These poems are a mix of actual conversations and additional material aimed at giving a voice to those who often go unheard. They are moving, humorous and witty and employ a degree of dialect related to Newcastle where the author grew up. The opening sequence ‘Ten Tyneside Twittersonnets’ are based on a form invented by Robert Sheppard which has 280 characters (a tweet) split over the 14 lines of a sonnet. They remind me, to a degree, of Sean Bonney’s sequence The Commons, where found materials are utilised in relation to a commentary on popular culture, class and politics. The resonance feels similar.
where’s it aall ganna end?
(1967)
ee, alan byekar, ye
luk leik butta would
n’t melt in ya mooth
. ye’re a bonny bairn
but ya nowt but trou
ble. Aa’ll be hevin
words wi’ ya mam. Ye
‘ll niva come to owt
D’ye even belang roo
nd heor? Hadaway or
aall call the poli
s. Where’s it aall g
anna end? Nase alwi
z in a bluddy buik!
In ‘Bob Morris Speaks Out’ a retired miner talks about the events around the 1926 strike which is based on an actual recording from the British Library’s survey of English Dialects. It’s a powerful piece which resonates with those who lived through the 1984 strike and reminds the contemporary reader of the importance of historical documents and of the nature of class, poverty and politics which, in our current environment is hardly inappropriate:
As hewed coal an
the best men couldn’t
get nee more than
thorty five bob a week
that had ti keep
yor hoose and family
aye thorty five bob a week
it was cruelty mann!
an the gaffer spoke
ti yi as if yi
was just muck
yi don’t answer him back o no
There are a number of short pieces under the headline ‘Dispatches’, attributed to particular residents of the housing estate in Newcastle where the author grew up which are filled with humour and poignant recollection. This is poetry as social history, gritty realism which also has an element of experiment, mainly encapsulated in the title poem from Twittersonnets where the final lines ‘…. when did it / aall gan wrang mrs t’ probably relates to a communication between neighbours but I can’t help reading an address to Margaret Thatcher in the tone even if the dates don’t quite match. I’d love to hear these pieces read aloud and understand there are recordings available. It will be interesting to see what the author does with the line breaks as indicated by the formal restraints on these fourteen liners. Alan Baker’s work is continually intriguing, his mix of politics, experiments in writing style and social history are rare elements and his output is prolific. Highly recommended.
Steve Spence 22nd May 2022
Tears in the Fence 