It's an absolute and complete thrill to finally feature the fab, Fran Lock as Outsideleft's Sunday Morning Poet. It's important to recognise too, the contribution of great poet and novelist, Wayne Dean-Richards for making this happen, Wayne's Outsideleft interview with Fran is an action-packed joy (here). Fran Lock is the T.S. Elliot nominated, award winning poet. A great entertainer. Her work is frequently published by Culture Matters where Fran is an editor. But published in tons of other places too. Fran has at least nine books and numerous pamphlets available. Shop around! Her books are stop-you-in-your-tracks (say if you were reading and walking) breathtaking. Like an accidental trip to the gym for the first time in a while. Fran's work is tearing back the cataracts, good. Sunday can be a slow time for shopping, so maybe consider visiting Bookshop or a local bookstore later on, and order up a few Fran titles...
Fran's Sunday Morning Poem, shared here, ESP medium (of) discord, is from a series of poems inspired by Mark E. Smith and The Fall that Fran and Peadar O'Donoghue have been collaborating on.
ESP medium (of) discord
/ live on. come back.
/ excise the slack flesh.
/ from the neck up. from the fat lip
/ at the limit and the absence of english.
/ cutting the dead bloke hope of it out.
/ the nagging paranoia, the escalating grind.
/ nation of: oppressed pickpockets.
/ unassuming scapegoats, repeat offenders.
/ their fact-phobic epitaphs, grifters' dictums.
/ take up the tattooed slack –
/ excoriated. skinned.
/ – from the body politic.
/ fauxgress, nogress. ostracised by progress.
/ soul-filled tracts. self-built traps. etc.
/ spit in their dead extravagant heritage.
/ armchair enthusiasts. spit in their –
/ limpid symbolism, discrete travails.
/ the face is pure wage-packet.
/ the wrecked page purged. know what i mean?
/ spit on their –
/ overlords of institution.
/ land of 'ope and apeth maundering.
/ die young. or live long enough to see yourself –
/ filed in triplicate.
/ mouth stuffed with strivers' flimsies.
/ eyelids stapled to –
/ cancelled chitties, xeroxed spleen.
/ excise the stumble.
/ jesus saves! scumbags. tarred and feathered, leveraging resurrection.
/ monstocracy: degenerate, glowing.
/ pensioned off lumpenproles, prosecuting poets.
/ come back. live on.
/ at the limit and the swindle of english.
/ wise-crack vibration. wideboy redeemer.
© 2024 Fran Lock
Essential Information
Main image: Mark E. Smith collage by Fran Lock
Fran Lock at Culture Matters
The New Herbal is here