YORK IS IN SPATE

York is in spate.

Schoolgirls run 

the length of the Ouse.

They fill up the day

with their heaving breath,

faces flushed with sweltering youth,

juice of life running down their breasts.

And my eyes are watering

with the frustrated steam

rising from the Railway Museum;

the empty passion of the Minster.

As glistening ducks swim The Avenue,

wet typists bob through Saviourgate,

their fingers damp with history,

tingling with the touch of word-flow.

So cry me this river,

torrents of ale drown my throat.

Sup me a city,

soak me in song.

Let their warm blouses cling 

to their gorgeous skin,

nipples erect with drops of rain.

We are flooded.

It gets everywhere

this stream of consciousness,

this welter of water,

pouring into archives,

gnawing at timber

and bones.

We have no control.

We cannot stem the tide of hours.

Our boat floats along stream,

urged on by the waves

of boys in a rush,

and dogs swimming like fish.

York is in spate

and I’m lost in its Shambles;

weary arms flapping, 

up to the pits in it.

This Yorkshire Life, 

and things I do not really understand:

the planes in the sea,

the girls,

and the ships 

in the sky.

KEITH ARMSTRONG

Charlie Preston

Mon 20th Aug 2012 18:36

Your poetry is incredible. Just brilliant.

LOVER MAN

A blurred blue evening sky,

an exhausted sun

propped up by the rooftops.

A vision

of the wracked shrieking body

of Charlie Parker

running a losing race

with his music,

the man reenacting

his bitter tortured love.

A memory,

a sense of the World,

and a nagging restlessness:

that mixture

of sorrow

and the joy

of loving,

turning

in the cold dark air,

the sound of life’s full circle.

‘Lover Man’,

a whirlwind spins,

sings in my ears,

swirls out

to the street

where the children play

and a blind man taps

in a cul-de-sac.

The swirling soaring passions

of Parker

are ready 

to boil

again and again,

burning away

the revolving strictures

of dull monotony.

To snatch inspiration

from the lap of conformity,

Charlie has rotted

but his spirit leaps

and speaks from grooves,

renders me

airborne again.

I cry 

and float 

on the sweetness.

KEITH ARMSTRONG

Dave Brownlow:

Thanks Keith.Lovely poem - the last two stanzas say it all for me..............

Being a lefty – from runt of the litter to leader of the pack

By Gary Nunn

• Notebook
• Monday, 13 August 2012 at 12:01 am

“Look at the way he holds a pen, the cack-handed little git!”

These were the first words, delivered by my charming late Gran, that made me realise I was a bit different.

I was nine then and had just started to notice other differences, too. Every other pupil in my class had small silver-handled scissors, sat like a neat row of matching metal mouse ear sculptures in a wooden punnet. Plonked awkwardly at the end of the punnet were a single pair of massive scissors, startlingly luminous yellow handles jolting out at unnerving angles, with a sellotaped label reading GARY in messy, inconsistent handwriting.

Welcome to the childhood of a left-hander.

The adulthood of a lefty is not without its challenges. My handwriting is still inconsistent. Simply writing a compliments slip at work is as much of a headache as organising Olympic security. It requires an extra comps slip to slide under my left-hand as it writes like a meandering drunk moth, spilling out letters as if each one belonged to an entirely different alphabet from the last. The end result is always more of an insults slip than one offering compliments. With plenty of smudges.

Ah yes, smudges.  Any lefty will tell you, the blue or black ink stain on the left side of our left hand is like a permanent tribal or religious marking, singling out our rare breed (less than 10% of the population.)

It’s not just writing it affects; in the kitchen, at gym classes, learning musical instruments – all are counter-intuitive to us lefties.

Even language stigmatises us; left is gauche, awkward, clumsy, unlucky, sinister and devil-worshipping. Right, in juxtaposition, is correct, steadfast, proper, authoritative.

On top of this are the regular studies ominously suggesting we’ll have a lower life expectancy as we’re goofily more accident-prone.

But, reader, this is not a tale of self-pity.

Immediately following the regular cack-handed slight, Gran would fondly whisper “It’s what makes you so special, mate.”

Today is National Left Handers’ Day; a day to celebrate this specialness and reclaim our right to be left-handed.

There’s much to celebrate. The number of British left handed adults has increased fourfold in the last century, according to the studies of Professor Chris McManus, of University College London. Mainly because it’s no longer beaten out of us at school. We’re fighting back!

Another way we’re fighting back is by organising a pressure group which aims to get teachers trained on the specific needs of the left-handed child. The Rights of Left-Handed Writers Campaign launches today, calling on the Teacher Training Agency to implement long overdue teacher training explaining the differences of the left-handed writing technique. Lauren Milsom, expert on handedness, says that attempting to get a lefty to write using right-handed positioning leads to cramped hand grip, poor pen control, bad posture, slow laboured letter formation and – of course – that famous smudging. Without guidance, the child is forced to find their own ways of adapting – leading to the classic claw hand grip, body hunched over and bizarre writing angles with paper almost upside down. Prime bait for teasing and bullying, frustrated lefty pupils falling behind academically and acting up in class as a result.

But being a lefty can be a total boon. It’s a handy scapegoat; not just for my untidy handwriting. But also when I lose at bowling (nothing to do with being lefty; I’m just crap at it) and as a tenuous reason I can’t do mental maths (some gullible fools actually believe this). At rounders it’s advantageous when, at the last minute, I bat the ball to an empty left space as the fielders leg it from the right side of the field. And if I miss the ball? Well, it’s because I’m left-handed.

The best thing about being a lefty is the unique, outside-the-box perspective it gives you.  It teaches you to be creative, curious and inquisitive, to reject the status quo, to challenge authority to the point of contrariness, to resiliently stand firm without caving into pressure or conforming and to lead, not follow. I recently took up group boxing classes where lefties are called ‘Southpaws.’ When a ‘jab, hook, upper-cut, double jab, hook, jab’ instruction routine is demonstrated, I must do the polar opposite of every one of those instructions, requiring twice as much thought and a subversive feeling of individuality and defiance.

It’s for this reason I believe lefties are hugely over-represented in leadership positions. Prime Minister David Cameron is a lefty. Ireland’s previous Prime Minister Brian Cowen was a lefty, as was his predecessor Bertie Ahern. The world’s most powerful person, President Obama, is a lefty. Had he have lost the 2008 election, the current US President would be John McCain: also a lefty. In fact, five of the last seven US Presidents have been lefties. It’s a remarkable buck of the general population trend that, according to some studies, started with Thomas Jefferson then was continued by Herbert Hoover, Harry Truman, Gerard Ford, Ronald Reagan (ambidextrous), George Bush (senior), Bill Clinton and Barack Obama.

For every doom-mongering study that predicts we’ll die younger, there are three that find we’re more creative and intelligent.

With those odds, I’d rather be left out than right-on.

two rivers meet

HARTLEY

THE HARTLEY PIT CALAMITY 1862: 

a display in words and images to mark its 150th anniversary

The Hartley Pit Calamity of 1862, when 204 men and boys lost their lives, was the first large scale mining disaster of Victorian times. The extent of the Calamity, together with the spreading of news by rail and telegraph, brought this tragic event in rural Northumberland into the homes of families throughout the land on a daily basis.

The reaction from the public, together with the interest shown by Queen Victoria, kept the story in the press for more than a month. Just as evidenced in 2010 in the Chilean mine rescue, the public were gripped by the horror of men trapped underground and the heroic efforts made to rescue them.

A new display has been produced by Northern Voices Community Projects to mark the 150th anniversary of the Calamity. It has been compiled by Dr Keith Armstrong and Peter Dixon of NVCP and members of the Hartley1862 Research Group and was commissioned by North Tyneside Council with the support of the Heritage Lottery Fund. With historical documents and images, alongside the background history and poems and photographs by local people, it forms part of a series of events and activities intended to ensure that the story of Hartley is not forgotten.

The display begins its tour at the beginning of September 2012 as part of the Heritage Open Days programme in St Alban's Church, Earsdon and at New Hartley Memorial Hall where it runs alongside the newly commissioned pathway in the memorial garden.

Further venues follow from October until December 2012 when it appears at Blyth Library, Wallsend Memorial Hall, Segedunum Museum (Wallsend), the Linskill Centre (North Shields), Newcastle Library, Seaton Sluice Community Centre, the John Willie Sams Centre (Dudley) and Wellfield Middle School (Whitley Bay).

FURTHER DETAILS: 

NORTHERN VOICES COMMUNITY PROJECTS, 93 WOODBURN SQUARE, WHITLEY BAY, TYNE & WEAR NE26 3JD TEL. 0191 2529531 

EMAIL:  k.armstrong643@btinternet.com

mission to ireland!

Poetic pleas to protect Shannon from ‘plunder’ - Entertainment - Limerick Leader

Poetic pleas to protect Shannon from ‘plunder’ - Entertainment - Limerick Leader

dublin skyline

shannon anthology launch

On Adrian Mitchell's Answerphone

On Adrian Mitchell's answerphone -
bells ring,
birds sing,
saxophones
swing!

On Adrian Mitchell's answerphone -
Blake works a miracle,
Big Ben sounds hysterical,
the world waxes lyrical!

On Adrian Mitchell's answerphone -
the passwords sigh,
the terrorists cry,
the children fly!

On Adrian Mitchell's answerphone -
leave plenty of love -
after the tone!


By Keith Armstrong


(As published in Red Pepper)




Dear Keith,


I hope you don't mind but I have put your Adrian Mitchell tribute poem
on my Facebook page - it's just beautiful.
I've put a link to your Write Out page there too.

Thank you,

Joe Galliano

Mad Dogs and Englishmen - Bierreclamemuseum, Breda 25.11.01

SHANNON

Dedicated to Richard St. John Harris and the roaring boys of Charlie St. George’s bar.

My heart is bursting its banks

with the songs of the Shannon. 

My girl friend wells up with the beauty of daybreak,

her breasts swell with the glory of sunshine, 

her eyes are glowing with wisdom. 

Swim with me to the Atlantic surge,

we can watch the mighty birds take flight,

we can feel the urge of history in our bones

and ride on the aching backs of workers.

Shannon, you are our breath aglow

with the salmon of knowledge.

You are the spray in our faces,

full of bubbles of inspiration

welling up in our surging veins.

Wise one,

lift me up in your flow,

leave me in awe of your wonder.

Let me sparkle with the birth of new ideas,

reach out for the touch of a sensational moon, 

dance in a festival of stars

and drown in the arms of a glorious goddess.

"There will be another song for me

for I will sing it.

There will be another dream for me,

someone will bring it.

I will drink the wine while it is warm

and never let you catch me looking at the sun

and after all the loves of my life,

after all the loves of my life,

you will still be the one.

I will take my life into my hands and I will use it,

I will win the worship in their eyes and I will lose it.

I will have the things that I desire

and my passion flow like rivers through the sky

and after all the loves of my life,

after all the loves of my life,

I will be thinking of you

and wondering why."

KEITH ARMSTRONG

From Anthology for a River, published by the Shannon Protection Alliance, 2012.

AVAILABLE NOW!

STILL THE SEA ROLLS ON

THE HARTLEY PIT CALAMITY OF 1862: 

a commemoration in words and images to mark its 150th anniversary

The Hartley Pit Calamity of 1862 was the first large scale mining disaster of Victorian times. The extent of the Calamity, together with the spreading of news by rail and telegraph, brought this tragic event in rural Northumberland into the homes of families throughout the land on a daily basis.

The reaction from the public, together with the interest shown by Queen Victoria, kept the story in the press for more than a month. Just as evidenced in 2010 in the Chilean mine rescue, the public were gripped by the horror of men trapped underground and the heroic efforts made to rescue them.

This new book from Northern Voices Community Projects, compiled and edited by Dr Keith Armstrong and Peter Dixon and commissioned by North Tyneside Council, has been published to mark the 150th anniversary of the Calamity. With historical documents and images, alongside poems, songs, stories, photographs and drawings by local people, it forms part of a series of events and activities intended to ensure that the story of Hartley is not forgotten.

COPIES CAN BE OBTAINED FROM:     

NORTHERN VOICES COMMUNITY PROJECTS, 93 WOODBURN SQUARE,WHITLEY BAY, TYNE & WEAR NE26 3JD TEL 0191 2529531 

EMAIL  k.armstrong643@btinternet.com

PRICE £7.99 (ADD £2 POSTAGE)

ISBN 978-1-871536-20-1

FIGHT TO THE FINISH

GORDON MACPHERSON

(1928-1999)

The life, poems and stories of an East Durham Miner

This is a moving and passionate account of one man’s extraordinary battle against adversity to raise a family in an East Durham pit village.

Gordon MacPherson's poetry and writing sums up the arduous working conditions that miners struggle under and his own personal battle with emphysema in later life.

 

Gordon was an ordinary miner who did great things. This book glows with love and human decency against all the odds.

It shows us the power of community and serves as an example for the future of this area of North East England and beyond. 

A MESSAGE FROM GRAHAME MORRIS, M.P. FOR EASINGTON

It was an honour to know Gordon MacPherson. He is an inspiration; a man committed to his community, family and with a deep love of the area where he was brought up. I am proud to have known Gordon and he was a friend and an inspiration.

 

This very personal, moving and evocative account of one man’s extraordinary battle against adversity to raise a family in an East Durham pit village in many ways typifies past working class struggles.

Order from: Northern Voices Community Projects, 93 Woodburn Square, Whitley Lodge, Whitley Bay, Tyne & Wear NE26 3JD tel. 0191 2529531 or: Heather Wood, 8 Comet Drive, Easington, County Durham SR8 3EP tel. 0191 5270371.

ISBN  978-1-871536-15-4                             PRICE £5 (add £2.50 postage)

ATHLETE

You cut sharp strides

through the crowds.

You push aside 

the clouds;

all the weak, the mild,

the losers and dregs,

all of those

who might cramp 

your style

as you unleash

your barking legs.

You aim

and shoot yourself

at the line.

You claim to own

the better time.

At heart,

in bed, 

you’re an impatient mover;

for all that you lack

as a casual lover

you know

you will gain

on the track.

You are

the sexual athlete.

You run

to save your life.

When you breathe

you compete

for a place

for a wife,

for all the medals

the system mints;

all those that gleam

in your ‘healthy’ head

as fresh 

from an early morning stint,

you’re the first

to drop

down dead.

KEITH ARMSTRONG 

from a swahili phrasebook

TUEBINGEN/DURHAM LITERARY/ARTS TWINNING

The twinning continues to go from strength to strength. Poet Doctor Keith Armstrong and folk-rock musician Gary Miller, lead singer of Durham band the Whisky Priests, travelled to Tuebingen at the end of March for performances in pubs, cabaret venues and schools where they performed with Tuebingen poet Tibor Schneider who visits Durham in October as part of the ongoing exchange. Tibor will join his Durham counterparts for readings at St Chad’s College, Durham University as well as in schools and pubs.

Durham University poet John Clegg, together with Keith, will return the compliment with a trip to Tuebingen in March 2013.

Last year, Tuebingen rock musician Juergen Sturm jetted in with his music partner Mary Jane at the end of October for pub gigs, including a twinning event in Durham on Monday 31st October featuring Juergen and Mary Jane with Durham folk musicians and poets. That followed on from a visit to Tuebingen in South Germany in early April 2011 by Keith Armstrong and photographer/artist Peter Dixon. The intrepid pair worked together on a touring display featuring Armstrong's poems and Dixon's photographs documenting the unique link between Tuebingen and Durham which was staged initially in the Durham Room at County Hall, Durham in November. Armstrong performed his poetry in cafes, bars and schools and met up with Tuebingen friends, old and new, with the multi-talented Dixon capturing all of it on film. 

This trip reciprocated a visit to Durham in November 2010 by Tuebingen poets Henning Ziebritzki and Carolyn Murphey Melchers, when Juergen Stuerm also took part in a series of pub performances. There was a special event at Clayport Library, Durham City on Monday November 1st with the Tuebingen poets and special guests from Durham, followed by a rousing session in the Dun Cow when Juergen, with Mary Jane, and his Durham counterparts, Gary Miller and Marie Little belted out their lively songs.

In addition to his most recent visit, Armstrong was in Tuebingen in May 2010 with Gary Miller for performances in his favourite Tuebingen bar ‘The Boulanger’ and at a local school. This followed a special guest appearance in 2009 at the biannual Book Festival, a reading with Tuebingen counterpart Eva Christina Zeller and a visit to local schools. Eva visited Durham for readings in schools and at a special event on May 13th 2009 at Clayport Library which also featured poets Katrina Porteous, Jackie Litherland, Cynthia Fuller, and William Martin, as well as Doctor Armstrong and music from the Durham Scratch Choir and Andy Jackson.

A highly successful series of events were held in 2007 to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the literary/arts twinning established by Keith Armstrong when he first visited Tuebingen in 1987 for a month’s residency, supported by Durham County Council and Tuebingen’s Kulturamt. Since then, there have been readings and performances in pubs, universities and castles, schools, libraries, book festivals, jazz and cabaret clubs, even in Hermann Hesse’s old apartment, involving poets, writers, teachers and musicians from the twin partnerships of Durham and Tuebingen.

Tuebingen’s music duo Acoustic Storm, poet/translator Carolyn Murphey Melchers and Cultural Officer visited Durham and the North East in October/November 2007. The musicians performed in Durham schools and pubs and there was a special evening in Durham’s Clayport Library to celebrate the twinning, with Keith Armstrong launching his new Tuebingen poetry booklet and performances by poets Carolyn Murphey Melchers, Katrina Porteous, William Martin, Michael Standen, Ian Horn, Cynthia Fuller, Hugh Doyle and musicians Acoustic Storm, Marie Little and Gary Miller. Margit Aldinger of the Kulturamt in Tuebingen and Brian Stobie of the International Department, Durham County Council, also addressed the audience.

For the record, here's a list of those who have made it happen so far:

Tuebingen visitors to Durham since 1987:

Carolyn Murphey Melchers, Karin Miedler, Gerhard Oberlin, Uwe Kolbe, Johannes Bauer, Eva Christina Zeller, Simone Mittmann, Florian Werner, Juergen Sturm, Mary Jane, Wolf Abromeit, Christopher Harvie, Eberhard Bort, Marcus Hammerschmitt, Henning Ziebritzki.

Durham visitors to Tuebingen since 1987:

Keith Armstrong, Michael Standen, Julia Darling, Andy Jackson, Fiona MacPherson, Katrina Porteous, Marie Little, Ian Horn, Alan C. Brown, Linda France, Jackie Litherland, Cynthia Fuller, Margaret Wilkinson, Jez Lowe, Jack Routledge, Gary Miller, Matthew Burge, David Stead, Hugh Doyle, Peter Dixon.

These events were supported by Tuebingen’s Kulturamt and Durham County Council.

FURTHER INFORMATION: NORTHERN VOICES TEL. 0191 2529531

jingling geordie!