GRACE

[Neville Briggs]

Because it's not about girls, it's about boys.

[r.magnay]

Huh?...what do you mean Neville?.......(I think I'm on to you mate!)

[william williams]

Neville be careful what you are backing into

[Neville Briggs]

Ah my friends , remember, it's a poem, not a yarn. Clive James on the TV on Tuesday night said that of all the arts, poetry is the distillation of experience.
I was not relating what had become of them, but distilling what had become of me.
Like the Apostle Paul wrote
" When I was a child,
I thought like a child,
I spoke like a child.
When I became a man
I put away childish things "

[Stephen Whiteside]

Isn't there a law about distilling in your own home?

[Stephen Whiteside]

Maybe it's OK if you have a Poetic Licence.

[Stephen Whiteside]

People who produce home distillate generally have trouble standing up anywhere. (Sorry Neville - I am sure you are the exception!)

[Neville Briggs]

Distillation of experience is a vital concept for writing poetry. If anyone wants to write poetry they cannot hope to succeed unless they grapple with that concept.

[Stephen Whiteside]

I imagine you are right, Neville - though I don't quite know what you mean - but I don't think you should ever explain your poetry. If somebody is struggling to understand it, it's not your problem.

[Heather]

I know what you mean Neville.