Sunday, October 21, 2007

Poets in Velvet

My wife doesn’t read much poetry, but devours novels – hundreds each year of all kinds. She indulges, now and again, in a spot of chick-lit. At the moment, she’s reading a book called The Chocolate Lovers’ Club by Carole Matthews.

On page 183 of this novel is the following paragraph:

The poetry book that’s being launched is an anthology and I notice that there are several of the contributors mingling nervously with the guests. You can tell that they’re poets as they’re wearing mainly velvet clothing with lots of scarves and some of them have on jaunty hats.

Velvet? Lots of scarves (inside!)? Jaunty hats? Does that description scream 'poet' to you?

To be honest, she could probably spot the poets far more easily by those who'd start re-arranging her first sentence to read:

The launch is for a poetry anthology and I notice several contributors mingling nervously with the guests.

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

Rob, you've hit upon one of my pet hates: popular novelists who have no discernable talent for prose.

As per usual, I shall be wearing my sombrero to the reading on the 4th.

ABJ

Aisha said...

Rob,
Been ages. Beginning to miss PFFA and poetry-- and still MONTHS to go till NaPoWriMo.

I know chick lit = cliche, but THAT is too easy: that writer (funny though she may be) needs to get out more, to poetry readings by normal people like us. SLightly anal people, granted but no velvet. Scruff is me for instance. A poet and wouldntcha knowit.

Anne said...

You'd think she'd bother to do some research. Anyway, it's usually the guests that are nervous at these gigs, rather than the poets.

Heh! Beware the iron fist of poetry!

Ms Baroque said...

You can tell they're poets are they're wearing mostly motheaten old T shirts, excepot for those who are wearing pinstriped suits, and some of them have on porkpie hats; and by the way they are mingling only at the bar, nervously trying to get a drink in on somebody else's round.

Ms Baroque said...

Oops, sorry te typos. Late for work & trying to be sarcastic in a hurry...