DIY Poets

A poem by John Merchant, featured poet at our last Maze gig. Here is ‘What Is Good’.

What Is Good

What is good – not misunderstood
What is sound – builds up our hopes
What is good – is to hear a song
For sound – sound – is a natural
Need – what is good – is a melody
Puts us in the mood – makes us free
For listening with the ear – some
Problems – they disappear – take in a film – take in a play – listen
To music – to drive the blues away
What is good – animated conversation
Sharing our hopes sharing our dreams
This we all – we all esteem – for
What is good – is to be encouraged
A lot – and given hope – to carry on
With friends behind us – encouraging
On – yes we can do it – we know – that we can

I’ve written poetry for over ten years, but am still quite new to the stage. When not moonlighting as a daydreaming wageslave, I spend my time performing, travelling, attempting to learn Spanish, being skint and using poetry as a wonderful excuse to eat cake in cafes. I see poetry as an art that we can all be part of. Not only is it one of the most inexpensive hobbies you’ll ever have (all you need is a pen and the back of an envelope), but it’s ingrained in who we are and what we do, from every roof tile to every rejection via every fight for fairness and justice. It’s inspiring, relaxing, and is also my unhinged therapist, with mixed results. Wandering between silly, emotive, satirical and political, my poetry is more of a compulsion than a hobby and I’m very excited to see where it takes me. So I hope to see you at a gig soon and I hope you buy my album when it comes out later this year. In the meantime, see my blog:

Martin Grey’s Blog – ‘Towel in the Rain’

Clare Stewart is the featured poet at the next DIY Poets quarterly gig at the Maze, on Thursday, February 13th. I’ve seen Clare perform many times now and always enjoy her raging social commentary, thoughtful constructions and absorbing narratives. As the image makes clear, she is a goddess of rhyme and verse. Here are a few words from Clare:

I discovered DIY Poets at a night light gig a few years ago, when members of the audience were encouraged to write a poem on the theme of light, and then Frank read them out. My poem wasn’t very good but I decided to come to meetings anyway!!!  Knowing and performing with the other DIY-ers has been amazing: encouraging, challenging, amusing, bolstering.

I’m somebody with too much to say and poetry is the best way I’ve found of saying stuff that’s important to me while other people listen. A therapeutic talk-space.

I moved to Nottingham from south London about 24 years ago. I work as a self-employed transcriptionist which doesn’t pay much but it’s great not to have a boss. About three years ago, I married a man whose surname is the same as my Christian name (the universe clearly wanted us to be together) but I didn’t change my surname when I married on the grounds that Clare Clare sounds too much like a clown. And I have a 19 year old  daughter who’s currently at Confetti College.