ABPA - Australian Bush Poets Association

Thank you for the June prompts Maureen. Sorry I rarely get around to responding to this very valuable and stimulating section of our 'community network' -- it is a matter of time not disinterest. However, I have a poem that fits this topic and hope you don't mind me sharing it. Thank you once again for keeping up your Writing Workshop --

A -MUSING
by Brenda Joy

If you are looking round to find some other work to do,
a job that brings rewards, renown and lots of money too,
take heed of what I’m passing on before you make a start –
don’t choose the role of poet or you’ll surely break your heart.
If you ignore this sound advice and want to be a bard,
forget about becoming ‘bush’ – it’s really very hard,
with rules and regulations re the rhyme and metre stress...
Try other forms where prose of nonsense seems to quite impress.

Technique is so important but the audience out there
don’t get it ‘cause it’s subtle, and they really aren’t aware
of all the hours of editing we put in to our craft
(the first creative output just becomes a working draft).
Then there is all the learning that we do behind the scene.
To be a good performer then you really must be keen
to enter an internal haze, repeating lines aloud,
preparing for a smooth rendition to appease a crowd.

Outside poetic circles, there’s reluctance to accept
the long or drawn-out verse, with people wanting to be kept
amused by funny anecdotes or mainly comic rhyme
(risque and toilet humour gets them going every time).
So if you have a yen to be a deep and sombre bard,
again I’ll warn you from the start, that task is extra hard.
A prelude to a barbeque is what we have to be,
or supplement to tea and scones (as long as they are free).

Now even great comedians who cause the laughs to flow
can find that once the food appears the crowd is keen to go.
And you’ll be up against the fact that most prefer a song
with simple little melody so they can sing-along –
like something from the USA that they already know
through hearing it repeatedly on country radio.
So give a cheerful upbeat tune (they’ll surely show it glee)
but never try to reach to them with thoughtful poetry.

Unlike the singers we’re not blessed with music’s sound effects.
We rarely have a microphone, yet everyone expects
we should perform for hours, never miss a single word.
We have to work from memory, and if they spot they’ve heard
a poem on the night before we happen to repeat,
they think that they've been taken down, and treat us like a cheat –
which gives them such a great excuse to disregard ‘the hat’,
our one and only income source. And while we speak of that...

...a foremost poet who commands a very handsome fee
for concert hall performances (and all of us agree
that he is worth the price, he puts on such a bonzer show)
can find in tourist parks when ‘hat’ goes round to get some dough,
he might just get a golden coin or silver weigh-me-downs.
But when it comes to giving notes, well then he gets the clowns
who’ll reach into the hat and claim four dollars change from five
(his takings from donations wouldn’t keep an ant alive).

So once again I’m warning you – don’t start to play this game.
It will not bring you fortune's smile. It will not bring you fame.
And there’s a greater problem ‘cause as soon as you get hooked
on writing or performing, then your goose is really cooked,
as all the words that you must scribe and shows that you must do
will keep you restless night on night with planning and review,
for there is no escaping, once the Muse has set the rules,
you’re destined for addiction like the rest of us poor fools.

G/day Brenda
Good to see one of yours, mind you my one is the first for some time as well, but I agree with you, homework is a great way to try different things.
I've been saying for a long time that Maureen should be praised for what she does and continues to do for all sorts of poetry.

I must admit I've never had the urge to take up performing and following the circuit so to speak.
I enjoy just keeping it as a hobby, but make no mistake, I'm just as much slave on the writing side of things as anyone.
At Least I can write what I like without worrying about what's topical, and if someone likes the odd poem that's a bonus.

You may have to write other than what you really love at times to be relevant on the performing scene, but you still find time to write many lovely poems as well. Probably a case on having the best of both worlds Brenda.

Cheers

Terry

Hiya Brenda - lovely to see you here and always happy to share - you should know that.

Love the poem - so true sadly, only a few diehards around it seems who still write in rhyme, and of course the subtleties of it go over most peoples heads. As for free verse/blank verse - I reckon you could take a newspaper article, stagger the lines and flog it off as poetry - most of the Joe Blo public wouldn't know or appreciate the difference.

However, those of us who do, do , and appreciate the skill and effort that goes into writing a good bit of bush poetry that thymes, or any poetry that rhymes - and for those who are clever enough to perform sans a bit of paper - I dips me lid to youse all.

The reason why I encourage people ( bush poets ) to read widely, is to enable them to see the broad vista that is the world of poetry.

I would venture to say that poetry isn't primarily about rhyming, or set patterns of stresses. Poetry is about line endings. That is why it is called verse. verse means turn. Prose starts at the left margin and ends at the right margin, verse ends at a predetermined place to make a characteristic rhythm of poetic language. Rhythm in poetry is not the same thing as metre, by the way.

The other thing that makes poetry is images. Poetry is the language of images. Any verse that merely relates narrative without images is just prose or worse doggerel, no matter how clever the rhyme and metric patterns.

By all means one can write mainly in rhyme and metre. The English modern poet John Whitworth who died just a couple of weeks ago always wrote rhyming verse in a wonderful comical style. Les Murray who died recently was a wonderful bush poet and wrote both rhyming ballad style and informal verse.

We can do our own thing, but better to at least be informed and familiar with the knowledge of other approaches.

Love this poem, Brenda - and how true it is.

As you know, I am not the seasoned performer you are, but certainly Rod and I have the same experience of a caravan park campfire audience taking for granted that the poetry and the smoke both come for free! Service clubs expect you to grace their dinners and high teas for a vote of thanks (a bottle of wine if you're very lucky)!

Just as well we love it!!

Great to see you on the Forum.

Cheers
Shelley