If one’s RP and one knows it clap one’s hands.

Listening to the poets performing their work on a site dedicated to concepts of place, I’m struck by the fine accents on display as well as by the fine words, the different poetic voices in both senses of the word.  For example, there’s Byron and Emma’s accents which are separated only by a county line and a million miles. Then Charlie and Rukus pumping such different beats from the same heart of England. Poets in Resonance, indeed!

 At one time that wouldn’t have happened, of course.  Access to the airwaves was the sole preserve of people with cut glass accents, not broken glass accents like from my place. (Or yours?) Everyone at the BBC sounded like Brian Sewell and even the “lower orders” were portrayed by upper class actors, as lampooned here by Harry Enfield’s Mr Cholmondley-Warner.

In this country, of course, accents are irretrievably inter-woven with concepts of class with, in reality, dozens of gradations rather than the simple lower, middle, upper class system portrayed by these familiar faces.

Thinking about it though, concepts of class and inter-class cultural embarrassment form a huge part of UK TV comedy folklore – Keeping Up Appearances, Reggie Perrin, Rising Damp, Monty Python, Pete n Dud, Alan Bennett, The Office, Royle Family, and innumerable sketches all spring to mind.  From America, of course, The Beverly Hillbillies is built on that entire premise. Much so-called reality tv thrives on lighting those social touch-papers then inviting us to stand back and watch – Wife Swap being a case in point, and whatever the latest one is called – “How Clean Is Your Big Brother”, is it?

Whilst the very word “prejudice” in itself means to pre-judge, research alleges that  we all carry a mental pecking order of qualities which we subconsciously ascribe to a speaker based on their accent – qualities like trustworthiness, attractiveness and intelligence. Plus, of course, the converse which pins different judgements around levels of street-cred, toughness, criminality, lower intelligence or worse to those of us who speak with an industrial or rural accent. 

Sometimes comedians find humour in subverting those prejudices, as in this Monty Python sketch where the Tyke-toned dad is a luvvie playwright and his be-suited and well-spoken son is a coal miner.

But it’s much more common for advertisers and film-makers to use accents as subliminal short-hand for what they want us to think of a character, or as a short-cut to how they want us to feel about a product – homely, urban, classy, whatever.

So I find it interesting that – in the Heineken advert that I started this blog series with – the advertisers gave William Wordsworth a posh/RP/southern accent when, of course, he was from Cumbria with an accent to match.  An accent which, presumably, he was proud to retain despite accusations of being “unintelligible” at Cambridge and which is intrinsic to his work – some of his rhymes like water/matter and note/naught only work with a reet northern accent. But a quick internet search finds loads of audio and video clips of people like Jeremy Irons (a caste of thousands?) intoning Wordsworth in posher-than-thou tones and Ye Frightfully Serious Poetry Voice.  Leeds-born poet Tony Harrison rages about this sort of thing in his poem Them and Uz.

Now either, as is likely, the advertisers didn’t know of Our Willie’s dulcet tones, or they chose to gloss over the issue and not cause the accent to jar with the viewers preconceptions, prejudices in fact, thereby detracting momentarily from the message that their fizz-watter is the answer to all your problems.

Similarly, I was in London recently and spotted Wordsworth’s poem “Upon Westminster Bridge” as part of the Poems on the Underground series.  Here it is on’t'internet again read by another posh bloke.  But isn’t there a layer of meaning lost from the poem when it isn’t read by an out-of towner?

So, accents and speaking voices – some questions please.  I’d be grateful for your thoughts on:

What other poets of yore are known to have had strong accents?

Can you post some audio or video links to current/recent poets whose speaking voice or accent you consider to be intrinsic to their work? 

Whose dulcet tones do you admire and would wish for yourself?

How do you feel about your own speaking voice and accent?  Does it influence your work?  Have you written some pieces for a specific accent?  Have you heard someone else reading your work aloud and how did you feel about that?

‘Ow d’ yer feel abaht it when t’writers or th’editors feel t’need to trah ‘n gerraccents across on t’page wi’ strange fookin’ spellin’s?

Are you proud of your accent or wish that you could change it?  Are you conscious of it when reading out-of-town or at the widely different gigs that poets find ourselves at?  Does the saloon voice work in the salon?  And voice versa?

Is an accent a boon , a curse or an irrelevance in the world of spoken word? And is your answer the same for circles more concerned with the printed word?

Say what?

I’ll leave you with Linton Kwesi Johnson reading “If I Was A Tap Natch Poet” on American TV.  (Genius moment at 3.12-ish.)

But why have I seldom seen LKJ on UK television?

Why is it so hard to make a living, even as a “Tap Natch” poet?

And who decides what a word’s worth?

Innit.

Okay, okay, “Guest Blogger.”  Let’s do this thing.

Deep breath. Check flies. Remember to smile. Aaaand….

“Hi! Welcome to My Place.  My name’s Tony and I’m going to be your Guest Blogger for the next two weeks. Across my blogcupancy, to coin a phrase, I hope to open discussions on, not just the influence of place on poets and poetry, but also for us to discuss what the place for poetry is in the modern and virtual world. (Other blogs are also available.  Warning – may contain poetry, nuts and mild peril. In case of drowsiness do not drive or operate heavy machinery.)”

I’m very pleased to be involved actually as I’ve been really enjoying this site over recent months.  I’ve made a few postings and comments already and, in recent weeks I’ve been delighted to be asked to act as mentor/buddy/fluffer to the very talented Mr Byron Vincent. I’d like to think that’s been going pretty well behind the scenes and Byron and I will go public on how that’s been working in the next week or so. Meanwhile, there have been loads of interesting contributions and it’s been fascinating to watch the writers’ work emerging.  I’m really looking forward to meeting and hearing everyone at The Big Chill and, as my stint as guest blogger includes the festival itself, no doubt I’ll be offering some reflections after the event.

But along the way, and in the hope of getting some discussions going – I’m going to take my inspiration from this, a half-forgotten Heineken beer advert from the 1980’s. I remember this well and still think it’s a work of genius.

Are you old enough to remember that? Seen it before?  It makes me laugh every time!  So….

….across my next few blogs I’m going to pose several questions which the above clip raises for me.  These include:

The poet and accent.

The poet and intoxicants.

The poet as loner.

The poet and The Great Outdoors – an exclusive report from behind The Big Chill’s frontline. And…

The poet and “The P word.” Can poetry shake off its baggage?

But I’m hoping this will be a dialogue not a monologue, people. These things work best when they’re a conversation not a soliloquy. So all you cyber-lurkers out there.  You!  Yes you!  Do please join in.  Let’s refresh the old parts a bit, prove that August is not a wasteland but the coolest month and, whatever happens….

….please don’t leave me “walking about a bit on my own.”

An interview with Rukus.

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For more podcasts please visit www.ukpoetrypodcast.com

An interview with Jay Bernard

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I’ve decided to post the little bits I’ve been writing as i’ve been in residence. Some of these were in a notebook, some text messages that i saved in my draft and some i recorded on my device very late at night when i was on the verge of falling alseep and i would suddenly have a line in my head. They may seem to make no sense at all but I’m hoping to rescue elements and turn them into something new.

A chance to listen to Charlie Jordan and Emma McGordan talk about the preparations they are putting into their residencies.

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I’m having to repost this comment, as I’m having trouble saving changes to the old comment – it’s the same podcast of all the participants you may have heard a few months ago – don’t worry, a new show will be airing within the next week, so stay tuned.

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My Place or Yours podcast

Hi all,
as part of the workshop setting the scene for this event, Apples and Snakes asked me if I’d podcast some of their writers.

I started by recording the thoughts of many of the artists and co-ordinators over a period of three days, as everyone got to know each other.

I intend to get at least two more shows a month over the length of this programme and to go into a bit more depth with the writers in future interviews.

If you want to get involved, join us on Skype for a chat sometime – my contact details is dominicorourke

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