And so it was not so much farewell – as adieu. The final Rhymes, which had brought out probably the best attendance in memory turned out to be the final Rhymes in this format.
It was a fitting swansong. The Bill reminded us all of what had made the event a success in the past. Eight performers, seven of them local, brought out coteries of their own supporters and several poets not performing on the night happy to exchange poetic scuttlebutt. Long standing compere Lorna Meehan looked delighted, and a little overwhelmed, by the turn-out.
The first half required your first name to be James, the first of whom was James Barnett, a young cataloguing librarian from the University of Birmingham.
His milieu is the dark, brooding and introspective – quite handy if you work in a library, and he did it well. Always accomplished, impeccably rehearsed and confidently delivered, he visited Discipline, Fidelity, The Head Girl and Visiting Hour at the Care Home.
Curiously one poem was Untitled, which I would have thought would have been anathema to a librarian. His imagery was invariably meticulously crafted, the alliteration avoiding cliché. Yet as a whole, I felt it veered as a set a little too heavily towards bedsit angst, something which a re-jigged set, and experience, will easily redress.
James the Second was James Bunting. He had a game plan. It worked. It comprised four parts of around four minutes each, the last of which was entitled Introduction, neat eh?
Part one, Paradise was a lyrical personal cri de coeur with shades of Milton’s Paradise Lost and Dante’s Inferno ingredients in a heady, satisfying, rich, mix. Part two, Politicians was the most edgy and satisfying. His lament that Kerouac, Dylan, Lennon and Ginsberg were from a fading generation and that no contemporary young performers were picking up the baton of dissent struck a chord which resonated with young and old in the audience.
WICKED GIRL
Promises was a bold, bare paean to a wicked girl and offered a light change of course before he hit the home straight with Introduction , an amusing coda a compelling statement of poetic manifesto with the memorable line that he was, “Older than when he started this poem” a defiant invocation for us all to get on and do something with our lives. I loved it.
Lorna Meehan explained that the New Rhymes may feature extended poetic performance from individuals and ensembles. As if anticipating this turn of events, the Decadent Divas offered us a vernissage of things to come with their four part, twenty five minute piece, debuted at Artsfest a few weeks ago.
It featured Charlie Jordan, Maggie Doyle, Laura Yates and Lorna herself. Shakespeare decided that there were seven ages of man, the Divas have opted for four stages of woman by articulating the voice of women from four succeeding decades. The packed house in an intimate atmosphere clearly energised the Diva’s, with some skilful editing, new material , shorter soliloquies and more dialogue enhancing and improving this well written and entertaining poetic drama.
To date the women have articulated universal observations about their time of life. The opportunities for them to build up character and have them observing contemporary issues gives this ensemble plenty to go at. I want to learn more about the individual Divas, and I am sure we will.
A varied bill has always been a strength of Rhymes and David Calcutt offered a change of direction, and pace. He split his performance into two parts, the first incorporated writing inspired by his work with those experiencing dementia, the second was a series of poems about curlews inspired by a recent visit to Laugharne, home to Dylan Thomas.
Few would consider a series of poems on curlews, but few observe nature with the clarity and softness of touch of David, as we shared the exhilaration of the twists and turns of this magnificent bird. Inevitably poems about dementia will include the downbeat, but what shone through was the humanity of these poems which were sad, yet celebrated the human spirit too as the sclerotic effects of this disease take hold. Beautifully constructed, and inspiring.
To close the evening Naomi Paul took the stage, a wry, dry, witty performer who takes her craft very seriously. Deadpan humour is her speciality, and it worked a treat tonight, drawing the audience in as they waited for a twist – how good would she be alongside Jack Dee?
And she does do stand-up comedy too. But her craft is as much in the words as it may be with any joke that she delivers so performance poetry suits her well, an audience ready to appreciate the whole, not simply waiting for a gag.
The Catch about a past lover was particularly popular with the women in the audience, as was Displacement Activity and Leaving the House (she had clearly witnessed my wife’s ability to make provisions for a trip into town rival Mallory’s assault on Everest). She finished with my personal favourite, the tale of her personal odyssey to travel the Hippy Trail only to discover that it was all over with “The Grey Rabbit Bus”. Not even the lusty , booze and pharmaceutically fuelled antics of her fellow travellers could provide her with relief as: “ I am English.”
The final Rhymes will be followed by . . .an end of year Slam in November, and a New Rhymes in the New Year- check the Facebook page for details.
Gary Longden
21-9-11

Three Poets walk into a Pub
Shifnal Festival

The Shifnal Festival is a vibrant affair in a village seeking to make its mark, and succeeding.
Ken Dodd opened the twelve day run of paid for and free events. Ian McMillan was appearing on the Wednesday, but on Tuesday a healthy crowd turned out at the Oddfellows Public House for a combination of headline performance from Simon Lee, Emma Purshouse and Mark Niel – our Three Poets (who) Walk into a Pub.
Mark is a stalwart of the Performance Poetry and Slam scene, I first saw him perform a couple of years ago when he won the Muck Wenlock Slam, and tonight he was on his usual effervescent , ebullient form, opening up with his signature My Name is Niel through the Lozell’s Prayer and beyond. Few would imagine that having your name misspelled in a bank could result in an assault charge – but for Mark, it might!
Black Country girl Emma Purshouse was on home turf and breezed through her set of humorous observational and character based verse. Whether it be the wisecracking quips from builders to passing by women, the perils of choosing the wrong Welsh town to have an automobile accident in, or neighbours with twitching curtains, Emma has a story to tell about it. Wry and always warm.
PITHY COMMENT
Solicitor Simon Lee opened both the evening and the headline slots. His skill lies not in the verbose and grandiose, but in concise pithy comment on the world around him. Whether it be Robert Preston’s skills as an economics commentator, Patrick Moore’s skills as an astronomer or Richard Whitely’s skills as a Countdown presenter, Simon has a poem for them, and very well they went down too.
Local poets were strongly in evidence too, none more so than festival organiser and Marc Bolan expert Tony Stringfellow who entertained with Politician (not Cream’s version!). Lyn Curtis lyrically wrote of Cardigan Bay, Steve Harrison predicted a riot with Words, and Jack Edwards stole his mentor’s opening line, before launching into In the Pub. My favourite open mic performance of the night came from Jane James whose poem Snoring combined the touching and comic in just the right measure.
With a strong bill of mainstream events it was a delight to see the success of what amounted to a Fringe event drawing in the travelling poetic hard core ,local poetry aficionados, and a fair few people having a pint who wanted to see what all this poetry lark was about. They, like everyone, enjoyed themselves.

Gary Longden
20-09-11

Variety Night
Imperial Banqueting Suite, Bilston

The subtle assimilation of poetry into mainstream entertainment was much in evidence on this bill with three out of the four main acts having a poetic background, each artist taking the form into different areas.
A good turn-out in very agreeable surroundings provided a strong platform for them all to strut their very different stuff.
A variety bill requires a skilled compere to draw together the disparate elements and tonight we had one in comedienne Iszi Lawrence. A southerner parachuted into parochial Black Country territory, she needed to find her feet fast.
Fortunately she did so by spotting a school age girl in the audience, Katy. This provided an ongoing connection and theme as the evening advanced, even though it may have caused Lawrence to temper her material slightly, and Katy to wish that her aunt hadn’t seated them at the front!
Her themes were safe; awkward flat mates, the perils of living with your mum, buying your first alcoholic drink, and her penchant for Alan Rickman’s dulcet tones, (and beyond!). That easy manner was just what was required, as she breezed easily through her stand-up comedy between each act.
Heather Wastie is an artistic polymath well known on the Midlands circuit, tonight she performed as Montserrat Carbonarra, an opera singer whose orchestra was sadly otherwise engaged. But she was not going to let that put her off.
A beguiling mix of comedy, light verse and. . . . . . . . . . . . . operatic singing, she entertained and amused as the opening act, the highlight of which was when she had to improvise as an oboe too, as the oboe player also was unable to be present. The only disappointment being that the audience was ready for more when she finished – but that’s opera singers for you!
Performing a poetry set in front of an audience on a variety bill is no ordinary task. Fortunately, Jo Bell is no ordinary poet. The current holder of the salaciously titled “Bilston Love Slam”, she titillated with her risqué material (all in the best possible taste, of course), and engaged with the sincerity and authenticity of the rest.
INTERNET DATING
A festival regular and Director of National Poetry Day, she knows how to play her audience. Topics including disastrous dates, internet dating, sailors and computers were comfortable crowd pleasers, but there was no dumbing down. Context, an assembly of discordant phrases was sharp and clever, Urban Mermaid her tour de force. The latter brilliantly juxtaposed the urban grime of the Manchester Canal by Piccadilly Station, with the myth of the Mermaids in a piece of startling, and inspired, imagery.
The second half commenced with an act that had, unlike Montserrat Carbonarra, remembered their instruments, in this case a double bass – and a triangle. Paul Eccentric and Ian Newman are The Anti-Poet, a beat duo who combine comedy, poetry and music in a winning, idiosyncratic mix. Paul is the voice ( and triangle player), Ian slaps the double bass and plays the straight man in the comedy. Having recently played twenty eight gigs in seven days they were unsurprisingly well rehearsed, opening with the defiant We Are Artists before taking in the trials of doorstep evangelists, fame with Overnight Success, and black humour with I Hope It isn’t Anyone We Know. Original in material, and striking in appearance, the crowd loved them.
Headlining was Steve Best who blasted through an initially bewildering, but ultimately triumphant, set. Ablaze with energy, he appeared to get through half an hour’s material in the first half minute as he manically told jokes, performed tricks and made faces. Once we had time to adjust, things began to settle.
We were watching a very accomplished visual comedian using props and gadgets combining slapstick, magic and stand-up. Balloons disappeared into his mouth, only for them to reappear with hankies from “the other end”, puns and one liners ricocheted around the room, and he had time to play the guitar, rather well. Very quickly the room reverberated to pretty much continuous laughter as one joke piled onto another with shades of Steve Martin, Charlie Chaplin and Tommy Cooper all rolled into one hugely enjoyable 21st century package. A worthy bill-topper and a big success on the night.
A variety night with variety, but producing a coherent whole, promoter Emma Purshouse has set herself quite a standard with this annual series of events.

Gary Longden
17-09-11

Spoken Worlds
Old Cottage Tavern, Burton Upon Trent

Poetry can be about pretty much anything, and so this evening proved, with subject matter confined only by the imagination of the poets.
When most people see a post box they think of letters, bills they have forgotten to pay or birthday cards which must be purchased and sent. Teenage children might see it as a useful confined space to place an ignited firework . A poet sees beyond this though.
Stephanie Lunn has weightier matters on her mind, such as the problems of posting desserts – trifles, custard, that sort of thing. And then there is the matter of meat. Neatly sliced ham should be okay, mince less so, the gravy gets everywhere. Finally ,the question of posting beards, particularly when the man (or woman) is attached.
Do sheep worry about the existentialist dilemmas explored by Satre and Kierkegaard? Of course they do, and then there are toasters………..Although most of us had not given these matters much thought, Steph has, and the world is a better place for it. Yet does not just deal in the surreal, The Camera Man , about a photographer who snatched a shot of a less than happy bride was wonderfully grounded, and resonant.
Andy Biddulph blazed through Economic Stability with a clarity that Greek Finance minister Evangelos Venizolos would have found quite useful ,and explored frontal lobe activity with an enthusiasm which 19th century Psychiatric Surgeons would have found heart-warming.
Some poets perfect the art of “less is more”, Bert Flitcroft and Janet Jenkins are two such poets. Bert wrote amusingly about Poetry workshops and the Busy Ones, Janet told of cats, tennis as a metaphor for romance in Forty Love, and the aspirations of a want-to–be Heavy Metal singer. Both poets were pithy, economic, and fun.
CURRENT COLLECTION
Light and Darkness is Ian Ward’s current collection, but he also debuted work for future publication, exploring lost cities in Mesopotamia and the withered wychwoods of Alaska before the poignancy of Dear John and the film noir influenced, Just Another Rainy Night.
Mal Dewhirst relishes rediscovering lost or forgotten poets, and often rediscovers them at a rate of knots. August Stramm, the German WW1 poet appears to have won him over more compellingly than most however, as he has majored on him several times in recent appearances and has now taken to performing entire poems of Stramm’s in German, as well as in translation.
He is right to do so. German war poetry has been all but ignored in this country. The sentiments are universal, the timbre of the words chillingly authentic. Anyone who owns a German first world war uniform must surely expect a call shortly! An intriguing coda to his performance was The Archaeological Strata of Polesworth Abbey, a clever piece on the dig in progress there in which which the lines on the page can also be accessed as a dig accesses different layers and truths.
Terri and Ray Jolland entertained with their customary amusing blend of light verse and drama, organiser Gary Carr eased the evening along interspersing introductions with some very strong poems of his own after which we marvelled at how his daughter had survived the mishaps of his parenting! Before the Briefing stood out for me, a wonderful, atmospheric account of the factory floor before the night shift commences. Spoken Worlds plays again on Friday 14th October, and a tip that John Cooper Clarke is playing the Flowerpot PH, Derby on the 21st, a week after.

Gary Longden
16-09-11

The Decadent Divas
MAC, Cannon Hill Park, Birmingham

ArtsFest is invariably a tremendous occasion, 3000 performers, 600 events at 50 venues over two days. It is also renowned for its eclectic bill.
This year was no different. It is also riven with risk. Have the right shows been matched with the right venues, at the right time? And free audiences tend to be uncommitted audiences. How many will turn up is unknown, how many will stay is uncertain.
It was against this backdrop that the Decadent Divas made their debut performance, outdoors on a warm, but blustery Saturday afternoon which threatened squalls.
As a regular on the Midlands poetry circuit over the past few years it has been fascinating to see how the form, and performers, have evolved. However good the piece, the performer and the performance, there is a limit to how long any individual can hold the attention of an audience unaccompanied.
Of late, two trends have been emerging. The one person variety show has been gathering momentum, as have ensemble themed performances. This was an example of the latter.
The Decadent Divas comprise Lorna Meehan, Laura Yates, Charlie Jordan and Maggie Doyle , in ascending age order. All established poets in their own right, they came together to perform material created for the occasion reflecting the experiences of women in their 20’s,30’s,40’s and 50’s respectively.
LINKING CHAT
A large crowd gathered on the MAC terrace for the show with numerous poetic luminaries in attendance. Each performed a self-penned piece about their own decade, with some linking chat, hosted by Charlie Jordan. It worked well. Sat behind a table with their own microphones, and fortified by a bottle of wine, it was a bit like watching a poetic version of Loose Women.
A gusting wind, and some ominous drops of rain, must have been disconcerting for the performers, but their professionalism shone through as they romped through an accomplished, amusing set.
The audience was not only substantial in size, but also diverse in age profile. As each performer delivered their section , you could see the audience members who identified with that decade warming to it.
Each performer met the expectation of their counterparts in the crowd admirably, and the excellent amplification ensured that all could be heard. The half hour flew by ,with the rain that threatened only arriving after the proceedings were complete. Well written and well executed it was an unqualified success.
What interests me most about this show is not simply where it is now, but where it can go. Already it has been booked for Rhymes on 21st September at the Station PH, Kings Heath. Indoors, and with hand held, rather than fixed microphones, I anticipate that the ability of the individuals to stand, walk and perform will add an extra dimension to the material.
In turn, that will also increase the opportunity for cross-diva interaction. There is no question that they have found a rich formula , the detail of which is open to evolution, revision and change as time goes on, and crucially, revisits by their audience.

Gary Longden
10-09-11

Night Blue Fruit
Taylor John’s Vaults, Canal Basin, Coventry

There is something quite distinct about Night Blue Fruit. Most Poetry events in the Midlands go for early, punctual starts.
Here, both when folk arrive, and the performance time, is arbitrary. As if to anticipate the arrival of Kalliope or Erato might offend them. As Stephen Dedalus remarked: “A man of genius makes no mistakes. His errors are volitional and are the portals of discovery.”
And so as night came down, and enfolded the earth in her dusky wings, so the host for the evening, Antony R Owen portentously read Tenebrae.
Those same shadows, and the darkness that Antony evoked, seemed to cast a spell on the evening. The audience half seen, the performer indistinct in blue light.
The fragile frame of Janet Smith barely discernable, she delivered a mesmerising, austere set in the half-light of the pathology department, or the moonlight under which the Owl cried.
John Moody spoke of Joseph , but was that Priestley or Chamberlain ? I thought that we were In Birmingham, but suddenly he evoked the spirit of the Easter Uprising in Dublin with, “The best lack all conviction, while the worst, are full of passionate intensity”, from Yeats.
CODEWORD
Then there was the knowing look as he enunciated “amnion”, used almost as a codeword, in poetic cabal with Janet.
Barry Patterson treated us to an extract from Buddha of the Carboniferous which has no Buddhas in it, nor was there any specific reference to anything carboniferous, yet, like Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon, you implicitly understand what it is all about, even though it’s not about what it says it is.
Antony R Owen is a very fine contemporary war poet. But he is not dead, and he is not German. Mal Dewhirst rectified that by performing three of his own translations of the deceased German First World War Poet, August Stramm including, Kriegsgräberfürsorge and Angriff. The combination of the onomatopeia of the language with sparse form was compelling.
Sukhat actually spells his name Sucat, an archaic form of Patrick, but we both agreed that my approximation was superior. Rather disappointingly, unlike as in the past, he eschewed weighty writing pads which contained only one poem, for a more practical spiral ring binder.
Yet his material was in no part diminished, with Sign Long Removed , obscure and wry. It was no surprise to discover that he is an aficionado of Television and Tom Verlaine.
To close the evening Andy Biddulph visited dyslexia, Welsh mountains and a rather good Evanescence, before Antony R Owen finished with the chilling Eichmann, the imagery of the hangman’s noose tightening around his neck, and the dead man’s stare, lingers. Night Blue Fruit returns on 4/10.

Gary Longden

Parole Parlate
Little Venice, Worcester

Basking in the warmth of a late summer’s evening, Parole Parlate assembled to hear the usual assortment of fine poetic talent topped by an unusually strong headliner, A. F. Harrold, who I had not heard perform before.
His striking , large ,bearded frame, gives him the aura of a Russian Leninist Revolutionary, and I half expected his set to include tales of the glorious efforts of the workers at the Tractor factory, and a breakdown of the grain harvest from the Ukraine. Interesting as that might have been, he chose a different tack, which enthralled, and delighted the audience.
We chatted briefly beforehand, and an immediate problem surfaced. How do you address someone known by their initials?
Mr Harrold seemed a little formal. A or AF , a little casual. Fortunately he suggested that Ashley would do. From the minute he took the stage, a quixotic quirkiness unfolded for a memorable and intensely idiosyncratic act. Laughing, joking and ad libbing with the crowd, he romped through some children’s poems before arriving at some lengthier adult material.
Like many accomplished artists his trick is to make the difficult seem simple, his self-effacing comments flying in the face of some very fine work. Jennifer Jones was an excellent children’s piece, How it Happens a poignant homage to the death of a parent, Mortal Zodiac a highly amusing astrological tour.
Rarely have I heard a headliner get through so much material with such humour and so little sense of time. A star turn. One of the best Parole Parlate headline acts I have seen without question.
The turn-out for the night was as strong as ever, with the supportive and enthusiastic management now laying on a Poetry Special food and drink offer for early arrivals, offering even more reason for people to consider making a night of it and arrive early (if only to get a good seat!).
BIG IMPACT
First up was Raven Brooks, a name which on first hearing sounds as if it should have been conjured up from the San Fernando Valley, but in fact belongs to a young local woman who made a big impact.
Opening and closing with villanelles, she progressed through a clever duologue between a woman and a waiter, Human Heart, and then to I Stand Accused, about generational faux-pas. Teasingly, she refused to elaborate on The River Man , with imagery of The Styx and other dark forces mysteriously swirling around. Confidently and strikingly presented, she displayed technical skill with warmth and wit, I look forwards to future performances.
Maggie Doyle is a conventional rhyming poet, and tonight she showed that you can make the form go a long way. The Party was light knock-about stuff, whilst The Merry Widow evolves , lengthens and delights with each new extended incarnation.
The familiar bits are welcome, the latest instalments always great fun, in an epic ode to twilight sexual misadventure! Yet it was The Bullies which really delivered tonight. A plaintive tale of childhood suicide in which Maggie used simple rhyming patterns as an uncomfortable, sinister, subversive, but effective tool.
In Birmingham, Rhymes is a similar Spoken Word event hosted by Lorna Meehan. It is always a pleasure to see Lorna getting a run at actually performing rather than carrying the added responsibility of carrying an evening as well.
POETIC JOURNEY
Shoes saw her at her best as she invited the audience to metaphorically and figuratively join her on her poetic journey, Celebrity Appendage, allowed her to exercise her waspish sense of humour as her big television break descends into an appearance as a lesbian shop assistant on screen only, by dint of her elbow!
The recent riots have spawned a plethora of civil unrest poems ,and the next two poets offered their contributions in very different styles. Spoz, with, Only the Dead Dreams of the Asbo Kid ,delivered a heartfelt vox pop, filling a void that contemporary popular music seems unable to fulfil. He also succeeded in rhyming “glass on”,with “croissant “, too! Antony R Owen, whose poetic milieu is in writing about conflict, took a more restrained approach with Slippers ,which he dedicated to Tariq Jahan, the father of a young man murdered during the riots
His key line was of eyes that “gawp at an Eton mess”. In the rest of his set he drew both from his current book The Dreaded Boy and other pieces covering the devastating effect of drought and the impact of war on women, Afghan villages and the American heartlands. Antony personifies the success that serious poets can enjoy as performers of their work. His easy economy of language and inspired imagery is carefully crafted and compelling.
Fergus McGonigal is a performance tour de force these days. Christmas is for Children is amongst his funniest satires. With the festive season still some four months off, this will no doubt (deservedly) get much more exposure as the weeks roll on. A ten accent poem showcased his inability to do accents, and his nature poem showcased his contempt for pastoral poetry .
His skill is in taking the everyday, and heading off into the netherworld of the surreal with it. This is a skill which Catherine Crosswell also possesses. The Dentists Said becomes an hallucinogenic trip into the small print on medications including Anusol, Recipe for Success embraces television series, brewing and colonic irrigation, whilst the gist of Executive Dinner will be familiar to anyone who has suffered the roulette wheel of place settings at formal dinners.
TOUCHED BY HUMANITY
The disparate perspectives on our world which Fergus and Catherine offer are eclectic , rewarding, and always touched by humanity.
Parole Parlate prides itself on also providing a platform for prose reading, and tonight had three authors. This form is much more difficult to succeed in than poetry when read out loud .The standard required to make your mark is far higher. I firmly believe that all prose readers should study the art of Storytelling both to assimilate what ingredients make for successful performed prose , and to glean how it is best presented.
Andrew Owens went for a carefully crafted episodic piece, Bootleg to Paris , about a drug smuggling trip which goes wrong. Concise, atmospheric, and with three twists, it engaged and was pretty much a case study in how to get it right. Alice Sewell bravely used the device of telling a tale about male debauchery at University voicing the male character herself.
This cleverly offered an instant and ongoing novelty, but also enabled her to explore the worst excesses of male behaviour in a way that may have bordered on the offensive if voiced by a man . A neat move, well observed ,and executed. Tony Judge is an experienced and successful local author who enjoys writing wry satire under the, “Brief and Approximate Guide to” banner.
It is a formulaic and derivative series which succeeds because of its familiarity. His Brief and Approximate Guide to Worcestershire was a home banker, and so it proved, although at 1000 words its impact may have been greater with some editing. Curiously he then proceeded to his Brief and Approximate Guide to Parenting which was so similar in style that it neutralised the former piece. The material was good, but here, less would have been far more effective.
Parole Parlate next meets at 7.30pm on Thursday October 6th, which is National Poetry Day, whose theme of Games will no doubt be explored on the night.

Gary Longden
01-09-11