Tongue in Chic Anthology

[shadwell smith]

Two from the book -

TEENYBOP THEOLOGIAN

When I was teenage – difficult age –
I was into the Protestant Reformers:
posters of Calvin and Zwingli on my wall,
autographed copy of the Papal Bull
(“To Rachel, love Leo X, PS you’re excommunicated”).
My enthusiasm could never be sated:
on the phone to my friend Katie –
“Did you see him yesterday?
You know who – in the churchyard at Wittenberg –
isn’t he dead gorgeous though?”
Oh
Saturday morning, meeting Katie
in the Wimpy or the Golden Egg –
tartan trousers halfway up our legs,
tartan armbands, tartan anklesocks,
tartan scarf saying “I love John Knox” –
because this week in Jackie they did Presbyterians
(Questionnaire: How Presbyterian Are You?)
and now they’re doing scrapbooks.
I said to Katie “I know who you fancy”
“Who?” she says
“That bloke out of the Lollards” I say
“No I do not Rachel you old moo –
anyway, I believed in rejecting the doctrine of transubstantiation
before you.”
Oh
Saturday night, youth-club disco,
can of Tizer in my hand growing warm –
boy comes up to me, looks at my t-shirt,
says “Hello, I see you’re into Reform”
“Might be” I say
“Yes, me too – what do you think of the Edict of Worms?”
“It’s all right” I say
“Yes, it’s good, isn’t it? What do you think of the Edict of Nantes?”
So I slapped him round the face –
next he’d be asking me if I wanted to dance.
But he was all right, though – really quite nice –
and he did look a little like Martin Luther –
but don’t they all under the disco lights?

RACHEL PANTECHNICON

.............................................

POEM FOR ALL THE OLD MEN THAT STILL HAVE ELVIS HAIRCUTS

I saw one of them getting off the number 3
outside Brixton Town Hall this morning.
He must’ve been in the last five years of his working life,
but he still had a full head of hair
and wasn’t afraid to use it.
Same cut he must’ve had since way back
when his best mate pulled hot black vinyl
from a crisp white sleeve, snarling
you aint heard nothin’ yet
with a newfound curl to his lip.
After that there came the hard blip
of the needle hitting the groove
and what happened next
was enough to send our boy home
to plunge his fingers into a tub of Brylcreem
and baptise himself.
He kept on doing it
through strike and recession
through moon landings and flower power,
even as hair sprouted from his ears
and his abdomen echoed the Vegas years,
he kept on doing it because nothing else
had hit him so hard, searing his soul
and leaving him all shook up, uh-huh-huh.
Look out for them; they’re everywhere
standing out from fickle generations
like a well-pronounced ring on an oak tree’s trunk
signifying that in that particular year
conditions were suddenly extreme
and unpredictable.

NIALL O’SULLIVAN

[David2]

What anthology is this? It looks very good. I like that first one especially.

[shadwell smith]

Here’s the blurb –

“Reflections from Mirror City” is the output from a collection of poets in Milton Keynes (That’s right – Milton Keynes!) Tongue in Chic is a regular Open Mic event which acts as a showcase for local writers.

Like most good ideas, it started in a pub. Mark Niel outlined his idea to invite the best of the performance poetry circuit to Milton Keynes to entertain and inspire local writers. Two months later, with lots of good will but no money, the inaugural event launched in front of an enthusiastic audience with twenty-four poets wanting to read. This led to a bi-monthly event which has helped energise local artists who are now gracing festivals and events all over the country.

Tongue in Chic is proud to be a shop window for local poets. Some regular performers have gone on to enjoy success winning Slams, Competitions and Commissions. This book seeks to reflect the live events: excellent guest poets rubbing shoulders with up and coming writers. John Hegley, Zena Edwards, Paul Lyalls and AF Harrold among others represent established artists but we hope you’ll enjoy finding new favourites here as well.

We’re delighted to be part of the poetry scene and we hope you enjoy the collection. We’re happy to leave the last words to one of our guest performers and the audience.

“A very special Poetry Sunday”
John Hegley

“Pound for pound, the best poetry night in the Midlands
Audience member

Reflections from Mirror City
ISBN 978-0-9560974-1-5

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Paul Lyalls performing THE VALUE OF WALES (anthology in hand) –



Stephen Hobbs ( MK poet and good egg) performing DOUBLE TALK from the book –



More from Stephen Hobbs –

MY NEXT POEM

My next poem will astound!
“We had no idea”! they’ll say,
Scintilla, shard, and cetacean.
I’ll be between boards – not a staple in sight:
Reassuringly, prize-winningly slim –
That double f on the cover.
Serious reviews – “zeitgeist”
And “kaleidoscope of meaning”.
They will read me in Swahili
I will be done in the curriculum
“A rare lapse into rhyme” – The Guardian.
Yes – just you wait for my next poem.