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5 favorite Les Barker poems

04 Feb 12 - 08:13 AM (#3301970)
Subject: Folklore: 5 favorite Les Barker poems
From: bradfordian

Voicemail
Shipping Forecast
Cosmo, the fairly accurate knife thrower
Any news of the Iceberg?
Hard Cheese of Old England
Amnesia
The Lonely Little Lemming
Custard Creams
Sparky's Magic Contraceptive
Sloop John A
Guide Cats For The Blind
Breaking Wind Suddenly
Cutty Wren
Dashunds with erections.........

Alright, I'd better stop there..........

so what's your 5 favourite Les Barker Poems


04 Feb 12 - 09:15 AM (#3301987)
Subject: RE: 5 favorite Les Barker poems
From: Charley Noble

So hard to narrow it down!

How about adding the "Three Bears"?

Charley Noble


04 Feb 12 - 11:30 AM (#3302064)
Subject: RE: 5 favorite Les Barker poems
From: Acorn4

The Church of the (W)holly Undecided.
Mark the Herald Angel
Desiderata
The Law of Unclear Physics
Amnesia


04 Feb 12 - 11:41 AM (#3302071)
Subject: RE: 5 favorite Les Barker poems
From: Pete Jennings

I like the one about him not being able to find his invisibility cloak...

For US 'catters, Les Barker performs in folk clubs and his act is standing there reciting incredibly his funny poems. Absolutely hilarious.


04 Feb 12 - 11:59 AM (#3302077)
Subject: RE: 5 favorite Les Barker poems
From: Charley Noble

There's also "History Man" for a more sober one.

Charley Noble


04 Feb 12 - 01:06 PM (#3302119)
Subject: RE: 5 favorite Les Barker poems
From: The Sandman

"For US 'catters, Les Barker performs in folk clubs and his act is standing there reciting incredibly his funny poems. Absolutely hilarious."
I do not find his parodies very funny and find his poems variable, some are quite funny and others mildly amusing, but then humour is a very subjective matter,I do not find them hilarious at all.
now John Foreman is someone I find a spontaneous quick witted hilarious entertainer.


04 Feb 12 - 01:59 PM (#3302164)
Subject: RE: 5 favorite Les Barker poems
From: GUEST

Invisibility cloak... that must be a more recent one. I only remember him not being able to find his camoflage net...


04 Feb 12 - 02:44 PM (#3302189)
Subject: RE: 5 favorite Les Barker poems
From: Herga Kitty

I think a few US Catters have heard Les, because he's toured there (though he's had some visa problems on account of having criticised some of the Government's policies and actions...).

I can't narrow the choice down to 5 - I agree with all of Bradfordian's choices, to start with!

Kitty


04 Feb 12 - 03:34 PM (#3302213)
Subject: RE: 5 favorite Les Barker poems
From: vectis

Have you got any news of the iceberg.
Guide cats

Oh! to Hell with it!

Most of them


04 Feb 12 - 04:18 PM (#3302233)
Subject: RE: 5 favorite Les Barker poems
From: bradfordian

An Infinite Number of Occasional Tables
Desiderata
Ben Kenobi
Heavy Plant Crossing
The Weakest Link

Les has a couple of his poems on his website.
Here
And if you want some reminders, there are also some
Audio samples


05 Feb 12 - 12:16 AM (#3302372)
Subject: RE: 5 favorite Les Barker poems
From: GUEST,Tinker from Chicago

Doesn't anyone but me like the one about the homing phoenix?


05 Feb 12 - 10:17 AM (#3302498)
Subject: RE: 5 favorite Les Barker poems
From: GUEST,AEOLA

I love them all, my main problem is that when I read them out they don't sound half as funny!! Maybe that's ''the good soldier's'' problem??


05 Feb 12 - 10:46 AM (#3302509)
Subject: RE: 5 favorite Les Barker poems
From: Crowhugger

What vectis said.

I'm probably not the only Canadian who discovered him thanks to CBC radio. I don't qite recall which show, maybe Definitely Not the Opera or Richardson's Roundup. Or could've back in the days of Eclectic Circus.


05 Feb 12 - 01:19 PM (#3302593)
Subject: RE: 5 favorite Les Barker poems
From: bradfordian

There is indeed a poem called "I can't find my invisibility cloak" as well as "I can't find my camoflarge net"

OK, 5 more (last Time!)

The Lost Elephants of Denbigh
Send In The Cones
Je Ne Sais Quoi
My husband has no porridge in him
The Ballad of Cosmo McGrew

Timing, intonation, innocence? and a sprinkling of good old SoH.
Of course Les' material won't appeal to everyone. For them as does, enjoy!


06 Feb 12 - 01:17 AM (#3302884)
Subject: RE: 5 favorite Les Barker poems
From: Roughyed

Spot the Zebra
There is a Rose in Lower Crumpsall
The Altrincham Line
Time Travel
Self Assessment


06 Feb 12 - 06:13 AM (#3302973)
Subject: RE: 5 favorite Les Barker poems
From: Big Al Whittle

Spot of the Antarctic


06 Feb 12 - 01:33 PM (#3303168)
Subject: RE: 5 favorite Les Barker poems
From: G-Force

I particularly like the book titles: The Hound of Music, The Twa Corgis, The Extraterrierestrial ... the list goes on.