Put the flags out,
Belfast,
gather in the streets,
throw words,
throw poems,
in a riot of joy.
Light the beacons,
feel the comfort of fires,
the mustiness of the old,
the fresh-ink of the new,
the books, the pamphlets,
pages turned by tongue-wetted fingertips,
a new Poet Laureate
to excite and enthral,
one city, one Belfast,
poetry for all.
Put the flags out,
Belfast,
don't drown -
wave, wave, wave.
Wednesday, 31 July 2013
Saturday, 27 July 2013
ROYAL BABY TV COVERAGE
Kay Burley was top girly,
Simon McCoy, top boy,
all the blah and all the blether,
the mixed fortunes of the weather,
standing outside the Lindo Wing,
waiting for news, anything,
the stalwarts stood their ground and guessed,
some viewers annoyed, many impressed,
and after all the long, long wait,
there they were, Wills and Kate,
ending all the speculation-hooey,
presenting Prince George Alexander Louis.......
Simon McCoy, top boy,
all the blah and all the blether,
the mixed fortunes of the weather,
standing outside the Lindo Wing,
waiting for news, anything,
the stalwarts stood their ground and guessed,
some viewers annoyed, many impressed,
and after all the long, long wait,
there they were, Wills and Kate,
ending all the speculation-hooey,
presenting Prince George Alexander Louis.......
JELLY TWANG
From the book Juggling Jelly
JELLY TWANG
I had a bow and arrow
Made of jelly,
The target up ahead
Was jelly too,
It was tricky pulling
back the jelly string
But that’s what
Every archer has to do.
The bow and arrow
Wobbled left and right,
I thought to hit the
target
Was a cinch,
I mustered all my
expertise and skill
And the arrow flew
At least a half an inch.
Friday, 26 July 2013
NOTHING
The bulb pops and the light has gone,
a good moment to lose my mind in the dark.
My eyes are useless, so I close them,
promoting my ears to primary sense
and I listen to timbers and hinges,
a distant wood pigeon and echoes of the harmless.
My head is empty of worry and fear,
I feel my shoulders ease to rest.
I have nothing left to weep for,
nothing and no one to take care of,
nothing to protect in this welcome gloom,
nothing, nothing, nothing in the room.
a good moment to lose my mind in the dark.
My eyes are useless, so I close them,
promoting my ears to primary sense
and I listen to timbers and hinges,
a distant wood pigeon and echoes of the harmless.
My head is empty of worry and fear,
I feel my shoulders ease to rest.
I have nothing left to weep for,
nothing and no one to take care of,
nothing to protect in this welcome gloom,
nothing, nothing, nothing in the room.
Friday, 19 July 2013
REVIEWER FOR HIRE
I am available to review various aspects of the arts on a freelance basis. Please contact me via joecushnan@aol.com or 07595 660085.
Here's a list of some of the book, radio, television and theatre reviews I have written, mainly for Tribune magazine (now deceased):
BOOKS
April 2009
Consumer Kids: How Big Business Is Grooming Our Children For Profit by Ed Mayo and Agnes Nairn
June 2009
Trucking Country: The Road To America's Wal-Mart Economy by Shane Hamilton
September 2009
The 86 Biggest Lies On Wall Street by John R Talbott
October 2009
Driving Like Crazy by P J O'Rourke
January 2010
Sarah (Palin) From Alaska by Scott Conroy & Shushanna Walshe
The Killer Trail by Bertrand Taithe
May 2019
The Age Of Instability by David Smith
September 2010
What Did The Baby Boomers Ever Do For Us? by Francis Beckett
October 2010
Ilustrado by Miguel Syjuco
November 2010
Black Diamond by Martin Walker
Black Madonna by Peter Millar
January 2011
Dead Man Wins Election by Phil Mason
February 2011
Big Brother Watch edited by Alex Deane
June 2011
Spedan's Partnership: The Story of John Lewis and Waitrose by Peter Cox
Captain Cook: Master of the Seas by Frank McLynn
July 2011
Deadly Waters by Jay Bahadur
RADIO
December 2009
The House That Jazz Built; Classic Serial: The Complete Smiley
January 2010
Desert Island Discs
The Chris Evans Breakfast Show
February 2010
Bob Harris Country; The House That Chekhov Built
Jazz in the City; Living World
March 2010
I'm Still The Same Paul (Robeson); Today
April 2010
Radio 5 Live
Book Of The Week (Just Kids by Patti Smith); McAuley & Co
May 2010
The Carhullan Army; Great Lives; Weekend Wogan
When The Dog Dies; Morecambe and Wise - The Garage Tapes
June 2010
The Other Guantanamo; Sounds of the Sixties; Mornings with Simon Bates
BBC Local Radio
The Reith Lectures
July 2010
Down The Watta; The Marx Brothers In Britain; Simon Mayo
Jarvis Cocker's Sunday Service; I'm Sorry I Haven't A Clue; Country Afternoon With Hugo Duncan
September 2010
Book of the Week; Patrick Kielty; Humph Celebration Concert
Afternoon Play: Pythonesque; Radio 4
October 2010
Chris Moyles; The Reunion
Drama on 3: The Great Game; Radio 3
November 2010
Peggy Seeger; Ramblings; Today
Neil Diamond; Woman's Hour; Wake Up To Money
December 2010
The Moral Maze; The Things We Forget To Remember; Today
Great Lives; I'm A Celebrity, Get Me Into Here; John Lennon
January 2011
Today; Val Doonican
February 2011
Victoria Derbyshire; Radio 5 Live
Hawksbee and Jacobs; Desert Island Discs; Chris Evans
March 2011
Nick Ferrari; Radio 4; Song Stories
The First Time with Adam Ant; The Saturday Play
The Late Show with Stuart Bailie; The Reunion
April 2011
Churchill's Other Lives; Hefner, The Original Playboy
May 2011
Today
2011 Sony Radio Academy Awards
June 2011
Dylan's Women
Afternoon Play; A Monstrous Family; Today
July 2011
Meet David Sedaris; Don't Cry For Me, Maradona
The Reith Lectures 2011
Four Thought; Richard Madeley
August 2011
Satchmo By Satchmo; Desert Island Discs
September 2011
The Reith Lectures 2011
Sir Jimmy Young At 90; The Nolan Show
October 2011
The Man With Many Names (Brian O'Nolan)
The Thing About Hank (Marvin); Tonight
November 2011
John Peel Lecture by Pete Townsend
December 2011
From Festonia to Belgravia - The History of Squatting; Richard Bacon; Night Waves
Ted Hughes - Memorial Tones; The Verb; Steve Wright In The Afternoon
January 2012
The Quest For Donal Q; Poetry Please
Brother-in-Lawford; The Radio Wales Phone-In
TELEVISION
February 2009
Terry Pratchett; Living With Alzheimer's; Who Do You Think You Are?
Minder; Cutting Edge: Killer In A Small Town
April 2009
Willie's Chocolate Revolution; CSI
June 2009
The One Show
July 2009
Imagine: David Hockney - A Bigger Picture
FILM
3 Vietnam War films - FTA; Sir! No, Sir!; Winter Soldier
THEATRE
June 2009
The Revengers
March 2010
Maggie's End
Monday, 15 July 2013
POLITICAL DEBATE IN N IRELAND CIRCA JULY 2013
Political debate in Northern Ireland circa July 2013.....
It was you.
No, it wasn't.
Yes, it was.
It was you.
No, it wasn't.
Yes, it was.
No, it wasn't.
Yes, it was.
No, it wasn't.
Yes, it was.
No, it wasn't.
Yes, it was.
No, it wasn't.
Yes, it was.
No, it wasn't.
Yes, it was.
No, it wasn't.
Yes, it was.
No, it wasn't.
Yes, it was.
No, it wasn't.
Yes, it was.
No, it wasn't.
Yes, it was.
Wait a wee minute.
Wait a wee minute yourself.
Catch yourself on.
No, you catch yourself on.
No, you catch yourself on.
No, you catch yourself on.
No, you catch yourself on.
No, you catch yourself on.
No, you catch yourself on.
Etc,
Etc,
Until sense kicks in
Or eternity strikes twelve,
Whichever comes first......
Sunday, 14 July 2013
ENTITLED
I have the right to protest.
I choose to stamp on a police Land Rover's bonnet,
to shout and taunt and swear and spit,
to sing an anthem, to wave a fleg
and if I fall off and break a leg,
I'm entitled to compensation.......
......skewed state of the nation
I choose to stamp on a police Land Rover's bonnet,
to shout and taunt and swear and spit,
to sing an anthem, to wave a fleg
and if I fall off and break a leg,
I'm entitled to compensation.......
......skewed state of the nation
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