Tag Archives: Drew Milne

I love Philip Terry’s poetry which is always inventive in a variety of ways. This short collection from the wonderfully miniature Red Ceilings Press is a peach, basing itself on ‘the chicago,’ a form developed via the Oulipo some time ago. The basic idea is that each short poem is made up of five lines and the final line, a homophonic ‘translation’ of a place name, person, animal etc. generates  the content of the previous lines and may be guessed by the reader. In each case, here at least, the final line appears at the end in a numbered key (50 lines) so you can choose to refer forward if you wish. It’s a game in effect and combines the idea of the Old English riddle with the more experimental methods developed by the Oulipo. One very positive effect of taking part is that the method generates creativity and ‘a zest for language’ as Alan Baker suggests in the back-cover quotation. Dip in and go with the flow and once you pick up the idea it’s great fun. Here are a few of the poems by way of example:

          1.

          Money money

          Cash cash

          Bread bread

          Sponz sponz

          (Dodo (Dough dough))

          17.

          Bishop close

          Archdeacon shut up

          Nun fasten

          Abbot enclose

          (Monk seal (Monk seal)) 

          23.

          Canary Islands swallow

          Easter Island gobbles

          Cook Islands pick at

          Channel Islands savour

          (Falkland Islands wolf) Falkland Islands wolf)) 

          33.

          Large sidewalk slug

          Great path beetle

          Colossal motorway snail

          Huge street fly

          (Giant rodent (Giant road ant)) 

          42.

          African arse

          Asian bottom

          American bum

          Antarctic posterior

          (European ass (European ass))

This is poetry as fun and it’s the mix of the formal limitations and the invention that can lead from this that can generate a love of language and playful experimentation that is in no way dry or exclusive. This sort of method is a great prompt to learning without too much pain and these poems are easy to dip in and out of and can provide a great antidote to boredom. There are other contemporary poets who work partly with similar methods, Giles Goodland, for example, whose occupation as a lexicographer stimulates a lot of his poetic output. Drew Milne’s ‘Eck’s Column’ is another example where the homophone really comes into its own with quite often hilarious results.

     As I’ve suggested these poems can provide a great stimulus to experimenting with language and discovering how strange and delightful the process can be. Highly recommended.

Steve Spence 1^st February 2023