*Guest Blog* - Andy Green
We'll be putting up guest entries to the blog over the next few weeks from participants of our What's Your Story? project. Our first guest blog is from Andy Green and he discusses his previous experiences with poetry.
School has a lot to answer for; I found myself at the age of 11 being expected to appreciate the poems of Andrew Marvell, and frankly metaphysics wasn't my cup of tea at that age. That precipitated an almost terminal slump in my interest in English in general and pomes in particular. It wasn't until a wonderfully maverick teacher ( notorious for producing for a school play Aristophanes' 'The Frogs' which so offended the Bishop of Southwark that he walked out - and subsequently sacked for giving us a lesson based on the infamous Oz magazine prosecuted for criminal blasphemy) introduced me to the great war poets and the 1960's poetry scene that I thought there may be something in it after all. That and hearing Under Milk Wood for thew first time.
School has a lot to answer for; I found myself at the age of 11 being expected to appreciate the poems of Andrew Marvell, and frankly metaphysics wasn't my cup of tea at that age. That precipitated an almost terminal slump in my interest in English in general and pomes in particular. It wasn't until a wonderfully maverick teacher ( notorious for producing for a school play Aristophanes' 'The Frogs' which so offended the Bishop of Southwark that he walked out - and subsequently sacked for giving us a lesson based on the infamous Oz magazine prosecuted for criminal blasphemy) introduced me to the great war poets and the 1960's poetry scene that I thought there may be something in it after all. That and hearing Under Milk Wood for thew first time.
I'm OK with metaphysics now- but still prefer e.e.cummings. Who can resist a poet who wrote;
'a politician is an arse upon
which everyone has sat except a man'
Poetry was 'hot' then, often linked to the jazz scene and to the arts lab scene. Looking back I was pretty lucky; for example I remember hearing Christopher Logue read on several occasions as well as the Liverpool Poets in their first flush. My local arts lab was run by one D.Bowie, who done quite well for himself in the end.
Enjoying the course; thanks.
Andy G.
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