#simon mole

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04.07.21

Poetry Party with Simon Mole and Gecko 12pm and 3pm at Stephen’s House and Gardens in North London

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London Liming- On Tilt + Chill Pill FT. Simon Mole, Deanna Rodger and Raymond Antrobus

Procrastination is the devil gives birth to patience. Undoubtedly, if you have put something off for three years, supremely so if that something is for leisure activity, you are likely to become patient about taking the initiative to do it.

My 'thing' was attending a poetry event. And so, due to unforeseen circumstances entangling my friends birthday outing and a cough she had, I found myself last Thursday all dressed up with nowhere to go.

I am glad my patience and procrastination paid dividends. Heading out the door, into a blustery and wet London Thursday evening, I bottled it over to Rich Mix in Shoreditch to attend London Liming.

Liming is the act of standing around, sharing stories in a relaxed environment. Usually with food. I did not know this when I headed off to the On Tilt and Chill Pill hosted event, yet walking in you could feel the idea in the air. John Agard, in all his magnetic glory, informed us new and old Limers that it is a 'Caribbean thing'. And there was food, too.

We certainly Limed. We laughed; I didn't see anybody cry but the room certainly tensed up at certain moments, the way it only can when eager disciples of those on a public stage recite and speak true, from the heart.

For the purposes of not over stretching the procrastination in me, or the concentration in you, I am going to digitally applaud every single performer from London Liming. There wasn't a single performer who did not in some ways say or beat out a rhythm across every one's experiences.

For me, it was the Chill Pill collective and the headliners, John Agard and Jessica Care Moore, who ripped the lid off my sensibilities.

Chill Pill came first; Simon Mole, Deanna Rodger and Raymond Antrobus. They claim that Deanna chose the name, perhaps as a way to help her establish ground amongst the male presence in her collective, however her poetry is flawless and introspective.

She is outside confines of the slam poet's rhythm, and yet within the tale-establishing journey-feel inducing realms which compose the spoken-word scene of the Urban Today. Her stand-out poem, 'How to be a Feminist' is a composition of controlled contradictions between the apparent radical and hidden wants and needs of a woman. It sounds like a discovery, a feminist beginning, perhaps the notes Tolkien might have made if he was writing Bilbo as a woman, because Rodger's poem is epic.

Any woman who has lived will know the pains of searching for their roots. 'How to be a Feminist' collects the confounding confusion of such ideas.

 Love women,

Who own their bodies and their rights and their homes,

And their cars or their bus pass.

Let your arm hair grow through,

Shave and wax and epillate when the friction becomes an irritant...

(Deanna Rodger)

The only criticism one might have for Deanna is that she explains herself too fully before she begins the poem. That isn't because she's at fault, but the poem does attack some of the more radical feminist ideologies present in our society. 'How to be a Feminist' is a work of modern, female-journey, art. And there is nothing to explain for being confused about the bursting difference in feminist ideas.

A massive nod to Raymond Antrobus, whose poems made me feel similar to the way I felt when I first watched the poeticism of Spirited Away; his use of music mirrors his stories, but it is his voice of calm and serene reflections which harbors the connectedness of audience member and performer that seems rarely used in the post-modernist scene.

Simon Mole, you made me dizzy. Your poetry, a rapid compilation of dialectical formula both funny and charmingly striking. Without doubt, an incredibly talented performer, who sees insight; he not only has it, he can see it and like Monet he can paint a picture to give an impression of what it is he sees. His poem about his grandfather was both humorous and grounding, but it seems that for the Chill Pill collective, that is their essence.

Less contradiction, more connection.

Part Two featuring Jessica Care Moore and John Agard coming soon.

[fitzgeraldhonger]

Being born is the biggest surprise you’re ever going to have. I think the audience of Indiana Jones and the extra chair had a close second. A big round of applause have to go to the young poets, as...

A link to the marketing work I did on SImon Mole's 'Indiana Jones and the extra chair' at the southbank centre. For this position I had to write blog post and run the twitter account generating interest for the project. 

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Simon Mole - Rebel Rebel