I read some poems at the Parole Parlate 2nd Birthday celebration last Thursday. It is held upstairs at Little Venice and always has a good mix of performers. I felt a whole range of emotions whilst listening: one poet called Amanda Bonnick made me cry with her beautiful and evocative poems about her father. Catherine Crosswell and Gary Longden both made me laugh so much I couldn't get my breath. The poems were so witty and performed with perfect comic timing. Andrew Owens captured the fear and anxiety of losing a child in a busy shopping centre in his story. Claire Walker was a delight to listen to read as she has a lovely perceptive view of the world that comes across in her words. Read the whole review of the night on Gary's blog (an excellent blog to visit for poetry news in the West Midlands.)
Garyswordz
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| photo by Geoff Robinson |
'Closing the first half was Ruth Stacey who performed a bold and imaginative sequence entitled The Fox Boy. Densely layered , it borrows from the Red Indian of North America tradition of using animal characters that are half animal/half human to explore existence. It is no twee anthropomorphic jaunt. Ambitious in intent, it is an invocation to break out of the restrictions of our own skin to explore beyond. Cleverly, the device of transcending the confines of that skin embraces mixed ethnicity too- “skin is just a covering, to keep the flesh tidy and the heart, in place”. It was very well received and proved that challenging, serious poetry can be performed out loud and succeed.'
Review by Gary Longdon
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| 'The Fox Hunt' by Winslow Homer 1893 |
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