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Days Like These: An Alternative Guide to the Year in 366 Poems

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Facebook decided I should see Brian Bilston's poetry posts. They are so fun & fresh--and most were from this book. Does more mean worse? I think it’s fair to say the collection is uneven - much like the days of the year. For every public holiday there are a dozen drizzly Thursdays. Some are short and feel more dutiful than inspired. The most successful poems all spring from inner compulsion. His favourite themes are the awfulness of Tory politicians, the unexpected perspective, and moral responsibility. ‘Independence Day’ is his secret manifesto with its call to ‘form the independent republic of myself’ free from inept governments, influencers, pedants and queue-jumpers. He likes the overlooked and the snubbed. ‘The Clown Next Door’ sets out to redeem the image of its subject from horror films. ‘Love My Tinder’ is a forlorn love letter from the dating app itself; ‘The Iceberg Cometh’ is the mea culpa of the Titanic’s killer told directly to the audience. Queueing for an Ice Cream (6th June) – a fine example of Bilston’s autobiographical efforts, focusing on his grandad’s D-Day memories. November, International Men's Day (also World Toilet Day). “ Bear Wrestling” is a humorous fantasy against toxic masculinity. Watts has, for the past 45 years, been one of the UK’s most singular poetic voices. A friend and influence on WG Sebald, Watts has forged connections between cultures and countries, finding the common humanity – sometimes even rapture – between us. It has been hard to get hold of his work, so this selection is welcome. His primary concern is how the language we need to truly express ourselves is always out of reach, yet we must keep trying to speak: “Not that there is a gate to be climbed / through in my lyric – / but what is a poem if not an opening / onto an open field”. This is a wonderful way to get to know a wonderful poet.

I decided I needed to buy this title, and I'm glad I did. It's harder to find in the US than in Bilston's native England, so I got the ebook version. Days Like These is a triumph that I felt could be more triumphant but that is quite forgivable. I recommend it to fans of Bilston's verse and those who would like to read an amusing and/or thought-provoking poem every day of the coming year.The book starts on 1 January, but was published late October, and I'm starting on 9 November 2022, when I went to an event where Bilston read many of his poems and talked a little about himself. He did it with dry humour, as he mostly read humorous poems. However, the book includes at least one of his more political ones, which I reviewed a few months earlier: Refugees, HERE. November, Enid Blyton died. “ The Final Famous Five Books” tells a story by successive titles: “ Five Go Hang-Gliding Together / Four Attempt a Spot of Whitewater Rafting / Three Go to Guantanamo Bay / Two Experiment with Crystal Meth / One is a Good Boy, a Really Good Boy”. The Mysterious Affair at Styles by Agatha Christie is one of many amazing Agatha Christie books. Originally published in 1920, The Mysterious Affair at Styles was a wonderful production. This collection seems to be designed to be read across any contemporary year, presumably day by day. There are poems here that are very much about COVID and Conservative government which I suspect will date it in years to come, but Days Like These still caters to all poetic tastes including cheeky couplets, familiar forms, reinterpreted song lyrics and personal free verse. While I didn't enjoy every poem he shares in this collection, I did appreciate Bilston's consistent sense of humour and eye for wordplay.

A poem a day for a year, written to fit something related to the day, whether historic, strange, or silly, as explained in a paragraph before each one. December, Emperor Nero born. Roman history in verse, “ Julio-Claudian Clerihews”. For example, “ Augustus Caesar, / a formidable geezer, / stamped out civil wars and riots. / He loved a bit of pax and quiet.”. Each poem is inspired by a significant – often curious – event associated with that day: from Open an Umbrella Indoors Day to the day on which New York banned public flirting; from the launch of the Rubik’s Cube to the first appearance of the phrase, ‘the best thing since sliced bread’. Since then he has set himself the task of writing a poem a day for each day of the year. This is more flexible than it sounds - poems about the Ides of March, Halloween and Remembrance Day jostle next to poems about historical events both big and small - the Boston Tea Party, the birth of King Canute (title: ‘Not Reigning but Drowning’), the release of Abbey Road, and the day the first loaf of sliced bread was sold. January, world’s first underground railway opened. It was the Metropolitan Line, but “ Love Notes from the Underground” comprises puns using stations on many different Tube lines. “ Hainault, I wasn’t Holborn yesterday / and I know you like Stanmore than me / but don’t let our futures be Edgeware, or leave me Barking up the wrong tree. / It’s true, I may not be a Richmond / but you can Bank on me.”When it comes to accommodation in Scotland, there's a fantastic choice of amazing stays from luxury hotels to glamping getaways.

November, King Canute died. “ Not Reigning but Drowning” is a parody of Stevie Smith's famous verse. Voted the best crime novel ever written by the Crime Writers’ Association: “ B reathless reading from first to the unexpected last.”— The Observer Each poem is inspired by a significant - often curious - event associated with that day: from Open an Umbrella Indoors Day to the day on which New York banned public flirting; from the launch of the Rubik's Cube to the first appearance of the phrase, 'the best thing since sliced bread'. A brilliant way to brighten each day. In this playful, innovative collection, Brian Bilston writes a poem to accompany every day of the year.November, Shakespeare's wedding anniversary. A possible clerical error in the paperwork inspired Marriage Vows for the Uncommitted. It starts, “ I pledge my undying love to you, / Insofar as it's possible to guarantee anything these days.”

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