Blueprint Press Live Prohibition Bar Poetry Reading

Introduction

I was invited to a poetry reading by my friend Joan to a poetry reading at The Prohibition Bar in Newcastle featuring two poets Bill Herbert and Fran Lock

Jo Colley and Julie Hogg are Blueprint Poetry, showcasing pamphlets from Poets between collections.

The Reading Evening

This was upstairs in the Prohibition Bar which has a small stage area where Bill and Fran delivered their poetry over two hours of the event.

This was what Jo and Julie told us was going to happen:

Blueprint Poetry Press Proudly Presents:

Two magnificent poets read from their recent Blueprint pamphlets at The Prohibition Bar, Newcastle upon Tyne. You are warmly invited to join us! This is a free event.

W.N.Herbert: The Iconostasis of Anxiety

W.N. Herbert’s new pamphlet illustrates his ongoing fascination with language, register, image, and the power of belief systems to engage the reader in some serious philosophical questions – not necessarily in a serious fashion.

Fran Lock: The New Herbal

Fran Lock’s flowers and herbs rant like end of the world preachers, spinning words into power, using dark humour with incantations of linguistic brilliance as shining acts of resistance.

It was sequenced Bill -> Fran -> Break -> Fran -> Bill with introductions from Jo and Julie.

Bill was up first and talked a lot about his connection with religion, which worried me at first, but that was soon dispelled by his delivery and engagement with the crowd.

Many of his poems didn't have titles, so he gave them ones on the fly, and at times his delivery reminded me of Ivor Cutler.

Bill brought the words to life and two that really stuck with me were "The Fatherhood" a muscular ecological tale, and "Drunk Jesus" in which an inebriated Jesus and John The Baptist berate each other over a few drinks.

Fran opened with a poem called Daffodils which took me lot further into the nature of the flower than I ever expected.

In the second set, Fran analogised the US Presidential incumbent to a very dangerous mushroom the ghostly "Angel Of Death" which, as it becomes more poisonous, then turns a sickly orange.

She then said she would read a more cheerful poem, but then decided it would be just less dark. One of her poems reminded me I had a poem to write myself.

I spoke with both poets after their performances and told them I much I enjoyed their work.

I thoroughly enjoyed the night and am looking forward to attending a few more, and maybe even doing one myself.

Their Books On Amazon

Other books by Fran Lock

The music I have shared is “Under Dub Wood” which uses a King Tubby rhythm track (as used for John Holt’s “Ali Baba” which you can listen to here) and narration by Sir Richard Burton reading Dylan Thomas' wonderful tone poem “Under Milk Wood”.