The Poetry of Brian Bilston

Brian Bilston has been frequently described as the 'Poet Laureate of Twitter.' He remains a poet clouded in mystery. He possesses a Banksy type persona. Very little is known about him other than the fragments of information revealed on social media and through his poetic offerings.

In 2014 he became the first person to retain the title of Pipe Smoker of the Year [Poetry section] and, over the years, he has won numerous awards He won the 2015 Great British Write Off poetry prize for a poem disguised in a Venn diagram.

His first collection of poetry 'You Caught the Last Bus Home' has now been published. Bilston has been described as wordsmith who takes great pride in his use of language, making words dance before the reader's eyes. He is bringing poetry to the masses through social media employing topical, witty, thoughtful and very accessible poetry. Perhaps the most famous of his poems is the powerful message contained in 'Refugee.'

I have just taken receipt of his book and it meets all expectations. As an avid collector of poetry books, this book is a delightful and informative acquisition. I am an avowed Bilston fan.

Bilston's observational take on life is both entertaining and perceptive. You can find out more about the mysterious Brain Bilston by visiting: https://brianbilston.com/category/twittle-poems/

Here are three examples of the Bilston style:

POETIC LICENCE

Not being well-versed

In the world of poetry,

A pastry chef,

By the name of Geoff,

Went to purchase

A poetic licence

In order to surprise

His patrons

With chicken

And mushrhyme pies.

THERE’S A SUPERMARKET WHERE THE LIBRARY ONCE STOOD

There’s a supermarket where the library once stood.

I sometimes forget that it’s now gone for good.

Last week I asked if they had any Flaubert.

A shrug in response. ‘The cheese counter’s there.’

There’s a supermarket where the library had been.

I’ve been reading some Dhal in ‘Indian cuisine’.

No golden tickets, witches or giants, of course;

just chickpeas and lentils in a creamy spiced sauce.

There’s a supermarket where the library once was.

I had tried to hand back an old Grapes of Wrath.

Sorry, they told me, but it’s really too late,

they’ll be shrivelled and well past their best-before-date.

There’s a supermarket where the library once stood.

A Sainsbury’s Local has bulldozed my childhood.

The library had been starved of state funding, I guess.

Take books off the menu and live well for less.

AUTUMN

Poetry Inspired by Images and Objects

There are many ways pictures and photographs can be conscripted to support the writing of poetry. Allow me to share a few ideas with you: Old photographs are a great source of inspiration. Cynthia Rylant explored this idea with great success in her book 'Something Permanent' where she employed the Depression era photographs of Walker Evans to add a new voice to the starkness to the lives of people experienced under extreme circumstances. I have used this strategy to spark many individual poems. In ' I Bet There's No Broccoli On The Moon,' I used a photo I had taken in 2004 while living in New York to inspire a poem. The poem was based on a story related by a friend who grew up in New York. I regularly combined poetry and pictures in my writer's notebook, drawing on inspiration from the photograph and my personal memories. We can also utilize existing cartoons and illustrations to create ekphrastic poems. I frequently use the illustrations of Jim Pavlidis to co

Opposite Poems

O pp o s ite P oem s In his book, ' How To Write Poetry,' Paul Janeczko presents the idea of opposite poems. Paul suggests they could also be referred to as antonym poems. This is wordplay and it's fun to try. Here are some examples Paul provides to help us see very clearly how these short little poems work. I think the opposite of chair Is sitting down with nothing there What is the opposite of kind? A goat that butts you from behind Paul Janeczko You will notice the poems are written in rhyming couplets. They can be extended so long as you remember to write in couplets. Paul shows us how this is done. What is the opposite of new? Stale gum that's hard to chew A hot-dog roll as hard as rock Or a soiled and smelly forgotten sock You might notice that some of Paul's opposite Poems begin with a question. The remainder of the poem answer the question posed. Opposite poems are a challenge, but it is a challenge worth trying. Not e

Powerful Poetry, 'Refugees' by Brian Bilston

This week, Poetry Friday is hosted by Janice Scully @ Salt City Verse where Janice shares some original words and offers us a taste of Thomas Carlyle to ponder. I encourage you to join a host of poets from all around the globe and visit Janice's page... Almost two years to the day, I wrote a post featuring the poem 'Refugees' by Brian Bilston. The poem was included in Brian's first book of poetry, 'You Took The Last Bus Home.' A very powerful Reverso poem and technically brilliant. A Reverso poem can be read from top to bottom or bottom to top. It will often express opposite opinions depending on which way you read it. Such poems really make us think. A Reverso poem is like a picture turned upside down, a frowning face upended to reveal a smiling one. The poem read in reverse, contradicts itself with an opposing message. In 'Refugee' Brian Bilston focuses on a societal issue that tends to polarize feelings and the opposing views are clearly in eviden

Molly Hogan12 October 2018 at 20:55
Oh, I can see why you're an avowed fan. He's wonderful! So clever and playful, but also deep, or as you said, "perceptive." Thanks so much for the introduction. I think it's going to be the beginning of a beautiful relationship!
laurasalas15 October 2018 at 00:29
Hahaha--awesome! Makes me think of Kenn Nesbitt and Brod Bagert. Thanks for the introduction!
Michelle Kogan17 October 2018 at 11:34
Loved the wordplay/spunky ending in his last poem, thanks Alan!

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