An invitation to participate in a poetry reading in Cape Town

Robin Malan, Editor of English Alive

A message to anybody who has published in English Alive:

As promised at the launch of the 2011 English Alive, Karin Schimke and Hugh Hodge (who run the regular Off The Wall poetry readings in the city) have set aside an evening for English Alive poets to read their work! Here are the details:

– Who: Any contributor to English Alive who is still at school or one year out

– When:  8 p.m. on Monday 5 December (Monday of the last week of Term 4)

– Where: A Touch of Madness restaurant in Observatory, in Nuttal Road, opposite Pepper Square (which is behind the Station Road Spar)

– For how long: the featured slot (that’s you all) is the first 40 minutes of the evening. Then there’s a break, and then an Open Mike session. You can leave at the break, if you like, around 8.45 p.m.

– Transport: you will need to arrange this

– What: Only poems can be read, not prose pieces. I suggest you select one poem or two poems (not more) to read.

– How: Caitlin Tonkin has offered to organise the EA event. Her email address is caitlin.tonkin@gmail.com . So please let Caitlin know you will take part; let her have the title(s) of your poem(s); keep in touch with her about how you are getting there, etc. She will keep in touch with you about the reading-order, and so on.

Hope you will take this opportunity to get your work out there among people who care about poetry and who want to hear you.

Robin Malan, Editor

I ♥

English Alive

 English in the dock:

   A courtroom drama:

   The murder of the English 

   Language,

   or the Accusative Case

PROSECUTOR:  Are you Very Quickly, Adverbial Phrase?

ACCUSED: I am.

PROSECUTOR: Very Quickly, you are accused of splitting an infinitive. How do you plead, guilty or not guilty?

ACCUSED: Not guilty, not guilty.

P: A double negative …  Then how would you explain your past imperfect?

A: I was going through an awkward phrase. There’s no substantive proof. Now and then I just colon friends for a quick imperative before lunch.

P: Is that all?

A: Well, no. There is rather a pretty feminine gender in the case, a Miss Pronunciation, who lives in Suffix with her grammar and grampa.

P: When was your first dative?

A: I met her at a participle. There she was supining in a passive mood; she’s superlative, absolutely pluperfect.

P: Mr Quickly, would I be correct in this preposition that you were aiming at an unlawful conjugation with this feminine gender? Answer the interrogative – how far did you get?

A: I made a pause at her, but she declined. She said her parentheses would object.  Anyway, she’s about to become a noun.

P: Was this neuter you?

A: Affirmative.

P: Thank you. What nationality is she?

A: Italic.

P: Mr Quickly, you’re in quite a predicate I can tell you. Officer, put him in brackets. You are also accused of, evasion of syntax. Off with his prefix!

Adapted from BBC Radio – many years ago.