Retford had a book festival a few months ago. For many of you, the first question on your mind will be: Retford? What’s a Retford? Well, it’s a small Nottinghamshire market town close to the edge of Sherwood Forest. And, for over 30 years, it’s been my home.
So it was a pleasure to be part of the book festival, and good to catch up with other authors. One writer I’ve known for a good length of time 
is Paul Cookson. Paul is a poet, with a significant back-catalogue to draw on and connections in a lot of great places.
I remember, many years ago, he wanted to include some lyrics from Merry Christmas Everybody in a poem he was writing. At the time, he mentioned to me that he’d written to Slade to ask permission. As his favourite band, he was excited about the idea, but probably nervous about the response he’d get. I didn’t hear the outcome back then but, a few years later, learned he was now considered to be the Slade Poet Laureate! There ended up being a lot more than one poem related to Slade.
He has many other claims to fame but, as someone who had the joy of seeing Slade live a few times, this is the story that resonates with me.
Poetry, though? Not really my cup of tea. I’m more of a prose kind of guy, and preferably something thrillerish. And yet, after watching Paul perform at the festival, I was intrigued by the concept of this book.
Let’s share the blurb:
At the start of the coronavirus lockdown, Paul Cookson set out to write a poem a day – and kept on going.
Featuring his opening five hundred poems, Volume One is an authentic and poetic discourse on the mood of the nation, composed with compassion, humour, and adroit takes on the day to day of life throughout challenging times.
I’ll be amazed if I’d read more than fifty poems in my whole life up until this summer. Over the last couple of months, though, I’ve managed another five hundred – and enjoyed them. Having said that, I did have mixed feelings. There were moments when I found myself revisiting emotions I hadn’t felt for four years. Because this idea of writing a poem a day means that many of those poems are informed by events that took place on or just before that day. Some of them are general, everyday events, but they are in the minority. Which is inevitable, I guess, since that time of Covid and lockdowns was like no other we’ve experienced in our lifetimes. And reading about some of those extraordinary events and – more often than not – their terrible mismanagement, brought back frustrations I’d felt at the time.
That’s not to say that the poems are all filled with frustration (though quite a few are, and anger crops up too!), but they do bring the memories back. Looking back on it now, it’s hard to imagine exactly what it was like to go through the Covid experience – limited contact with family and friends, queueing outside supermarkets, mask-wearing, lack of traffic on the roads. Some things have changed in the aftermath, but mostly we are back to how we were before it happened.
So reading these poems was a useful reminder. A reminder of the changes endured, but also of some of the terrible – almost laughable if the consequences hadn’t been so serious – decisions made by our so-called leaders. And, for me anyway, it was good to be reminded. If anything, this feels like required reading for anyone who feels complacent about such a situation arising again. There are many experts who predict it will one day. We just have to hope that lessons have been learnt and a similar crisis will be managed so much better. I’m not optimistic.
The use of poetry allows the reader to reflect on those events in a way that is human and touches the soul – which isn’t what will eventually come from the ongoing covid enquiry.
I read this book every morning for a couple of months, probably covering between five and ten poems a day. If I’d tried to read it all in one go, I wouldn’t have been able to savour the words, the impact of each story that was shared. And I wouldn’t have had time to rant to my partner about the various events and actions I’d almost forgotten about but was reminded of.
If you are ever unsure about what the fuss was about, if you ever want a reminder of how badly things were managed, if you ever want to reflect on how lucky you were to come out the other side, this is a book I can strongly recommend. And, if like me, you think poetry’s not for you, try this book anyway. With the many different forms of poetry used – and I now know there are many different forms – there is a variety in the length and rhythm. But, most important of all, it has shown me that poetry can both entertain and make you feel at the same time.
Or maybe that’s just Paul Cookson.
If I have piqued your interest in the book and you want to know more, click on the image below.
