16.7.2015

I just watched Everyman through National Theatre Live at Cineworld downtown and I have to say it was superb. Carol Ann Duffy has re-imagined it and it is a fierce, clever, funny and frightening, critique of our society; an ultimately compassionate realisation of our human condition and tragedy.
Everyman played by the wonderful actor Chiwetel Ejiofor, celebrates his fortieth birthday among his high-flying friends with snort, music and wild sex. The story takes off from there.

This updating of the play suits all Duffy's strengths as a poet (she's our Laureate to those abroad who may not know), and is the best thing she's done in my opinion except for her classic poems. Her contemporary ordinary-speech-like verse moves along at one hell of a pace. Her clever quick rhymes snap out; her use of our current tag words and cliches to hold up a comedic and pitiless mirror to all our failings, is hilarious and and biting. Her endless flexibility with common terms and lists is really on form and contrasts neatly with the medieval original text. Lastly, Duffy was brought up a northern Catholic --she's intimate with this material and can use it like putty as she needs. I was seriously impressed and moved.

But the casting and staging were also brilliant. From Everyman's motley crew of friends, to 'Goods' in their gold and quiffs ultimately unable to help; from God imagined as a female cleaner (who the audience ignored for fifteen minutes before the play began) to the incredible Irish Death who gets the very last words and all their echoes, a foot was never put wrong with casting.

As for staging, the tsunami was very violent and scary; the use of light and colour tones intriguing; the videos and photos a real atmospheric pull, and the rubbish train and snorting table, on a shocking epic scale. 'Wow' is what I wanted to yell out.

Then there were the dances, body rushes, and movements, music and songs. All these put together kept you breathless and on the hook throughout. I thoroughly recommend this production. If tickets are sold out, watch out for an Encore showing.

I came out and remembered running into Ed Morris recently after a Shakespeare play --I forget which now. We shared as usual a discussion of the play, had a brief catch up and an affectionate goodnight hug. Now suddenly he's two weeks dead, at 62 and while completely healthy.

Everyman speaks to us all --time is running out --we have a planet to save --or as this production makes clear, we have humanity to save on this planet. If not, the planet will shrug us off and have to regain its health without us. Four bereavements in one year tell me loud and clear we all have an appointment with death. But our human condition is also comedic. Go see this to have a great laugh too. Death will really get you in the end, but with an good old joke! 8--)

13.7.15

Autumn Sky Daily, in the USA, has published my poem 'Empty Nest'.
Pleased with this.

The poem was not published before The Wilding Eye came out, but does appear in it. I can't seem to get a live link up here, but you can hear me read this at the book launch, under readings link on website first page.  

5 July, 2015 A Death and the Greek Results

I have just watched A Song for Jenny on the BBC --a drama about the death of a young woman in the 7/7 London bombings --it's the 10th anniversary on Tuesday. It was painful to watch and humbling to see the actuality of what happened to people whose daughter was killed, and to her siblings and fiance. I remember being so relieved that Mike was safe at work, and that London friends made it through. How they walked all the way home that night, many of them together, and for several miles. And how proud I was of our people that we just carried on without a fuss. But until now I've had no idea what hell the inside of that was like, for the 52 unlucky ones, and the 770 injured.

A friend of ours was killed on Friday night (3rd July) in an accident --he took a cousin up in his microlight and it hit a shed. They were both killed instantly -- he was Ed Morris, 62, a retired doctor, a Quaker. I've been dealing with shock and despair over the randomness and chance, the pointlessness of trying to make order or things better --have felt unable and unwilling to struggle further

Now with this drama and the Greek results I realise, the point is not to try to make all tight and good again -- the point is what you do in spite of the unholy and rotten randomness and hell of it all --how you get up each day and do your best until you stop breathing (as Ed, our friend did); as the family who lost their child on 7/7 did; and as the Greeks decided to do today (they are no longer victims but making their own history again now, however hard it will be  --and have become models again for us other Europeans  --we can say no to austerity, and should!)

Doing your best with the tyranny of time, risk and chance and without easy answers, is the only option --the only way. The only way to beat bad energy at its own game.

RIP:  Ed Morris, a kind, gentle, decent man --a good friend to all those he knew. Ed, you will be missed so much! And deepest sympathy to his great family, also friends!

Good luck to the long-suffering Greeks who have refused to have democracy taken away from them!

16 June, 2015

Oxford Brookes Poetry Centre made my poem 'Woods' from The Wilding Eye , their poem of the week. I'm very grateful.

The poem should be in quatrains and has wound up in an intriguing kind of tercet. I've asked them to fix that when they notice, though am tempted to leave it almost as it is........8---)

13 June, 2015.

The New Statesman has made  my new book, The Wilding Eye, New and Selected Poems, its recommend read for issue 12-18 June, 2015, with a great short review. Delighted.

The review can be found on my review page for this new book.

Pleased to have a new poem accepted by The Rotary Dial, a fine on-line Canadian Journal coming out of Toronto, (one of my several old 'home towns'). Only my second poem published in Canada (I had one in Quarry years ago) and second on-line (the first being Huff Post).

Also this Journal prides itself on taking formal work and has stepped outside its comfort zone to publish me --I'm very grateful.

6 May 2015

Nominations are open for the next Oxford Professor of Poetry.

I think it should be a woman --think its important it is a woman, finally, after all this time.

I have given my support to Alicia Stallings, an American formalist poet living in Greece. I really find her level of technique intriguing and fascinating and would enjoy hearing about it in lectures. She is also an ex-pat like I have been, both here and in Canada, and that interests me. She is also living in Greece which is important for its history, but also because of its present travails. Having a poet come to Oxford from Greece right now seems timely.

However, I understand that Wole Soyinka has also been nominated. A fine international poet too, and I wish them both the best of luck.  I would prefer a woman, but it would be good if the whole business were civilised and good fun this time. I will be happy with any fine poet who comes and gives interesting lectures!