Podcast Episode 5 - Notes

I should have been doing this for the previous Podcasts, but better late tan never. here follows the notes and web addresses that I mention during the show.

If any corrections need to be made please do not hesitate to contact me.

If you have anything you would like to include in future shows, again, please do not hesitate to contact me.

Ver Poets (St.Albans) Open Competition 2007 visit: http://www.verpoets.org.uk

Poetry on the Lake International Poetry Competition 2007.  Info: poetryonthelake@yahoo.co.uk   tel: Gabriel Griffin (+39) 347-8464227 www.communigate.co.uk/lakes/poetryonthelake

Pulsar, Year 2006/2007, Poetry Competition  Address for information, entry forms and submissions - Poetry Competition Administrator, Pulsar Poetry Magazine, 34 Lineacre, Grange Park, Swindon, Wiltshire, SN5 6DA,   UK.

Ware Poets Open Poetry Competition 2007 SAE for details to;
The Competition Secretary, Ware Poets Competition 2007, 48 Highbury Road, Hitchin, Herts. SG4 9SA or e-mail warecomp@waitrose.com

Iota Annual Poetry Competition For further details visit: http://www.iotapoetry.co.uk

http://books.guardian.co.uk/poetryworkshop/0,,1314872,00.html

http://www.seattlest.com/archives/2007/03/14/microsoft_and_the_business_of_poetry.php

http://books.guardian.co.uk/news/articles/0,,2034425,00.html?gusrc=rss&feed=10

http://labnol.blogspot.com/2007/03/after-cooking-recipes-yahoo-india.html

http://www.brosgrim.co.uk/

http://www.poetictales.com/ Mervin Scott's site

The dot com revolution

So what have I been doing. Firstly I've been 'casting, that's podcasting, Jethro. I've been recording a poetry show, with news, reviews, performances and interviews. I've done three shows so far - and one compilation of how I got started with audioblogging (I was let down at the last minute for an interview - and had to go with what I had!).

I know the first and second shows were quite raw, the third show improved somewhat, and the fourth (or fifth show actually), when it comes out, is even more honed. I've got trailers and idents for the group I belong to.

There's a link further down this page to the association of poetry podcasters, and a rotating graphic link to all the poetry podcasters with that organisation.

I had intended to do this show on a monthly basis, and I suppose in the heat of doing something new, I've been getting something out weekly - I do know this will slow down soon. In the mean time though I'm having fun!

On a professional note -
Event Organisers - I will read out Poetry Event information, email your flyers to smellavision@mac.com, try and get them to me as early as possible.
Poets - I will accept any recordings for inclusion on the show, and if you'd like to be interviewed we can do that too.
Publishers - I will be reviewing books, pamphlets, CD's, performances, any submissions will be fairly (if amateurly) reviewed, but mostly I'll be reviewing the books and stuff that I've bought!.

All that needs to be said is where to go -

smellavisionpodcast.com, the poetry podcast for all the senses.

Day 10 - finally got there

Helen

Caught up in your gravity well,
caught up in our very own big bang,
for those few years that you were the centre of my life,
and everything revolved around you,
when we lay on our backs at night,
watching satellites, spin past in the sky,
watching for the one, bright, light, that was the Shuttle,
in orbit for the very first time,
when we spoke of the principles of geometry,
and theories of relativity
and string theory, ties more
than my sticky, pocket bound fingers
it furls my tongue, leaves me twisted
folded upon myself,
n-space, not Euclidean space,
but cold vacuous space.
Like the space between us in our bed,
in the last days of our relationship,
when our gravities were so polarised,
we repelled each other.

We lay awake, on opposite sides of the world,
yet in the same room,
and stared up at the same night sky,
realising that the world had stopped spinning,
that the sun had stopped shining,
that we were being tossed
from our warm womb by our own inertia,
being sucked away by the cosmos’s vacuum.
Then things changed.
No longer were you the centre of my world,
No longer did I revolve around you,
but, my world, had become the centre of my world
I could do nothing but think about myself,
become me-centric, my orbit, erratic
going from never having missed a trick,
to a self obsessed lunatic.

Like continents, we slowly drifted apart.

until that day, I looked up, to see you there
in your familiar place, like you’d never been away.
What then brought you back?
what papal decree? what wishful dream?
did you see me descending
through my own circles of hell
through my saturnalian rings
was it the end of time?
or was it the remembered promise
that you would be mine?
I’m just grateful you took me back
pulled me to you, comforted by your warm skin
Whatever, I must leave it unquestioned
unobserved, un-quantified
I am too afraid to ask,
to open that box,
to determine a state of flux,
to stroke Schrodinger's cat.

I can’t trust that a love returned
can ever be the same,
as that first time, when we lay,
on new dew dappled grass,
in the morning of our lives.
While here, at even song,
I hold your hand in silence,
your thoughts, somewhere,
and mine,

somewhere else.

Day 7

I'm back from my trip to Ireland, all refreshed and smooth of skin from excessive use of the hotels sauna and steam room, and free moisturisers, and having recorded and edited my poem over the last few days, have uploaded the podcasts to the flash player on the right hand side of this page. Also, I've done a bit of a mind map of the poem to help me think out the process.

A gig, a gig, my kingdom for a gig.

Now, i hope that title is not legal and binding, but following on from my successful competition winning entry, I have been asked to do two ten minute slots! First up is Wednesday 28th at Borders book shop on Oxford Street, and then another slot in May at Farago poetry Slam at RADA.

Life is good. I don't know why I didn't see that before!

and the winner is....

I was named the winner of the latest round of Slamidopodcast.com's poetry slam last night. It feels great to have won something, and firstly I'd like to thank all those that took the time to vote for me, thanks to Simon for hosting the event, and thanks to the other poets for making it such a good competition.

For a while I was thinking of retiring the poem 'all the girls...', but you know, it may get a new lease of life yet!

So what now? At last I'm able to put something on my poetry CV, and that should make submitting work to magazines a bit more worthwhile, and thats what I want next, to get something published. Also I'd hope that I could get a five minute set somewhere, some night, but that means getting out there, schmoozing the hosts, and making a name for myself - somehow I don't think letting my poetry do all the talking for me is enough. There was a night last year, at a rooftop party in LA, when I met the writer, Jimmy Palmiotti, who gave me some advice, ' have the balls to belive in what you want to say, and then have the balls to say it, and never apologise for what it is you've just said' I've kinda paraphrased him, but it's something that has stuck with me this year, and it's the attitude I need to maintain to make some headway in this writing business.

So, whats next? A new slam idol competition - this time an audio blog over a ten day period writing another poem. I'm usually quite quick in dashing off a poem, so making it last ten days might be tough - or it might show me how to hone a poem in new ways. My first thoughts are to do something more media savvy with the poem, some video, some music, something more web 2.0, a scoial network of a poem! I'll be posting something here over the next few days - then I'm off to Ireland for a long weekend - I'll bring something to record my thoughts.

Keep coming back!

Thanks

Dominic

Interview with a vampire, erm, er, poet

Slamidol Interview

You can listen to my interview with Simon Toon on the above link. I'm really pleased with some of the comments he made about me, some great compliments. I am a little 'less-than-fluent' at times, erm-ing and err-ing my way through some of the questions, and mis-quoting the title of my own poem! I think I may have got a taste for a life of fame, at the very least Simon has convinced me to podcast a little more - and get a few more audio mp3's out on this blog.

A vote for me is a vote for freedom...

Voting has started on the poetry slam I'm taking part in, currently I'm in joint second trailing by one point, so please, log on to www.slamidolpodcast.com and click on the link in the top right hand corner to vote, vote for all the poets or you will be discounted, and don't just give all the others 1 and me 10, be fair, but give me loads of points!

I really want to win this one, I'd love to be able to start my poetry cv with a win on this competition.

Dom

Work in progress

Love,
you left me high and dry
you left me dry and bitter
you left me bitter and twisted
twisted and perverted

Honey-pie,
you kept me twisting and turning
you kept me turning and dizzy
you kept me dizzy and confused
confused and lost

baby,
you brought me fruit and flowers
you brought me flowers and thorns
you brought me thorns and briars
briars and the rose

and all the roses and briars
the thorns and the flowers
left me lost and confused
dizzy and turning
perverted and twisted
bitter, dry and high


The above, is my first draft of a poem that has been bubbling under this week - influenced by Bob Marley's Them belly full..., there's a bit of a rolling lyric in that song, and I thought I'd use the form myself. First thoughts - I don't like the wrap up at the end - it's not punchy enough, but I'm going to perform it tomorrow night and see how it 'feels' in my mouth.

Virtual Slam

More poetry news - I'm competing in a slam contest online - Simon Toon's http://slamidolpoetry.com, so once all the poets have had their say - vote for me! you know it makes sense. The poem is 'All the girls I've ever said no to', which you should go to his site to listen to. I've been listening to Simon's podcast for a year or so now and have been really enjoying the poets who have appeared there, in particular look out for the video podcasts.

new year new slam

Another night at Farago Poetry Slam, and I finished joint second - ok there was only one round, and I scored the same points as four others. Got some great feedback from other poets, and picked up a couple of books too. One thing I need to work on is my performance, I need to learn a few more poems, but I need an 'act' too, although the poet who won tonight won on the merit of his poetry. Had a really good performance from last years Slam Champion D'isreli. Maybe next month at the love slam.

Lead Baloon

I read again tonight at the unplugged poetry night - and was so unprepared. Last night I wrote a draft of a poem about Batman, and read that. I've promised myself that I'll write one new thing for every week that I go to the unplugged night, but usually I have a bit more time to edit and redraft a poem, this one was too rushed. I also had speech balloons, which I drew myself, with a felt tip pen, ten minutes before the event started - another big mistake, but hey, I think the idea works, the execution needs working on.

The draft of the poem is about 80 lines, I need to get it down to 30, also I need to get some meter and rhyme in there too. What i'm trying to say with the poem is that cartoon violence has vicious consequences.

I'm a big fan of my super-hero comic books, and as such have found it very difficult to write about a subject I really care for, as much as I'm willing to put my heart and soul on the page, or read out some shameful secret of mine, I daren't make a bad move around Batman!!

Also been reading other peoples comments about my performances on their myspace pages, pleased that people are talking about me, but wish they had something better to say. What I've learned is it's time to change my repertoire at poetry nights!