Guest post by David Riley.
The
pedant sat beside me. I didn’t know he was a pedant at the time but forgive me
for jumping ahead. I drank my beer, tried to watch the sports channel.
“Tell
me what you know on poetry about comic strips.” I knew it was him wheezing the
question; I tried to stay calm, didn’t blurt out denials about being involved
in that dirty poetry habit. All in all I thought I’d taken it kinda well.
“Who
wants to know?” I didn’t take my eyes off the screen.
“Let’s
start with me.” Then I noticed he was wearing winklepickers. Anyone who’d get
his own toes to cosy up to each other was no man to trifle with. “Poems and
comic strips have a lot in common,” I began to waffle. “Comic strips are sorta
like Haiku, compressed poems. Also, you got maybe four panes to tell your story.
Pictures and words.” Out of the corner of his eye I could see him using a
toothpick. I drank some beer, played for time.
“Or
no words at all. People have to interpret the pictures. Like poetry, see?” I
was pleased with that one. He began playing with the toothpick, running it
finger to finger like a silver dollar.
“Or
if they use words in strips, the drawer – writer – has to decide where to put
them on the page. Like poets have to decide how to put their words in lines.”
That should hold the old guy. I felt smug, took my beer. He snapped the
toothpick.
“You’re
making me tense, kid.”
“Surely
that’s right,” I said in a rush, “there’s a lot of overlap between poems and
comic strips…” His right winklepicker began to tap. In overdrive. “What did I
ask you?”
I
whimpered.
“I
asked what you know on poetry about comic strips. You got an F kid.”
“But…but…”
“You’ve
told me how they might be alike. Poems and comic strips. I know one about them.
Liz Lockhead, Scotch guy. Look it up why dontcha?”
“I
will. I’ll do that.”
“One
poem. One measly poem. What does that tell ya son?”
I
bibbled.
“Think
there’s any more? Maybe your friends know? Answers on a post card. Or in a
comments box near you.” I don’t think I’ve seen the last of the pedant.
3 comments:
I love the way you draw your audience straight into your world David. So easy and natural.
David,
It's always a pleasure to see you on here. Thanks for approaching this week's theme with such an innovative eye.
Ash
Winklepickers, eh? Them shits is worse than cowboy boots for being downright uncomfortable. To look at a grown man wearing them, that is. In my part of the world, both styles are generally considered effete. Whatevs, though, yes?
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