A Falling Echo of POETIKA 58

Our host this month was Nicky Harris.

After John made the usual announcements (poets for cubs – sounds like a good swap..), Nicky welcomed us and took us falling through autumn –  feeling like four seasons in one day –  the sun struggles to carry its weight – an audible wall of silence.  Ria continued this theme, saturated with senseless smell,  the wasps dance in prayer to the autumn sun.

David R pointed out that if you fall hard enough, you keep falling, until you are no longer falling but flying, then Susie brought us down to earth by suggesting we have lost our innocence – we know too much – we are despoiling the Garden of Eden with unoriginal sin…

Ian spoke of frost lurking around the corner (don’t be afraid of the ‘F’ word), and Catreminded us it was Talk Like a Pirate Day, before getting us all to sing along to her rendition of Space Oddity. Mike recalled fears past, the worst that could happen – many secrets beckon still to thee and me…

Then it was time for our guest, Lucas Shamanic, who after a little throat singing used words and music to enter the spiritual plain, love that keeps me going and allow to entertain. He closed our first half with some of his trademark beatboxing – “I live a crazy life”

The second half commenced with Nicky creating the drama of the century – we are art, scripture of our own religion, then a newcomer, Ross told us how he’s accidentally written a poem – a familiar stranger in my bathroom mirror (Ed: that’s his poem, not how I know him), before the beautiful Alison trod this landscape of dismay. This land holds fallen seeds in galaxies…

For Derek, storms of autumn take their toll, then Anna moaned about people using phones in a poem she read from her phone – it all start with a ping.

Then it was the turn of three more new Poetikees presenting poems that they’d each just written – Ben: all I came for was a beer, Vicky: you can’t get the yawn back, Amy: keep calm and carry on Salisbury!

Then Mike read a poem of Vicky‘s – my first thought was why me? – before Edwardfell through the looking glass into one of wonderful villanelles. Ria read the Mercury poem that won her the prestigious Carrie Carrie’s Inventorium Slam in August (I love my feverish way). Her prize is a slot at the next event – come along and support her on Tuesday 9th October from 7.30 at Chaplins Cellar Bar, Bournemouth.

Lucas returned to headline the evening, beatboxing classical music(!), using his words to open doors – he had lizards in his cortex and they hadn’t been fed! Thank you Lucas for entertaining and inspiring us in a way few others could!

So that was September, and before our regular meeting on Wednesday 17th October which is one of the opening events for this year’s Salisbury Literary Festival (and has the theme of festivals and literature), we have an event as part of the Salisbury Fringe.

It’s on Sunday 7th October at the new community venue @home (between Barclays and Wetherspoons). It will have a theme of dramatic poetry and a selection of work chosen from your submissions will be read by Fringe actors.

So send your dramatic poetry to drama@poetika.org.uk by midnight 30th September and yours may be included. Do also attend the event because the first half hour will be our normal style open mic – arrive early to bag a slot!

John
for Nicky, Ria, Ian and myself.

Salisbury Fringe program here: https://salisburyfringe.wordpress.com/
Salisbury Literary Festival program here: https://salisburyliteraryfestival.co.uk/brochureschedule/