Huw, rightly or wrongly these poor homeless people do need help but it should be to help rehabilitate them and not just keep them in the trough in which they find themselves. Tossing money into a cup does little if anything to move them into a better situation.
Saying we do not understand it because we've never experienced it is trite. Many people wish to help and give their time to do so.
Comment is about garibaldi (blog)
Original item by Stuart Buck
"The big blot" indeed does have the feel of Raymond Chandler - "cementing" gulp! Tommy
Comment is about After the consultation (blog)
Original item by Harry O`N eill
44 years of dumping tasty snacks only to spend the money on crack. I think his Tory vote is misplaced. Oh by the way I have a friend who's called Barry Goldy
Comment is about garibaldi (blog)
Original item by Stuart Buck
Break em in sweetheart!
Comment is about If we (blog)
Money only prolongs their desperation. Food and drink are far preferable.
Comment is about garibaldi (blog)
Original item by Stuart Buck
agreed. this is lovely. great use of alliteration throughout and it benefits from being brief and staying on point. as much as i enjoy your page long rambling streams (and i do!), its nice to have brevity every now and then. that applies to all poets though i suppose.
great lines abound, but my favourite is 'ashes reigning benevolence over sons in memoriam'. its brilliant.
Comment is about waxwood prayer (10/04/2015) (blog)
Original item by Zach Dafoe
Harry this is one of the most charming pieces I have ever read. It is quite lovely.
Comment is about Bon Voyage (blog)
Original item by Harry O`N eill
A re-post,
To celebrate my grandaughter Hannah`s wedding
to Andrew.
Comment is about Bon Voyage (blog)
Original item by Harry O`N eill
Katy -girl, you are cooking! What a rapturous swing of content and poetical approach - IMO, allegorical to the nth - such lines that force the brain to follow your lead as far as it can go - with no idea how 'accurate' the road is.
I wish I could think like this - it is so mystically 'medieval'. I'm just humdrum in such imagination.
Comment is about Dumb Destiny (blog)
Original item by Katy Megan
Good topic well done. Would you consider joining some lines together for slightly easier reading and following your ideas more closely - only asking?
Comment is about Cardboard Protest (blog)
I cannot speak to you anymore but inside this poem you do.
not lost - yet never found the poem still searches for an answer to end a love that you hold deep in your heart.
Comment is about Dumb Destiny (blog)
Original item by Katy Megan
The views expressed about reading and performing poetry
remind me of the distinct pleasures in settling down to
read poems from the page (hearing a voice in one's
mind), and listening to "performed" versions on CD etc.
- often from famous voices with the merit of training
to enhance interpretation and delivery. Some, on
quieter themes may be best read, whilst more vigorous/
declamatory material can gain from being listened to.
Each has its appeal - depending on the mood - and can
be valued for separate but no less relevant reasons.
Comment is about Poetry Review editor Maurice Riordan urges prize judges to declare any interests (article)
Original item by Greg Freeman
Empty that purse and throw one photo over the edge - - -
you know the one I mean.
Comment is about Formative Years (blog)
Original item by Katy Megan
I wasn't making the lesser quality argument at all.
Indeed, I have read several years worth of performance poetry from excellent poets like Laura and do fully understand the raison d'etre of the WOL site. I'm part of the team for goodness sake.
Perhaps rather clumsily I meant to say that the performance elevates the work above and beyond that which can be achieved by poetry written for the page. Hence the "performers" are onto a good thing.
Certainly, in my view there is a comparison between Poetry Slams and the X-Factor, compelling viewing but very forgettable. With the odd Leona Lewis emerging from time to time.
Poetry competitions seem to have merit (if that is the right word) for unknowns to become noticed and thus get a book published, but bizarrely they are asked to perform their work afterwards too??
Whether good poetry is better evaluated by poetry pro's or a boozy pub crowd is of course another debate entirely.
Perhaps I'm swimming in the wrong goldfish bowl?
Comment is about Poetry Review editor Maurice Riordan urges prize judges to declare any interests (article)
Original item by Greg Freeman
Echoing what Attila said about performance poetry, in my own way - is it 'ECK all about the performance!! The poems have to be interesting, clever, funny, heart-wrenching etc etc. The wordplay has to be intelligent and sonically arousing.
What a strange claim to make on Write Out LOUD, indeed!
Comment is about Poetry Review editor Maurice Riordan urges prize judges to declare any interests (article)
Original item by Greg Freeman
Are these newly shared Zach. Brilliant stuff. If I have missed these before on WOL I'm sorry.
My only change would be that killer line
like venom off a stinger. I would have changed it to nettle.
Last two lines are fantastic.
Comment is about heather (10/04/2015) (blog)
Original item by Zach Dafoe
This is one of your best Zach!
I don't think the layout suits easy reading but the words and images are wonderful.
Graham
Comment is about waxwood prayer (10/04/2015) (blog)
Original item by Zach Dafoe
That's a good point, Graham. I did a quick google and came up with these links:
http://www.scottishpoetrylibrary.org.uk/poetry/poems/nine-one-word-poems
https://www.poets.org/poetsorg/poem/one-word-poem
http://www.poetryfoundation.org/article/179985
They may not leave you any the wiser, but it seems to be a recognised form, at least by some
Comment is about Edinburgh poet Russell Jones to launch first collection (article)
Original item by Greg Freeman
Whilst I do try my hardest to embrace all types of poetry, can someone please enlighten me what a one-word poem is?
Comment is about Edinburgh poet Russell Jones to launch first collection (article)
Original item by Greg Freeman
Yes, it's all true, MC. The 69-3 defeat the week after was against Alderman Newton School of Leicester.
To give us some confidence the school hastily arranged a match against Annie Holgate Tech/Grammar School where they played football instead of rugby. We lost that.
Comment is about 84-0 (blog)
Original item by John Coopey
3 nights only.
First night Thursday 29th October at Pave.
Second night Saturday 31st October Larkins Bar
Third night Wednesday 25th November Kardomah94.
Review is about A CAR LOAD OF POETS on 31 Oct 2015 (event)
Some painful memories don't fade. You have my
condolences - assuming all is true. Team England might sympathise!
My own school sporting misery stems from trying the
"googly" in my slow left arm bowling and being hit for
six virtually every delivery of that six-ball over and
enduring a mean faced master called Stevens (see - I
still recall his name) mock my efforts after the match.
When you are pre-teen, the pain tends to stay in the
mind. Maybe Stevens was fatally felled by an errant
boundary in later years after I changed schools. Well,
I can dream, can't I?
Comment is about 84-0 (blog)
Original item by John Coopey
Lynn Hamilton
Sun 4th Oct 2015 16:26
Afternoon Stu and thank you so much for your comments on Fragile. I am most chuffed that you feel this piece would sit quite well in a published book and coming from someone who's work I admire is an added bonus. I can't wait to check Kim's work out. I'm now going to walk around the house, point at myself in each mirror I past, wink, click my tongue and mouth 'get you'! ;).
Comment is about Stuart Buck (poet profile)
Original item by Stuart Buck
JC - back in the 1960s, when "The Sound of Music" was
doing the rounds, my brother and I decided to see the
matinee showing at the (now demolished) Regent Cinema
in Paignton. We found ourselves surrounded by hordes
of kids, their voices squeakily raised in enthusiastic
accompaniment whenever Julie broke into song...most
notably in "Doe...a deer - a female deer..." etc.!!
A fond memory that still brings a smile.
Comment is about JULIE ANDREWS IS EIGHTY TODAY (blog)
Original item by M.C. Newberry
Those blanks are your finest work to date, Tommy!
Comment is about ((titter)) (blog)
Original item by Tommy Carroll
So JC you read through my cunning wordless structure!
Comment is about ((titter)) (blog)
Original item by Tommy Carroll
No, Graham, it isn't at all. It's about combining interesting words - which have the capacity to inspire and entertain, in the widest possible sense of the word - with a performance which makes an audience member want to listen to them.
That's what 'Write Out Loud' MEANS, and it's why this website is such a good idea. There are literally thousands of sites all over the web where people post poetry. This one is there to inspire people to write and perform. To imply that those of us who perform our words are somehow 'lesser', that the mere fact of performance means that ipso facto the work has somehow to be less 'valuable' than if it is simply destined for the page, that a listening audience is not as discerning as a reading one, is horribly patronising.
The problem with these poetry awards is that it IS the same people all judging and praising each other, and very few of them cut any ice in the wider world from where I'm looking (but then I'm looking outwards rather than inwards into a tiny wine glass strewn ghetto!)
Comment is about Poetry Review editor Maurice Riordan urges prize judges to declare any interests (article)
Original item by Greg Freeman
I had the hots for her when I was a boy.
Comment is about JULIE ANDREWS IS EIGHTY TODAY (blog)
Original item by M.C. Newberry
Drink and sex, eh, Tommy? You can't beat it.
Comment is about ((titter)) (blog)
Original item by Tommy Carroll
I like the way your brief infatuation is described in an intoxicating manner, your usual wine turned into a fiercer heavy spirit, almost brutal!
You're looking back at a hangover and looking forward to the next with nought a care?
Always enjoy unravelling your thoughts.
Graham
Comment is about If we (blog)
Poets policing poets,
Friends of friends
back scratching,
your turn to win,
poems mean prizes,
thousands of poems
read in a month...as if.
Comment is about Poetry Review editor Maurice Riordan urges prize judges to declare any interests (article)
Original item by Greg Freeman
Preeti Sinha
Sat 3rd Oct 2015 17:42
My beautiful mountain poet! Thank you. How goes life? Sex?
Comment is about Corr Lens (poet profile)
Original item by Corr Lens
But that has always been my point MCN. Performance poetry is ALL about the performance and not the work itself.
Comment is about Poetry Review editor Maurice Riordan urges prize judges to declare any interests (article)
Original item by Greg Freeman
It's good of you to give thoughts on The solitary drinker. I've slipped a bit lately - things on my mind, but I meant to imply with the line about spirit that whatever our passing of time we essentially take our own course and that may exclude others on a different course. A bit subtle as spirit can mean anything! The trouble with poetry can be stating something emphatically can cause a hiatus in the thinking and I reckon this poem is an example of it. Thanks again - yours was dead clear and therefore more accessible. I could go into weird world if I wanted but nobody would like it probably!!
Comment is about Stuart Buck (poet profile)
Original item by Stuart Buck
Unfortunately there was a police raid on the private apartment in which I did it and all known copies kept there were destroyed.
There was talk of a remake but once the filming location was leaked to the boys in blue it had to be cancelled.
Comment is about Martin Elder (poet profile)
Original item by Martin Elder
I'll begin by stating an "interest" insofar that on a topic
of personal appeal - the poetry of Wilfred Owen - I once
submitted a poem to mark his life and work. However,
I have considerable respect for the views and achievements of Attila the Stockbroker on the subject
The existence of "competition" in poetry is itself
contentious. To judge one concept and its expression
against another is a bit like throwing snowballs into a fire.
If commercial gain is an aim, then poets should be
researching markets...willing to fund the promotion of their efforts along the way.
These competitions and their prizes seem little more
than a cosy conceit - a useful "earner" for those so eloquently described by Attila.
Comment is about Poetry Review editor Maurice Riordan urges prize judges to declare any interests (article)
Original item by Greg Freeman
It would be nice to think of that other object of material
desire - the mobile phone - being usefully employed.
There is a side-effect from these lines - the introspection
towards "family" that excludes or downgrades the needs of others outside its concerns.
"Guilty Conscience" assumes many forms and is always a
stimulating subject for consideration and debate for the
simple reason that it is essentially a most "human" failing.
Comment is about Luke 10:25 (blog)
Original item by Stuart Buck
Hello Lynn,
In this quarters poetry review there is a review on a book by Kim Moore which contains a 17 poem run called 'How I Abandoned my Body to his Keeping'. This piece would slip beautifully anywhere in there I can imagine. I love the last stanza, and the theme of the piece as a whole. Its very clever. I cant comment to much, as I dont feel I have been in a close enough situation to come across as genuine, but I enjoyed the poem very much.
Stu
Comment is about Fragile (blog)
Oh, no, they won't like that, will they? A cosy little clique who fawn over each other - doesn't really matter though, does it, 'cos nobody outside it cares about their silly awards anyway....
Comment is about Poetry Review editor Maurice Riordan urges prize judges to declare any interests (article)
Original item by Greg Freeman
an odd one this. i certainly see the likeness to my piece, the self imposed barriers we put up to keep us safe are indeed sad and fascinating at the same time. its a good topic for a poem and one that I imagine plenty of poets have plenty to say about. Its a good character study and an interesting piece.
Comment is about THE LONELY DRINKER (blog)
Original item by ray pool
HI Stu. There is so much that is de humanising about cars and our isolation within them . I discovered this transition from when I had a motor bike. Maybe without the family inside you may have been a freer soul at that moment. Then again there is an implicit danger in the sudden impulse. We all know of the rubber necking habit causing hold ups, but that's another story.
The good Samaritan theme is a vibrant one, and the story is compelling . Excellent stuff. Similar in nature to my attempt The Lonely Drinker. Like the title, it lies uncommented upon ! regards, Ray
Comment is about Luke 10:25 (blog)
Original item by Stuart Buck
i dont have a microphone. but im told there will be a video of me performing coming to a youtube near you very soon. my computer is from the early nineties. i doubt it would even support a microphone. but dont let my technophobia stop you!
Comment is about Zach Dafoe (poet profile)
Original item by Zach Dafoe
Great photos of all the poems Andy
Next theme is Shades
There was the light
till autumn shades came.
Winter shadows cast darkness
waiting for sunstroke days.
Comment is about Stockport WoL (group profile)
Original item by Stockport WoL
Great photos of all the poems Andy
Next theme is Shades
There was the light
till autumn shades came.
Winter shadows cast darkness
waiting for sunstroke days.
Comment is about Stockport WoL (group profile)
Original item by Stockport WoL
Ha! Can't believe you had the teasel too!! :D
Many thanks Stuart. I had ideas for the photo for ages, but it took a certain recent event for them to crystallise.
Comment is about Perspective (blog)
Original item by Laura Taylor
It was a production that lingers in the mind afterwards, Maggie. Well done to all concerned. Yes, I'm looking forward to seeing John Agard perform in Portsmouth!
Comment is about Multimedia and the message: Zones of Avoidance brings home unavoidable truths (article)
Magnificent, Julian ... as was Rooney's goal on that occasion, of course. Albert Camus used to play in goal ... but did TS Eliot ever perform such an overhead kick? I think not. Or have I strayed off the point ... ?
Comment is about Revealed - the poetic ardour of TS Eliot, and Wayne Rooney (article)
Original item by Greg Freeman
His goal against Manchester City in Feb 2011 was described by the commentator as absolute poetry:
Saturday, 12 February 2011
Absolute poetry
If, according to the commentator,
Rooney’s overhead kick
was absolute poetry,
in what sense was that?
Probably less that of Aristotle’s poetics,
though some would consider it epic.
Not the later formalists.
Perhaps in the mid 20th century sense,
as a fundamental creative act,
though use of language was considered essential.
The language of football,
perhaps,
or gymnastics.
After all, he had flung himself,
assonance over tetrameter.
There was
euphony and rhythm.
Sprung rhythm, to boot,
and had an incantatory effect
on all who witnessed it.
Particularly Jo Hart.
Perhaps it was in the sense
of Tatarkiewicz’s second concept of poetry,
that of expressing emotion.
Rooney’s increasingly,
until that day, edging towards
the nihilism.
As Valéry observed,
poetry has a more general meaning,
one difficult to define:
an expression of a state of mind.
The word
derives from the ancient Greek
poiesis: to create.
Art was, to them,
a following of rules
and of form,
except for poetry,
the only art
allowed to create something out of nothing,
like Rooney’s kick.
If this is going over anyone’s head,
well, good:
According to the commentator,
that would make it
absolute poetry!
Julian Jordon
Comment is about Revealed - the poetic ardour of TS Eliot, and Wayne Rooney (article)
Original item by Greg Freeman
<Deleted User> (8659)
Tue 6th Oct 2015 10:02
Well Stu, I have two observations to make: firstly, I am well impressed with how you rounded off this poem with those final six lines. Secondly, I think you dealt with a packet of unwanted biscuits splendidly.
Comment is about garibaldi (blog)
Original item by Stuart Buck