A collection of really ridiculous poetry about my pet rat Brian, ridiculously illustrated by Dave Freeman, an Australian
A collection of really ridiculous poetry about my pet rat Brian, ridiculously illustrated by Dave Freeman, an Australian.
A collection of really ridiculous poetry about my pet rat Brian, ridiculously illustrated by Dave Freeman, an Australian
A collection of really ridiculous poetry about my pet rat Brian, ridiculously illustrated by Dave Freeman, an Australian
A collection of really ridiculous poetry about my pet rat Brian, ridiculously illustrated by Dave Freeman, an Australian
Excerpt
Gaugin lives on In Rodentia
My pet rat Brian
takes his holidays in the sun.
He finds the conventional venues
like Paris
Costa del Sol
Surfers Paradise
New York
to be très unchic.
A character plucked perhaps
from an early Gaugin canvas
in designer shades
Hawaiian shirt
rubber thongs
Brian prefers to be stress-free
on a remote tropical island
sipping coconut milk martinis
lying on his Lay-Z-Boy
in the shade of the bamboo
eating mangoes peeled for him
by dusky, sloe-eyed maidens
and working on his rat tan
Professional Reviews
Rat atouille for the rindless
Review by Graeme Beals, managing director, Zenith Publishing Group, New Zealand, August 5th 2007:
'A piece of totally irrational fun, Rat atouille is an ideal gift for anyone who loves to poke sticks at authority, take the Mickey, deflate the overblown and generally have a good laugh. Some wonderful fun with language, punctuated with totally un-PC graphics, few will be able to avoid laughing out loud as they enjoy this short work. And don't be disappointed when you find that the last few pages are taken up with what appears to be explanatory material. Some of the best laughs lie hidden within.
We'd love to see this duo take on a prose 'analysis' of life in the South Pacific.'
Rat atouille for the rindless
Rat atouille for the rindless, John Irvine. PreShrunk Press, Colville, New Zealand. 2007. 37 pp. ISBN 978-0-473-12544-8. NZ$19.99
Reviewed by Patricia Prime for:
Stylus Poetry Journal www.styluspoetryjournal.com
So what happens when we turn to John Irvine’s Rat atouille for the rindless, with its wonderfully expressive drawings by Dave Freeman of the personified rat, Brian? As one of the most intriguing writers of New Zealand poetry, Irvine offers the reader a larrikin rodent as hero. How does the poetry emanating from such a thoughtful and through-provoking figure read?
Firstly, the book is very diverse and it is precisely that diversity that makes it an enjoyable dipping experience though, I suspect, for most readers, a mixed one. Secondly, Irvine’s short lyrics produce some powerfully satirical poems about the life of Brian who, as the author tells us, “is a lover, a gourmet, a hardnosed commie, a bit of a loner, a real rootin’ tootin’ rat’s rat . . . yet this tortured soul also enjoys the deep thinkers like Joyce, Solzhenitsyn, Browning and Bush.”
Although each poem begins with the phrase “My pet rat Brian” and ends with a take on the word “rat”, the poems do not differ from each other in poetic form, as Irvine allows the events surrounding Brian to lead the poem. Often it is possible to discern an internal shift that perhaps mirrors the life of the author with that of rat. The mind perceives one visible or mental perception, then shifts to another way of seeing or perceiving and concludes the moment in qualified resolution, even revelation. An example is the poem “On how division avoids multiplication”, where Brian contemplates marriage:
My pet rat Brian
even became engaged
to be married once.
Sweet young thing
she was,
with delicate, pale grey whiskers
and a certain promissory
gleam in her black button eye.
They seemed destined
for urban ecstasy
until she suggested
lots of cute, tiny, little
b rats . . .
I particularly like “On whether matters of extracurricular sex out to be debated on live television” for the mundanity of the circumstance of Brian’s mental journey and for the keenly observed detail:
My pet rat Brian
considers himself an intellectual.
But he met his match during
a recent debate
on RATTV
where an invited socialist ant
disassembled his
carefully prepared argument
promoting the
philosophical benefits
of extracurricular sex
in less than 3 minutes.
Man, was that wild
ra n t!
I cite the whole poem so that the reader can see the stages the piece moves through towards the carefully crafted last lines.
In other poems, I enjoyed Irvine’s references to mind, body and soul. In the poem “Gauguin lives on in rodentia” we see Brian taking a holiday in the sun, stipulating that he doesn’t care for more conventional venues and enjoying the maiden bringing him coconut milk martinis. Dave Freeman’s drawing of Brian in his La-Z-Boy, being attended by a sloe-eyed maiden perfectly complements the poem with its humour.
A character plucked perhaps
from an early Gauguin canvas
in designer shades
Hawaiian shirt
rubber thongs
Brian prefers to be stress-free
on a remote tropical island
sipping coconut milk martinis
lying on his la-Z-Boy
in the shade of the bamboo
eating mangoes peeled for him
by dusky, sloe-eyed maidens
and working on his rat tan.
At their best, the poems succeed in tracing a pattern of thought and sound in their well-composed lines. In poems such as “Arak as a viable alternative to sodium pentathol” and “Shine on August moon”, Irvine makes skilful use of enjambment to create the energy of the poem in which phrases run down the page and on to the next with wit and vigour:
In “A Strat for a rat and that’s that” we see Brian studying the “astral science”, watching Star Trek and then changing his mind when his desire to be the new Jim Hendrix takes over:
After a spirited rendition
of All Along the Watchtower with two encores
and a solo three part harmony,
Brian had an epiphany.
He was heard to exclaim
around his second double spliff,
“Man! I just can’t leave this axe behind, y’dig?
I mean, it’s a St rat!”
The poems are written solely in the narrator’s voice. They have a conversational quality, humour and just the right amount of tension to capture the reader’s imagination. Here is the second section of “Ornithology and the significant role of the Portuguese”, which is a poem about Brian’s life as an amateur ornithologist:
When he was once offered the opportunity
of interviewing NZ’s famous flightless birds
for National Geographic magazine,
he packed his bags with a round of ripe cheddar,
Salon Professionals whisker shampoo and conditioner
and two dozen bottles of a rather cheeky Portuguese port.
The seriousness of Brian’s undertaking is wittily undercut by the author’s list of the things he has packed for his trip. In the accompanying drawing we see Brian tucking into his meal, knife and fork poised, as in his imagination he thinks about the kiwi he is supposed to be interviewing.
Irvine thoughtfully provides an “Afterword”, in which he explains that “Brian was not always a rodent but he was always a rat.” He also provides a “Glossary of Terms” used in the poems and “Biographies of the perpetrators of this piece of pap” – all written in his signature tone of wit and jollity.
At one level, these poems are a tour de force in which the quest of the rodent making his way in life, is described humorously, wittily and in detail, compared with the way in which many of us approach life with its prejudices, red tape and pc. And, at another level, they are priceless for their humour and take on the vagaries of life.
Irvine is a principled poet who thinks every element of his craft through for himself, abhorring received opinion. I think the New Zealand poetry scene is the richer for such a figure in its midst that can poke fun at many of our precious views on art, science, philosophy, literature, and so on. This book is a good introduction to his poetry.
Rat atouille for the rindless
Review from Georgina Laidlaw
Chief Editor
Australian Reader
www.australianreader.com
November 2007
**
OFF THE SHELF: RAT ATOUILLE FOR THE RINDLESS
If you've got a sense of humour, you'll love Rat atouille
for the Rindless, a collection of entertaining and
irreverent poetry by John Irvine, with amusing line
drawings by Dave Freeman.
Each poem tells a tale of the author's pet rat Brian,
who appears to have accomplished a lot in his short life:
playing concert piano, "doing" the 70s, becoming
engaged, a vegan and a soclialist, participating in a debate
on RATTV, and having an obsession with older French women
(among other things!). They're witty and cleverly put
together -- we just can't help ourselves from being
charmed by the antics of the waggish Brian!
Dave Freeman's line drawing seem deceptively simple,
but in fact they complement each poem effortlessly, each
line communicating Brian's vivacity, his disheveled
appeal, and his charming, yet slightly googly eyes.
Although the poems stand on their own, these fun and
thoughtful illustrations really help to make the book.
This short collection of no more than 48 pages is the
perfect pick-me-up at the end of a long day, or any time
you need to switch off from life's whirl. I found myself
frequently giggling at the adventures of Brian (much to
the horror of my quieter fellow commuters).
Rat atouille for the Rindless is the ideal Christmas gift
for the person who has everything (including a sense of
humour), or anyone who enjoys clever wit and good
entertainment.
The book is available through the creators' own imprint,
Preshunk Press, and can be purchased in hard copy
(paperback) or electronic book format from:
WHISPERS OF THE HEART is artist and author J. Allen Wilson's second book of poetry.It can be autographed and shipped within 48 hours of order. NO LONGER AVAILABLE.
First Edition Translation of Teselas by Carmen Crespo X111 César Simón Poetry Prixe 2016 Translated from Spanish by Robin Ouzman Hislop and Amparo Arrospíde
