Friday, June 28, 2013

REVIEW: "Never Get Out Of These Blues Alive" by Bryn Fortey


NEVER GET OUT OF THESE BLUES ALIVE by Bryn Fortey, Sad Face Press, 212 Caerleon Road, Newport, South Wales, NP19 7GQ. Price £1.50, cheques payable to B. Fortey.

Bryn Fortey’s slim chapbook NEVER GET OUT OF THESE BLUES ALIVE puts two of his great strengths as a poet on show: beautiful evocations of the lives of his favourite blues and jazz artists, and a demonstration of what their music means in our lives. Nobody—or almost nobody—can live without music. Bryn shows you why. How it becomes, to borrow a phrase I’ve used before, the soundtrack of your experiences, and an articulation of what you feel but couldn’t possibly say without shattering into thousands of tiny fragments when life really starts to hurt.

I’m not giving anything away when I say that Bryn’s been through some things in the last few years. It’s there in the dedication page for all to see. He’s not asking for your sympathy, but like the blues singers he namechecks in the poems, he’s telling you about his good and bad times, using the lives and music of Charley Patton, John Lee Hooker, Blind Lemon Jefferson, Bessie Smith (I think) and Howlin’ Wolf to provide his depth and shade. Another Welsh poet had a phrase for this sort of thing. He called it “singing in [your] chains like the sea.” Only Bryn, unlike Dylan Thomas, sings in his chains in poems infused with Beat and jazz rhythms. They’d sound wonderful read aloud.

Personal favourites of mine are moments when the poet’s autobiographical data seems to peep most clearly out from behind the romantic masks. “Marching into Glory” and “Mess of Blues”; and “City Blues”, where experience hardens the vision as it breaks the heart (“Expect to be used/ There is no other creed”). In “Night-Time Blues” sleep offers no Shakespearean escape from suffering (“A bed of no rest/ Is where I lie”) and “Dance” creates the chapbook’s best image, the people we’ve lost dancing alone in death to “a slow jazz/ Beyond blues.”

Other personal stories too painful to tell, too private to share, are hidden in different poems (I suspect): “Blues for Bessie” and “The Death of Blind Lemon Jefferson”. But there is also celebration here; music marks the highest moments of our lives as much as it consoles us in the lowest and Bryn doesn’t forget that. “Pianoman Blues”, “Hey There Blues”, “Mama Guitar” and “Mighty Wolf” are all about the music and the men and women who play it . . . and they’re informed by the poet’s tremendous knowledge of his subject. Who knew that Howlin’s Wolf was considered “Bone stupid/[…]/With an ingrained suspicion/A man who knew how to bear a grudge” (“Mighty Wolf”)?

In the 90s Bryn Fortey edited “Target”, and then he moved on to “Outlaw”, the finest small press magazine I’ve ever seen; in both he proved again and again that he’s a man who knows a good poet as well as a great Delta blues guitar player or New Orleans trumpeter. But he has always been too modest to rate himself above average as a writer. I admire his refusal to wrap himself in myth and glory—we British are suspicious of self-praise—but there are passages in this moving little book when you wonder if he hasn’t been underestimating himself all these years.

8 comments:

Denise said...

Love the blues and poetry - this sounds just like something I'd like to read. Thanks for bringing it o my attention!

Bruce Hodder said...

You're welcome. I think it's a wonderful little book.

Henry Denander said...

Bruce, thanks for telling me about this one! Will be ordering just now. Cheers /Hank

Bruce Hodder said...

Hi Henry. I'm glad! This book deserves our support.

Unknown said...

louis vuitton, christian louboutin outlet, ugg boots, prada outlet, longchamp outlet, kate spade outlet, nike free, nike air max, oakley sunglasses, ralph lauren pas cher, burberry, longchamp outlet, nike outlet, oakley sunglasses, michael kors, louis vuitton outlet, ray ban sunglasses, louboutin, louis vuitton, ugg boots, louboutin shoes, oakley sunglasses, replica watches, sac longchamp, louboutin outlet, polo ralph lauren outlet, uggs on sale, cheap oakley sunglasses, louis vuitton outlet, replica watches, longchamp pas cher, ray ban sunglasses, tiffany and co, polo ralph lauren outlet, tiffany jewelry, longchamp, air jordan pas cher, tory burch outlet, jordan shoes, nike roshe run, gucci outlet, chanel handbags, air max, louboutin pas cher, prada handbags, nike air max, ray ban sunglasses, nike free, louis vuitton, oakley sunglasses

Unknown said...

north face, true religion jeans, tn pas cher, oakley pas cher, michael kors, coach outlet, ralph lauren uk, michael kors, vanessa bruno, hollister, nike air max, true religion outlet, hermes, michael kors, coach purses, kate spade handbags, michael kors, michael kors outlet, nike air max, nike blazer, true religion jeans, converse pas cher, replica handbags, michael kors outlet, hogan, ugg boots, coach outlet, air force, mulberry, michael kors outlet, true religion jeans, burberry outlet online, new balance pas cher, ugg boots, north face, ray ban pas cher, hollister pas cher, burberry, michael kors outlet, nike roshe, ray ban uk, nike free run uk, sac guess, michael kors outlet, lacoste pas cher, vans pas cher, timberland, nike air max, abercrombie and fitch, lululemon

Unknown said...

babyliss, insanity workout, mac cosmetics, hollister, converse outlet, hollister, valentino shoes, giuseppe zanotti, louboutin, reebok shoes, nike roshe, beats by dre, gucci, new balance, bottega veneta, nike air max, longchamp, soccer jerseys, north face outlet, ghd, nike trainers, chi flat iron, celine handbags, asics running shoes, jimmy choo shoes, nike huarache, lululemon, nike air max, ferragamo shoes, vans, wedding dresses, birkin bag, mcm handbags, mont blanc, abercrombie and fitch, baseball bats, instyler, ray ban, converse, oakley, p90x workout, timberland boots, iphone cases, north face outlet, hollister, herve leger, soccer shoes, nfl jerseys, vans shoes, ralph lauren

Unknown said...

ugg,ugg australia,ugg italia, supra shoes, barbour, pandora charms, montre pas cher, moncler, canada goose, canada goose outlet, lancel, louis vuitton, sac louis vuitton pas cher, moncler, pandora charms, swarovski crystal, wedding dresses, ugg boots uk, pandora jewelry, replica watches, moncler, canada goose uk, juicy couture outlet, coach outlet, links of london, canada goose, canada goose outlet, doudoune canada goose, canada goose, barbour jackets, bottes ugg, swarovski, moncler outlet, marc jacobs, moncler, louis vuitton, canada goose, hollister, toms shoes, moncler, ugg pas cher, moncler, karen millen, louis vuitton, pandora jewelry, ugg,uggs,uggs canada, moncler, louis vuitton, juicy couture outlet, thomas sabo