As quirky events go, an event I participated in a few weeks ago in Paris, organized by Paris Lit Up
was certainly right up there in terms of full blown quirkiness. It was a part of the global 100 Thousand Poets for Change movement.
A gathering of poets had to complete a poem in a hundred seconds, if not they would be
ignominiously cut off with the sound of a musical instrument and jeers (well not quite this excessive) from the audience.
Poets would passionately read from their phones or books or scraps of paper. There were some interesting poems, on a range of subjects, including love that had sour, a bitter revenge poem.
The venue had been double booked and and the poets who had bravely turned up to participate, were joined by some Goths, who were putting up an exhibition and milling about in their black attire. There was a slight clash of culture, but the two groups managed to tolerate each other. A rota of poets were called, some spoke in French and there were other languages besides, standing on a window sill in front of an animated audience.
When this poetic onslaught needed a break, the participants could venture outside, to the noise of a busy Parisian street, with motorbikes tearing at breakneck speeds and eat carrot cake, provided by the organizers, who had previously engaged in a flurry of baking.
We left with a feeling of having enjoyed listening to other people’s work as well as being happy to be given the chance to share our poems.
Francis H Powell author 