A
Ballad for Roger Casement
"What
gave that roar of mockery
That
roar in the seas roar
The
ghost of Roger Casement
Is
beating at the door" - WB Yeats
This
is a tale of contradiction
Paradox
and disgrace
Justice
was a stranger
And
mercy did not show her face
Both
catholic and protestant
Patriot and rebel and poet
Non-conformist
and humanist
His
words and actions show it
Heralded
knight of the realm
And
enemy of the state
Declared
traitor and deviant
To
die a martyrs fate
The
easter moon rose full and yellow
A
dark shadow cast across the sand
That
night they captured Roger Casement
On
the beach at Banna Strand
This
is a tale of betrayal
Of
lies and guilt and shame
He
kneeled before the king
To
die a pawn in that chess game
Never
bow head or knee
Speak
out for justice 'til your jaw is sore
The
ghost of Roger Casement
Is
beating at your door
For
what distraction is petty controversy
The
red herring is in the lies
Focus
on scandal and not rebellion
While
history unfolds before your eyes
They
wanted to make an example
To
find a neat scapegoat
They
took Roger Casement
And
hung him by the throat
Then
they threw his naked body
Into
an unmarked pit of lime
Creating
a symbol and martyr
That
would not dissolve with time
"I
die for my country"
Said
Casement in his dying hour
The
power of distortion
The
distortion of power
Stand up for all human rights
Social
justice, the weak and the poor
Right now I
hear the ghost of Roger Casement
Is
beating at our door
What do you live for, what do you die for?
What
is all this fighting for?
The
ghost of Roger Casement
Is
beating at our door.
(c) Salena Godden / June 2018
Poem commissioned by Inua Ellams poet in residence at the Tower of London
Written to be performed in the Tower Of London on June 28th 2018
 |
| Ahh I had the best time doing poetry at the Tower of London last week, Thank you Stephen James Smith, Emma Dabiri and Inua Ellams! Legends!! |
This from RED BOX "Blown away by the generous donations collected from Friday's event!! This is enough to not only support our established school over summer but will also allow us to set up more and more red boxes in schools around Sheffield" @RedBoxProject
Sheffield was amazing! Thanks for all your donations for RED BOX!
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Coming up ...
Gigs, festivals, gatherings, parties
JULY 7 | RESONANCE RADIO | TUNE IN 3.30pm
JULY 8 | JUST SAY NO | ARTISTS AGAINST TRUMP
JULY 20 -22 | CHURCHTOWN | CORNWALL
JULY 23 | ROUGH TRADE BOOK LAUNCH | LONDON
JULY 28 | CAUGHT BY THE RIVER | PORT ELIOT
JULY 29| POETRY STAGE | PORT ELIOT
AUGUST 4-5 | GREEN GATHERING | WALES
AUGUST 16 | SCOTTISH LIBRARY | EDINBURGH
AUGUST 17-19 | EDINBURGH BOOK FESTIVAL
AUGUST 24-27 | LIVEWIRE | BYLINE FESTIVAL
SEPTEMBER 1 | NEU REEKIE | ELECTRIC FIELDS
SEPTEMBER 7 | BBC RADIO | LOOSE ENDS
SEPTEMBER 15-16 | THE GOOD LIFE EXPERIENCE
SEPTEMBER 20 | BAD BETTY BOOK LAUNCH | RICH MIX
SEPTEMBER 22 | KENILWORTH BOOK FESTIVAL
ROUGH TRADE EDITIONS ARE HERE
ROUGH TRADE LAUNCH PARTY JULY 23 2018
Rough Trade Books presents… Rough Trade Editions
Rough Trade Editions comes hurtling out of the blocks with their first twelve pamphlets — twelve small good things to encourage, console, renew and rewire the world for their readers. Come celebrate at the launch party on Monday 23rd July at The Social, Little Portland Street where Salena Godden brings forth the fire of her recent work on resistance and rebellion, Olly Todd reconfigures a world of fractured time, the slipperiness of memory and dislocation and Joe Dunthorne lovingly skewers the eccentric heroism of the small poetry presses in a new short fiction. David Keenan and Sophy Hollington re-build our symbolic present with a radical tarot for the counter-culture presented as a work of experimental fiction (check out Sophy's exhibition in the upstairs bar whilst you’re there too). Kirk Lake tells the last act of the story of Randolph Turpin, the Leamington Licker, and through it a story of the corruption of capital, pride and identity, while Babak Ganjei acts as DJ for the evening playing music that might soundtrack his pamphlet Film Ideas which presents a simultaneously melancholy and hilarious satire of the film world.
Essential info…
Monday 23rd July || 7pm || The Social, Little Portland Street, London
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