See Rose at The Bristol Poetry Festival on Saturday September 12th

Bristol Poetry Festival 3-13 September 2009                  

Poetry Can is thrilled to announce the line-up for Bristol Poetry Festival 2009. Below is a list of some of the wonderful poets and performers who will be gracing the stages of Arnolfini and other venues in the autumn.

Tony Benn & Roy Bailey, Fleur Adcock, Dennis O’Driscoll, Glyn Maxwell, Pascale Petit, Jeanne Ellin, Gwen Seabourne, Paul Scott, Richard Carter, Medbh McGuckian, Rose Cook, Nigel McLoughlin, Matt Harvey, Matthew Caley, Rosy Carrick, Imtiaz Dharker, Catherine Smith, Rosie Harris, Steve Tasane,
Esther Morgan, Steve Rooney, Penelope Shuttle, John Terry, Sara-Jane Arbury, Marcus Moore, Art + Power Poets, Wilf Merttens,  Kate Tempest, Byron Vincent, Anna Freeman, Ros Martin, Alphonse, Bristol Poetry Festival Slam (Bristol vs Allstars), Agatha Knowles, Malusi, Alison Brumfitt, A F Harrold, Sonia Hendy-Isaac, Jade Oldfield, Dreadlockalien, Nick Moore, Acoustic Night festival special, plus Can Openers Festival edition, Lansdown Poetry Night Festival Special.

Programmes for Bristol Poetry Festival 2009 will be available from August.

www.poetrycan.co.uk

  
    

In celebration of spring, a welcome to new life and beauty!

Cherry Blossom Days

 

 

Ah, overnight, pink pillows

appeared by the wall.

So fragile, so sweet.

 

The small birds peck at

the cherry blossom,

my heart dances with pleasure.

 

In Finland they call it

‘bird-cherry’, in Japan

time to drink sake.

 

Let’s lie under the

flowers of a cherry tree

as life is renewed.

 

International Women’s Day March 8th ~ with love

On Bringing Up Girls ~ Rose Cook

 

 

Aren’t you going to clip her wings?

they said, That’s usual for a girl her age, isn’t it?

and we said we didn’t want to clip her wings

and they watched our little daughter grow

bright and strong and they said:

 

Aren’t you going to tie her feet? That’s

advisable for a young girl, isn’t it?

and we said we didn’t want to tie her feet

and they saw a young woman growing

clear and brave and before they could say anything else

we said: Now it is time to teach her to fly

and they fell back.

 

They are teaching her to fly, they repeated,

teaching her to fly.

How wonderful, murmured their daughters,

and how interesting.

Snow on Imbolc or Brigit’s Day Feb 2nd

A New Year

 

 

It is begun -

place glass jewels in your ears

 

wear your newest clothes

put on silver bangles and amulets

 

wrap your hair in bright scarves

cover yourselves in flowing skirts and veils

 

wrap a peacock feather around

the neck of your child

 

carry him up high on his father’s shoulders

hurry to the dance

Rose at recent Wondermental Cabaret December 17th

listen to Rose live at the Wondermental website at traydio.com

APPLES & SNAKES IN SOHO

Poetry in perfomance featuring Val Bloom, Kayo Chingonyi, Jahnell and Rose Cook

with compere Naomi Woddis

on Wednesday, 28th January 2009
8pm
Soho Theatre, London

Bookings 020- 7478-0100

Time for Festivals of Light!

Festivals of light and November days, love the autumn and these bright days of leaves and scarves.  Watch the night skies too, wrapped up warm…

November 5^th

 

Night chrysanthemums

cold faces turn to the sky

sparklers spit bright stars.

Video – Hyperpoetical Journey / Kahlil Gibran

Video – Hyperpoetical Journey / Kahlil Gibran

Posted using ShareThis

To help celebrate the International Day of Peace on September 21st

Lie Down

                                 by Rose Cook

 

It is time to lie down

remember the earth

so leaves may rustle

keen notes over

return to small being again

the relief of perspective

lay down arms, back, head

empty whirring fears

 

This is all there is

ground – air – forest – light

This is all there

tick of insects

voice of birds

This is all

cool grass – nearby water flow

This is

receive raindrops on upturned face

breath   breath   breath

This

 

 

Hidden Histories project for Exeter University

A poem about Totnes railway station and Sean O’Casey’s contribution to it.

He lived in Totnes near the station from 1938-1954 

 

Sean O’Casey’s Pond   

 

The train is late,

heat tricks along the lines.

We sit resigned.We are

British and this our rail,

our station, which received

one bomb during the war.

Its casualty was a man sitting

in the waiting room. A direct hit. 

Our station, with its white picket fence,

its chiming bells and apologies

and a pigeon coddling her brood

in the rafters and the lily pond

on platform two, placed there by

Sean O’Casey during his sojourn

in Totnes, and happy chance that

he did, the pond with its goldfish

and several lily flowers and its

water boatmen, is a small eye

to borrowed heaven, reflecting

the sky, the hovering damsel-fly

and our peering faces.