Poet, songwriter, performer. Former front man for various punk bands with several LPs to his name. Writes in English and in French and translates poetry from/via French. Now concentrates on writing longer pieces which he performs with electronic soundscapes and live music at international poetry festivals.
The poem ‘City State of Athens: Policy document for the preservation of the Ship of Theseus’ won second prize in Suffolk Poetry Society’s Crabbe Poetry Competition 2023.
City state of Athens:
Policy document for the preservation of the Ship of Theseus
1 Uplift the nails.
Extract the nails one at a time, keeping the structure in place.
Melt down the metal to make ammunition to use against the demonstrators.
2 Uplift the decking.
Take up the planks one at a time, replacing each one with a replica.
Use the wood to make coffins for those killed by government troops.
3 Uplift the sails.
Take down the sails one at a time, replacing each one with a replica.
Use the cloth to make shrouds for the dead.
4 Uplift the rigging.
Take down the masts one at a time, replacing each one with a replica.
Cut the masts into poles to make handles for the pallbearers.
5 Uplift the oars.
Take out the oars one at a time, replacing each one with a replica.
Shape them into tools to dig the graves.
6 Consider:
Now is it still the Ship of Theseus?
7 Scrub and scour the surfaces to get rid of the memory of the abused and abandoned women:
7.1 Ariadne
7.2 Phaedra
7.3 Hippolyte
7.4 Antiope
7.5 Helen of Troy
7.6 Anaxo
7.7 Periboea
7.8 Aegle
7.9 Peregune
7.10 Xenodita
Roger West