Hollywood or Home

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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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Friday Poem – ‘Handsome Weeping Boy’ by Kathryn Gray

Black and white photographs of water droplets on a branch

This week’s Friday Poem is ‘Handsome Weeping Boy’ by Kathryn Gray from her highly anticipated second collection Hollywood or Home.

Handsome Weeping Boy I cannot cry. I have need of a handsome weeping boy. Handsome weeping boy. His tears are pear cultured pearls against his cheeks; he is in touch with his emotions; he leaks. Strap me to a chair. Freeze-frame the oxygen tank in Beaches. These days it is so hard to be authentic. Handsome weeping boy, I hear you. Your shoulders move beside me so gently—breeze caught by a tree! Debra Winger is dying again. Handsome weeping boy, with your handkerchief to stem the flow. The feels is what the kids call it now, and I— I am so full, I am running on empty. I cannot cry. I have need of a handsome weeping boy.

Join us on Tuesday 7th November at St John’s Waterloo in London for a joint book launch featuring Kathryn Gray, Lynne Hjelmgaard and Sue Hubbard. Readings start at 6:30pm. All welcome.

Joint book launch. Lynne Hjelmgaard, Kathryn Gray and Sue Hubbard. Tuesday 7th November from 6:30pm. Free entry. All welcome. St John's Waterloo, 73 Waterloo Road, London, SE18TY