Monday 25 June 2007

Real men write poetry

Yesterday afternoon, Radio Four ran a half-hour programme called Oh! Dad, about film star Robert Mitchum's lifelong addiction to...writing poetry. In fact, I came to it with some trepidation, thinking that maybe they were going to take the "isn't it incredible that a tough guy actor wrote poetry?!" line, to which my prepared answer was "No! He was an actor, for heaven's sake. That in itself should make involvement in some other branch of the arts, if not necessarily likely, at least thoroughly explicable".
Thankfully, Cardiff poet Lloyd Robson did a far better job of putting the programme together than my imagination did, especially when he put Mitchum's writing in context (he was, for example, highly musical too). The only gripe, really, was that we heard so little of the actual poetry, but I'm sure there were good reasons for that. I liked the poem (someone else's) we heard him reading - must listen again and take note of who it was by.
It did all set me thinking about the image that poetry, and poets, have. I don't think it's necessarily any harder for a bloke to 'admit' being a poet than it is for a woman, but I was interested by what Robson said about the kind of man Mitchum was. A loner, but always capable of being (and enjoying being) one of the gang. I think that might be a pretty necessary mindset for any writer, but especially for poets. Is it?

4 comments:

Ben Wilkinson said...

Given my own experience, I agree with your thoughts on this, Matt. I turned to reading and eventually writing poetry as part of a compulsion and desire to do so, but also because I felt it was the vehicle with which I could make sense of the world and my interaction with and place in it, outside of "conventional discourse", as it were. I think reading and writing poetry helps in thinking and talking about stuff you might find difficult with the average person, even friends and lovers. Perhaps poets aren't always loners, then, but highly individual and slightly odd people, for want of better words. Potentially a good subject for a poem, in fact, although I wouldn't fancy tackling it myself.

Kirk Wisebeard said...

I just write poetry to throw my heartless callous exterior into sharp relief....

Matt Merritt said...

I think you're right, Ben, although at no stage have I ever really articulated it to myself like that. I don't suppose many writers do. All you're really aware of most of the time is that you enjoy writing and have to do it.
You're right too. Kirk. I'm trying to make my mind up as to whether it's working!

Ben Wilkinson said...

True, Matt, hindsight is a wonderful thing. I don't think when I started writing I was really aware why I was doing it; that's been something I've worked out later after thought and consideration. And poetry definitely encompasses my only real 'soft side', too, as people who know me will testify to!