James Scott howes
is a bit of a Leicester legend,
Having been part of the arts/music
scene for a very long time.
Fronting a variety
of metal/punk rap bands
and his spoken word Poetry.
As a live act James takes
every aspect of these different artworks
and combines them perfectly
into a wonderfully powerful
confident stage performance
that amazes with its aggressive delivery
of beauty and honesty.
The first time I saw James live,
he literally gave me a panic attack.
His words so powerful
and his delivery tore through my emotional core
like a jet engine through a cloud.
My vaporous emotions
were scattered into the wind behind.
But as time went on
the words started to take hold,
I saw him many times after this
and each time I'd see/hear something unique
and delicate in this ferocious energy.
But can his work leap
like a stage diver from the stage onto the page?
Will it still have that same intensity
and will it hold up under the scrutiny?
In a single word. Yes.
In two simple words bloody yes!
Stripped of its delivery
this is like a metal band
taking on an acoustic tour,
you realise that all along the theatrics
were one aspect but beneath them
lay something so much more.
Honesty and beauty.
James has one of the most powerful vocabularies
I've heard on the scene,
but never needing you to delve into a dictionary
to understand the meaning behind his words.
So perfectly picked, with rhyme, charm
and humour shining through every couplet.
One of the absolute stand out poems
and one I've had the joy of hearing countless times is 'Listen Lads'
Which really delves into this whole toxic
boys will be boys culture,
it hits you like a brick In its sheer honesty
and it's view of men.
And it is so refreshing
to hear this from a man.
And this all brings my first point
about this book.
We have a lack of male poets
who are willing to delve deep into themselves,
years of toxic masculinity
and fake bravado has made us too scared
to say at times we are not well,
we feel insecure, we are lost.
That the world is getting too much.
James has an honest open discussion
with us the reader about all of these feelings,
Things we should be talking about nationally
if not internationally. If this world is going to become
a better place, then men need to start to learn
to express their feelings, without fear of what
other men may say or think.
We can be, and need to be better,
what better way to begin than by understanding
the problems that have plagued us
generation after generation.
I also want to highlight the amazing
way the book looks,
it's hard to make a poetry book stand out in a crowd
of other poetry books. But this collection,
with its contrasting titles and full page
black and white photos really does feel
like it's earnt its place on the shelf.
I am not going to discuss any more
of the work in this book,
I want you to be as surprised
and excited as when you see
a great movie or hear a prized album
for the first time.
But what I will say is very simple.
Buy a copy.
Don't THINK about buying a copy,
Don't add it to a list.
Just click confirm. You won't regret it,
even if you believe you don't enjoy poetry,
this is poetry that everyone can gain from.
Thanks for reading.
Peace, Love & Poetry
Kyle
