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2014 Pushcart Prize nominee. (more)

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True life stories and a little behind the scenes


July 2013

The final Caged Without Walls post in this, the promotional first month of it's release.







          Many true life incidents are recorded in some way in Caged Without Walls. One such example, is The really important stuff.

Most of the incidents were from news stories of the time when I wrote it early September 2012. The bus crash occurred in a small town in New South Wales. The balcony incident in Sydney. Bryce Courtney had been diagnosed with terminal cancer. Julia Gilliard's father died. You get the point.

The poem first appeared in the Vine Leaves Literary Journal as the very last piece in Issue 5.



The really important stuff


A young Australian man mixes
Booze
With a balcony
Doesn't make it to daybreak.

A Canadian backpacker gets lost
In south east Asia
After a bar hammering
She wanders into the wrong area
Is robbed, bashed and raped.

In a big country town
A bus collides with a small truck
It’s a school bus
Both drivers are shaken
Only
An eight year old boy is dead.

An eighty year old author has cancer
A politician’s parent is dead
A sporting star is insulted
A man is stabbed eight times
For twenty two dollars.

There’s a fashion show coming up
A franchise movie sequel is out
With that controversial star
Who had sex
Or drove a red light
Or something.
A hundred thousand people
Are affected by a new government policy
On disability allowances
Made by a half mad new premier
Who was in the right place
When the crowd grew tired
Of the last mob.
     
Fuel prices are down this week
We should take advantage.
Houses aren't selling again
Fickle market.
An elephant gives birth
In a zoo
The people go to work
And read the paper
And eagerly flip their smart screens.


No witty conclusions
Just another day.


   





C.W.W. - Behind the scenes but on the floor.


A book in progress

      
      I took this photograph as a record when I had finally worked out the poems I wanted to submit as a book and also in the order I wanted them in. It was a process of culling and being able to shift them around visually to make sure they worked with one another, and perhaps, in some way, create a flow, if not a broad narrative. I simply found it too hard to do it effectively on a computer. 

To order Caged Without Walls, please contact myself or the publisher.
Also available from Abbeys in Sydney and Readings in Melbourne. (Now available on my website).

My Books



Coming in August,

The 7 Pillars of Love.

See you then lovebirds.





Photo used by permission, many thanks to Tedy Tung
















She wondered how her life had come to this...



One of my favourite poems of mine. I'm proud of this one.





Flip-Flop




It was windy though not cold.
She was grumpy but not mad.
She hung out the washing but it was not wet.
She put on the kettle but there was no plug.
She sighed but was not depressed.
She sat but was not tired.
It was getting dark but it was still day.





Her body ached but she was not old.
She wondered how her life had come to this 
     but was not surprised.
She had fought for liberation in her youth 
      but was not a feminist.
She had wanted to belong ... but felt rejected.


She said she would never marry but she did.
She said she would never capitulate to a man 
    but she begged him to love her.
She said she would sooner die than have children…     yet she had four.
She had surrounded herself with family 
    yet felt alone.

She said she was a child of God 
    but did not ascribe to any religion.
She felt like she was on trial 
    but had committed no crime.
She had had enough of it all 
     but couldn't give up.
She began crying though was not overwhelmed with sorrow.


She let the tears fall 
     though could have prevented them.
She didn't know what to do 
     but was determined.
She stood up, though her legs ached.
And got on with her day.


She was a set of contradictions.

Like You and I.





More Poetry


My Books









     One of the oldest poems from Caged Without Walls, Flip-Flop was written in late 2009. It is simple yet I assume hits home as people still comment to me about it. It first appeared publicly on my site in March 2010. Unlike many of the poems in the book, it is not based on personal experience or a true story. When I wrote it, I imagined a woman in an dilapidated mediaeval building, not too unlike the photo above, despite some modernist aspects.

I hope you liked it.





Coming in August,

       a new video series, 7 Pillars of Love, comprising 7 short videos over the course of the month... for those with optimism grasped tightly in hand, despite the odds...  


    As they say... Hope Springs Eternal...



Depression - An old unwanted friend




   A bad day...

              or a bad life?






Me Old Mate


Depression and anxiety
Old friends of mine
Before they became so common
That everyone wanted to know them
And they lost all their meaning
A couple of old trollups
Betraying their regulars.

Someone fails a test
Gets into an argument
Has a flat day
And calls it melancholy.

I’m sure there’s plenty
Who have more shit in their heads
Than I,
But the whole affair
Has been trivialised
Gone viral
Mass marketed
The designers are wealthy
Everyone’s on a kick back
Except for the sad bastards
On their backs
Like me.

Sure, it’s a little easier
Smooth & Even
Like a tan polished floor
And I’m guess I’m happy enough
But sometimes
When I don’t see it coming

I miss the old days.






Me Old Mate first appeared in Issue 13 of Crack the Spine in early 2012. It is also included in my debut collection, Caged Without Walls out now through Ginninderra Press. Approximately 15% of the poems in the book have appeared before, spread throughout different sites and publications. 

Three audio poems come with the book, emailed through myself. You can buy it through me but if you go through the publisher, let me know and I will send the poems your way. Two of them are not in the book. All are read by Sydney Poetry guru, Jack Peck.
anthonyjlangford2@yahoo.com.au


Caged Without Walls Trailer. 






Now available at Readings in Melbourne.
Also Abbeys in Sydney.

(As a side note, a major chain rejected me because I wasn't famous enough).


In August, I will be presenting a video series called The 7 Pillars of Love - seven short videos spread throughout the month. For all you romantics hopefuls and sufferers out there. 

See you soon.
Cheers