Poetry

Carl was not well known for his poetry but over the years had poetry published in Ambit, Frames, Iron, the Swansea Review, and a few small independent presses.

Guerilla Writing includes these poems and many more.

Druids Hill cover image
Guerilla Writing
Details

Guerilla writing


Guerrilla writing is the art of irregular war

the war of the flea, conducted against

previously unidentified targets

through the unsettling powers

of the word,

writing undertaken outside

recognised institutions

and especially without permission

by scribblers, scratchers, graphomaniacs

assorted quill drivers

and those who simply peck at keyboards

designed to discomfort

rather than conduct

a full frontal assault on reality

tackling themes and situations that might

otherwise go unnoticed

talking about things

not normally talked about

returning to pick at unhealed scabs

long forgotten awkward moments –

personal, political, historical -

to offer un-housed

not-quite novels, sort-of stories

almost poems, spoken words

that vanish on the air

off-the-wall graffiti

home-made cartoons

hand-drawn postcards

epics in indelible ink written

on bio-degradable toilet roll

haiku written in exhaust fumes

slices of bread with the story toasted in

like the image of the Virgin Mary

guerrilla writers come out of the walls

disguised as functional literates

make their hit

then fast-fade into the blur of

moving TV wallpaper

corporate banker-speak

all pervasive psycho-babble

and micro-management bollocks

before you’ve quite got the point

before you could start a discussion

before you even knew they had been there

and sometimes – the devious bastards –

they leave a poem

where they know someone will read it

before they realise what it is

but

not

always

so don’t get into the habit

of expecting the unexpected

with guerrilla writers

you just never know