The Poets' Strike

[Stephen Whiteside]

Well said, David, but sad.

Performance, too, Zondrae? I must admit, I hadn't thought about that. I think it's primarily about writing, so maybe performance would be OK. Then again, if we're going to make a point. Hmm. Don't know. No, I reckon it should include performance too.

[Bob Pacey]

Or perhaps "The Poets Strike" should be in the other concept ? Stephen.

Rise up against the oppressors !

May the force be with you.

Robert

[Stephen Whiteside]

We shouldn't strike for money, Zondrae. Anything but money. I know it makes the world go round, but it can't buy us love. Is it love that we want? No, not love. More like respect. And appreciation. Perhaps it is a love of sorts.

But not money. Doctors and cleaners and pilots and garbage collectors strike for money, but not poets!

Perhaps we should not strike for anything, but just wait and see what the community offers us to return to work - and when we feel we have enough of it - whatever it is - we will. Or maybe we should just strike for a predetermined amount of time, as a protest against a cruel, uncaring world.

But here's another idea. I just had it in the shower, where I get most of my best ideas. Perhaps we should ignore 'Poetry Week', and concentrate on all the other 'weeks' - breast cancer, endangered species, refugees, medical research, etc., and write poems for them all! Find all the relevant web-sites and blogs, and bombard them with poems relevant to their subjects! Maybe that is part of the problem, that we are seen as too insular and self-serving - elitist, even, and not making sufficient effort to engage with the rest of the community.

So maybe, rather than fall back on the usual markets - competitions, festivals, poetry groups, this web-site, etc., we should reach out into the great unwashed to make our mark, or our statements, or ask our questions. Of course, we won't strike a chord with everybody, but we will with some, and many others will give us marks for just trying.

Just a thought.

[william williams]

David and Stephen

Now if I could be told by some, one not bold
Of the word strike you say is beholding
Do you not write a stroke of a poem so bold
Or the words of a story that’s beholding
Now you can see at a glance you ain’t got a chance
No poet nor writer worth knowing would glance
At the statement you say that’s worth knowing
It’s written by people like you that you know
Now if it is truth that they write I wonder is it right
Or just words to fill in the paper

[Heather]

Poets? what poets? Probably no one would even notice if the poets went on strike..

Some good points there Stephen. Is it perhaps recognition and appreciation of our craft that we are looking for?

Poetry needs to relevant which is probably why Bob (and others) get such a good response to his posey performances - his topics relate to his audience.

Perhaps, Stephen, you could stand in Bourke Street Mall and recite/perform outside Meyer? You'd need a costume though, and maybe some music.

It occurred to me while at Bundaberg, that the concert on Saturday night could have been billed as "comedy". It was poetry (well, not entirely) but it was so, so funny and booked to the hilt. People will come from miles away for comedy. Doesn't apply to all poetry of course, but perhaps the publicity could be handled differently at times. Just a thought.

Heather

[Stephen Whiteside]

And so the wheel turns full circle. Back in the mid 80s I was quite active with a bunch of people called the 'Street Poets'. They used to stand in the Burke Street Mall outsided Myers (or Meyers if you prefer, Heather) and hand out poems printed onto sheets of coloured paper. Mine were quite popular for a while, and they added nice little graphics to go with them. They didn't perform, though, and I can understand why. I've done my fair share of reciting poetry in busy city streets in the past, and it's hard yakka. I don't think I want to go back there.

[Heather]

Myer it is Stephen!

[Maureen K Clifford]

Only got to see Muzza and the Naked Poets perform to know how well comedy in Poetry goes over. I took my family to see them a few years ago at Pine Rivers - my BIL doesn't do poetry and the rest of the family were a bit ho hum as well. They nearly wet themselves laughing and guess who now has all the CD's of the Naked Poets...makes Christmas giving easy for a loved BIL and Mum has never forgotten the poem that Shirley Friend performed on Breast screening.

All of their performances were a sell out well before the event.

Cheers

Maureen

[Stephen Whiteside]

I take your point about humour, Maureen. I think perhaps the problem David and I articulating is partly geographical. Rhyming verse seems to do best in the warmer climes (certainly NSW and Queensland) and away from the cities, so Melbourne scores poorly on two fronts. I don't think Melbourne is a particularly friendly environment for bush/rhyming verse. I've noticed even John Williamson tends to avoid doing concerts in Melbourne. I attended one of his shows here many years ago. It was great, but in a very small theatre, at least by his standards. Since then I've noticed he's performed in Warragul (to the east) and Werribee (to the west), but that seems to be about as close as he's prepared to come these days. On the other hand, the pub circuit for free verse is really pretty strong in Melbourne. You will be tolerated if you perform rhyming verse at venues like these, but you feel like a bit of a freak.

[worddancer]

Hi everyone,

How long has the word strike, only meant stop, cease, down tools?

I don't see why the unions or any other group of humans
should remove the first fifty-two meanings of the word.
Definition number fifty-three, is the only one I see
that reads about a concerted stopping of all work.
From fifty-four to sixty-eight we move at a lively gait
as we travel this earth on the sea or on land
We can move off, brave and bold
to Strike it rich with a vein of gold
or to make your mark with a pen in your hand.

The Macquarie Dictionary is my source
without it I could not set my course


Worddancer