Christmas.
Comment is about Cynthia Buell Thomas (poet profile)
Original item by Cynthia Buell Thomas
I wrote this song many years ago. I do not find a contradiction in its 'Christian message' to my 'humanist' ideals. For me, the 'story' - fable - myth - legend' epitomises the fundamental beauty of new birth and eternal hope among all persons of the world. I offer it in symbolism.
To music buffs, it is in F Sharp minor.
Comment is about Child of Beauty (blog)
Original item by Cynthia Buell Thomas
A very Merry Christmas Julian....
Hope to see you soon.
Gus
Comment is about Looking back and looking forward: wishing you all a fulfilling and creative new year (article)
Original item by Greg Freeman
aha. hoisted by my own petard! and me an ex-chef!
Comment is about ON THE LAST DEEP COAL MINE CLOSING (blog)
Original item by ray pool
honestly i have never used it but i have heard good things. it is regulated well and of good quality (because amazon are such a big company) and is very simple. out of all the platforms i would imagine it takes the most self publicity to make an impact. i believe the WOL user Tim Ellis has several chapbooks out through createspace so he may be the one to ask. i have only heard good things though.
Comment is about Kindle publishing (blog)
Original item by David Addington
David there are loads of books covering this subject and they include the different routes like kindle and lulu etc.
Comment is about Kindle publishing (blog)
Original item by David Addington
Martin Elder
Wed 23rd Dec 2015 22:30
I don't usually go for the King james version of the bible or songs, but this is beautiful. Fantastic Cynthia.
Happy Christmas
Comment is about Child of Beauty (blog)
Original item by Cynthia Buell Thomas