McAllister's Mates Six
An ongoing series of reviews of some of the wonderful articles, poems, and stories I’ve discovered on Substack and more importantly the beautiful souls behind the works.
Please take a few moments to read the works of these authors and if you find their work as life-affirming and life changing as I do, then please let them know. We need to support and cherish these voices.
You can meet some of my other friends in the previous installments: 5 4 3 2 1
If you want to keep me in caffeine (and keep the ghostly voices whispering for the poetry side of things) - consider clicking below. For any who do so, you have my deepest gratitude.
This short finds a unique space between poetry's grand metaphors and sharp, observant prose. The style reminds me of Jack Vance, one of my favourite fantasy authors. However, unlike Vance's flights into science fiction and fantasy wonderlands, this piece grounds its romance in a real world setting.
The beautiful descriptions of a nature trail violated by carelessly discarded rubbish dovetail perfectly with the character's emotional states.
Two lovers cross the landscape. Their blissful passions intruded upon by niggling doubts and worries. Perhaps financial troubles or fear of a world that doesn't understand them intrude upon their tender moment. They stand in a moment “tabernacled between eroticism and oblivion”. Their garden of Eden, a holy place of “Light-speckled beneath the canopies of Spanish moss”. Another beautifully realised passage describes “mummified remains of man, heaps of bones littering the ground. Brutality’s mosaic in her serene grandeur.” The ever-present forces of destruction and rot threaten their physical and emotional sanctuary.
While we have a great read in its own right here, it could (I hope) become an introduction to a short story or perhaps something even larger? I want to know more about these characters. What is the world they are seeking an escape from? Can they keep their love affair a secret? I'd love to see a description of the inner-city rendered in the same tender, yet brutally honest prose.
Please leave a comment for Blace on this beautiful piece, and pester him mercilessly to give us more!
This is fun! Traditionally rambunctious and bawdy, echoing John Donne (particularly “the flea”) and Noël Coward. The comic ballad follows a decadent (though loveable) vagrant. Cadence and rhythm complement the naughtiness perfectly. Father Smid runs amok through the village, terrorising and delighting his neighbours in equal measure.
There is a lovely nostalgic streak throughout the pom’s depiction of those dwindling little villages in the depths of the Irish and English countryside. Those quaint little places where the inhabitants create their own little worlds, free from the frantic demands and bland homogenisation of city life.
The cheeky playfulness and gentle ribbing in Father Smid is something that is becoming sadly rare in modern writing. It’s a poem that cares nothing for politics or ideological stances, it neither shocks nor patronises. It simply has fun with jokes about religion, marriage, and family, but in doing so celebrates those institutions.
Perhaps it is poetry’s role to challenge the paradigm, guide us through trauma, and to commune with the sacred. However, sometimes it’s just as important (and just as challenging for the author) to create silly fun rhymes that point to, and rejoice in, life’s absurdities. If you’re a bit fed up and need a giggle, then follow Father Smid!
I love graphic design and typography, and I’ve unleashed some of my own works here.. But I’ll admit I wish I was a little braver and more experimental. Some writers/artists really dig into manipulating letterforms and our logical expectations when reading sentences. When this is successful, something magical happens, and reading great poetry (always an absorbing experience) becomes truly transportive.
This tale of a sailor braving a turbulent sea uses clever typography to disconcert the reader. We’re on the boat, where words dance like the peaks and troughs of the waves. Like the sailor, we lose our sense of direction as letters twist and turn, changing direction.
Yet the poem never becomes unreadable. Like a mariner with their chart and compass, we have a course to follow if we’re brave and clever enough to ride the waves.
Clever metaphors pepper the poem. Martial arts tournaments and church hymns echo the paradoxical mix of self-determination and faith that sustains sailors.
Brave this poem. Like a challenging sea, it demands much of you, but offers rewards of mystery and wonder.
An illustration of Batman accompanies this poem. It’s an interesting choice, as a dive into the psyche of such a character and because Batman (perhaps more so than other comic characters) spans (and perhaps bridges) the worlds of pulp, entertainment, and fine art.
To quote one of my favourite film critics Mark Kermode: “Bringing the audience to a table they wouldn’t usually sit at is a mark of success for any artist.”
By combining comic imagery and vocabulary with poetry, B Stings brings literature to comic book fans, and perhaps sparks curiosity about The Batman (A character rooted in the tragic myths of Hercules and Perseus.) in poetry buffs.
The poem itself (much like the best Batman stories) explores external battles as an effort to resolve inner struggles. The narrator seeks a wrongdoer to confront so they can lose themselves in a moment’s fury. However, this raises the question: is their fight for justice truly altruistic?
This poem dares to ask what is the drive for heroes, both mythological and real? A need to make the world a better place? Ego nurturing? Chasing a moment’s excitement?
Can we truly fathom our subconscious motivations, let alone those of others? Maybe these questions don’t matter as long as the outcome is just. But does selfishness taint our personal definition of justice and society’s?
The poem ends with the simple and succinct line “I don’t know”.
I hope you enjoy these beautiful works as much as I enjoyed reading them and writing about them.
You can meet some of my other friends in the previous installments: 5 4 3 2 1
Substack has proven to be a treasure trove and I already have a few more gifted writers lined up for my next review newsletter.
I'm glad you enjoyed Father Smid!