The Way I See It
The shipyard painter, political activist and razor-sharp cartoonist Bob Starrett has just written a new book The Way I See It on his eventful life and times. Below we reprint one of his stories and review an essential read
La Boheme
ENO's production of La Boheme is a triumph,
Phill Jupitus - Girl Banned
Thursday 01 November 2012
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As a child
I sang in church
My unbroken alto
Seeking that frequency
Which resonated the most
Imagining impassive stone
Humming along
Recently I watched
Four girls sing in a church
But they did resonate
All saints not sinners
Too hep to burn
Un-sugared babes
Destiny’s children
They had the world bewitched
Girls cool
Girls empowered
Girls with real spice
Telling us what they want
What they really, really want
But cold hard Vladimir
Remained unmoved
Called their rock folly
So they weren’t
Girls allowed
Jupitus is a comedian and poet who regularly appears on the TV shows Never Mind the Buzzcocks and QI. He started out as performance poet Porky the Poet, supporting acts such as Billy Bragg and becoming associated with Anti-Fascist Action. This poem is taken from Catechism: Poems for Pussy Riot, an international anthology of poets in support of the Russian band, edited by Mark Burnhope, Sarah Crewe and Sophie Mayer. It’s available to download at the English PEN site.
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