On this brand new episode of WE’D LIKE A WORD, Paul and Steve are talking comic books, sequential art, graphic novels and all things Beezer and Dandy with writer/artist/editor DAVID LEACH and Tripwire magazine editor in chief, JOEL MEADOWS.
Paul, David Leach, Stevyn (and Psychogran)
Joel Meadows
We recorded the episode in David’s house which, as it happens, turned out to be a shrine to comics with books and toys everywhere. And we got to see a brand new instalment of his strip Psychogran in the pencils and inks stages.
Also in this episode we have the first of an occasional series of visits to small, independent bookshops – in this case The Little Bookshop at Cookham in Berkshire where we meet Chantal Farquhar and some of her customers.
Enjoy hearing about the past, present and future of comics, how David was nearly hobbled by a Brazilian vicar on an episode of Come Dine With Me and why you should never, ever burgle a house on a Book Club night.
Listen on iTunes, Spotify, Google Pods or here on Anchor.
This episode of We’d Like A Word features spoken word performance poet Isi ‘The Scribe’ Adeola who reads us several of his poems and one brand new poem written in 24 hours and constructed from suggestions sent to us by our listeners.
And you guys were cruel. CRUEL.
He had to incorporate phrases like ‘I tawt I taw a puddy tat’ and ‘Broken Britain’ as well as ‘unicorns’ and ‘serendipity’. But he prevailed, it’s a great poem and here it is! (reproduced with Isi’s kind permission):
Why do I do this to
myself?
I give myself concrete deadlines and then feel crushed
beneath the slate
I’m punching well above my weight.
I get inspired because I wish to be the change you want to
see, but then deflated as it turns out I’m just chasing unicorns.
Fictional figments of a wandering monkey mind that points
out useless distractions on an internet safari of daydreams and cat videos.
Destination procrastination is where I’m headed. It’s why I
medicate the pain of loneliness and mad times in broken Britain
My semantics may sound dramatic but that’s genuinely how I
feel under self-imposed pressure.
My monkey mind calls the shots now screaming at clip after
ridiculous clip.
A TED talk about how to tie your shoes
Is Janice Chandler’s soulmate?
I tawt I taw a puddy tat!
You bet you taw a puddy tat – the six hundredth puddy tat
from my YouTube playlist
Because I have taken on too much, I am doing the impossible,
like ice skating through Hades
Swimming through a swamp of demands and giving myself
reprimands for not meeting them
Just before I give up and curl up in the foetal position,
serendipity swoops me off my feet, with a fresh breath and grace catches me
before I hit the ground
They warm my face with a smile and say, “We’d like a word”.
I laugh out loud, because I know I’m in good hands – my brow softens and I
listen to receive and understand.
The wisdom of evolution says change and design happen,
incrementally.
We know your load is great, but you’ll get through it,
eventually.
We’ll come through when you least expect it – little
incremental breadcrumbs of inspiration will fall at your feet when you feel
lost at the start of your journey.
All you have to do is show up!
Isi’s done some BIG gigs
We also hear work by Jo Bell, and poems from a couple of excellent young poets and from Paul’s dad.
It’s a grand show. So do listen in.
Isi ‘The Scribe’ Adeola is a spoken word performance poet and zoologist. He’s an Outreach Development Officer at the Royal Veterinary College and a Discovery and Learning Officer at ZSL London Zoo. He has an MSc in wild animal biology too … but we’re just delighted he writes and performs great poetry.
You can hear us on iTunes, Spotify, Google Podcasts and anywhere else that good podcasts are found.
