www.theblisspages.com - an evening of poetry
www.theblisspages.com - an evening of poetryAn evening of poetry ... Or a game of two halves, as we started the evening at the The Open House, and finished at the Marlborough Theatre.
We cycled to London Road station, inevitably ending up on the wrong side of the station for The Open House. Luckily, the Brompton is quite light so I carried it over the bridge. Once nestled in the upstairs room, I found a seat at the front and waited.
After a brief introduction, the poets started.
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The poems varied widely, but the quality remained high.
The themes ranged from a very moving poem about the poet's mother, through ditties about Brighton and Hove, to political poems about wealth. The highlight for me, however, was a very amusing poem about a Poetry Workshop, which rang very true.
You might also like to look at The South's website. THE SOUTH is a dynamic literary arts organisation based in Brighton but working across Sussex, the south coast and beyond.
We unfortunately had to leave early to go to The Marlborough Theatre...
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When we arrived, I was surprised and gratified when Murray greeted me by name. I hadn't thought to be remembered amid the myriad of fans, but it seems theblisspages also has a rising fan base (two million hits a year and rising).
We had a drink in the bar before going upstairs, where again I was lucky enough to set a prime seat at the front.
The venue was quite small, so Murray had to do two sets. I went to the second one.
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Before we started, we were treated to a short dance by the ratman.
Murray has a unique presence, which seemed much more assured than on the last occasion I had seen him, supporting The Pretenders at the Scala. It could be that the smaller, intimate venue suited him better, or maybe it my my sober, steadying influence ... perhaps not.
I'm not sure if I can remember everything he performed but to the best of my recollection and my scribbled notes, the running order was:
After the set, we repaired to the bar for a few more drinks.
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I bought Murray's CD Live at Ronnie Scott's, with some of my favourite tracks, plus the bonus of some I haven't heard before.
updated Tue 01 Jun '04 give feedback...
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: © Mike Bliss 2009