Roddy Doyle is an Irish novelist and comedic writer behind such books and films as The Barrytown Trilogy and Paddy Clarke Ha Ha Ha. Doyle’s style is unique in that it blends elements of scriptwriting with traditional prose and, for the most part, forgoes the use of quotation marks. This is ironic as the majority of his novels are conversations, reported colloquial dialogue that is at times absurdist, hilarious and also incredibly true to life. I tried to take a stab at this style. The following poem I nicked almost word for word from a conversation with my grandmother and the style…well, I nicked that from Roddy Doyle.
Changing Plans
-There’s the big shower on now.
-Jesus Christ.
-No, I don’t think it was him.
-He’s he one with the keys.
-That’s a fair point.
-Trying to show off so he is.
-You think?
-He’s nothing better to be at. I’ll not get up to the cathedral in that weather.
-There’s a brolly in the boot. What do you want to go to the cathedral for anyway?
-I’ve to light a candle and pay St Anthony.
-Did you lose something?
-Your Auntie Evelyn. Did you see her anywhere on your travels?
-Now Granny, you know Auntie Evelyn is away up to heaven, don’t you?
-I know, but she comes to see me sometimes. She sits in that armchair, and she doesn’t say one word to me the whole time.
-Why break the habits of a lifetime, eh? Sure, wouldn’t she sit there and watch you and Auntie Rita have a drink after the bingo?
-She did. God, that’s fierce weather now. It’s very dark.
-It is very overcast out there, alright. Shall we give the cathedral a miss today?
-Aye, maybe I’ll get down sometime next week.
-Maybe we will.
Nature poetry. For too long, it’s been the domain of soft-focus sentimentality: predictable scenes of meadows, rivers, and, yes, even gliding gulls.
As 2024 draws to a close, it’s impossible not to marvel at how much has been accomplished in just one year. This
Call for Submissions: Glow: City at Night Poems The Broken Spine is excited to announce that submissions for our latest slimline anthology,
The Broken Spine is a poetry and arts collective proudly published on the coastal edge of North-West England. Founded in 2019 by Alan Parry and Paul Robert Mullen – two school friends reunited after twenty years through a mutual love of poetry.
