HONEST by SCOTT TYRRELL.
Honest features all of Scott's warmth, wit and frank openness delivered with the bittersweet edge of a middle-aged creative who may be having a mid-life crisis or an existential revelation. With dad jokes and badgers. And buttons.
- Amazon.co.uk Blurb
They clarified things with their
it's-not-happening-till-you-do-thisness.
They said I could do better with their
are-you-leaving-it-like-thatness.
They made me do better with their
you'll-stay-there-till-its-doneness.
Mr T's Memorable Moment; Those Women (Pg 26)
They clarified things with their
it's-not-happening-till-you-do-thisness.
They said I could do better with their
are-you-leaving-it-like-thatness.
They made me do better with their
you'll-stay-there-till-its-doneness.
Mr T's Memorable Moment; Those Women (Pg 26)
SOURCE ... Purchased on-line.
READ FOR A CHALLENGE? ... No applicable.
MR T'S THOUGHTS ... Having heard Scott live several times I have looked forward to this collection for a while and have not been disappointed. Not sure I'm quite there with the blurb describing him as middle-aged, he is after all several years younger than me and the 20 year old in my head resists that appellation for myself still.
Honest is just that. A refreshing, reflective retrospective on the quixotic expectations of masculinity, fatherhood; a paean to family, children and the influence of women in men's lives, with some darker reflections on society and politics providing a keener edge.
Intro aside the opener If We're Being Honest, frames the collection introducing the collections themes with frankness and courage that lifts expectation, before plunging into questions of being and self, summed up in A Letter To Identity. Those women I found to be a favourite piece as I could identify strongly with it from my own life and suspect the majority of Northern men, being honest, would also. Blue Badge Of Honour I have heard performed live by Scott and again touches reflections on my own life very much and the micro-aggressions experienced by disabled people in their lives as well as being a very personal tribute from Scott. The Right Dreams and Prayer For The Selfish prick the political conscience with What Do you Talk About and Echoes expressing the increasingly woeful nature of political debate in this country. the final piece I would mention is What It Is for no other reason than that, what it is.
Reflective, confessional, celebratory, joyous and silly, communitarian and relational. Get a copy and read it, especially blokes who think poetry is for girls.
- Neal Terry
(September 2018)
To find out more about poetry Slam Champion Scott Tyrrell click here & to read my thoughts on his first book, Grown Up, click here. TT
To find out more about poetry Slam Champion Scott Tyrrell click here & to read my thoughts on his first book, Grown Up, click here. TT
