Sunday, March 30, 2008
Friday, March 28, 2008
Poetry Now
Friday 4th April 2008, is the day that I will be doing my reading as part of the DLR Poetry Now Festival (www.poetrynow.ie). That’s right, it’s getting closer and I have been looking forward to it since I found out about it in January…
Therefore there is something ironic about the title of the festival… It is indicated within the title that the Poetry should be straight away… Right Now… no waiting… yet I have been looking forward to this for almost three months now and my anticipation has been getting higher and higher…
As my life is one long search for irony, I have decided that I am going to commemorate this in verse and present it to the Children I read to as part of the festival… I will put it as part of my blog when this has been achieved…
For the time being I will leave you with the following poem…
Miniature Melanie from Melton Mowbray
Miniature Melanie from Melton Mowbray
May have been small but she could really play
A mean game of football. She played in the park
With her friends, Michael, Matthew and her brother Mark.
More and More people came to join in,
But they’d get upset as her team always did win.
And they couldn’t believe that this small female
Showed such great skill that they all did fail
To take the ball off her, she just couldn’t be caught,
If she was in danger, as a last resort,
She could run through their legs, due to her size
And she’d be away before her opponent would realise.
But the fact that her team was always triumphant
Didn’t always work out the way Melanie did want
Sometimes no one would turn up at all
And all she wanted to do was to play football.
So she goes home and is upset,
But she has a plan that she uses to get
The boy’s playing football with her again,
She plays really badly on purpose and then
They are all happy and after a while
Melanie decides it’s time to turn on the style.
She plays really well and it always does seem
That the best team to play for is Melanie’s team.
But the other team soon get fed-up of losing,
So not playing football’s the decision they are choosing.
So Melanie play’s badly again and I think it’s a shame
That she has to do this just too get a game.
Therefore there is something ironic about the title of the festival… It is indicated within the title that the Poetry should be straight away… Right Now… no waiting… yet I have been looking forward to this for almost three months now and my anticipation has been getting higher and higher…
As my life is one long search for irony, I have decided that I am going to commemorate this in verse and present it to the Children I read to as part of the festival… I will put it as part of my blog when this has been achieved…
For the time being I will leave you with the following poem…
Miniature Melanie from Melton Mowbray
Miniature Melanie from Melton Mowbray
May have been small but she could really play
A mean game of football. She played in the park
With her friends, Michael, Matthew and her brother Mark.
More and More people came to join in,
But they’d get upset as her team always did win.
And they couldn’t believe that this small female
Showed such great skill that they all did fail
To take the ball off her, she just couldn’t be caught,
If she was in danger, as a last resort,
She could run through their legs, due to her size
And she’d be away before her opponent would realise.
But the fact that her team was always triumphant
Didn’t always work out the way Melanie did want
Sometimes no one would turn up at all
And all she wanted to do was to play football.
So she goes home and is upset,
But she has a plan that she uses to get
The boy’s playing football with her again,
She plays really badly on purpose and then
They are all happy and after a while
Melanie decides it’s time to turn on the style.
She plays really well and it always does seem
That the best team to play for is Melanie’s team.
But the other team soon get fed-up of losing,
So not playing football’s the decision they are choosing.
So Melanie play’s badly again and I think it’s a shame
That she has to do this just too get a game.
Sunday, March 23, 2008
Thursday, March 20, 2008
Need To Know Basis
Do you know, I don’t think I’ve ever said to anyone, ‘It’s on a need to know basis.’ And I’m struggling to think of any times I’ve ever had that phrase said to me.
Maybe it is just a phrase that I am never to encounter like, ‘Wow you look good.’ Or, ‘We would be delighted to publish your poems.’
I suppose this means I do not live a secretive enough life that some things need to be on a strictly, ‘need to know basis.’
Maybe there is nothing I need to know, and nothing I need to share.
This phrase needs to enter my vocabulary, cause when it does it will mean I live a more interesting life than I do now and I won’t be wasting my time thinking about why a phrase is not part of my life…
Peace everyone…
Maybe it is just a phrase that I am never to encounter like, ‘Wow you look good.’ Or, ‘We would be delighted to publish your poems.’
I suppose this means I do not live a secretive enough life that some things need to be on a strictly, ‘need to know basis.’
Maybe there is nothing I need to know, and nothing I need to share.
This phrase needs to enter my vocabulary, cause when it does it will mean I live a more interesting life than I do now and I won’t be wasting my time thinking about why a phrase is not part of my life…
Peace everyone…
Sunday, March 16, 2008
Saturday, March 15, 2008
Learning Irish
As it is coming to an end of Seachtain na Gaeilge for 2008, I decided that I will reprint a previous blog of mine that I put on my myspace page... Hope it is enjoyed.
As a Wordsmith and a person who has been living in Ireland for 6 years I say with complete shame that I am still totally unfamiliar with the Irish Language. Despite my New Year resolutions for the past 5 years being, 'This year I'm going to make a concerted effort to learn Irish,' it has never been achieved, or even remotely started. As a user of Irish Rail I did learn that:
'Nil Cead Na Leithris a usaid fad is ata an traein I stasiun' means
'It is not permissible to use the toilets whilst trains are in the station'
but as I tend not to use this phrase much in everyday speech it is meaningless information.
Imagine my joy when on completing my third ever poetry reading, which was in Blackrock Library Cork to a Class of girls, I was approached by all the girls wanting my autograph... Then imagine my embarrassment when asking the girls to spell these gorgeous Irish names they have, to not know what a Fada is. To those, like me, who don't know what a Fada is, it is and accent over certain letters in Irish Words which according to Wikipedia, 'serves to lengthen the sound of the vowels and in some cases also changes their quality'. When one of the girls spelt their name they inserted the Fada, to which I replied, 'I am unfamiliar with that letter.' Looking like a complete ignoramus.
But in my defence I have had bad experiences trying to learn other languages, for example in November 2001 I travelled to Japan to visit a friend of mine. I decided to learn a few phrases as I did not want to be one of those English people who travel abroad with the attitude, 'They All speak English don't they!' The phrases were nothing that appeared to difficult and were practiced silently on the plane on the way over. When I got through customs and had a much needed Cigarette, I approached the ticket office for the Airport Shuttle and asked in my best Japanese, 'Can I buy a ticket to Shinjuku please?' This phrase was met with a strange look from the salesperson who said, 'I beg your pardon.' Suddenly feeling guilty that I had obviously butchered this Woman's 'mother tongue' I asked the same question in English... This happened every time I entered a shop and bought something. After every purchase I said, 'Arigato' to thank the salesperson and I was not understood and had to say, 'Thank you'
But this is not an excuse and this year I will make an effort to learn the Irish Language...
As a Wordsmith and a person who has been living in Ireland for 6 years I say with complete shame that I am still totally unfamiliar with the Irish Language. Despite my New Year resolutions for the past 5 years being, 'This year I'm going to make a concerted effort to learn Irish,' it has never been achieved, or even remotely started. As a user of Irish Rail I did learn that:
'Nil Cead Na Leithris a usaid fad is ata an traein I stasiun' means
'It is not permissible to use the toilets whilst trains are in the station'
but as I tend not to use this phrase much in everyday speech it is meaningless information.
Imagine my joy when on completing my third ever poetry reading, which was in Blackrock Library Cork to a Class of girls, I was approached by all the girls wanting my autograph... Then imagine my embarrassment when asking the girls to spell these gorgeous Irish names they have, to not know what a Fada is. To those, like me, who don't know what a Fada is, it is and accent over certain letters in Irish Words which according to Wikipedia, 'serves to lengthen the sound of the vowels and in some cases also changes their quality'. When one of the girls spelt their name they inserted the Fada, to which I replied, 'I am unfamiliar with that letter.' Looking like a complete ignoramus.
But in my defence I have had bad experiences trying to learn other languages, for example in November 2001 I travelled to Japan to visit a friend of mine. I decided to learn a few phrases as I did not want to be one of those English people who travel abroad with the attitude, 'They All speak English don't they!' The phrases were nothing that appeared to difficult and were practiced silently on the plane on the way over. When I got through customs and had a much needed Cigarette, I approached the ticket office for the Airport Shuttle and asked in my best Japanese, 'Can I buy a ticket to Shinjuku please?' This phrase was met with a strange look from the salesperson who said, 'I beg your pardon.' Suddenly feeling guilty that I had obviously butchered this Woman's 'mother tongue' I asked the same question in English... This happened every time I entered a shop and bought something. After every purchase I said, 'Arigato' to thank the salesperson and I was not understood and had to say, 'Thank you'
But this is not an excuse and this year I will make an effort to learn the Irish Language...
A poetic example
An example of the sort of work I write poetically...
Raining In The Library
How on Earth can this possibly be?
It’s raining in the Library.
How can this be happening?
Whoever heard of such a thing?
It shouldn’t rain when you’re indoors,
But in this Library it pours.
Now all the books they will be wet
And the readers will be so upset.
Who would have thought that you would be needing
An umbrella when you came in to do some reading?
I don’t know how this is, to tell you the truth,
Maybe there’s a hole in the roof.
I really, really can’t explain,
Why in this Library it does rain.
Maybe it’s my imagination.
Maybe that’s the only explanation.
But until I’m sure the rain has stopped.
Under the table is the position I will adopt.
Raining In The Library
How on Earth can this possibly be?
It’s raining in the Library.
How can this be happening?
Whoever heard of such a thing?
It shouldn’t rain when you’re indoors,
But in this Library it pours.
Now all the books they will be wet
And the readers will be so upset.
Who would have thought that you would be needing
An umbrella when you came in to do some reading?
I don’t know how this is, to tell you the truth,
Maybe there’s a hole in the roof.
I really, really can’t explain,
Why in this Library it does rain.
Maybe it’s my imagination.
Maybe that’s the only explanation.
But until I’m sure the rain has stopped.
Under the table is the position I will adopt.
Welcome to inside my head.
What a horribly worrying title…
This is not my first blog, I have a myspace page, www.myspace.com/paulhtubb, I blog on occasionally, I have blogged for Children’s Books Ireland and others, so I do not want to say welcome to my Blog, but rather welcome to THIS Blog.
This is the first of my new blog and I want to say nothing except Welcome… I do hope you enjoy my words…
This is not my first blog, I have a myspace page, www.myspace.com/paulhtubb, I blog on occasionally, I have blogged for Children’s Books Ireland and others, so I do not want to say welcome to my Blog, but rather welcome to THIS Blog.
This is the first of my new blog and I want to say nothing except Welcome… I do hope you enjoy my words…
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