Well, I finally received my copy of Poetry News from the Poetry Society in London ... and its full
of news. The Membership Manager of long standing has now left ... gone to teach in
the primary sector ... and we have a new and ever so engaging one ... I had to phone him
on the issues mentioned in Poetry News:
Members Profile on Paul Mc Grane in the interview given to€ Clarke ... Paul ... the New Membership Manager
was born in 1942 in Buckinghamshire ... and he retired in 2002 and lives with partner in Glasgow ... he well
remembers poetry readings at school and fondly recalls The Rime of The Ancient Mariner ... he had written and
published poetry ...and he regards Paris as the place to be for poets and poetry ... well ... new brooms
sweep clean, I guess.
Jules Mann continues to amaze us with her direct and candid reponse and she is still The Director at
the Poetry Society: I found a poem by Sarah Westcott: title: First Days of interest because ...
it commences with the line ... I left you at the nursery and ends with the line
we were both already someone else ...
in between ... the first and last line we deduce who and what you were and I suppose it joggles the
memory ... I can well recall decorating the nursery in my new home ... I painted it bright green:
and Nursery Rhyme Curtains and lovely, lovely carpet and decor .... I used to sing the
nursery rhymes at bedtime ... and put everyone to sleep ... gentleness reigns overall!
Can Poetry be Taught! Well, yes to those that like it and can cope with the non literal expressions ...
because after all there are films that express language well and get better and better in terms of
what people get out of listening and writing poetry! You can learn to appreciate it but whether or
not you wish to write it depends upon the circumstances you find yourself in .. the all too
familiar line ... I have an M.A. begs the question ... and many a teacher has been spurned
by employers with ... not all that again please ... I want a new dynamic ... not what you've
got but more to the point ... what can you give to your learners of poetry ... other than
the dullness of repetition ... all about what you've got etc etc. Perhaps a better starting
point would be ... would you like to acquire ..... in Language and if so .. which language
will you choose!
Its all about the values attached to Creative Writing ... by the time you receive my poem
I will be in Las Vegas or Paris .... well done Poetry News ... for giving space to these
complex issues ...
A licence to tell stories ...is about Kwame Dawes collection : Impossible Flying ... the last
line caught me offguard ...he never wrote again ... there is a hint of bitterness in this ...
I pray we shall overcome the bitterness of life's journey .... great reading in Poetry News:
Autumn 2006: