Imagine

John Lennon would have been age 70 today. The above photograph taken by JC Racing on Flickr is a beautiful tribute to the late singer. The photograper calls the photograph "A Shot in the Park." Yes I know, John was not shot in Central Park where this mosaic in his memory is located. John was shot on the night of December 8, 1980 as he arrived back at the nearby Dakota apartment house with his wife Yoko Ono.

Much is happening in John's home city of Liverpool to celebrate what would have been his seventieth birthday, including the unveiling of a peace memorial by his first wife Cynthia Lennon and his son Julian. (More on the monument and the unveiling through the link in the title above).

I have entered the international John Lennon poetry competition, to be judged by Poet Laureate Carol Ann Duffy, and am awaiting word whether I might be a finalist. I entered the performance poet category rather than the paper poet competition. There is to be a poetry slam event in Liverpool on Saturday, November 6, at which the three finalists in the performance category are to perform three poems each. The information from Beatles Story said that the finalists in both the paper and performance contests would be informed on Friday. No word but someone who entered the paper poet competition received word that Ms. Duffy has the poems, implying that the response to the competition might be greater than expected and that it is taking time to select the finalists. No news, I suppose, is good news! Stay tuned.

The Lennon poem I have written for the competition is not the same as the following piece but if I am lucky enough to be chosen to perform at the slam event on November 6, I will need to perform three poems, and this is likely to be the second one I would do, part of a Lennon trilogy, as it were.

LENNON

John, as I stood over Julia's grave
in Allerton Cemetery, I understood
a little of what you were about:

an unmarked grave, just like my
great grandmother's in the same
cemetery; faded teddy bear tribute.

The night the car took Julia
away from you, liquor stinking
on the off-duty cop's breath.

Julia -- knickers on her head
-- adult and child all in one.
Leather-clad rocker's mum gone

but not! -- not! -- not forgotten!
No room for sentiment, except
in your songs, somehow;
the girls screamed anyhow.

Christopher T. George



John Lennon by Judith

No results yet (as of October 19) for the Liverpool Lennon Poetry Competition. The Beatles Story site has the following information in its news release section:

"Liverpool Lennon Poetry Competition - Update

"15 Oct 2010

"Due to the high caliber and sheer volume of entries to the Liverpool Lennon ‘paper' poet competition, the announcement of the finalists has been delayed. The entries are being carefully selected by the poet Laureate, Carol Ann Duffy. The finalists will be announced shortly - watch this space!"

Meanwhile information is out on the tickets for the Poetry Slam scheduled to be held at the Liverpool Institute for the Performing Arts (LIPA) on Mount Street on Saturday, November 6:

Liverpool Lennon Poetry Competition
Date: November 6, 2010
Time: 19:30
Venue: Paul McCartney Auditorium, LIPA
£5 Per Ticket