Sick of cruising the drag bars night after night? Suck it and see with the DIY POETS instead! An opportunity to sample some of Nottingham’s finest spoken word as one of Nottingham’s most well established performance poetry collectives tear it up at the Jam Cafe, see below for details, shaping up to be a grand night. FREE ENTRY!
FRANK MCMAHON REPORTS:Five DIY Poets met on Sunday 9th November 7- 9pm at the Nottingham Writers Studio for an informal poetry performance workshop. The aim was for each poet to increase their skills and confidence when reading/ performing their poetry. Each poet gave a history of their performing their work and how they would like to develop in terms of performing their work. During the session each poet read one of their poems to the group and reflected on how they performed it.
Among the things we discussed were:
1. The importance of a good intro. This is to give a bit of context to a poem, as unlike as when a poem is on the page, the audience have only one chance to hear the poem.
2. Pace of reading. Not to read too fast as this will make it harder for the audience to get the poem and will diminish its impact. A suggestion was to highlight words or phrases that may need to have a pause or emphasised. Consider what words are particularly important. Practice reading the poem and varying the pacing at home.
3. Use of large font and poems to be typed. If the type is large font it is easier to read and the poet can look at the audience more than if they have to strain to read smaller font.
4. Consider the time allocated. Time how long the poem takes reading aloud at home. Do not try to cram too many poems in (I have been a victim of this in the past!). Allow a bit of a break between poems for the audience to process the information.
5. Have the poems in a folder rather than individual bits of paper. It looks more professional and organised and if you are feeling nervous the weight of the folder means the audience will not see any shaking hands.
6. Memorising v not memorising. It’s good to be able to perform the poem without looking constantly at the paper but if too much emphasis is put on memorising the poem this can be counterproductive. If someone turns up without the printed poems they have nothing to fall back on if their mind goes blank. Also, if the emphasis is mostly on just memorising the poem the poet may not be concentrating on other things such as the pace of the poem and where to slow down and put emphasis.
The Owl is a poem written by Edward Thomas, one of the most celebrated of the poets writing about the First World War. Most of his poems are not directly about the trenches but the war features in a more oblique way.
It is a poem about both fulfilment and deprivation, and draws on Thomas’s experience of the front line. It is also a poem about the emotions of empathy and guilt.
The poet is tired, hungry and cold but he will get rest and reach the “sweetest thing under a roof”. His physical discomfort is temporary. The first word of the poem is “downhill”. He has completed the effort of climbing up the hill and things will be easier for him from now on. While the poet recuperates with warmth, rest and food he suddenly hears the owl’s cry, which is explicitly said to be “melancholy” and “no merry note” and penetrates the silence of the night. The owls cry reminds Thomas of the suffering he had undergone when he was on the hills but more so it reminds him of the more permanent greater suffering of those who could not escape. He says that he has “escaped”. The owl’s cry seems to represent his conscience and his capacity for empathy. The owl represents for Thomas “all who lay under the stars, soldiers and poor, unable to rejoice.”
Suddenly his food seems “salted”. This implies that he feels guilty about the suffering that he has escaped and other could not. He suddenly loses in some sense the pleasures of the inn.
I find the poem, which uses simple language, powerful, especially the wonderful metaphor of the sound of the owl in the night.
Frank McMahon
Edward Thomas: the owl.
Downhill I came, hungry, and yet not starved;
Cold, yet had heat within me that was proof
Against the North wind; tired, yet so that rest
Had seemed the sweetest thing under a roof.
Then at the inn I had food, fire, and rest,
Knowing how hungry, cold, and tired was I.
All of the night was quite barred out except
An owl’s cry, a most melancholy cry
Shaken out long and clear upon the hill,
No merry note, nor cause of merriment,
But one telling me plain what I escaped
And others could not, that night, as in I went.
And salted was my food, and my repose,
Salted and sobered, too, by the bird’s voice
Speaking for all who lay under the stars,
Soldiers and poor, unable to rejoice.
After brief introductions from Frank McMahon, founder of DIY poets, Poeticus Autisticus (AKA Trevor Wright) took the stage to deliver a finely tuned set with sharp wordage about subjects as diverse as time travel and drones. Often the political nature of some poets limit their vocabulary which reduces their work to propaganda as opposed to art. This is not the case with Poeticus who speaks the truth articulately and the message is delivered, well crafted and poignant.
Orla Shortall is a fine Irish lass who delivered a set of twisted love poetry in a broad accent. From women who are difficult to love to men who are difficult to love, with Victor Hugo references, golden chalices and magic mushrooms. A woman scorned with cutting wit. As Olga repeated the lines: “if you want to leave then leave”, nobody did because they were mesmerised. One of the poems was even written that afternoon at 2pm whilst in “the office” , ooooppps, never mind anything can be forgiven when poetry is this good.
Next we have the first poetry performance virginity loss of the evening, and how! Claire Louise stammered and stuttered, twitched and rocked as she delivered a poem about mania from a first person perspective. There was nothing wrong with the delivery. It was perfect for the subject matter and her movements were in all the right places. I will probably say awesome more than once in this review but that’s because it was the evening it was. “It will pass, it will pass, it will crash”. Claire Louise was awesome, brave, honest and awesome.
Beer and fag break, quick introduction, then Marty Everett. The smooth operator of the evening. Slick in a Bill Hicks kind of way with clever, truthful verse ,about the education system. About how in real life “failure is an option” and yes our children are being sold out. “don’t build statues of the thinking man, be the thinking man”. Marty’s “dragon dances” and we were moved.
The picture on tonight’s poster was of Dylan Thomas, our next poet’s hero. So John Humphries did a trio of related poems. The first being a rendition of Simply Red’s “Money;s Too Tight to Mention” (someone had pointed out the picture on the poster actually looked liked Mick Hucknall) in a posh BBC Dylan Thomas voice. Surreal. Next a rendition of a Dylan Thomas poem performed in a posh BBC Dylan Thomas accent. Surreal. Then a sonnet to Dylan Thomas performed in a posh BBC Dylan Thomas accent. Surreal. John Humphries was brilliant in his off kilter genius. Spot on, in a posh BBC Dylan Thomas accent.
Clare Stewart talks about dreams and red shoe minds. Reflections of Splendour at Woolerton Part. Empathic versifications on deafness. Hard metal and cut down trees. Life , death, compassion of an ethereal kind. Clare is in her poetry, invested and absolute. A set of quality verse gently spoken but scary nonetheless.
Frank McMahon donned with smart attire and pork pie hat verbalizes about not being concerned these days that he has lost his Morrisey quiff. Versed about biker friends who were more guardian angels than hell’s angels. Told rhythmic tales about navvies, football, Hurricane Higgins and a heart breaking poem full of Dr Who Imagery which finds Frank as a child hiding behind the sofa but not from Daleks but from his parents’ arguments. Totally eclectic in subject matter. Totally wondrous in verse.
A poet called Julian recited a poem about the loneliness and isolation of being a cyclist. The dangers of bad roads, careless drivers and total lack of respect cyclists receive from other road users, even pedestrians. The feelings of being despised and abused by bus drivers and drunk blokes on a night out. The poem was long but sharp. Attention keeping and angry. The props of bicycle and bell were incorporated. The tale was told, the message given and poetry of a high quality performed. It rang my bell.
Martin Grey was the headline poet of the evening. I first saw Martin several months ago and he was good. A young poet just starting out. Tonight he was fucking brilliant. One of the best poetry performance I have ever seen. Political in “All the bullets and all the bombs” in which shrapnel hits a young man in his head and he wonders if his mother is alive or dead. There was humour in his “Bread” poem, with tacky chat up lines based round puns about bread, I kid you not. His set had everything, heart break, anger, humour, “The Pretty Boys of G town” is a look back at his teenage years in Guilford and how history has a habit of repeating itself. It reminded me of a poetical version of Pete Seegers “Little Boxes” but with alcohol and chavs. Like I say, fucking brilliant.
Pegefo was the musician for the evening. Sweet, sweet music along the lines of Richard Thompson. One man, one acoustic guitar and a handful of beautiful songs. Unhinged love songs, ode to his mother. A lust for life conducted with serenity. “You think your something special do you”, a love song to the latest flame is one of those love songs which makes this old punk unashamed to like love songs. “not my bag” Pegefo introduced as an atheist anthem. I wonder if he felt the supernal nature of the music he plays. There was darkness, yet hope and encouragement running through his set. He even read a poem he wrote a few years ago. The second poetry virginity to be lost this evening.
Overall a great evening. The kind of evening one expects from DIY Poets. See you next time. (Eagle Spits).
Pedestrian crossings can often cause an unhinged moment when a shopper, student, silver surfer or goofball (like me) arrive at them, wondering whether to press the button or take a chance on scampering across without pausing to follow the expected procedure. Could be a British thing, or maybe most people’s minds are pondering when the next DIY Poets gig might be. The latter is more likely. Unwittingly, DIY Poets can make a major contribution to road safety by revealing early doors when and where the verse will be spoken:
The featured poet Martin Grey is fresh from field studies in phonetics, punnery and one liners. He cruises through a diverse range of subjects, look out for his bread poem, he may try to sandwich it in somewhere. Grey’s anatomy of verse has the legs to make it a kicking night of rhyme (or free verse as the case may be).
And to complete a ‘safe’ night of entertainment, Pegefo and Marita provide the music.
Featured poet on this occasion is the wonderful, evergreen Jim Willis. Jim’s granite Edinburgh tones deliver his butterfly light stanzas across a vista of verse with steel elegance. He originally developed an interest in poetry when attending Leith Academy, now turned into flats. Jim likes to link his poems, no matter how tenuous that link might be, and without any semblance of order. Jim will be exploring three main themes: music, holidays and cats – the order guaranteed to be random! Music is provided by folk based singer song writer Jezz Hall. 8 til late. £3 entry, A bargain!
STOP PRESS: Sources close to DIY Poets have revealed today that Frank McMahon will be debuting a happy poem.
DIY Poets present the latest in our quarterly night of spoken word at the Maze on Thursday 13 February. As well as local bards DIY Poets there will a featured set from the fantastic Clare Stewart and the evening will be rounded off in style by local band, Fun With Numbers. £ 3 entry, a bargain.
DIY Poets meet every month, on the first Wednesday, at 8pm, upstairs at the Broadway Cinema, all poets old and new welcome, for discussions around future events and reading each others poems, with constructive feedback and muchos encouragement. At the last meeting we found a quiet spot on the mezzanine, and Jim grumbled about the lack of draught beer at that particular bar area, but he settled down eventually.
Globally, the literary cognoscenti and the creative sets may not know this: Frank McMahon is a poetry genius and all round legend. He’s been running the DIY Poets collective for over 10 years now, organising and performing at the group’s quarterly shows at the Maze in Nottingham, as well as other events in the local area and beyond.
He’s about to release his second book of poetry: Difficult Second Volume, and a launch is scheduled for Friday 31st January at The Corner in Nottingham. I’ve previewed this book and I can confirm it is essential reading for anyone who likes poetry, even if only a little bit.
Having seen Frank perform his poetry many times and with a massive appreciation of his understated delivery in his mellow Wolverhampton tones, I was able to hear the poems in my head as I read through the collection of 79 poems. Frank tells stories about his early life, with sharp observational lines glued next to personal political viewpoints that focus on many of the issues affecting people on a global level. There are stabs of humour throughout the book, Frank’s poetry is always playful and frequently mischievous.
Frank also ventures into more serious territory at times, reflecting on his upbringing, his milestones, relationships and mortality. The threads of this collection are tied together with lots of cultural references from Dr Who to Slade, Brian Clough, Wolverhampton Wanderers FC, Robin Hood and Superman to name a few.
So, to get a copy and hear some of the poetry, as well as poems from other members of DIY Poets, come along to The Corner on the 31st. There will be a late bar and DIY Poet John Humphreys spinning an eclectic mix of vintage vinyl. Don’t miss it!
I have been writing poetry for over fifteen years and I’m a founder member of DIY Poets, which has been running for eleven years. I published my first book last year, Unfashionable Places, and I’m now working on the follow up, Difficult Second Volume. I enjoy producing both poetry for the stage and for the page. I have written nearly 1500 poems, but hopefully there is quality as well as quantity in my work!
DIY Poets present the latest of our quarterly nights at the Maze, Mansfield Road, Nottingham, on Thursday November 14th. As well as local bards DIY Poets there will be acoustic music from Wall Flower. 8 til late £3 entry A bargain!
The featured poet on the night will be the always entertaining John Humphries (pictured). John’s been a stalwart of DIY Poets since its inception over 10 years ago, and remains one of the most compelling performance poets in the UK. He will be debuting a new poem: ‘Buzzcocks at Blackpool’, amongst many other fine pieces.