no worries, i like your comments because they are true.

Comment is about unfortunate fail (blog)

it's here. Just put it up:

http://www.writeoutloud.net/public/newsgroupview.php?NewsGroupsID=3&NewsThreadsID=1303#msgcontent_13714

Comment is about Roy Harper and the politics of poetry (article)

Original item by Greg Freeman

Hi folks
Glad more have taken this up.

Political poetry is often satirical. I think sometimes we need a bit of self-satire.

Just to take three subjects:
We are all busy blaming the bankers for our present ills, but very conveniently forgetting the benefits of the huge increase in credit cards, etc; which we all so recently enjoyed. (They still should have known what they were doing)

Britain, and all the West, have been consuming like billy ho for the last two decades. Consumables have to be produced, production needs workers, if we can`t provide the workers ourselves, should certain newspapers moan so much about immigration?

Also the lifelong social security dependancy problem:
This started in the eighties, when financial globaliation and interst rate changes were forced upon us.(in the one road where I worked four factories closed)
The decision to ease admitance to social security payments was made in order to keep the unemployment -rate down for political purposes. (but was financially beneficial to the unemployed)...How, therefore should we view the people who took advantage of it?

I realise that these are personal views (I speak as a life-long union official)but they all leave a bit of room, perhaps, for some self-satire.

Anyway, maybe this might arouse a bit of opposition. (things were going very quiet)

Comment is about Roy Harper and the politics of poetry (article)

Original item by Greg Freeman

Hi Otis, it's always a bit radical and usually impertinent when someone suggests excising the beginning of a poem. Thanks for explaining and defending why the lines are there. I really enjoyed the spirit of it all.

Comment is about J. Otis Powell‽ (with interrobang) (poet profile)

Original item by J. Otis Powell‽ (with interrobang)

Greg
Thanks for commenting on Speaking In Tongues & John Coltrane Didn't Practice. I find your suggestion to "loose lines" editorial and missing their origin and purpose.
"Earth is round
Universe is vast
But world is bigger
World is limited only
By imagination and practice"
I agree they are not as poetic as I want them to be but they represent a reference that inspired the poem. I wrote the poem for the recently past Equinox which this year was on Coltrane's birthday. I was in a free improvisation with other artists including a dancer who made moves that gave me the lines, from there I realized Trane expressed that in how he lived and worked. Like Trane I play all of the phrases that come to me. I may sort through them later but when they come I use them. This is still a new poem and I may learn better ways to say what I mean or describe what I saw and these lines will hold place for the rewrite until I do. If and when I find more lines I won't resist them.
Hallowing the search,
J. Otis

Comment is about Greg Freeman (poet profile)

Original item by Greg Freeman

Hi Julian
Are you going to put this up for Discussion, or leave it on this thread.
I've never been sure what (if any) the exact perameters of political comment are.
Harry mentions long rants, but surely a short sharp jab to the conscience is just as effective, if not more so.
I have written a few poems that I might believe are political, the majority admittedly aimed at the financial world that we live in now, but others may not see them in the same light.
Thoughts?

Comment is about Roy Harper and the politics of poetry (article)

Original item by Greg Freeman

Enjoyed this Jack.
What goes round comes round - my wardrobe's proof of that!

Comment is about Punk's Dead (blog)

Original item by Jack Pascoe

Hi Steven

We've actually met many times in Manchester, and I've heard you recite on lots of occasions long ago at murky open mics - however...I had forgotten all about Euro '96, really made me chuckle (I would comment on your cynicism but for the fact you're so on the mark regarding our shopping being made safe...just see how wonderfully safe and shiny it now is in town!!).

See you anon sir

Comment is about Steven Waling (poet profile)

Original item by Steven Waling

...oh and also, I was contemplating changing the last line from 'lane' to 'page' to keep the fb motif going.Though weirdly I did have a mental image of her bobbing above a hedge on a country lane for some reason. What d'you think? xxx

Comment is about Lorna (blog)

Original item by Rachel McGladdery

Oh no Ann, you mustn't delete. I love those poems. It is a bit like a journal isn't it?
It's great to see you on here too. I need to make more of an effort, maybe there could be a 'WOL for android' app? tee hee. Thanks for the wishes for my friend. I hope so too....probably very apparent why I didn't put this up on fb....hmmm...(note to self to examine the ethics of writing about other people's misfortunes)...xxx

Comment is about Lorna (blog)

Original item by Rachel McGladdery

In some ways Fb is a bit like WOL, for some anyway. I wonder about going back and deleting many of my earlier stuff - I really should - embarrassing romantic twaddle or self-pitying rants. In a way though it's an archive or a diary and shows how we're moving through our lives, what stage we're at. I've only been on FB for a couple of months but on the whole I enjoy it. I hope your friend feels better soon! And I enjoyed many of the images in the poem. That last line is very haunting. (And it's good to see you here AS WELL as on FB!)xx

Comment is about Lorna (blog)

Original item by Rachel McGladdery

Thanks both of you. I am a facebook addict, it's clear. I probably really ought to get a life :) . But, as a phenomenon of modern life, I consider it 'fair game' for poetry. This was inspired by seeing an acquaintance break down slowly on facebook, well over the course of a year and seeing people's attitudes to mental health and their depleting sympathy for her writ large. What's massive for me is that those comments will be on there as she recovers unless they get deleted and the implications are vast. Thanks again xxx

Comment is about Lorna (blog)

Original item by Rachel McGladdery

This is an important subject, but I don't think it's out of order to praise your rhythm and technique in this, Rachel. It's what helps the reader to sit up and take notice. I particularly like "cold as wind from the beach", and "dribbles mistyped shots of conversation / transcending rhythm, chronology or sense". A lot of poets give Facebook the cold shoulder, like to pretend it doesn't exist. But I don't think you can; and you don't. In its originalities and peculiarities, at times it's arguably a form of literature in its own right.

Comment is about Lorna (blog)

Original item by Rachel McGladdery

Hi Rach, excellent, original, individual as always, but I didn't say you could cut my girlie mags up! X

Comment is about pictures from magazines (blog)

Thanks Julian! I'll do that now.

Comment is about Little Lark Press (blog)

Original item by Lisa Zaran

Thanks Steve. I'm wondering if I should consider using "t'" for those north of Watford!
E.G."Up and down t'silent rhyme" :-))

Comment is about TWO GIGGLING GIRLS (blog)

Original item by M.C. Newberry

I read this through a couple of times earlier today and it reminded me a lot of the stuff you see on Facebook occasionally. People's problems played out publically in trivia and 'mistyped shots at conversation'. I see that you have tagged it with such.

It's a sad one Rachel. I like the image of the head floating down the lane like a balloon.

Comment is about Lorna (blog)

Original item by Rachel McGladdery

he-cursedly-admitted?
he-pitifully-admitted?

or-

he read Stef Wildes pitiful poetry-
then cursed?
haha-thats more like it eh Lynn!

very glad indeed he is coping ok

love

2nutters.xx

Comment is about Colin's Memory (blog)

Original item by Lynn Dye

Please note we have moved from the 4th Wednesday of each month to the fourth Thursday of each month.

The current Gig Guide listing is out by one day (something that is in the process of being rectified).

Hope to see people Thursday.

My Best

Chris

Comment is about 'ThePoetry Spoke' Open mic! Guest Poet- Wols own Dave Bradley! - £20 prize up for grabs! (blog)

Thank you Philipos, yes that is another idea I'm considering, thanks for the suggestion.
To be honest, we mostly just laughed this episode off - well, what else can you do? lol.x

Comment is about Colin's Memory (blog)

Original item by Lynn Dye

Hi Shirley, thank you for your kind remarks on 'The Tartan Bard' very much appreciated.

Comment is about Shirley Smothers (poet profile)

Original item by Shirley Smothers

T'was my pleasure to get your eyes a-twinkling. I really enjoyed your stuff also, it's very lyrical and really sticks in your head. As an avid music fan it's just right for me. Keep 'em coming :).

Comment is about M.C. Newberry (poet profile)

Original item by M.C. Newberry

Poets Corner at Glassfire -Hoylake Ch47 2AG...
'Where the most notable poem will earn a cash award from the Guest Poet on the Night'...

Comment is about Poet's Corner (group profile)

Original item by Poet's Corner

Thanks for the encouragement John, was a while before I dared go into that pub again after they heard that one!

Comment is about John Coopey (poet profile)

Original item by John Coopey

Thanks for the comments on my work. I posted some here hoping it may kick-start me back into writing again (last few years have let keeping a roof over our heads take over my mind).

Comment is about Ann Foxglove (poet profile)

Original item by Ann Foxglove

Thanks for comment on my efforts. Enjoyed an hour reading your works and will be back for more.

Comment is about Anthony Emmerson (poet profile)

Original item by Anthony Emmerson

Awww... thanks a lot Jeff..haha I went out with a young lady from Billericay many years ago..(back in the string vest days!) ha ha.. Young Love eh mate?

I wrote another one for City talk FM in Liverpool called 'The Pull' about how a man can get back in the stirrups of dating after 'Divorce'..mine was in 2005.

My book is called 'Observations On Life' available from www.countyvise or via www.Amazon or Me! or all you can call 0151 647 3333 (Birkenhead Press) or please ask at your local book shops!!..Thank you for your kind comments..I have just started up 'Poets Corner' at 'Glassfire'in Hoylake and there will be spots available for both 'Guest Poets'each month who will be given a 15 min spot to read their own work..they will also either judge or help to judge the most notable poem on the night! - plus 'FREE' guitarist/singer for a couple of say 10 min spots during the night in the future..so attention all you local Poets or Songsters just let me know if you want to perform as soon as possible ok? (just e-mail me at poets-corner@hotmail.com or FB me ok? Thank you and All the best to you and all at WOL... Graham..(keep it real)...

Comment is about Graham Robinson (poet profile)

Original item by Graham Robinson

I particularly like poems that tell a simple story, simply (hope that doesn't sound offensive), and thsi does it for me

I'm a little bit like John, and I'd have probably left out the 'to' or the 'a', but then I didn't write it, and I'd probably want to chop somebody's doo-dah's off if they messed around with one of my pieces (none of which are perfect either).

Enjoyed this

Comment is about TWO GIGGLING GIRLS (blog)

Original item by M.C. Newberry

Hi Lynn - how about 'shamefacedly' this would accurately portray how he might have felt without giving him the cause. This was a difficult subject well expressed.

Comment is about Colin's Memory (blog)

Original item by Lynn Dye

I smiled at this. Schadenfreude eh? That's a name long enough to be a poem in its own right. My brothers are nuts about the game - but somewhere along the line I missed the point of it.

Comment is about Overjoyed with Schadenfreude (blog)

Original item by John Coopey

It is your fault, Foxy!
You've got me all confusical about sighting otters locally (which I've been delighting in for the past year or so) with feeding them with thousands of pounds worth of fish!
The solution is this: when they've eaten the bleedin' lot I'll have to throw into the pond a fillet of haddock each night - that'll be much cheaper.

Comment is about autumn egg (blog)

Original item by Ann Foxglove

J.C. - I read and re-read my line before
printing and even considered <"IN" silent rhyme> but it wasn't quite what I sought to say. As a lyricist I "sang" my line to myself and it sounded OK. I hear what you say but nothing's perfect.

Comment is about TWO GIGGLING GIRLS (blog)

Original item by M.C. Newberry

I agree with MCN (the poet, not Motor Cycle News).
Very evocative and clever how you use words to suggest smells.
Versatile too, as I know you've done a fair amount of excellent rhythmic stuff.

Comment is about Russet Rustlings (blog)

Original item by C Richard Miles

"If my brother-in-law, a "Gooners" man,
Like poetry as much, he'd be a fan!!"
Short - and right on the money.

Comment is about Overjoyed with Schadenfreude (blog)

Original item by John Coopey

At best you'll get moved on!
Nice image of "breath like smoke upon the air".
I thought the line "Up and down to a silent rhyme" was a bit awkward rhythmically - it needed a quaver to work.
(Nothing wrong with Quavers, although I prefer Cheesy Puffs)

Comment is about TWO GIGGLING GIRLS (blog)

Original item by M.C. Newberry

There are reminders here of Laurence Binyon's poem "The Burning of the Leaves" and that is one of my favourites.

Comment is about Russet Rustlings (blog)

Original item by C Richard Miles

You can really smell the arrival of autumn and
see the annual transformation as one season gives way to another. I am a "versifier" but if I wasn't, this would be my style. Affinity
and observation in equal measure. Nice work!

Comment is about Russet Rustlings (blog)

Original item by C Richard Miles

Thank you Stefan & Patricia (I'll regard you in the sungular). This piece has been revised with some grammatical and word changes I've also reformated the layout to make it easier to read, by putting the emphasis in the obvious places. They are always obvious to the author but one has to remember that other people come to your work blind (as it were) and hopefully leave it with a vision. Thanks again for your coments.

Comment is about Wild Cat (blog)

Original item by Peter Asher

hello mc
i could have written
this as a comment
but I've laid
it out like this
so now its
a Poem
also
ive put
the word fuck
in so now
its a
proper poem

Comment is about M.C. Newberry (poet profile)

Original item by M.C. Newberry

Just want to say, along with the previous posters posts, possibly, that these three are all lovely and greatly amusing. Hope to catch you live sometime.
Cheers

Comment is about Louise Fazackerley (poet profile)

Original item by Louise Fazackerley

I agree with most of the comments! Trust Banksy? Yes I'v dissapeared many times, to come back xxx

Comment is about Upon Disappearing (blog)

Original item by Isobel

Did you write 'Beatiful Minds' after reading my poem?? haha I love it

Comment is about Isobel (poet profile)

Original item by Isobel

Excellent, love it!

Comment is about If Lewis Carroll Used Spellcheck (blog)

brilliant!

Comment is about If Lewis Carroll Used Spellcheck (blog)

In some ways, Ann, your point IS political, in that if poetry is about feelings and emotions, it is about how WE feel - what makes us feel good, sad, scared, fulfilled, elated, so forth; which is about how we (all?) want to live. I don't want loadsa money (luckily), I want to be happy as much as I can, I want the sense of fulfilment one gets from sharing with and caring for others, it is about those things we share as human beings that politics should be about. Politicians seem to spend their time worrying about how to keep the rich happy, yet they are never going to be happy because what they want is not money - it's MORE, which, as an aspiration, is unsustainable and ends up costing the earth and taking from, or exploiting, the non-rich. What need are economics as if people matttered, to quote Schumacher in his book, Small is Beautiful.

Comment is about Roy Harper and the politics of poetry (article)

Original item by Greg Freeman

This is really interesting. I could/would never be a political poet. I honestly don't know enough about politics and I guess my poems are all about feelings and emotions. It's that combination that precludes me from political comment in my poetry. (Basic ignorance!)

Re Shelley's comment - what if the poets in question had views that were kinda awful? Or awful in our terms? I wonder would the resultant poems be as dead and un-involving as fascist art and statues of dictators?

Art and passion and political comment can work - Picasso's Guernica for example.

As to the (I am sure true) comment about WOL and open mic and performance poetry changing lives. I know that they change lives on one level but could they change political life? They should be able to. And it's all self-expression. And communication. So a good thing.

And I'm not sure how wonderful a compliment you have paid Anwen - just how many cellist/poets ARE there in Manchester Julian? :)

PS I love Roy Harper!

Comment is about Roy Harper and the politics of poetry (article)

Original item by Greg Freeman

Thanks for listening to Do the Write Thing, I'm really touched! At least that means about 12 people heard it! :) I've never been on the radio before and it was really enjoyable. The studio is smaller than most people's bathrooms, and gets really hot. Last Friday Sue and I were on with a guitarist and a bongo drum player. And all the mics got tangled up! But it was great! Keep writing!! I really like your poems very much. Wish you got more feedback. Maybe if you commented on some other people's poems they would read yours? But perhaps that's not important to you. Anyway, stay well my friend!

Comment is about SPACEGHOST (poet profile)

Original item by SPACEGHOST

Lovely poem Ann. I'd agree with all the comments particularly Rachels.

John Coopey - it serves you right for having a flash pond in your garden. I think I'd rather have an otter. I'd probably buy fish to feed to the otter.

Comment is about autumn egg (blog)

Original item by Ann Foxglove

Thanks for that last comment John - I thought you were blaming me for a moment! Sorry about the poor fish:(
(I've offered my condolences already - on FB) x

Comment is about John Coopey (poet profile)

Original item by John Coopey

Thanks for that last comment John - I thought you were blaming me for a moment! Sorry about the poor fish:(

Comment is about autumn egg (blog)

Original item by Ann Foxglove