Day 103

CRITIC

06 - A GIG / MUSIC FESTIVAL

Although not a musical gig, this was a gig nonetheless. Local poets, Luke Wright and John Osborne, put on a fundraising show for Bungay Library and the Fisher Theatre. I've seen Luke Wright perform at various shows throughout the years, but this was the first time I saw John Osborne. Both were very different, but still very good.

John's poetry was right up my street. It was real and unpretentious, which is what poetry should be. He started off with a poem he wrote while taking a walk around the area in which he lives. It was simple and effective, noting the changes in house size the further he walks from his home. He then shared poems from his new book, 'A Supermarket Love Story', which narrates a couples' meeting in a supermarket, to their first date in a supermarket cafe, to them finding love together, with all poems set in the supermarket. They were romantic and poignant and realistic.

Luke exuded a lot of confidence and drama in his set. He's a poetic Russell Brand, with over the top gesticulation and beautifully exaggerated language. There was a lovely mix of funny and serious poetry, mixed with technical brilliance. He's a man who plays with words, and I've always enjoyed these types of poems. He performed a univocalic poem, which was written using only the 'a' vowel (any consonants can be used, but none of the other vowels). I like Luke's confidence when he performs, but before this poem his arrogance shone through a bit too much. He wanted us to be impressed that he'd written a univocalic, because it is indeed a very difficult thing to do. It takes time, patience, and a lot of editing to make the poem coherent and tell a story. And don't get me wrong, I am impressed when people write things like this. But I also write things like this. I've written my own univocalics so I can appreciate the difficulty. But I do not appreciate being told "I bet you couldn't do something like this" as though he's the only one who's ever done it or knows how to do it.

However, he did redeem himself with some beautiful poems about his family and a funny one inspired by a comment he saw online asking whether or not seeing a bird murmuration was "worth it". 

He is a performance poet. He performed with characters and voices and drama, and he was a delightful counter balance to John's quietness, demerit, and humility. And what surprised me the most was that my other half enjoyed both performances. He's popped into the Latitude poetry tent to see John Cooper Clarke, but never hung around for much longer. He's not a poetry reader or writer. But he came away saying that he really liked the evening. Bonus!

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17% of Good Habits by BJ Fogg read.

Teeth.