Over the coming weeks we at POETS would like to celebrate those poets who we believe to show exemplary skill within their craft. We have compiled a list of of names and you are one of them.
To help us celebrate you as a poet we would like to get to know you a little better by asking you some questions whilst you engage in conversation with me 😀
Karen - Hey Michael, If you could dine with a poet of your choice (past or present) who would you choose?
Michael - Apart from the the current and superb Karen Hayward that's a difficult one. I hope that doesn't embarrass you.
From the past probably John Milton. Paradise Lost was spectacular.
To be honest with you I don't read that much poetry. I prefer to hear it.
I wish I could do performance poetry. However my memory wouldn't hold enough information.
Karen - ha ha ha I love your answer, I would be an awesome dinner companion :) :)
John Milton would be a great dinner date, such an intellectual dinner date :)
Spoken word, there are a couple of spoken word poets that I absolutely love...a few actually, i would definitely love a dinner date with these guys, Scoobius Pip, Kate Tempest (she has incredible energy) and Mark Grist
I am absolutely pants at remembering things, too easily distracted information doesn't stick, but to be fair I see these artists on stage reading from their phones
Okay, next question, if money and imagination was no object, where would you like to eat with Mr Milton and why?
Michael -Yes Karen you definitely would be awesome. 😊😊
Money and imagination no problem? Somewhere reasonably quiet where I could ask him many things about his work and his reason for writing such an incredible epic. Maybe somewhere in rural Oxford. Or where the inklings met to discuss their interests.
In a more surreal and fictional location a quiet table at Douglas Adams' Milliways from the HitchHikers Guide to the Galaxy would be a bit of an amusing place to be. It would probably confuse him though.
Karen - I love that you have thought of two places, exploring both a realistic answer and a fantasy answer.
It certainly would confuse the poor fella!! But imagine the writing it would inspire in him!!
Such beautiful places Michael,
what wonderful food and drink would you choose to dine on?
Michael - For the real place it probably would be the traditional British Roast Beef with the trimmings. A choice of beer or wine. Maybe the Spotted Dick for afters.
Goodness knows what I'd have at the fictional place. It would have to be the meat that consents to be killed for our dinners. It may turn him vegetarian though. Lol.
Karen - ha ha this is very true, imagine the damage if we truly could transport a person through time and dimensions 😊😂😂😂😂
Okay last questions....talking.
Would you keep the discussion formal, discuss poetry and writing and literature?
Or
Informal, and discuss life and inspiration and muses all gritty and grimy?
Michael - A bit of both I should think. I would particularly like to find out why his Satan appeared so heroic. Was he based on anyone? So inspiration would be an important factor in this.
Karen - that's some interesting thoughts Michael and I think that is probably the beautiful thing about getting the opportunity to dine with these people, that superb moment when you can truly discuss the hows and whys of their own thoughts in their writing.
It has been an absolute honour to get to know you better Michael, a delight to interview you :) Lastly I would ask if we could share one of your own personal favourite pieces of your own work as well as a favourite famous piece :)
Michael - My favourite famous piece is actually a lyric by Brian May. Haunting and beautiful.
Who Wants to Live Forever
Queen
There's no time for us
There's no place for us
What is this thing that builds our dreams
Yet slips away from us?
Who wants to live forever?
Who wants to live forever?
There's no chance for us
It's all decided for us
This world has only one
Sweet moment set aside for us
Who wants to live forever?
Who wants to live forever?
Who?
Who dares to love forever
Oh, when love must die?
But touch my tears with your lips
Touch my world with your fingertips
And we can have forever
And we can love forever
Forever is our today
Who wants to live forever?
Who wants to live forever?
Forever is our today
Who waits forever anyway?
Songwriters: Brian May
Who Wants to Live Forever lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
For my own work I don't have a favourite as when I have written my pieces they cease to be important to me. They are my focus for a while but then I move on. I have some poems which I respect for the effort I put into them. Especially when I have been trying to overcome my own insecurites or give voice to them. But I have no favourite as such. My work is good but not that good.
For sheer effort however there are six which come to mind.
A Crucifixion - My first real attempt at a ballad style.
The Power of Intemperate Grace - Probably the best from a technical point of view. Conveying sexual expression without being crude or base.
Lovers' Walk - Really difficult to write. It took months dealing with the conflict of imposed evangelical morality and sensual need. Pure fiction of course.
We Are All In This Together - My first social commentary piece. Very moral in its structure.
All Hallows' Eve - Just something so very different from my usual stuff.
EveryPoet - is probably my noblest piece and one which symbolizes ideals and clarity of purpose.
None of those are my favourite but I respect them for different reasons.
Difficult to make a choice
Karen - Please find attached the image version of Michael's poems
It is entirely impossible for me to pick a single poem of Michael's as a personal favourite, his diversity for subject matter has always left me in awe. I consider Michael a true and brave poet as he will often write on subjects that are extremely sensitive and yet he gives them a powerful and endearing voice. I am of course his number one fan when he is writing about the difficulties and truths of Asperger and sensory processing disorder and I truly hope he is aware that those poems give many people a sense of place and comfort knowing that they are not alone on those journeys. His social justice poetry amazes me, the clarity of thought coupled with his writing voice creates a =n extremely powerful write. Michael has a talent for giving a voice to those who don't have one he does this through his extensive knowledge, placing each carefully researched idea onto the page with exact precision...and of course there are his spoken word pieces, a true delight to hear him reading his poetry aloud.
Thank you Michael
**The Inklings were an informal literary discussion group associated with the University of Oxford, England, for nearly two decades between the early 1930's and late 1949.[1] The Inklings were literary enthusiasts who praised the value of narrative in fiction and encouraged the writing of fantasy.
Image, Eagle and Child sourced via Google search
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