Hello and welcome to Frank Skinner's poetry podcast. I used to be an enormous Elvis Costello fan and my favourite Elvis Costello album was Get Happy.

No I don't know if you're familiar with Get Happy but what I loved about it was its rich abundance.

There were so many good tracks on Get Happy I thought wasn't it in any way tempted to make two albums out of this and make twice the money?

cynical I know but hard to get around. I have in my hand dry solter by Michael Simmons Roberts a collection of poetry which is some 150 pages and which reminds me of Get Happy in that it is rich rich rich with 15 line poems.

That's what it consists of many many 15 line poems and so much good stuff. Michael didn't you think well there could be three collections in this but I'm glad you didn't because this little fat poetry book is it's such a lovely thing to have and the so much so much good stuff in it.

I'm going to try and give you an example of what I mean. So let's go it begins with a poem I'm beginning at least with a poem called Face to Face. Let me read you the first few lines.

Oh glass houses we wake to find all tile brick stone released from its opacity. Oh engines of change walls are windows.

Okay face to face so it's called face to face and I would say a theme of these poems or some of these poems is about visibility about seeing and not quite seeing and the ones I've chosen certainly include that as a theme.

Okay. Oh glass houses I love these sort of classical invocation at the beginning. Oh glass house very poetry with the capital P. It's impossible I think to use the word glass houses without thinking of the proverb about people who live in glass houses shouldn't throw stones which I think means don't judge others for faults that you have.

Your self and I think it's easier to sit in judgment of others if you don't look at yourself too much and if you don't allow others to look at you too much and this is what the poem I think is out.

Oh glass houses so that's exclamation mark that's done we wake to find all tile brick stone released from its opacity so we wake up and very simply the houses are see through they are glass houses if you like in that they are as you said released from its opacity that's what's happened to the tile the brick.

On the stone so now suddenly everyone is living in see through houses and I like the use of opacity because opacity does mean not being able to see through nurse but also it can be used if things are quite baffling and hard to understand so maybe we're going to see more than just the physical through all this see through nurse we're going to we're going to see what people are looking for.

Like on the insights our engines have changed another invocation I love it it's again our engines have changed the world is changing here walls our windows bang three words summing up the whole thing engines of change obviously by the way our things that make change happen I'm sure you knew that.

Next but neighbors wash dress eat with one eye on each other in coy and countless liturgies that echo through the city okay neighbors now wash dress eat with one eye on each other so there's no hiding place anymore everyone's living in these see through houses in coy and countless liturgies

liturgy is the order of of mass in a religious service but it's any order I think of events significant events any sort of repeated rituals and I guess that is something that we all do in our lives and these being able to see all these people live in their lives and repeating their daily life means that there are countless liturgies that echo through the city echo I think because when you see into these people

houses you realize they're actually doing quite similar things to me and living quite a similar life to me and maybe that's a good thing to learn next bit exhibitionist down naked face their walls and shave show ones nail up sheets then watch as they rinse clear

so some people are really embracing and enjoying the see throughness of the world now exhibitionists standing naked face their walls and shave so they're not even turning their back to the walls they're really as they used to say in the 60s they're letting it all hang out show ones nail up sheets then watch as they rinse clear

so this this end of opacity this see throughness is ongoing you can't just cover it up anything you try to cover it up with is also made see through so you are stock with it and the ends like this

now by night I got off to brace myself I love this bit so much so beautiful now by night we move lie love in a galaxy of bedside lamps acting out our silent nose

nose is a very stylized traditional Japanese theater NOHS nose so you can't hear these people but there they are performing their lives for their neighbors and that now by night I love the now even the

there we got used to it now this is how we live now we've got used to our glass houses by night we move lie love in a galaxy of bedside lamps so I love it and this might sound like horror to you this this poem the idea

of living see through lives but I've always been a bit dubious about the glorious of privacy it is my belief that privacy gives us

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