It was a joy to read with Mick in Carlisle last year just after the publication of his wonderful Leaves at Midnight. I'll really miss his 'presence from a distance'.
Michael Standen.
Poet, writer and educator.
28-07-37 - 01-6-08
Thankyou to all who came to the funeral and celebration.
Update list, poem and
photo contributions - email to
gyatzo at gmail dot com
in future google "Michael Standen"
Des Ferret
Not that they did much
Or were asked for more than exercise;
If they dreamed rabbits in their straw
It was their own dark affair.
For us they showed a healthy appetite
To be fed and some spirit of their kind
In attacks on the lawnmower.
Now Des, not the oldest, is ill,
His coat still sleek.
His highwayman face
Still ‘but isn’t he sweet’.
Now all he does is go
In a tight circle; put down
On grass he goes like an anklet
Round your foot and cannot go
Straight, nor the other way
But only one way
Like water down the plughole
In his hemisphere.
My son rings the vet
But we know that all there is
Is round and round
And down and down.
Video
Great Poet
Couldn’t give it up; hoping
To destroy himself by vigorous neglect,
He shuffled his programme
In old slippers. They would ask him
Things as for the first time
The War, going to America.
He tried, despite it all –
Their tact, his self-ridding schemes –
To answer, a stale thin wafer
Still on his breath and his soul
Suffering like a whale ashore.
Comments
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(Posted on 2008-09-01 11:31:00 by )
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I was lucky enough to know Mick. He was a most generous man, his wit, charm and love were infectious. He was a great role model and even though I had not seen him in around 20 years his spirit will always be there for me. A true socialist, something to aspire to
(Posted on 2008-07-12 20:13:00 by ) -
I didn't know Michael but I wish I had. This web-site is a fitting testimony to his memory.
(Posted on 2008-07-08 19:58:00 by ) -
Like others, I last saw Michael at the incwriters event in Manchester where I chaired a panel on the importance of magazines to contemporary poetry. Michael was there, of course, and made a very valuable contributuion to the discussion. He published my work in OTHER POETRY and, when he didn't publish it, always took the time to tell me why. I know he was a great encouragement to poet's trying to get their work into print for the first time. We corresponded over the years and met on a few occassions when i found him consistently genuine, selfless and charming. He'll be missed as an editor - and as a poet.
(Posted on 2008-07-08 13:10:00 by ) -
I met Michael just once - recently reading at a church in Camden. Other Poetry has published my work over the years and I was pleased to be in Miracles and Clockwork. (a few days ago my publisher asked him to write a testimonial for a forthcoming collection of mine). I can only give an impression: pleasant, likeable and - the main word -genuine. I do feel saddened. Sincerely.
(Posted on 2008-07-07 13:01:00 by ) -
I first met Micahel at the event Andrew refers to, in manchester. i was impressed by his energy and that he had travelled so far that day to attend - and planned to return home the same night! I hope I shall be as committed and active in retirement as Michael.
PS I love the ferret poem.
(Posted on 2008-07-01 11:32:00 by ) -
We just want to say what a lovely man Mick was and how much we appreciated his support. We will miss him sorely.
(Posted on 2008-06-30 17:40:00 by ) -
I last saw Michael in March at the Incwriters Event in Manchester. He was, as always, a gentleman, a mountain of knowledge and a great poet. He will be sadly missed.
(Posted on 2008-06-30 11:56:00 by ) -
How I had meant to say thank you to Michael for Other Poetry, and for all the support given so generously to other poets. And how I was going to do it later when I had a bit more time. And so -
my gratitude.
(Posted on 2008-06-27 17:13:00 by ) -
I am sorry to hear the news about Michael. I never had the chance to meet him but I would like to pass on condolences from the network of former pupils of BHCHS.
Kind regards
Graham
(Posted on 2008-06-27 08:31:00 by ) -
Dear Val,
We are so sorry for your loss. It was a great privilege to have known Michael and we will miss him.
We are thinking of you at this time and hope to see you very soon.
Best Wishes Val and Best Regards to your sons who we hope to meet in the future.
(Posted on 2008-06-23 20:31:00 by ) -
What can I say, other than we will miss him terribly.
(Posted on 2008-06-22 16:04:00 by ) -
Hi Mick, I remember looking forward to your visits at home in Nottingham. Always interesting, fun and inclusive of all! Long full dinners and nights. Great company.
We shall toast you. Cheers. jazz
(Posted on 2008-06-17 12:28:00 by ) -
A fine man, seeing the video reminds of the great talks in that kitchen and how the whole family made me feel like I was at home. All the best!- chris
(Posted on 2008-06-13 16:26:00 by ) -
Goodbye Mick.
Thanks for all the good stuff, your candour and your humour.
We're toasting you with a glass or two of Chilean Merlot.
Love to Val, Louis and Guy.
Jo and Cherri
(Posted on 2008-06-11 23:38:00 by ) -
FROM ANN ALEXANDER
As the other messages have all said, Mick was a wonderful, witty man, who was always interested in what you had to say. I don't know how he rememered all about people, but he did. He used to say various people were 'a good thing'. I'll not be able to tell him about the wedding I went to, or meet him in Durham during Folkworks week.
Literature in the WEA will never be the same again.
(Posted on 2008-06-10 21:54:00 by ) -
We are all saddened to learn of Mick's death. We were honoured to have Mick on our Board of Trustees from 1999 to 2004 and his timely and intelligent contributions were always gratefully received. It was a pleasure to work with Mick and, having maintained regular contact with him since, will miss him greatly.
(Posted on 2008-06-09 14:19:00 by ) -
Iâve known Mick since I was a little girl; heâs been like a dad to me. He used to take my brother and I along with his own kids on fantastic magical mystery trips showing us the wonders of the north east. He was a warm, gentle, generous man. He made you feel important and cared for. I loved him and I will miss him very much.
(Posted on 2008-06-08 11:49:00 by ) -
Mick was like a father to us both and a grandfather to Manon and Mikey. He was a wonderful, gentle, lovely man and every time we saw him we felt as if we had really come home. Words can not say how much he will be missed.
Mikey thinks he is on a motorbike now.
(Posted on 2008-06-06 20:14:00 by ) -
I knew MIck only distantly, a genial, thoughtful presence encountered at readings....Feel sad that this is the first time I have heard these poems.What I have missed. "How beautifully trees keep their distance...The darkening skies confirm it."
(Posted on 2008-06-06 12:03:00 by ) -
I was so sorry to hear of Mick's death - he was a special man - as Jo Colley said in her poem about him, a mensch.
I tried to capture him through my camera lens - I always knew I wouldn't quite do it. He was of course beyond capture.
(Posted on 2008-06-05 19:25:00 by ) -
Mick and I had some great times. I'll miss those all-night conversations we had in the kitchen when i'd be in my element listening and enjoying his take on life, humour , encouragement and caring.He was special. A real marra..
(Posted on 2008-06-05 14:21:00 by ) -
We four had a lovely meal at Pam's about 2 weeks ago. He was lively and we talked and drank and celebrated.
Michael was my poetic mentor and friend.
Pam and I are glad that we can still remember him as a vibrant, cultured and sensitive man who would grace our memories for a long time.
Be at peace, Michael, wherever you have gone.
Pam & Asit
(Posted on 2008-06-04 19:50:00 by ) -
i will always be grateful to mick for the support he gave me, particularly with international cultural exchanges.
we shared many wonderful times in places like tuebingen, freudenstadt, groningen
and amsterdam.
i will miss him greatly but the memories will remain wonderful.
(Posted on 2008-06-04 19:26:00 by ) -
A few words to add to the Colpitts tributes to Mick:
In my Colpitts era, over ten years ago now, when Mick,
Jackie and Michael were the key Colpitteers, we seemed to
bask in the genial atmosphere of Mick's character. He
combined humour, grace and financial acumen, balancing
books which would otherwise have certainly toppled. I see
him, poetry book in one hand, cheque book in the other,
holding it all, perhaps us all, together... Colpitts
contributed hugely to so many things I have done since and
still does. I raise a glass of red to the memory of Mick.
Harriet Tarlo
(Posted on 2008-06-03 13:51:00 by ) -
Wonderful to hear Mick read these - can't tell you how much I'm going to miss him.
(Posted on 2008-06-03 12:48:00 by ) -
if you would like to leave a message - please do...
(Posted on 2008-06-02 22:23:00 by )
In Sinclair’s Oyster Bar
‘Fat Chapman – dead?’ I heard him say,
An incredulous old but hale man,
As we left beer and oysters for the street.
The man fat Chapman was I wonder at,
Some man I think to cause such unbelief.
Was it shock for Falstaff robbed of all that life
Or just that he had known him in youth,
Chapman a charm to keep him charnel-proof?
Also comment on...
Filmed May 26th - 2008
Common Knowledge
Dogs
Many, oh many the cigarette case
Stopped the blunt bullet short of the heart;
Often, yes often has Down-on-his-luck
Found a gold sovereign and his new start;
Girls on the escalator have stumbled and fallen
Into the hands of earls’ younger sons.
Luck is the pick-me-up, Luck un-resented,
For one of these days we’ll be the ones.
So fill in the pools and keep some control
Over cats, ladders and salt: IQ, age,
Marital status, gallstones and such
Look after themselves and can’t be changed much.
I never did get to meet Michael. but over the years he was some sort of mentor- encouraging hundreds (I'm sure) in addition to me.
Michael, 'Friend of Poets & Servant to the Muse' Thats how I'll think of him. Mike Bannister