Profile
Name - Richard Raftery
Also known as - Raftery the Poet; The Viscount of Verse; The Razor-tongued Bard:
Birthplace - Warwick, England
Likes - beer (esp. Black Sheep and Tetleys), curry, Doc Martens, red wine, a nice cup of tea, olive oil, natural fibres, an alluring décolletage, zoot suits.
Dislikes - vol-au-vents, portable phones, nouvelle cuisine, lager, programmes about antiques, cardigans, baseball hats, wire coat hangers, sticky labels which can be extremely difficult to remove; this annoying trend of flashing up credits at great speed with split screen at end of television programmes and er.. . injustice and oppression.
Most tiresome habits - reciting the famous taxi scene from On the Waterfront; saying 'Aaarghh me leg!';
Influences -Alan Bennett, Morrissey; Paul Whitehouse; Beryl Cook; Father Ted; Richmal Crompton; (Just William), Jimmy Clitheroe; Ken Dodd.
Most over-used words or phrases - skeletal confidante; vouchsafe; it's all happening; juxtapose:
Controversial Ideas - (1) Save the red squirrel by eating all the grey ones. (2) Ban all TV programmes with the word celebrity in the title. (3) Give generous tax concessions to people who don't pave over front gardens thus reducing the liklehood of flooding and allowing wildlife (inc. red squirrels) to flourish
Controversial Opinions - (1) Madonna is vastly over-rated. Even her best work (a few catchy if highly forgettable tunes from the eighties) is not on a par with the fine disco-pop of legendary spanish girl duo Baccara such as "Yes Sir I Can Boogie" and "Sorry I'm A Lady". (2) Half of the American population is below average intelligence and are therefore entitled to a President who reflects their (lack of) world-view. Next time it should be the other way round.
Listens to - Nick Drake, Gillian Welch, Old Crow Medicine Show, The Divine Comedy, REM, Gene Vincent, Echo and the Bunnymen, (check out latest cd - Siberia - it is up there with their best stuff) Powder Keg, Smokestack, Rhonda Vincent (phenomenal bluegrass mandolin player and singer)
Favourite Films - Billy Liar, Saturday Night and Sunday Morning, Little Dieter Loves To Fly, Body And Soul, The Dead, Witch-finder General:
Lifelong Task - for twenty-five years I have been working on my novel -The Return Of The Black Magician - a 'comic, political-horror tale'. Currently working closely with talented young illustrator (Lorna Johnstone) who is creatively 'fleshing out' main characters in unique style. (See also novel page - under profile link at top.)
Poetical Matters - to keep on ploughing the poetical furrow. Recent appearances include the Headingley Festival and Wicked Words. Regular guest on Radio Leeds. See shop for details of publications.
Thought for the week -
There will be flue! We are told that now is not the time to panic. So when will be the time to panic and what is the best way to go about it? Do we have to take to the streets or can it be done at home with a nice cup of tea?
Raftery has spoken - his wisdom is deeper than the ocean!