A while ago, I interviewed Banana the Poet for my View From the Shoe column. It was, and still is, the most popular edition of that column I've had. You fell in love with Banana and her take on the world. So when she told me that The Alternative Poetry Book was now available on Amazon, I wanted first to give everyone the chance to buy it, and second to use it as an excuse for another interview. So here she is, the wonderful Banana:
1. Your poetry brightens many people's days on twitter and elsewhere. Do you get frustrated when people see you as a "happy poet"? And is that part of why you've deliberately written this book in two styles?
I try not to get frustrated by anything. Being seen as a "happy poet" is lovely! I'd rather be seen as a beautiful sylph-like figure with the intellect of a mega genius, but anything positive is good and at least "happy poet" is attainable as an image.
As for deliberately writing anything :) I wish! I just spout poetry day after day after day ad infinitum. I had no idea of a book when I wrote them - let alone a series of seven books. But when I did decide to package them up into a book form I already had two poetry blogs - one for funny/silly poems and one for serious poems.
This wasn't a purposeful thing either. I just started off posting my funny poems because I thought they would be most interesting for people and I felt less timid about them because it is always easier to share jokes than deeper feelings especially with strangers who might not be sympathetic or kind.
As time went on I gained confidence and realised that most people I encounter online are indeed very sympathetic, kind and supportive so I was encouraged to share my more 'raw' poetry. It didn't fit in my silly/happy poetry blog so I began poems-2-share.
I wanted to include both aspects of my poetry in my books and alternating 'serious' with 'funny' just felt the obvious way to go.
2. I love the any which way you can of the book. Which way is reading it back to front, and which is reading it the right way?
There is no right way and there is no wrong way. Any way that gets you through it is a good way. Upside down and in a mirror might be tricky - but hey if you fancy trying it - why not? I wonder if I should bring out a cloth book version for under water?
3. I'm not as versed in poetry as I'd like to be, but my limited knowledge of poetry makes me think, when I think of your book, of Blake's Songs of Innocence and Experience. Is there anything in that?
You've guessed it! I am in fact Blake reincarnated only with more talent (that's a joke) and large bazooms (not a joke). I sing a lot higher these days, am both more innocent and experienced than in my previous incarnation and avoid tygers/tigers like the plague!
4. Why red and yellow?
Red is for the ketchup in my fried egg,
Yellow for the caterpillar crawling up my leg.
Together they make a bright, loud cover for my book,
They grab the eye and visually shout "come and take a look!"
Yellow is for butter, dandelions and sun.
Red is for the blood and danger deep in everyone.
The balance that is found in having Yin and Yang,
the colour and the life and the noise of fizz and bang!
5. You live in a gorgeous part of the world. Does that make writing poetry easier or harder?
Much much easier.
6. Can you remember anything about the first poem you wrote?
In this lifetime you mean? Not when I used to be Blakey?
I recently found while tidying out a drawer - a fragment of paper. It was very thin - almost toilet papery and carried the old familiar clonky blue typewriting that I used to bash out of my first plastic Petite typewriter. I must have been between 7 and 9 when I wrote it. My teenage son said on reading this "you were one seriously disturbed little doodie!" It's hard to argue with that on the facts :) Here's a facsimile of it:
TWERE night where winter dwelttt,
TWAS day when summer was felt ,
YOU n ever new when it would stop ,twirling , hurling , winter leaves whirling towards
you . Never, never whould they stop .
Till baby birds fall plop from their nests .
falling , falling from their nests . .
THE END-------------------------------------
7. Is there a poem inside you you feel you have to write - one day - but just can't bring out?
Goodness me no. I haven't got that sort of organisation or patience. I suffer more from poetic diarrhoea than poetic constipation. As soon as it begins to solidify - it's out there!
8. What reaction from a reader would please you the most?
The ultimate would be for a reader to read my work online and then feel so attached that they buy it in book form to re-read and share with others. Even better if they buy lots of copies for their friends, relatives etc or one for every room in the house because they couldn't bear to suddenly want to read one of the poems and not have the work to hand immediately!
But just reading it online and having an "Ah! I liked that," moment - for whatever reason - is absolutely all I ever really hoped for and more than I expected.
I'm writing to please readers, they don't need to please me.
9. Do you think poetry should be taken more seriously by people? Or less?
I don't "do" should - if I can avoid it. As long as people choose to take poetry at all they can take it anyway they want. I like my poetry in a certain way and that is the way I produce it. But if others have other ideas - that's fine - as long as nothing is imposed on either me or them we can all swim along together in the same sea without getting in each other's way.
10. What next?
I have no idea at all. That's what is so exciting about life - you never know what will happen and there's always something new and surprising to explore.
Thank you so much!
Showing posts with label Banana The Poet. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Banana The Poet. Show all posts
Thursday, 29 October 2009
Wednesday, 16 September 2009
Book Blogger Appreciation Week: Spreading Some Love
I HATE awards and praise-giving, and love-sharing sessions. Most of all I hate #followfriday on twitter. Not because I hate heaping praise on the countless people who do amazing things online. But because I know there'll always be someone I forget; and that someone will feel AWFUL. And possibly take it personally.
So I HATE Book Blogger Appreciation Week, because I want to throw my arms around the whole book blogging community and give it an enormous hug. So I want to apologise in advance for everyone I've missed out. Somewhere there's a loaded gun with a bullet for every one of you to fire right at me. And I want to make a policy statement. my blog roll is full of amazing book blogs on blogger. Anyone who's already there, please consider yourselves bigged up already (as I believe they say). I want to use this week to give a shout out (as I believe they also say) to a couple of non-blogger sites that really deserve everyone's attention
Loudpoet
Guy Le Charles Gonzalez is a former slam poet (can one be a former slam poet? Does that make one a gentle slap poet?) who writes with passion, compassion, wit, and intelligence about writing and social media. He not only cares about the future of literature; he knows a thing or two as well. He also asked me to guest blog for him earlier this month :-)
Phillipa Fioretti
Most of you already know Phillipa. That doesn't mean she shouldn't have another big plug because she's the most articulate, intelligent polymath writer you could hope to meet. She also brilliantly bridges the art and literature worlds.
Eudaimonia For All
Lisa Kenney is another artist who writes about books. She's one of the most thoughtful, erudite readers I've had the pleasure of meeting online. She's simply inspirational for anyone who really loves books. (This is a blogger blog, but I can't get it to appear on my blogroll so that's OK!)
Smelvillewrites
Sarah E Melville designs my covers. Which makes her a goddess of some kind, because they're just amazing. She's an artist, poet, and novelist. And The.Next.Big.Thing
Farm Lane Books
I came across Jackie's blog by accident on twitter. It's very rare that you come across a reader whose tastes seem to click with your own. Jackie is a voracious reader and intelligent reviewer; and I can be fairly sure that if she likes something so will I. Whcih is about as big a recommendation as it's possible to give a reviewer!
Charlie Atlantic
Charlie's the lead singer of InLight, one of my favouite bands, and technically this is a culture blog rather than a writing one. But I don't care, because he's the funniest man on the Internet. And insightful and poignant to boot.
Banana the Poet
How could I not include everyone's favourite alternative poet
Gingatao
Paul Squires is a quite brilliant poet and observationalist. Much like Sulci (who IS on my blog roll), he can take words to places you never imagined possible.
Left Under Books
Charles Dickey is someone who not only cares about books and culture, he's someone who's passionate about raising the uncomforatable issues so many blogs gloss over in their back-slapping and "aren't things wonderful" ness. A blog for anyone truly outside the mainstream
So I HATE Book Blogger Appreciation Week, because I want to throw my arms around the whole book blogging community and give it an enormous hug. So I want to apologise in advance for everyone I've missed out. Somewhere there's a loaded gun with a bullet for every one of you to fire right at me. And I want to make a policy statement. my blog roll is full of amazing book blogs on blogger. Anyone who's already there, please consider yourselves bigged up already (as I believe they say). I want to use this week to give a shout out (as I believe they also say) to a couple of non-blogger sites that really deserve everyone's attention
Loudpoet
Guy Le Charles Gonzalez is a former slam poet (can one be a former slam poet? Does that make one a gentle slap poet?) who writes with passion, compassion, wit, and intelligence about writing and social media. He not only cares about the future of literature; he knows a thing or two as well. He also asked me to guest blog for him earlier this month :-)
Phillipa Fioretti
Most of you already know Phillipa. That doesn't mean she shouldn't have another big plug because she's the most articulate, intelligent polymath writer you could hope to meet. She also brilliantly bridges the art and literature worlds.
Eudaimonia For All
Lisa Kenney is another artist who writes about books. She's one of the most thoughtful, erudite readers I've had the pleasure of meeting online. She's simply inspirational for anyone who really loves books. (This is a blogger blog, but I can't get it to appear on my blogroll so that's OK!)
Smelvillewrites
Sarah E Melville designs my covers. Which makes her a goddess of some kind, because they're just amazing. She's an artist, poet, and novelist. And The.Next.Big.Thing
Farm Lane Books
I came across Jackie's blog by accident on twitter. It's very rare that you come across a reader whose tastes seem to click with your own. Jackie is a voracious reader and intelligent reviewer; and I can be fairly sure that if she likes something so will I. Whcih is about as big a recommendation as it's possible to give a reviewer!
Charlie Atlantic
Charlie's the lead singer of InLight, one of my favouite bands, and technically this is a culture blog rather than a writing one. But I don't care, because he's the funniest man on the Internet. And insightful and poignant to boot.
Banana the Poet
How could I not include everyone's favourite alternative poet
Gingatao
Paul Squires is a quite brilliant poet and observationalist. Much like Sulci (who IS on my blog roll), he can take words to places you never imagined possible.
Left Under Books
Charles Dickey is someone who not only cares about books and culture, he's someone who's passionate about raising the uncomforatable issues so many blogs gloss over in their back-slapping and "aren't things wonderful" ness. A blog for anyone truly outside the mainstream
Sunday, 6 September 2009
The View From the Shoe: Banana the Poet
I first came across Banana on Authonomy, but only got to know her well on Twitter, where her tweeted verse has lightened up many a day. In her own words:
banana the poet aka Michele Brenton – was born and brought up in Swansea, South Wales and now lives on the Greek island of Kefalonia. Despite a deep seated hankering to be a 'serious' writer, she finds that the words which pour from her end up as either silly or serious poetry or lyrics. Her silly poetry is mainly rhyming observational comedy and her serious stuff worries her a little. She suspects that it might be unintentionally even funnier than the intentionally funny poetry and may be the sort of thing that 'real' poets love to read so that they can feel good about their own work.
The Great Novel she has always hoped to write stays firmly stuck on chapter ten where it is likely to remain for the rest of her life. She also has much difficulty writing about herself in the third person and is going to stop now before she frightens herself into thinking she might be developing a split personality.
I can be found on Twitter at @banana_the_poet
and on my blogs
http://poetry4fun.blog.co.uk/ – silly poetry by banana the poet
http://banana.blog.co.uk/ – Banana waffles
http://poems-to-share.blog.co.uk/ – 'serious' poetry by Michele Brenton
http://thealternativepoetry.blog.co.uk/ – info & progress reports about my books
Oh and I forgot – I'm just about to publish the first of a seven book series of poetry. It is the Yellow edition of the Alternative Poetry Books series and contains funny poems on the odd pages and 'serious' poems on the even pages in a desperate attempt to bring balance to the unbalanced.
· Thank you so much for your time. So, Louboutin or Converse?
Oh dear :( I think I may have said everything when I admit that I had to Google this question to find out what it meant. The sort of shoes I know about are figurative shoes like the one the Old Lady in the nursery rhyme lived in and who gets a mention in my 'What's in a name?' poem or the slipper in the Cinderella story which got modernised in my 'Get Real' poem.
I am strictly about finding the most comfortable utilitarian footwear at the lowest possible price sort of person. I think my feet might actually reject designer shoes in the same way some patients reject donor organs. Then again it might be the other way round and a designer shoe would refuse to spend one nanosecond on my chubby square tootsies. Just imagine Frodo or Bilbo Baggins in a designer outlet trying on designer shoes and you should get a reasonable idea of what it might do to the fabric of the time space continuum if I were to venture into such an establishment.
· Why is there no one in the world who does it quite like you?
Because everyone else has got more sense.
· What do you really, really love about it?
I love to laugh. I love laughing more than anything. I have very little self control and have been told by my teenage son that he suspects I may have some form of comedy Tourrettes syndrome. If a joke occurs to me I have to say it. It is extremely annoying at times (not to me – I'm oblivious) and if I didn't know better I might think that I might be the secret love child of Timmy Mallett.
I can restrain myself in 'company' but not for long periods which is why I tend to be somewhat of a recluse.
Being reclusive and prone to fits of evil scary (mwahahahaha) laughter seems to fit in with writing the sort of poetry I write. It also fits in with being on the internet a lot where I can find people who kindly indulge my sad personality defects and seem to get some entertainment from it.
I have to say that I really, really love meeting new people online and sharing my silly and serious poetry with them. They are so interesting and warm and welcoming and I am incredibly grateful to them for paying attention to me and my offerings.
· A bit more time in the day, or a bit more money in the bank?
How about a LOT more money in the bank? LOL
Time in the day I have plenty of – but time in my life? I would love to be certain of a good long innings. At 47 I'm just about getting to point of knowing what I want to be when I grow up.
· Imagine you “make it”. You wake up, and imagine the day ahead. Tell us about breakfast.
As I'm imagining, I'm imagining I've 'made it' collossally. The first billionaire poet! Oh yes!
Poetry readings in packed stadiums! Ticket sales outselling Madonna! Bill Gates asking me to teach him how to write poetry so he can be truly successful!
Let me tell you about breakfast....
The light shines in through stained crystal glass
and musicians tiptoe in
playing chamber music
to signal my day's begin.
A handsome muscled stripling
bared gleaming to the waist
carries a tray of morsels
chosen carefully for my taste.
I yawn and stretch whilst sitting up
in silken gold-thread sheets,
handed a glass of chilled green tea
to sip before I eat.
My husband, already bathed and dressed
in clothes all ironed and clean
informs me that our teenage son
has gone to Aberdeen
to give a concert to his fans
who think his music rocks
and therefore won't be home for days
and neither will his socks.
I always said that huge success
would never change this bunny.
I've always been this decadent
but now I've got the money!
· What’s your Jimmy Choo? And what’s just cobblers?
My Jimmy Choo is being asked to do this interview for your blog.
Just cobblers is having a cold with a stuffed up nose and a temperature and not being able to find a cool place to put my toes in bed.
· Tell us about the last time a fan made you feel 100 feet tall.
I don't have fans. Anyone who reads my stuff and likes it – they've got me for a fan. But one lady told me that she liked reading my funny poetry because it took her mind off the chronic back pain she'd been suffering for years. That made me feel like there was a real point to what I was doing and helped me feel a little bit less irrelevant to the world.
· Independent and poor, or under contract and rich?
Independent every time. You might be under contract and have a ton of money, but in my opinion no one is rich unless they are free. I see contracts as intellectual imprisonment. I don't need money to feel rich. I just look out of the window at the view, or go for a snorkel in the afternoon.
· Do you remember that bit on Play Away where Brian Cant stood behind people and did the actions whilst they spoke? If you could choose anyone to stand behind you and do the actions to your sales pitch, who would it be and why?
Well you did say anyone, can I have God please? Failing that I'd have to say Oprah Winfrey as the next best option. They seem to be the two most influential forces on the planet and as long as it is make believe I might as well go for the best.
· Frocks or socks?
Definitely socks. But not smelly ones.
banana the poet aka Michele Brenton – was born and brought up in Swansea, South Wales and now lives on the Greek island of Kefalonia. Despite a deep seated hankering to be a 'serious' writer, she finds that the words which pour from her end up as either silly or serious poetry or lyrics. Her silly poetry is mainly rhyming observational comedy and her serious stuff worries her a little. She suspects that it might be unintentionally even funnier than the intentionally funny poetry and may be the sort of thing that 'real' poets love to read so that they can feel good about their own work.
The Great Novel she has always hoped to write stays firmly stuck on chapter ten where it is likely to remain for the rest of her life. She also has much difficulty writing about herself in the third person and is going to stop now before she frightens herself into thinking she might be developing a split personality.
I can be found on Twitter at @banana_the_poet
and on my blogs
http://poetry4fun.blog.co.uk/ – silly poetry by banana the poet
http://banana.blog.co.uk/ – Banana waffles
http://poems-to-share.blog.co.uk/ – 'serious' poetry by Michele Brenton
http://thealternativepoetry.blog.co.uk/ – info & progress reports about my books
Oh and I forgot – I'm just about to publish the first of a seven book series of poetry. It is the Yellow edition of the Alternative Poetry Books series and contains funny poems on the odd pages and 'serious' poems on the even pages in a desperate attempt to bring balance to the unbalanced.
· Thank you so much for your time. So, Louboutin or Converse?
Oh dear :( I think I may have said everything when I admit that I had to Google this question to find out what it meant. The sort of shoes I know about are figurative shoes like the one the Old Lady in the nursery rhyme lived in and who gets a mention in my 'What's in a name?' poem or the slipper in the Cinderella story which got modernised in my 'Get Real' poem.
I am strictly about finding the most comfortable utilitarian footwear at the lowest possible price sort of person. I think my feet might actually reject designer shoes in the same way some patients reject donor organs. Then again it might be the other way round and a designer shoe would refuse to spend one nanosecond on my chubby square tootsies. Just imagine Frodo or Bilbo Baggins in a designer outlet trying on designer shoes and you should get a reasonable idea of what it might do to the fabric of the time space continuum if I were to venture into such an establishment.
· Why is there no one in the world who does it quite like you?
Because everyone else has got more sense.
· What do you really, really love about it?
I love to laugh. I love laughing more than anything. I have very little self control and have been told by my teenage son that he suspects I may have some form of comedy Tourrettes syndrome. If a joke occurs to me I have to say it. It is extremely annoying at times (not to me – I'm oblivious) and if I didn't know better I might think that I might be the secret love child of Timmy Mallett.
I can restrain myself in 'company' but not for long periods which is why I tend to be somewhat of a recluse.
Being reclusive and prone to fits of evil scary (mwahahahaha) laughter seems to fit in with writing the sort of poetry I write. It also fits in with being on the internet a lot where I can find people who kindly indulge my sad personality defects and seem to get some entertainment from it.
I have to say that I really, really love meeting new people online and sharing my silly and serious poetry with them. They are so interesting and warm and welcoming and I am incredibly grateful to them for paying attention to me and my offerings.
· A bit more time in the day, or a bit more money in the bank?
How about a LOT more money in the bank? LOL
Time in the day I have plenty of – but time in my life? I would love to be certain of a good long innings. At 47 I'm just about getting to point of knowing what I want to be when I grow up.
· Imagine you “make it”. You wake up, and imagine the day ahead. Tell us about breakfast.
As I'm imagining, I'm imagining I've 'made it' collossally. The first billionaire poet! Oh yes!
Poetry readings in packed stadiums! Ticket sales outselling Madonna! Bill Gates asking me to teach him how to write poetry so he can be truly successful!
Let me tell you about breakfast....
The light shines in through stained crystal glass
and musicians tiptoe in
playing chamber music
to signal my day's begin.
A handsome muscled stripling
bared gleaming to the waist
carries a tray of morsels
chosen carefully for my taste.
I yawn and stretch whilst sitting up
in silken gold-thread sheets,
handed a glass of chilled green tea
to sip before I eat.
My husband, already bathed and dressed
in clothes all ironed and clean
informs me that our teenage son
has gone to Aberdeen
to give a concert to his fans
who think his music rocks
and therefore won't be home for days
and neither will his socks.
I always said that huge success
would never change this bunny.
I've always been this decadent
but now I've got the money!
· What’s your Jimmy Choo? And what’s just cobblers?
My Jimmy Choo is being asked to do this interview for your blog.
Just cobblers is having a cold with a stuffed up nose and a temperature and not being able to find a cool place to put my toes in bed.
· Tell us about the last time a fan made you feel 100 feet tall.
I don't have fans. Anyone who reads my stuff and likes it – they've got me for a fan. But one lady told me that she liked reading my funny poetry because it took her mind off the chronic back pain she'd been suffering for years. That made me feel like there was a real point to what I was doing and helped me feel a little bit less irrelevant to the world.
· Independent and poor, or under contract and rich?
Independent every time. You might be under contract and have a ton of money, but in my opinion no one is rich unless they are free. I see contracts as intellectual imprisonment. I don't need money to feel rich. I just look out of the window at the view, or go for a snorkel in the afternoon.
· Do you remember that bit on Play Away where Brian Cant stood behind people and did the actions whilst they spoke? If you could choose anyone to stand behind you and do the actions to your sales pitch, who would it be and why?
Well you did say anyone, can I have God please? Failing that I'd have to say Oprah Winfrey as the next best option. They seem to be the two most influential forces on the planet and as long as it is make believe I might as well go for the best.
· Frocks or socks?
Definitely socks. But not smelly ones.
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