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Sitting down to write this blog, I realise I’m starting 2017 on a bit of a roll. It’s a while since I’ve been on a bit of a roll, and I’m remembering how much I like it. I’m currently high on enthusiasm, stuffed to bursting with dreams. Given that the sun has shone on the West Midlands for precisely no hours whatsoever in the past week – thanks, weather gods – that’s nothing short of incredible, but to date this burst of creativity has survived the murk and gloom. Whatever doesn’t kill you makes you stronger, I guess.
To date, I’ve let the punk in Walsall exhibition loose on Birmingham, which I’m really proud of. You’ll find it in the Parkside Gallery at Birmingham City Uni for the next three weeks. Entry is free, and if you want a copy of the free newspaper that goes with the exhibition, you can pick one of those up too.
I’ve finished drafting a play I’ve been working on with two other poets – watch out for more about that later in the year – and discovered how joyous it can be to spend a week on holiday (it claimed to be a writing retreat, but I wasn’t fooled) in North Wales in early January. I’ve even been inspired to get back to working on the book I laid to one side when 2016 got shitty.
And yesterday, I fulfilled a life-long ambition by spending the morning in the toilets in Walsall Art Gallery with Reuben from Trapeze Films and a mop. We were putting together a video for one of my poems, rushed out to celebrate – no, that’s not the right word – rushed out to commemorate… no, that won’t do either…. rushed out to mark, yes, to mark the occasion of the most embarrassing car-crash of a toe-curling disaster of a party in Washington DC tomorrow, after which the term damp squib may well need to be redefined.
If you enjoy subtle, sophisticated poetry, it’s fair to say this offering may not be for you. It was filmed in a toilets, after all. If a broadside aimed at our new unclothed emperor is more your bag, you may be in luck. Decide for yourself. You can watch it here.
If it makes you chuckle, please share it with your friends. And now I’m back off to mine that burst of creativity for everything it’s got. See ya later.
