So this comes a day late; not surprising given the poetic shenanigans of last week, including a delightful gig in Petersfield at Write Angle. Stella and I had a lot of fun that night being the Disparate Housewives. Being part of a double act is so enjoyable and taking on a persona as a poet is such a relief. It means you don’t need to wear the shackle of yourself, quite. Of course it IS me as one of the Disparate Housewives, but a kind of twisted version. Usually readings are so personal and somehow not so amusing as a result.

 

I think there must be room for both the performance poetry and the ‘page’ poetry in the same arenas, which is what we went for at our monthly event at the Poetry Cafe The Shuffle this Saturday. It was a lively mix of different types of poets, poetry and style and certainly there was no time for boredom. Sometimes I think compering is even harder than reading though. You really need to pay attention to the ART at the same time as keeping an eye on the nuts and bolts of the organisation.

 

Friday night was another reading for Orbis magazine. I had to fine ONE POEM to read amid a host of others. That was no easy task. Whatever you pick, it’s only one facet of you. And it’s so nerve-wracking getting up to read one poem. Just as your heart starts slowing down, it’s time to get off the stage.

Ah well. A bit like life really.

 

I’ve been listening to a lot of Leonard Cohen lately; I kind of stopped listening seriously to his new stuff when ‘I’m your man’ came out in around 1983. Being a purist, I liked his one man and a guitar thing. Now I realise I made a terrible mistake. Some of his lyrics since have been stupendous. He translated a poem by Lorca to write the song ‘Take this Waltz’ and the words make my hair stand on end. Lennie, I realise more and more, was a formative influence for me. Genius. And I’ll be seeing him at Glastonbury and at the O2 later this year. Thank goodness I got tickets.