I met John Hegley last week.

I’d been given a precaution from a mutual friend, who is also a poet who told me “Hegley is a great poet but a bit antisocial and up himself” I laughed and said “that’s what they say about almost anyone that's even slightly artistic” Still, I walked away from that conversation convinced but not put off by the idea of meeting him.

My mum has his poetry books on her shelf but when I was introduced to him I don’t know why that was one of the first things I thought to say... "Hello John Hegley, my mum has some of your poetry books on her shelf" good for her! right?

Anyway, the introduction went like this “hey John meet one of our poets in residence” I extend my hand to greet him politely, he shook it and took a second to size me up, then said “the vision will be the first to go” in reference to the fact I don’t wear glasses. I then conveyed myself as a developing artist, sharpening my pencil for an early battle in the killing fields of poetry.

John provided his sharp poetry tools on what was described by Free Word as “a leisurely stroll around the writing industry” which involved walking around Clerkenwell, learning about a well that belonged to a clerk and some inspired moments of Charles Dickens.

We then had a haiku writing and reading session under a tree after hearing more of Hegley’s quirky and engaging poems which were well received by the people on the tour, or the “street gang” as the police would call us. (see members of the gang reading deviant haiku's below)



It was even more entertaining than I expected... and I expected entertainment.

Well done to The Literary Consultancy and Arvon for pulling this off!

p.s Hegley rocks and so does this guy

Poem By Raymond Antrobus 'Keys To Life'

This sign is on one of the doors in the corridoor of Free Word. I had been warned

I've spent a lot of time in front of my computer over the last two weeks, especially at night, and the extent of time never occured to me until my girlfriend came over and literally unplugged it...

"PAY ME SOME ATTENTION!" she exploded ...

It sucked me right out of my virtual reality and I wrote a poem inspired by that moment.

'Keys To Life'

I’m never in my bed; I’m in front of my computer screen
Hitting backspace then enter, escape
And shift my heavy weight into a document page

I open myself

And stare into a blank window
Like holes in a looking glass,

I look past fore front
Typing something, while the caps are locked on
My eyes scream, but the voice is logged off

Crushing my frustration against each button
I can't express myself with emoticons

I wish people spoke in speech bubbles
Life could be easier if it were subtitled

As my world becomes more fantasized and inaudible
The more I plug into portable devises
The more likely I'll get a virus, and won't know how to fight it

I’ve tried to restart and forget what’s inside me,
The hard drive its having a hard time,
Like a car with a blocked exhaust pipe,

I’ve got so much to figure out and take into account,
But I don’t know how much is the right amount, or
Wheatear to type this up, or write this down, now

I’m a man with a mouse, like a man with a weakness,
But a man, with all the controls to delete them, although

I’ve reached this window, with nowhere to scroll,
Like a man with a map and nowhere to go,

Because I belong nowhere,
With no feeling of belonging,
Just a feeling of being unwanted,

Unwanted like memory on a forget me stick,

Unwanted like ‘memory’ on a forget me ‘stick’

As I’m pasted into another document
On another night I don’t sleep,

I reopen myself,
And stare out the window,
And into the street.

The Shop?

En route to Free Word I encountered this mysterious “shop”

A shop that’s forever closed without even a hint of its purpose... hmm...

Almost reminds me of a well stacked, out of reach bookshelf...

OK, we won’t go there again. :-)