WE live in an era of incredibly bland and depressing popular culture - think of (most) American films, the fashion industry, pappy girlbands and boybands, make-over shows on telly, Hollyoaks and all the art-whores who thrive on grants of wasted public money.
Think of them and puke. Go on, it's an understandable reaction.
Think too of the waste of creative resources that goes into advertising fashion labels and retail brands - and all the soul-shrivellling consumer addictions they have created.
Think of WAGS and wannabe-WAGS who totter around the faux-trendy bars of Liverpool. It is all such an awful scene, spoiled by too much money and not enough education.
Think of the generation of graphic and digital "artists", not to mention all the poxy "designers", PR tarts and logo-launchers, and you'll quickly realise that true artistic spirit is dead in mainstream cultural terms...
Look at the internet - a potentially marvellous tool for creative people, and yet it is dominated by nerds in anoraks, masturbating porn addicts, and people who think starling presentation is all that matters, even though the process of making all those whizz-bang images kills art stone dead.
Never fear though. Real art is alive in the hearts of countless millions of people who are moved by words, shapes, sounds and images of great beauty but are denied public expression.
Those people represent the future - hopefully a future free of influence from the international infotainment industry which has done so much to destroy beauty and culture around the world.
I can only play a small part in the battle to get back to proper art, and that is in the field of poetry.
I am trying to reach new writers and old to the new poetry club I'm setting up to meet the first Monday of each month at the LIttle Brighton pub (the Ginny), Rowson Street, New Brighton.
I am particulalry keen to attract new writers as well as old poets who fancy getting their creative juices flowing again.
The club, which will meet in a private room at the pub, will be called The Bards of New Brighton. The first meeting will be on Monday, March 5, starting at 9pm. Anyone would be welcome to come along and read their stuff.
The motto of The Bards of New Brighton will be the words that I have put in the headline to this posting, as they aptly sum up what ought to motivate true artistic spirit in these embattled times for creative people, namely ...
"Make something beautiful every day, break the rules, and try to WIN!"
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Birkenhead Dave wrote...
Good luck with the Bards of New Brighton Steve, and maybe the odd (hopefully not too odd!) Birkenhead influence will be allowed in the Ginny occasionally. I agree with you that art and poetry has been debased by popular culture, it fails to inspire even a flicker of immagination, and as for passion, well don't disburb my dreams they are far more interesting. How did it go so flat? Probably there are many reasons, but I believe that many artists cannot inflame passion or stir immagination because they are too focused on themselves and their fame or lack of it. They don't want to put any effort into their work, and expect unquestioning acclaim. As a former teacher, I depaired at the attitude of students who thought it was their right to have a degree, they would say "when I get my degree" or "why have I not got a first class honours" when told their work did not merit it, they would complain until they got what they wanted. So keep up the good work and hope to see you in the Ginny.
*** Cheers, Dave, and thanks for the words of encouragement. SR.
Posted by: Birkenhead Dave | February 5, 2007 4:09 PM