12/08/2010

Artist Profile: Arthur Adlen

The Nerve Center will have many artists appearing during it's four weeks and here we present you a poem by Arthur Adlen, an Anglo-Scouse poet who has lived variously in Skelmersdale, Liverpool and presently the Wirral. He has been an active member of the Trade Union movement for many years and is involved in community politics. Arthur has served his time as a Heating Engineer, worked for the Communist Party, the TUC Unemployed Workers Center's and as a Community Development worker. In between these occupations, he has been, like many, unemployed as well. Alan has been writing for over forty years and is a member of the group we all know and love as Philosophy in Pubs. 

Enjoy his poem 'Morning in the Streets' below. 



Morning in the streets

There it is in black and white,
the stark life of a city
impoverished by the system,
laid waste by the war,
but what doesn’t kill you
makes you laugh even more.

There they are in black and white,
the playgrounds of our day:
bombed houses to explore,
waste ground to build on,
streets to get lost in,
parks to run wild.

There we are in black and white,
framed within the schoolyard walls,
backlit by a sunny day.
The man said, ‘Big boys at the back’,
then we ran at the camera,
full tilt towards tomorrow.

Please check the schedule to see when Arthur will be performing. 

The Nerve Centre.  



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