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8th March, 2024

Friday Poem – ‘Meryl Streep is my therapist’ by Kathryn Gray

An Oscar award hidden behind clouds of coloured smoke

Ahead of the Oscars Award Ceremony this weekend, this week’s Friday Poem is ‘Meryl Streep is my therapist’ by Kathryn Gray from her collection Hollywood or Home.

Meryl Streep is my therapist I met a married man once, on a train. He was handsome. He had the kind of face that made me think of clean, smooth hands. I should add that in the end nothing really happened. I have done terrible things I will not own. The dingo took my baby! Bear with me. Men have left me. No Vietnam. They simply went. You must hear this sort of thing all the time. But. I have stood, hooded, on the jetty; the sea—the sea turned over my mind, roughly. I have been very ‘tired and emotional’. I cannot afford a rehab facility. There are not enough Key lime pies in this world for all the people who deserve them. In the face. Yes, this is heartburn. You might be onto something. O Michael! O Michael! O Michael! I worry that I’m all cliché. I like to fake accents with strangers. I suppose that tells you a lot. I suffer from Imposter Syndrome. Or maybe not. I had a farm—

Join us on Saturday 9th March from 1pm for our John Ormond Centenary event, taking place at the Glynn Vivian Gallery in Swansea. Kathryn Gray will be appearing alongside Rian Evans, Patrick McGuinness, Jess Mookherjee, Professor M. Wynn Thomas and Kieron Smith to discuss the life and work of Welsh poet and documentary maker John Ormond. Buy tickets in advance via Eventbrite.

John Ormond Centenary Celebration. Saturday 9th March 1-4pm. Glynn Vivian Art Gallery, Alexandra Road, Swansea, SA1 5DZ. General admission £5.50, Concession £3.50.

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This cover shows an illustration of a woman wearing a yellow dress. She is walking down a pier surrounded by water. In the background there is lighting and a bare forest. The dress is drawn as if wind is blowing it to the left. On the right of the character is a figure in a shirt and dark trousers floating face down in the water. Hollywood or Home. Kathryn Gray. ‘‘Underpinning the comedy and satire... is a real pain at life’s jolts time’s realness” - Nick Laird.

Hollywood or Home

Kathryn Gray

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