#IBuyYourPamphlet: WEEK 15

‘The fall of the repetitive mix tape’
by Darren J. Beaney

Frustrating fruit trees are ignored / as a figure walks / researching the dead, dressed for business.

Darren J. Beaney is a writer and poet, who lives and works in Sussex. He has an MA in Creative Writing from the University of Brighton, and is one half of the hugely successful Flight of the Dragonflies, whose spoken word events have been nominated for a Saboteur Award. He’s a punk rock lover, who has had three pamphlets published over the last few years.

Darren’s also a mate whose poetry has had a pretty significant effect on my own journey as a writer. His approach is unlike anyone else’s I have read, his voice is undoubtedly and beautifully his alone. This is a poet who knows exactly what that means and how to use this to maximize impact: this chapbook sees him at the absolute top of his game.

What’s in it for Me?

It all starts innocently enough, with Put away offering powerful imagery and opening oomph. Muzorewi’s daughter however is the clue, if you needed it, that every poem’s title is also a song by The Fall, who were an English post-punk group, formed in 1976 in Prestwich, Greater Manchester. Suddenly, poems have secondary resonances when interleaved with the history of Mark. E Smith, one of the most influential individuals of the post punk scene worldwide. Mr B does love burning the script to suit his own fiendish imagination.

My knowledge of The Fall is not as encyclopedic as I know Darren’s will be, so I can’t tell you just how well he starts with the titles and then does them his way. What I can tell you is that the imagery, the settings and the impact of each of these poems is a different diorama for countless situations. No two works are ever comparable, and every single poem will have a line, somewhere, that surprises you with its honesty. My favourite right now (and they change regularly) comes from English scheme: ‘The future is as tantalising as / a curly 11th hour spam sandwich‘ and there is absolutely no argument here.

There is physical wordplay too (Bingo-Master), the oddness of random encounter in A figure walks, the economical brilliance of Rebellious Jukebox… honestly, every single one of these poems is fucking with your brain in absolutely the best way possible. I am reminded of other punk bands, of the fringes where poems could be rebellion but end up being made safe and digestible because it is easier… but when I read Darren’s work, I don’t want that. I want to pogo through the entire chapbook and come out the other side exhausted and smelling of lager and sweat, because these poems MADE ME MOVE.

I’ll keep throwing myself into this for months and still be happy.

Personal Favourites

In my area for the imagery
Crap rap 2 for the inference
Printhead for the impact

Any Other Business

I try not to get carried away with these reviews, but honestly, this has to be said: why is more poetry not this joyously bonkers? So much can be learned here about how a single mind can create the powerful and the unique without the need to compromise one iota on professional and personal integrity.

THIS CHAPBOOK IS SUPERB.