Octopoet

 Betty once turned down a young Dylan Thomas when he tried to proposition her at a bar. “Pity about Dylan Thomas,” she said on stage, “I didn’t get to know the color of his pyjamas.”

Ms. Lane and the seven other poets were accompanied by enthusiastic host Mark Blayney. Ocotpoet is a staple Made in Roath event, a reading of poetry at which, as it says on the tin, “eight poets battle for your love.” Blayney was sure to point out at the very beginning of the evening, that there would be a mix of the very serious and the not so.  

First up was Christina Thatcher, who read a series of poems about the men in her life—father, brother and fiancé. All of which were personal and affecting. Dave Daggers, in a sort of denim pinstriped suit, accompanied with a binder that said “Poetry For Dummies”, delivered a series of comic poems and songs, ranging in topic from French women to suicide to a self-referential poem about poetry. Possibly my favourite poet of the night was Emily Blewitt. Her poetry was surreal and, as she said, “witchy.” She was enthralling to listen too, even when she wasn’t reading poetry but simply leafing through her collection and telling us anecdotes of how the next piece came about. The last poet before the interval was former physics and astronomy lecturer Mike Greenhough. A fitting description of Mike given his poetry and songs were at times otherworldly, though unlike physics, wholly entertaining. Mike was deadpan in his delivery of a series of comic poems and songs and the café at large found him hilarious. Mike finished his set with a reimagining of the James Bond theme song, in which the trop of villainous and seductive woman was played by an octopus. The piece was obviously called “Octopussy.” 

During the interval, which I used to buy another round of Coca-Cola (served in a glass with ice, of course), Adale (Ada Ragimov) treated the audience to a harp performance. It was lovely. Coincidentally, the following day I was scrolling through my Twitter feed and someone who had not been at the event had tweeted “Only in Roath will you see two people rolling a harp down the middle of the street at 11.30 pm.” 

The night picked back up with resident heart breaker, Betty Lane. Following the Dylan Thomas story, she read a series of poems, the highlight of which was a piece entitled “A Day in the Life of a Man and His Dog.” As you can expect it was about a man, his life and his dog. The central theme was the dog’s unwavering love and as a dog person, I thought it genius. Nicholas Whithead was next. He read a winter solstice poem, as it was the only solstice-related poem he had. He finished with a tribute in the form of a poem to Wordsworth, in which Wordsworth, known nature lover, had an off day. There was a lot of nature and many expletives, which resulted in many laughs. Accomplished short story writer and poet, Susie Wild then took to the mic. She read poems about the summertime and beaches and smiles. One of which was entitled “Crooked Smile”. A sort of coming-of-age poem that at is crux was about self-confidence. A theme with which the last act of the night continued. Mab Jones and Johnny Jiles performed as a duo. They alternated poems, filled the space between with jokes and read pieces about feeling confident in your body, and in your mind. 

By Jamie Gillingham