Words and pictures
Communique number one
This page is not blank.
Here’s fun.
Welcome to this semi-regular newsletter where I share poetry, writing, performance and general unclassified thoughts. Or at least I intend to.
I mean it could be weekly, I might go for a bit more often, or perhaps I’ll run out of steam and collapse after a couple more posts. I guess we’ll find out together.
Anyway, on to the poetry.
1. A poem for this morning
Tap, tap.
Tap, tap.
Tap, tap.
There's someone at my window, which is a surprise as I'm not on the ground floor. Far from it.
Who could be calling this early, and at this altitude?
A blue-tit!
One with no sense of how early it is. Or propriety, but I don't mind him peeping, just this once.
His splendid yellow chest is a bit much at dawn, but I'm giving him points for a can-do attitude.
I open the blind and there's a whole clutch of them, thrilling around. Chucking themselves about. All muddled in my courtyard.
The day's not even started and it has given me this gift of a dozen blue and yellow fuckers, mucking around like nobody's business.
By the time I'm dressed they've gone. Deserting me as abruptly as they came. Either spreading joy at the next block over or done for the day, the lazy buggers.
2. People like pictures
As if a poem about blue tits was not enough I enclose, for your delectation, an illustration to help you visualise the experience. When writing the above I was reading Tim Key’s latest, ‘Chapters’, and I think his influence shows, and not for the first time. So, it is only fair, that I included his book in the photo.
Anyway, enjoy the doodle and all pedantic responses about birds having a cloaca not a bum hole will, as always, be gratefully received.
3. Is that it?
I’d have thought so.
Oh no! Hold on! My current theory is that this newsletter blog thing will be three things. A piece of writing, something to look at and then a few recommendations to finish off (or even announcements, if there are any). These are this edition’s three picks;
Tim Key’s Chapters. I’ve mentioned it twice already so I really should point you to a link where you can pre-order it (it goes live on the 14th Feb). Viola.
I really enjoyed reading Natalie Bennett’s Substack as she wanders Paris, art and the economy. You can find that post here.
I haven’t really prepared anything. I started writing this newsletter without thinking too much about it just so I got the first one done and out the way. So, on this occasion, I’ll mention in passing that you can buy my poetry chap book “This Chap’s Book” which I think is alright. I mean, it’s fine. BUY IT HERE.
Thanks for reading. Do come next time.