Pearl Carr - d. February 16th 2020

There’s a tree

in a meadow. I

imagine you 

there, or cooing

from the hedge

that divides

one age from

another, singing

like birds used

to sing when they

could really sing.

Read about Pearl Carr here

Katherine Johnson - d. February 24th 2020

Johnson's Rule

When calculating the effect
of a single body 
acting on a larger mass,
even the smallest force
will change its trajectory
permanently, irrevocably.

Read about Katherine Johnson here

Heather Couper - d. February 19th 2020

Sometimes a star hides
in a corner of the sky
invisible to the eye
yet audible across time,
distant now, but surely
somewhere out there. 

Read about Heather Couper here

Andrew Weatherall - d. February 17th 2020

Today took you higher
than the sun, remixed,
just as you remixed me.
In the midst of life we are 
in dub, and Paradise 
is just a playlist.

Read about Andrew Weatherall here

Caroline Flack - d. February 15th 2020

Let’s go to a place, sunny
even in rain, where bubbles
fizz in every glass and glance,
where every day’s a dance
for a moment, where troubles
drown and even this is funny.

read about Caroline Flack here

Joseph Shabalala - d. February 11th 2020

Ilokishi ineendonga

Umculo awunazindonga

Isixeko sihamba ngaphandle kwesigqi

Umdaniso awupheli

Umhlaba uyacula ngokuvisisanayo

Ilizwi elinye licula ngonaphakade

Read about Joseph Shabalala here

The township has walls

Music has no walls

The city moves without rhythm

The dance never ends

The earth sings without harmony

One voice sings forever

Kirk Douglas - d. February 5th 2020

They built a cross for you
on the Via Appia, warrior
of the Anthill, the longboat,
icon of the eternal audience.
Actors walk a lonely path:
yours was glorious.

Read about Kirk Douglas here

Andy Gill - d. February 1st 2020

You brought entertainment:

bleak and angular, one part

funk to two parts anthrax,

an essence rare, now lost.

read about Andy Gill here

Nicholas Parsons - d. 28th January 2020

As the Minute Waltz 
fades away, I want you 
to tell us about 
the subject of your life, 
how you never 
hesitated nor deviated, 
how it could never 
be repeated.

Read about Nicholas Parsons here

Kobe Bryant - d. January 26th 2020

The shot clock runs
down to zero, and all is 
silent on the hardwood
save for the squeak
of sneakers, the hoop
vibrating in eternity.

Read about Kobe Bryant here

Terry Jones - d. January 21st 2020

Do not adjust your 
mindset: both sheds 
are empty, the organ 
silent. Even the mint 
is still in its wrapper, 
and nobody expected
that. 

Read about Terry Jones here

Derek Fowlds - d. January 17th 2020

I, Mr Derek, 
was a humble functionary,
in the service of Government;
You were a careerist pen-pusher
at the whim of incompetents;
He was a mindless lickspittle
who sold his intellect for an OBE

Read about Derek Fowlds here

Tony Garnett - d. January 12th 2020

The last cob of coal

falls to ash in the grate.

The welfare gruel

is served cold on the plate.

The junction is frozen,

the producer is late.

read about Tony Garnett here

Neil Peart - d. January 7th 2020

There are no more fills,
no more solos, no fools:
the drum stool cools.
You took up the songs
where cymbals sing.
Now, a farewell to things.

Read about Neil Peart here

Neil Innes - d. December 29th 2019

It’s a dog day down
on Doubleback Alley.
Death cab draws up
to take the sweetest idiot
to a place where it is
forever Rutland.

read about Neil Innes here

Kenny Lynch - d. December 18th 2019

Tell us your story again:
how it was harder back then
to work your act with truth,
fight to be up there on the roof,
win hearts with just that smile,
some jokes, some songs, all style.

read about Kenny Lynch here

Nicky Henson - d. December 15th 2019

I like your charms.
What do they signify?
The left one’s a camera,
the right one’s a script.
And the one in the middle?
A dog turd. Don’t ask.

read about Nicky Henson here

Peter Snell - d. December 12th 2019

From the bottom of the world,
a colossus of breath, the cold 
wind of your name, your heels
distant as you storm the miles.

read about Peter Snell here

David Bellamy - d. December 11th 2019

You'll recognise
this species
by its foliage, 
hanging off trees,
jostling with plants,
shifting the soil:
a rare variety, found
in few locations.

Read about David Bellamy here

Bob Willis - d. December 4th 2019

When looking back
they will not tell
of futile spells
on lifeless tracks
but eyes like steel,
the arm a blur,
the win secured,
the miracle, real.

Read about Bob Willis here