Poem of the month
Colette Bryce
The Full Indian Rope Trick
There was no secret
murmured down through a long line
of elect; no dark fakir, no flutter
of notes from a pipe,
no proof, no footage of it -
but I did it,
Guildhall Square, noon,
in front of everyone.
There were walls, bells,
passers-by;
then a rope, thrown, caught by the sky
and me, young, up and away,
goodbye.
Goodbye, goodbye.
Thin air. First try.
A crowd hushed, squinting eyes
at a full sun. There
on the stones
the slack weight of a rope
coiled in a crate, a braid
eighteen summers long,
and me
I'm long gone,
my one-off trick
unique, unequalled since.
And what would I tell them
given the chance?
It was painful; it took years.
I'm my own witness,
guardian of the fact
that I'm still here.
To celebrate 30 years of the
National Poetry Competition we
ran an online poll to find the most
popular winning poem. The poem
with the most votes was Colette
Bryce's 'The Full Indian Rope
Trick', winner in 2003.
© Colette Bryce. Used by
permission. Colette Bryce's
published by Picador on
5 September.
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Poetry Society events
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On the 25th September, Fiona Sampson will be joined by Blake Morrison and John Walsh at the Bishopsgate Institute for Poetry Review speaks out: "Where now for Political Culture", an event considering the political currents in contemporary poetry. Listen to Fiona give a general introduction to the event.
In the final installment of our Under The Influence series, Yang Lian will talk about how Ezra Pound's poetry gripped a whole generation of Chinese poets. Listen to him in conversation about Pound's effect on his poetry.
Poetry Unplugged is London's premier open mic night. We asked the host of the event, Niall O'Sullivan to interview the performers and the original host, John Citizen. You can listen to the readings and interviews here.
"If I could touch one percent of the hearts that the Liverpool poets have touched, then I'd be doing alright" , says Lemn Sissay. Hear him talk about the influence that Adrian Henri, Roger McGough and Brian Patten have had on his life as a writer.
On 22 May, as part of the 'Under the Influence' series 2008, Robert Minhinnick looked at the influence that Derek Walcott's Sea Grapes had on him as a young writer. Hear Minhinnick in conversation, prior to the event.
Listen to Sinéad Morrissey read her winning poem 'Through the Square Window', as well as other highlights of the National Poetry Competition 2007 prizegiving, which took place on 27 March 2008, at the October Gallery.
Poetry in the news
12 Aug
The poet Mahmoud Darwish died on 9 August at the age of 67. He published over 20 collections and his honours include the Lenin Peace Prize, a Lannan Award, a French Knighthood for Arts & letters and the Prinz Claus Award. An obituary appears in the Guardian.
7 Aug
Colette Bryce's poem, 'The Full Indian Rope Trick' , has won the Poetry Society's online poll to find the most popular winner of the National Poetry Competition. The competition is now in its 31st year and the deadline for entries is 31 October.
4 Aug
The shortlist for the Forward Prize for Poetry 2008 has been announced. The five collections nominated for the biggest prize (£10,000) are Sujata Bhatt's Pure Lizard (Carcanet), Jane Griffiths's Another Country (Bloodaxe), Jen Hadfield's Nigh-No-Place (Bloodaxe), Mick Imlah's The Lost Leader (Faber), Jamie McKendrick's Crocodiles & Obelisks (Faber) and Catherine Smith's Lip (Smith/Doorstop).
Simon Barraclough, Andrew Forster, Frances Leviston, Allison McVety, Stephanie Norgate and Kathryn Simmonds are on the shortlist for the best first collection category, and Don Paterson's 'Love Poem for Natalie 'Tusja' Beridzeve', first published in Poetry Review, is among those shortlisted for the best single poem prize.
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