Australian sentences #who’s counting
December 7, 2009 at 6:46 pm | Posted in poetry, writing | 20 CommentsTags: 20 min exercise, australian sentences, centrepiece, rules suck
If I want to I shall write a life-times worth of poems about dogs and love, frogs and fish and how amazingly beautiful my wife is. In Australian pubs we used to turn the empty glass upside down and slam it on the bar. In the bad old days, that was, now of course we politely request a quick phone call to our lawyer.
It’s a hard life being famous and poor, I tell ya. You don’t want that, son. Anonymity is of course a prerequisite for the artist since only the most vain would assume that they know me from these words, no matter how many they have read. You alone have escaped the hearsay, gossip and Chinese whispers.
Endless permutations of joy, who else would write such a thing but a mad man in love. I don’t care if it is a cliche. Nor about the little frenchified mark which allows one to run out the vowel whilst stroking one’s outrageous moustachios my darling. Where are you?
(this piece has been podcast here, with all the linked poems)
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*sigh* that’s just gorgeous
Thankyou, Samantha. Because you liked it so much I am going to use it as a centrepiece and arrange a few poems around it using links, to fill out the story. I don’t expect anyone to take the time to read all of them, it’s just a quick way of making a book, so if anyone says, Paul, do you have a manuscript of say, love poems or whatever, it is already done.
I think one of the problems, Samantha, is that I have this tremendously old fashioned, romantic idea of what the ‘artist’ is. Now everything is post-modern and cool, I like wild and passionate and testing boundaries. I am just an old fashioned person, I suppose.
See twenty minutes isn’t enough. I have had to go back and neaten it up a little and pull the tone back in the middle, and it’s done. Twenty minute exercise in an hour and a half, I’m getting quicker, haha.
Comment by Samantha— December 7, 2009 #
GENIUS with the links, Paul. Pure genius. Making magic with poetry. I’m doing backflips for you. You’re written an entire world here.
This made me happy.
Comment by Bryan Borland— December 8, 2009 #
you’re written = you’ve written. Nobody else makes me so excited that I type like an idiot.
Comment by Bryan Borland— December 8, 2009 #
Gorgeous poem, and gorgeously, intricately, and delightfully linked.
Comment by Thomma Lyn— December 8, 2009 #
This is superb Paul… frogs, fish, dogs and being a mad man in love… this is the real stuff of endless joy. Every permutation just gets better.
Comment by gnunn— December 8, 2009 #
i think bryan borland said it best. your old fashioned idea of the artist is expressed in the epic breath you take away from each reader every time.
Comment by Mrs. Ott— December 8, 2009 #
Damn, I love this… magic.
Comment by Elizavetta— December 8, 2009 #
“where are you?”
I am looking at the artist through a crystal ball. You all know the kind: the one that will show you a person’s past and future through a glimpse of imagination. And all I see is beauty, that type of beauty that can also be called love, creation, music, a painting of old gods…
Caveat: Now, in all honesty, the beauty does not entail that the artist’s more human, earthbound side does not have a rotten personality or he is overweight and bold (kind like Sun-on-head?, Sunonhead? how do you spell it?). I do not intend to be mean , I just want to stress that when reading such a beautiful, rounded writing , the rest does not really matter.
Comment by Ana— December 8, 2009 #
Everyone knows that there is no more difficult pursuit than poetry. Being a painter is hard enough, but being a poet? Impossible.
And yet…
This is so damned good, it makes me envy you, you poet!!!!
Comment by Patrice— December 8, 2009 #
Could we have it as a poster please? A collage! Some of your best poetry here I think.
Comment by Gabrielle Bryden— December 8, 2009 #
I think this piece highlights everything that is unique and inspiring about your work, Paul. Every piece of your work fits into what seems to me to be an aesthetic philosphy of history, nature and humanity, as opposed to a philosophy of aesthetics; though I am pretty sure your work will be read in both of those senses. An excellent centrepiece.
Comment by Brad— December 8, 2009 #
Great poem paul, you are always creating something new, this is an hyperlinked poem, a poem that includes several webpages, and can be read in different orders trough their links.
Love
M
Comment by mariana_soffer— December 8, 2009 #
/wave, hee hee I have probably missed the point again, but I am walking away with the feeling, poetry is a life sentence so embrace the madness, rattle the cage and stroke the “outrageous moustachios” muhahaha, I love visiting your blog site when I have time ❤ xox
Comment by gypsy— December 8, 2009 #
I love that Mrs. Ott for saying I said it best. Is she married? Sweet talk can get you everywhere.
Comment by Bryan Borland— December 9, 2009 #
perfect finesse, the language and the link structure are lively intricate charmfilled, its just a treat, beautiful and fun
Comment by tipota— December 9, 2009 #
wistful & whimsical at the same time
slam down goes my glass on the bar–I’ll have another whiskey please and then I’ll be ready for another one Paul
Comment by art predator— December 10, 2009 #
All I can say Paul is ‘shivers’ … your words deliver shivers to the very soul (in a wonderful and magical way). I can never imagine how such joy and beauty can be created with words until I visit here… 😀
Comment by Tracey— December 10, 2009 #
But so wonderful and heartwarming .. Yep, a mad man in love, makes the world go around :)!!
Comment by Mental Mist— December 12, 2009 #
[…] this video here cos it is a footnote or resource for the static front page above which may well be the last page of the new manuscript, get in and have a look while you can ‘cos the old man is on my back about giving stuff away […]
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