Sunday 20 December 2009

Poetic Justice

Blast you.

I won't do what you tell me.

Except buy Killing in the Name Of.

One click to defeat the frightful Cowell. Even Lazy Poets can do that.

Jolly good.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fkuOAY-S6OY

Saturday 19 December 2009

Dinah's Winter Poem


Dear All

We finished last night's Seasonal LPPG with a short and slightly unseasonal reading session. Due to time constraints (and my reading The Lunch Poems almost in their entirety), Dinah was unable to read her poem. Which is a shame as it is incredibly beautiful. Here it is

Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening
by Robert Frost

Whose woods these are I think I know.
His house is in the village though;
He will not see me stopping here
To watch his woods fill up with snow.

My little horse must think it queer
To stop without a farmhouse near
Between the woods and frozen lake
The darkest evening of the year.

He gives his harness bells a shake
To ask if there is some mistake.
The only other sound's the sweep
Of easy wind and downy flake.

The woods are lovely, dark and deep.
But I have promises to keep,
And miles to go before I sleep,
And miles to go before I sleep.

London Library Members Defy Blitz

Frank O'Hara


Poem

Lana Turner has collapsed!
I was trotting along and suddenly
it started raining and snowing
and you said it was hailing
but hailing hits you on the head
hard so it was really snowing and
raining and I was in such a hurry
to meet you but the traffic
was acting exactly like the sky
and suddenly I see a headline
LANA TURNER HAS COLLAPSED!
there is no snow in Hollywood
there is no rain in California
I have been to lots of parties
and acted perfectly disgraceful
but I never actually collapsed
oh Lana Turner we love you get up

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eeGqE1sqpn4

Thursday 10 December 2009

A Poetic Bit of Fry and Laurie


Fry: "Time fell wanking to the floor". What does it mean?

Laurie: It's a quotation.

Fry: A quotation? It's not Milton and I'm pretty certain it can't be Wordsworth.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zx_YY_frOvQ

Tuesday 8 December 2009

A Lazy Poetic Welcome to Ezra Glaser-Smyth


It is with immense happiness, albeit of a wearying sort, that we welcome Ezra Glaser-Smyth to the LPPG.

Although only a few days old, he is already far smarter than most of the original members, far better behaved, far better-looking and, if that book mark is anything to go by, far better read.

I know all members will summon the requisite vim and welcome him warmly.

To mark the occasion, some verse by his namesake. It is suitably gloomy, but also rather amusing. Congratulations Adam and Eliane!

Song in the Manner of Housman

O woe, woe,
People are born and die,
We also shall be dead pretty soon
Therefore let us act as if we were
dead already.

The bird sits on the hawthorn tree
But he dies also, presently.
Some lads get hung, and some get shot.
Woeful is this human lot.
Woe! woe, etcetera . . . .

London is a woeful place,
Shropshire is much pleasanter.
Then let us smile a little space
Upon fond nature's morbid grace.
Oh, Woe, woe, woe, etcetera . . .

Lazy Person's Poetry Group 2 - Return of the Killer Poetry Group


After the runaway success of the first Lazy Person’s Poetry Group, the members dragged themselves off the sofa to try again. Indeed, our motto could read: If at first you succeed in some form or another, give it another whirl at some point. Only in Latin and that.

The meeting was held on Friday 16th October at the apartment of Ms Katherine Davey in sunny Walthamstow, north London. The poems were chosen by Mr David Cross and Mrs Emma Simon. They were:

Archaic Torso of Apollo by Rainer Maria Rilke and The Excrement Poem by Maxine Cumin (both Mr C)

The Sunlight on the Garden by Louis MacNeice and The Mermaid Tank by Stephen Knight (Mrs S)


Also in attendance were:

Ms Rose Dawson
Mr James Kidd
Dr Dinah Roe
Dr
Adam Smyth

Events kicked off optimistically - Ms Davey had pre-arranged food and so everyone was in high spirits as we turned to Rilke…though not for long. A challenge indeed, not least one of translation. Mr Cross kindly brought several versions of the poem (not to mention a suitably hunky headless statue), although the one up for discussion was by Stephen Mitchell. This had also been used in The Bookgroup, where Mr Cross had first heard the poem read. Now as then, much focus lasered onto the final lines: You must change your life. The interpretations varied from the self-help to the creative.

We moved, like a mountain-goat leaping up a sharp incline, nimbly to the MacNeice. Two attitudes diverged in the room: Dr Smyth seemed unhappy with the poem’s finale, feeling it a sell-out; others, including Simon herself, took a more positive stance. This was all done with the utmost refinement, of course, and made for an interesting debate about the poem’s jagged inconsistencies.


The Excrement Poem was scooped up with enthusiasm, read on the whole as a naughty-but-nice interrogation of notions about taste and disgust, what it means to be human and what poetry can achieve when it gets its hands dirty. The Mermaid Tank was similarly unfamiliar to everyone present – it too inspired plentiful, if slightly hasty discussion, not least about what a dugong might be. Luckily Mr Cross had dived into google like an eagle with an eyeful of fish.


It seemed almost impossible to believe that a second meeting had occurred. Speaking for myself, I had been flabbergasted to get as far as one. And yet we left, the verse for poetry (apologies) and ready for a third get-together. See you then.

A Belated First Meeting PSpotify


One final note about the first meeting should be made. During the genial opening ceremony, each member declared their name, job and favourite recent song. These were later gathered, by Dr Roe, for a Spotify playlist. Little wonder she got that PhD. For the record, these were:

‘Sixty Minute Man’ – Roe
‘Rocket Man’ – Smyth
‘Fade to Grey’ – Glaser
‘Fire’ – Simon
‘Golden Brown’ – Cross
‘The Man Who Sold the World’ – Davey
‘Razzmatazz’ – Dawson
‘Silver Lady’ – Goddard
‘Victoria’ (Kinks) – Kidd

spotify:user:dlroe:playlist:1X2Z8pBswBj0UPT2Tkxo4n