'Living The Dream' -John Cooper Clarke - Live at Birmingham Town Hall
Channel: AaranAardvark
Date: 2012-10-13

Hand held history from 11 October 2012 of John Cooper Clarke reciting his poem that I think is called  Living The Dream ..... and what a dream it is, a nationwide tour as a born-again celeb at 63 JCC the "Punk Poet Laureate"....ot the skinny geezer who started looking like Bob Dylan and slowly transmogrified into Ronnie Wood....there ain't arf been some lucky bastards......JCC is definitely one of them!

Here is a little anecdotal factoid from the evening. As I arrived in the vicinity of the town hall early due to the completion of earlier business in the city I did what I always do in that situation I went to the Museum and Art Gallery, not knowing that last Thursday evening was also the opening of a new part of the gallery dedicated to celebrating 9oo years of Birmingham's history long before it was a town let alone England's 'Second City' (allegedly after London that is). There were all sorts of preparations taking place for the opening after the place closed to the public.....hundreds of wine classes were being arranged ready for the event at which a guest of honour was to be Birmingham Dub Poet Benjamin Zephaniah. 
These preparations were so frenzied that it was clear that I a few stragglers from earlier were viewed by the stressed and rushed staff as 'in the way' and since the place was in complete turmoil I left the Museum earlier than I'd intended and sought sanctuary at my favourite real ale pub The Wellington to console myself while I waited for the town hall doors to open.

At that point it occurred to me that I had been driven out of the Museum and Art Gallery by one poet into the arms of the other poets at the town hall and was indeed in a collision of poetry one pole of which repels just as the other pole attracts. Here's a poem to commemorate this odd moment in popular culture in which one feels excluded and included simultaneously and also at the same time in a way that could only be possible in an ultimately meaningless universe.

Pushed From Pillar to Poet

With poets frenetic, I feel so pathetic
kicked out of the museum to boot
Not over ecstatic, to feel so magnetic
twixt dub and punk poles of repute

By changing inflexion I lost my direction
the poetry grinder grinds on
despite that affliction it's my recollection
I missed Ben but caught up with John.

Aaran A Aardvark 

I plead 'fair use' if anyone asks by the way.

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