Poetry: Poor Rude Lines on 'Adventures in Form'

With a name check for me; but seriously, it's a grand review, well worth reading.

Not got the book yet? You can here.

Thoughts in search of a theme

There's no connection between these thoughts, other than other people articulating far better than me some of what has been rattling around in my head the last few days:

1. Poets, or at least people who spend a lot of time attempting to write poems, find writing longer fictional prose hard. I was gratified that Tammy identified a lot of the reasons why, especially that notion of short attention spans...

2. But then, as pointed out in Carl's piece, if we're all getting short attention spans, maybe no-body will able to write prose in the future...

3. But then even more, maybe no one will be able to concentrate on the poems that everyone will be writing instead, as they'll all be written for the page (I'm going to make 'page' also mean 'screen' here), and reading between the lines of Fenton's argument, that would mean that they'd all lack musicality, metricality, and the other things that make good words that don't reach the end of the page hymn along.

Which means, I should write more fiction? I dunno. If you find my argument, do please let me know.

Listorama: Facebook status updates vol 26

BetaRish (is)...

is the last of the sabbaticals

is back at the wordface

is sharing friction

has forgotten the point

is on the trail

is a panther, and then some

Pretending to be a king

Hello Manhattan

is on the hunt for an American breakfast

is red-eyed and lagging

is tired of the wait

sleep isn’t shifting from my eyes

Tomorrow looks good from here

still hasn’t filled this bit out

is a thing, and then another thing

Busy is as busy wishes

is emergent

Time, time, time, what has become of me?

Runaboutalotpiad begins!

Five-ring circus

is inventing sports

will be changing his name to ‘Rishi Lion’

is the inheritor of mass-produced secrets

is on Compass Road

The Shock of The Gone

knows your house so very well

will live those dreams like they’re all mine

Danger here

Bring on the Superhumans

has just been informed that the last headline was incorrect, and will be keeping you up-to-date with all the latest developments

is glitchy

was an ABC on an EE offer

sees a ship in the harbour

is talking amongst his selves

doesn’t mind what anyone else has done

right everything its place in

is a hypothesis in need of refutation

Bacon is a political issue

New Facebook for iPad. Not as good as it thinks it is

has a birdie in the hand

is Mr Moon to someone else’s Lord Malquist

is the hay in the needlestack

Eureka moments are hitting me like cop cars

has no time to resist time

is a general interest publication, available on selected newsstands

Write, fail, repeat; write, fail, repeat

is unrefined elegance personified

supposes he better put something here

Commercial: Rory Sutherland on real vs virtual

Sort of; from Wednesday night, at a MarketReach event. I did some tweets, and collated them. Enjoy.

Commercial: On talking about cancer

Over at Wolff Olins, Owen Hughes has passed judgement on Cancer Research's new logo, and is kind of lukewarm about it. 

One thing about his assessment caught my eye. He writes:

...how do we minimise the fear and remove the mystery? How do we enable ordinary people to talk about cancer and seek help? … [For Cancer Research] to get beyond the ‘big C’ they have to think big and find new, innovative, inspiring ways to get people involved. And… they have to find a way to raise money and support without reinforcing our fear of the ‘big C’.
Let’s not go back, let’s talk cancer. Let’s say Voldemort and strike back.

It caught my eye because it appears that Owen hasn't heard of the one cancer charity that has been doing exactly this since the day it started.

Of course I am biased, but CoppaFeel!'s brilliance comes from not just Kris' energy and passion in driving it forward, but the fact that she changed the frame of reference; why shouldn't cancer charities talk in an upbeat tone, and demystify things? Why should everything always be a battle and a fight? Why can't it be cheeky and sexy and witty and wise?

Yes, of course, CoppaFeel! speaks specifically to a young audience (male and female, by the way, an oft-overlooked dimension), but there is no reason why others cannot adapt this tone and attitude for older audiences. 

The point is: talking cancer doesn't mean, and shouldn't mean, more of the same language that's been used in the past. 

Five highlights from the Paralympics

Was there on Saturday. Here's what stood out:

1. Being asked if I minded being searched on the way in. Asked. Asked? I nearly fainted.

2. The wildflowers by the Olympic Stadium, and all the way through the park. Really hope they stay.

3. Games Makers leading a Beefeater Wenlock round on a golf cart, in the manner of Cockney pied pipers.

4. Ellie.

5. Also in the Aquatics Centre, the Italians getting everyone to applaud their anthem, instead of being silent through it. And we all did.

Poetry: 30/30 challenge

Is happening again. Follow the poems here.