I never stop yearning for good poetry to reach past its traditional catchment areas – those shelves in the bookshop marked “Poetry,” the university literature department, the dedicated arts festival, the shy, solitary and possibly eccentric brain – and find a valid place for itself in the public square, the waiting room where we all have to sit at some… continue reading
Category Bristol Poetry
Poems for Public Display
The Parrot Gives a Lecture
When this stanza was written, the UK’s Mr Toad was still working to meet the deadline for his “deal” for Brexit. A deal achieved in a matter of days, following all sorts of disgraceful and hooligan goings-on, such as unlawfully proroguing Parliament, etc.
And the EU seemed to be co-operating with him in this horrendous mickey-mouse charade. And it seemed… continue reading
An Exhibition of Bilingual Poems
I’m uploading below a set of photographs of an exhibition I organised a few months ago, in Clifton Cathedral, Bristol. The picture above is just one example. Several pictures show, as this does, how the exhibition looked in its setting. Several more show single poems close up, the words made somehow even stronger in their setting here, against the stark… continue reading
A Poem Exhibition in Clifton Cathedral
About three months ago, I organised an exhibition of poem-posters in Clifton Cathedral. This is a bold and wonderful Roman Catholic building in Bristol, designed and built in the 1960’s and 70’s. The exhibition took place on a balcony there, built above the font and overlooking the altar.
As soon as I am able, I shall upload a set of… continue reading
The Soaring Bird
The soaring bird did ok last night. It soared all round the Clifton branch of Waterstones. So did the name of the late Pat Boyden, to whom the book is dedicated. Even Maybot and the American Minotaur made an appearance, since this is the world we live in now, but they were each well in control for a change… continue reading
Of Animal and Other Meetings Book Launch
The book itself is already online and for sale on this blog to the right of the home page.
It is a collaboration between me, the author of the poems, and the members/artists of the Portugal Prints community, who produced the illustrations. Portugal Prints is based in Camden and run by Brent, Camden and Westminster Mind. PP community members and… continue reading