I'm absolutely 'wrth fy modd' to have a new book of poetry out from Culture Matters, entitled 'From Aberfan t Grenfell', with the title poem looking at the comparisons between those two man-made tragedies, where working class people were victims of callous capitalism and the authorities' indifference.
First and foremost, it's a volume from two people, myself and the multi-talented Swansea artist, poet and story-writer Alan Perry.
Alan's someone I've known for a long time and even when I was a student at Aber Uni and trying to get a magazine of creative writing together , I turned to him for a cover and he produced a great drawing for the only edition of 'Asp'.
I recall him a few years later doing a hilarious reading at St. Donat's where he proceeded to balance a book on his nose!
After that, we used to meet up regularly in Swansea with Peter Thabit Jones to plan a magazine which never materialised. His illustrations, however, have often appeared on the cover of 'Red Poets' magazine, not least the latest one, a typically quirky and funny picture. When I was editor of 'Poetry Wales' in the 80s it was to Alan I turned for a series of striking cartoons satirising the lit business.
He recently read at our Open Mic at the Imp in Merthyr and everyone agreed it was one of the best ever. Alan is so modest he was about to sell his books for a couple of quid till I persuaded him otherwise.
He definitely doesn't deserve to be on the margins of Welsh art and literature and it's a scandal that he isn't more widely recognised and praised.
This book's very different from the previous one published by Newcastle-based left-wing website and press Culture Matters.
For 'Bring the Rising Home!' brilliant Merthyr artist Gus Payne selected images / paintings to complement the poems mostly written in standard English, with some in Welsh and a couple in dialect.
'From Aberfan t Grenfell' is entirely in Merthyr dialect ( 'dalek' according to Phil Knight!) and Alan created his intricate line drawings around the poems themselves, so word and image become an entity.
We also insisted on a size and format which enhanced this and the subsequent size is like that of 'Planet' magazine.
Alan's stark and moving cover ( above) of the miner/rescuer of Aberfan and fire-fighter at Grenfell was excellently designed by his son Gareth and we're indebted to Alan Morrison for his proof-reading.
Just one example of this 'merged' text and artwork is the poem 'Steve the Bus' where we view the protagonist through a bus window and the text becomes part of the vehicle with a single wheel at the base of the page.
If the poems are buildings , then Alan's drawings are the opening which shed light on interiors : illuminate but never make glaring.
We are both indebted to the editor at Culture Matters Mike Quille who is one of the heroes of the alternative publishing scene. As a long-time Communist he knows the value of patience and is now publishing some of the best books around.
One of these is 'The things our hands once stood for' by the extraordinary London poet Martin Hayes, whose work is like that of a witty, urban Whitman and which concentrates entirely on his work and that of those around him. He captures a modern industry - the courier one - in all of its manifestations, exposing the enormity of exploitation through the behaviour of so-called ordinary people who, in reality, are anything but.
Offset by his own black and white photos, this book is my favourite poetry book of the year and shows how Mike Quille's venture to combine the written and visual is a truly pioneering one.
An exciting development from our book are Alan's hand-coloured prints which will be framed and ( hopefully) sold. Alan is planning an exhibition of these, almost certainly in his home-town Swansea . There is also the possibility of publishing a limited edition of these coloured versions in the future.
While it's heartening to think that the dialect poetry is getting wider recognition , I do wonder if I'll carry on writing it.
However, I do find writing from various viewpoints far more interesting than self-absorbed confessionals.
The future of my writing is very much like writing a single poem : there's a shape in my head but not a plan ; an image but not destination.
Who knows where I'll arrive?
Therein lies the thrill.
( This is a poem from the book, which I wrote a year ago.........
A DRONE F CHRISTMAS
'Ee wants a drone f Christmas!'
she sayz goin on an on an on
as she searches the Sale
of smellies, 'lectronic cars,
quizzes in fancy,silver tins,
cardboard face masks
an ping pong with beer glasses.
'Ee've set is eart on it!'
she keeps repeatin
past chocolates in pyramids
an ewge Italian cakes
size o rabbit utches.
'What ee'll do with it
is beyond me mind!
Blow up nex door,
or take photos of er opposite
when she shows er all?
I'm beginnin t think.....'
I jest wanna tell er ......
'Yew won' find one yer,
but if yew try bottlin
yewer voice, put a stopper on,
yew'll ave the perfect one!'
First and foremost, it's a volume from two people, myself and the multi-talented Swansea artist, poet and story-writer Alan Perry.
Alan's someone I've known for a long time and even when I was a student at Aber Uni and trying to get a magazine of creative writing together , I turned to him for a cover and he produced a great drawing for the only edition of 'Asp'.
I recall him a few years later doing a hilarious reading at St. Donat's where he proceeded to balance a book on his nose!
After that, we used to meet up regularly in Swansea with Peter Thabit Jones to plan a magazine which never materialised. His illustrations, however, have often appeared on the cover of 'Red Poets' magazine, not least the latest one, a typically quirky and funny picture. When I was editor of 'Poetry Wales' in the 80s it was to Alan I turned for a series of striking cartoons satirising the lit business.
He recently read at our Open Mic at the Imp in Merthyr and everyone agreed it was one of the best ever. Alan is so modest he was about to sell his books for a couple of quid till I persuaded him otherwise.
He definitely doesn't deserve to be on the margins of Welsh art and literature and it's a scandal that he isn't more widely recognised and praised.
This book's very different from the previous one published by Newcastle-based left-wing website and press Culture Matters.
For 'Bring the Rising Home!' brilliant Merthyr artist Gus Payne selected images / paintings to complement the poems mostly written in standard English, with some in Welsh and a couple in dialect.
'From Aberfan t Grenfell' is entirely in Merthyr dialect ( 'dalek' according to Phil Knight!) and Alan created his intricate line drawings around the poems themselves, so word and image become an entity.
We also insisted on a size and format which enhanced this and the subsequent size is like that of 'Planet' magazine.
Alan's stark and moving cover ( above) of the miner/rescuer of Aberfan and fire-fighter at Grenfell was excellently designed by his son Gareth and we're indebted to Alan Morrison for his proof-reading.
Just one example of this 'merged' text and artwork is the poem 'Steve the Bus' where we view the protagonist through a bus window and the text becomes part of the vehicle with a single wheel at the base of the page.
If the poems are buildings , then Alan's drawings are the opening which shed light on interiors : illuminate but never make glaring.
We are both indebted to the editor at Culture Matters Mike Quille who is one of the heroes of the alternative publishing scene. As a long-time Communist he knows the value of patience and is now publishing some of the best books around.
One of these is 'The things our hands once stood for' by the extraordinary London poet Martin Hayes, whose work is like that of a witty, urban Whitman and which concentrates entirely on his work and that of those around him. He captures a modern industry - the courier one - in all of its manifestations, exposing the enormity of exploitation through the behaviour of so-called ordinary people who, in reality, are anything but.
Offset by his own black and white photos, this book is my favourite poetry book of the year and shows how Mike Quille's venture to combine the written and visual is a truly pioneering one.
An exciting development from our book are Alan's hand-coloured prints which will be framed and ( hopefully) sold. Alan is planning an exhibition of these, almost certainly in his home-town Swansea . There is also the possibility of publishing a limited edition of these coloured versions in the future.
While it's heartening to think that the dialect poetry is getting wider recognition , I do wonder if I'll carry on writing it.
However, I do find writing from various viewpoints far more interesting than self-absorbed confessionals.
The future of my writing is very much like writing a single poem : there's a shape in my head but not a plan ; an image but not destination.
Who knows where I'll arrive?
Therein lies the thrill.
( This is a poem from the book, which I wrote a year ago.........
A DRONE F CHRISTMAS
'Ee wants a drone f Christmas!'
she sayz goin on an on an on
as she searches the Sale
of smellies, 'lectronic cars,
quizzes in fancy,silver tins,
cardboard face masks
an ping pong with beer glasses.
'Ee've set is eart on it!'
she keeps repeatin
past chocolates in pyramids
an ewge Italian cakes
size o rabbit utches.
'What ee'll do with it
is beyond me mind!
Blow up nex door,
or take photos of er opposite
when she shows er all?
I'm beginnin t think.....'
I jest wanna tell er ......
'Yew won' find one yer,
but if yew try bottlin
yewer voice, put a stopper on,
yew'll ave the perfect one!'
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