The Reincarnation of Byron by macjoyce

Very witty, Joyce. Very witty. I'm not sure which parts specifically Tony found clunky, but I found that the forced, tricky rhymes were the funniest, most satisfying parts of the poem. I think fulfilling the dictates of such a tight metre and rhyme scheme encourages original, outlandish imagery - without such restrictions, you could just say what you mean, pure, unadorned, and far, far duller.

I found it really poignant. My favourite description, to move away from the rhymes you already know are damned clever, is "cricket claps". Recognise that one.

"In a cellar that just dwarfs a cockerel’s coop, there gathers a wine-sipping soft-spoken group who welcome him onto the stage with applause (it’s one of the café’s more transparent laws)." Wonderful stuff, particularly following on from the one about The Troubadour, maybe Poetry London would be interesting in publishing a verse sequence on the cellars of the London poetry scene.