Two Little Ducks Select Poems 2015-2018 E-Book

Matt Abbott

• Herausgeber: Verve Poetry Press
• Kategorie: Poesie und Drama
• Sprache: Englisch
• Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2020

Seitenzahl: 75

Beschreibung

Matt Abbott was volunteering at the Calais Jungle refugee camp when his native Wakefield voted 66% Leave. Why did so many working-class communities like his support Brexit so strongly? How can the UK ignore a humanitarian crisis just 22 miles from Dover? And does anything ever actually change for people like Maria? Matt's one man poetry show, Two Little Ducks, is a powerful, personal and political spoken word show from one of UK poetry's rising stars. He channels the human side of politics to look at national identity, preconceptions, class and anti-establishment anger. Poetic flair and storytelling, with a unique insight into the summer that changed everything. To accompany the show, Verve Poetry Press has produced a book containing the full and final version of Two Little Ducks, along with a selection of the stand-alone poems Matt composed during the time of writing his show. Together they form a collection that gives a full and inspiring taste of this poet's pin-point way with words and great concern for common people – their complexity, their great unpredictability.

Leseprobe

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Matt Abbott is a poet, practitioner, producer and activist from Wakefield. He first began performing spoken word in between musical acts at Yorkshire indie gigs in December 2006, shortly before his 18th birthday. From 2007-2013 he fronted alternative pop act Skint & Demoralised, which included a stint with Universal Records as well as national and international acclaim.

Since returning to spoken word in 2013, he has toured the UK frequently; appearing in theatres, at festivals, at community and political events, and on stage with bands – his first love. In spring 2015 he formed the spoken word record label Nymphs & Thugs. His work fuses socio-political commentary with kitchen sink realism and is presented in a dynamic and engaging manner. Matt captures a lot of his activism in his poetry, and always looks to focus on the human aspect of politics.

‘Two Little Ducks’ is his first spoken word show. He performed an early version on a full run at Edinburgh Fringe in August 2017 before developing it into this final version.

Matt is Poet-in-Residence at the National Coal Mining Museum for England, lead creative writing practitioner at The Hepworth Wakefield, and an ambassador for Eureka! The National Children’s Museum, Trinity Homeless Projects and CRIBS International.

He was also commissioned to write a collection as Poet-in-Residence on a project with Efficiency North, a social housing enterprise based in Yorkshire. This was published in July 2018.

@MattAbbottPoet | Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, YouTubewww.mattabbottpoet.comwww.nymphsandthugs.net

PUBLISHED BY VERVE POETRY PRESS

Birmingham, West Midlands, UK

https://vervepoetrypress.com

[email protected]

All rights reserved © 2018 Matt Abbott

The right of Matt Abbott to be identified as author if this work has been asserted in accordance with section 77 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.

No part of this work may be reproduced, stored or transmitted in any form or by any means, graphic, electronic, recorded or mechanical, without the prior written permission of the publisher.

FIRST PUBLISHED OCT 2018

Printed and bound in the UK

by TJ International, Padstow

Cover heavily based on original designs by Mark Coverdale

ISBN: 978-1-912565-06-1

ePub ISBN: 978-1-912565-80-1

This collection is dedicated to three women.

My mum, Jan – the great enabler since day zero.

My partner, Maria – for whom I now have liquor on my Pie & Mash instead of gravy (but only down south).

And my dear friend Tracey, who passed away in 2012.“We’re here for a good time, not a long time”.

CONTENTS

Foreword by Salena Godden

(i) Two Little Ducks

Wake Up and Smell the Tetley’s

Along the Tracks

From Broadway to Bubbles

Farewell, Kellingley

Welcome to The Jungle

Hatchbacks & Lullabies

L20 1BG

S.O.S.

Say You’ll Be There

I Matter

The Ghost

Echoes from the Bottom of a Well

Red, White & Blue

Le Tricolore

Tall Ships

Voids Tempting Mischief

Twenty-Two Miles

It Wasn’t Me

Not the Taste, But the Smell

Where Is the Love?

Time to Leave

Two Little Ducks

(ii) Selected Poems 2015-2018

Overnight Megabus

Slim Jim’s Liquor Store

Between Subbuteo Fixtures

Mind the Gap

Adjust the Brightness, Add a Filter and It All Seems Twice as Nice

Ferrybridge Services

Arrival in Ibiza on a Thursday in October

Midnight, Leeds Coach Station

The Yellow Bus

Keepy-Uppy

Old Lungs, Young Lovers

The Swan Lake Shuffle

Sonnet for E Pellicci

Hit Squad

Socialist Saliva

FOREWORD

It is with great pleasure that I write this foreword. Writing this, I feel like I have the honour of introducing you to a brilliant friend - someone I’m proud to call a friend - and a poet I admire very much. It is wonderful to see the poetry of Matt Abbott collected here in print. This is vital and deliberate work, observant poetry crafted with tenderness, wit, grit and precision.

Being a full-time poet is a peculiar and ridiculous ride of highs and lows and ins and outs. Ever since I have known Matt he has shared this fantastic positive energy, enthusiasm and vision. He has well and truly paid his dues time and time again. Matt Abbott is the real deal. He isn’t just a writer of poems - he isn’t just a performer either. He is an avid reader, a poetry supporter and because of this, this love of the art-form shows, it shines, the work leaps off the pages.

When Matt first appeared on my radar he was already well on his way. He was already running his own poetry label Nymphs and Thugs. He was sharing and contributing to the poetry community, organising and promoting regular events and zines. Plus donating his time and energy to work for charities and teaching workshops, as well as finessing his craft, his writing and performance work too. And the results we have here in this book are a manifestation of all of that dedication and hard work.

So here’s the proof. You have in your hands Matt Abbott’s first full poetry collection. It is steeped in his kindness and generosity. I also feel there is an urgency to this work. I feel this book is a rallying cry. I think this is an important collection for us and for the here and now.

These pieces of Matt’s depict and decipher real struggle, real life lived, real stories, all with working class soul. This work has got its hands dirty and it’s face filthy. Reading this I’m transported through history and geography. I envision poverty, raw and humble hungers, intertwined with present day turmoil and horror. These poems show us the bare roots of the UK’s triumphs and failures, the problems we share now or have seen and bear witness to - our own prejudices, fear and intolerance.

There are deadly serious tones in this collection - there is real punch and kick in here. This work does not shy away from the bold, brutal and beautiful truth. However where there are shadows, there is such deft work with light, with hope, and on every page so much heart. It’s a real joy to read and an instant counter culture classic.

Salena Godden, 2018

Two Little Ducks

(and Selected Poems 2015-2018)

Two Little Ducks

‘Two Little Ducks’ is a sequence of poems. It follows three narrative strands which alternate alongside each other, one poem at a time, before the final poem ties them all together. The concept was born in January 2017, with some pre-existing poems worked in or adapted slightly to satisfy the theme.

The first strand explores the core reasons behind so many working-class communities supporting Brexit. I grew up in a city which voted 66% Leave and find the sweeping “hothead Brexiteer” generalisation unfair. If anything, it only serves to deepen the mentality which led to the vote in the first place.

The second strand recalls my experiences volunteering at the Calais Jungle refugee camp, which I did either side of the EU referendum. I encounter an alarming level of anti-refugee sentiment both online and through conversations, and unfortunately there is an overlap with a lot of Leave voters.

The final strand uses kitchen-sink realism to tell the fictionalised story of a character called Maria. The character was born in summer 2008 and is referenced on both the second and third Skint & Demoralised albums. I’ve developed her story specifically to slot in with this piece.

Wake Up and Smell the Tetley’s

Britain. The 24th of June, 2016.

Last night, at 9pm, I had a pencil in my hand.

Today, at 9am, I have a paper.

In twelve hours,

an earthquake left a chasm:

is it “Brussels-based Houdini”

or “Britain’s Hari Kari”?

It’s Winston Churchill’s peace sign

and Liam Gallagher’s bird.

The establishment deafened by

the voice they never heard.

A bulldog in the ballot box;

the table overturned.

A slingshot to the status quo:

a lesson truly learned.

It’s the People’s Revolution,

after decades disenfranchised

from the millionaires that tax us every day.

It’s Cameron shuffling papers at the podium,

with his plastic smile cronies in dismay.

It’s the working-class ecstatic

like I’ve never seen before.

Farage being hoisted up above

like Bobby Moore.

Crumbs of toast fall before

his gurning disbelief:

no seat in Parliament,

but right now, he’s the chief.

See, the problem with elections is,

the government always wins:

all except this

precious referendum.

A pardon from the table

of an unelected club,

who kiss goodbye

to the trillions that we send ‘em.

And it might have been

blind hope or

empty opportunity, but

why would anyone vote to stay like this?

‘In’ / ‘Out’, ‘Leave’ / ‘Remain’;

nothing in between.

They give us twos and threes

and then ask us ‘Stick or Twist?’

Left behind and demonised:

we’d fight to stay afloat.

And we know they only give a shit

when they’ve given us a vote.

We’re useful when we’re cannon fodder;

a nuisance when we’re not.

Project Fear; the people’s pride:

a chance to stop the rot.

How dare they all campaign as one,

and beg us not to revolt?

Take an entire movement

with a massive pinch of salt?

Pin us all as ignorant,

fantasists and crooks;