It is always a thrill to host someone’s debut feature reading and that is exactly what SpeedPoets will be doing next Saturday. Clinton Toghill, singer-songwriter for Brisbane art rockers, The Bell Divers, is stepping out from behind the guitar for the first time and laying bare his words. As a songwriter, Toghill has received much praise, his songs described as being like
novelettes, often exploring the realities faced by those most vulnerable to the pressures of today’s world. These might include homeless vagrants, criminals, and others, whose voices can be drowned out by a world obsessed with aesthetics and status.
– from Spotlight Brisbane
So I for one can’t wait to hear him deliver a set of poems… here’s a taste of what you can expect.
TANK
Riding on this tank
I feel like God,
hosing down the phalanx
with fireworks fire,
urging on a dive
and a dance.
Friends jog
in the street beside me,
laughing like idiots,
cheering me on -
some of them chew
their nails and
burst with glee.
Later on, pieces
of me will be strewn
over the street.
Dollops of mush
everywhere.
People will rummage
through these pieces
silently,
looking for this and that.
Low murmurs.
People rummaging
through pieces of God.
*****
Clinton Toghill is the songwriter and front-man for Brisbane band The Bell Divers. As a lyricist, Clinton has been called ‘a dreamy, slightly surreal and blackly humorous storyteller’ with ‘an uncommon eye for meaning’, and his songs described as ‘novelettes’ about ‘ignored characters’. A decade spent in London has given Clinton a distinctive view on life in Australia and beyond, and his quiet observations are now stripped bare in his poetry.
Be there to experience his debut set along with the relaunch of The Outlandish Watch feat. Pascalle Burton, David Stavanger & Nathan Shepherdson
Date: Saturday July 7
Location: Brew (Lower Burnett Lane, Brisbane City)
Time: 2pm – 5:30pm
Entry: Gold Coin Donation
