Steve Pottinger

@bigstevepoet

Old enough to know better. Still doesn't. Likes it that way. Poet/stage manager/defiant square peg. www.stevepottinger.co.uk

526 Folgt1.230 Follower1.067 Posts

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Steve Pottinger@bigstevepoet· 23d

Thoughts about #MidlandsFringe, life in the fringes, and doing what you can. stevepottinger.substack.com/p/out-on-the...

An orange square with white text. Text reads: Out on the fringes

Steve Pottinger@bigstevepoet· 26d

That was a great opening day to #MidlandsFringe. Thanks to all three of our acts for their entertaining shows, to KTeas Cakes for being a fantastic venue, and to our audience for being that vital element of the whole shebang that sometimes doesn't get the recognition it deserves. You were great!

The words 'Midlands Fringe Ay It!' on an orange/yellow poster with coloured zig-zag lines. 'Midlands' is in black text on an orange background; 'Fringe' is white on a hot pink background. The 'i' of Fringe is a microphone in bright yellow. 'Ay It!' is in hot pink on a yellow background. Overall, we'd describe this poster as 'vibrant'.

Steve Pottinger@bigstevepoet· Jul 14

Today is Black Country Day, when we celebrate our region. But why was the date of July 14th chosen? Does it: a) commemorate the invention of the battered chip?

An image of the Black Country flag, which is black, white, and red. The white section is in the shape of a glass cone. The black and red represent the famous saying "red at night, black as coal by day" referring to the region's industry. A chain hangs across the flag.

A photo of battered chips. Food of the gods.

Steve Pottinger@bigstevepoet· Jul 6

Have a poem.

Piccadilly Line, Monday, 08.07am

The woman in white linen trousers
is scrubbing at marks on them
only she can see. An old couple
share a pastry, and the pleasure
of each other’s company. We’re
hitting 20 degrees already, and
the lass opposite is still rocking
a leopardskin print coat and boots
while the man in the England shirt
looks like he’s been up all night,
still can’t quite believe it.

Steve Pottinger@bigstevepoet· Jul 2

If you were there, wanted to buy a copy of 'snapshots' but missed out, or if you weren't there, but want to buy a copy anyway, they're on sale here: ignitebooks.co.uk/product/snap...

Image of a black book cover with yellow text. Text reads: snapshots from the fall of home, Steve Pottinger

Steve Pottinger@bigstevepoet· Jun 24

I've been sweating over a hot Substack, I tell you... stevepottinger.substack.com/p/red-hot

An orange square with white text. Text reads: Red hot.

Steve Pottinger@bigstevepoet· Jun 18

And on Saturday afternoon, @emmapurshouse.bsky.social and myself are in Leeds. A PAYF gig in the Fox & Newt, on Burley Road. 2pm start.

A black-and-white image of a man and a woman leaning against a metal door. Text reads: Saturday 20th at 14.00. West Mids poets in Leeds! The Fox & Newt.

Steve Pottinger@bigstevepoet· Jun 18

Looking forward to tomorrow's gig in #Hull with @emmapurshouse.bsky.social @jimhigo.bsky.social and all the other Spoken Word Friday poets! 😊

An image of someone who may be John Cooper Clarke graffitied on a tiled wall. Text reads: Spoken Word Friday; six of the UK's best spoken word acts. The New Adelphi, Hull. Friday 19th June 8.00pm £6 admission, unwaged PAYF

Steve Pottinger@bigstevepoet· Jun 11

I found a few minutes to cobble together – I mean, craft – a new Substack. And include an old but still relevant video, too. Enjoy! 😊 stevepottinger.substack.com/p/view-from-...

White text on an orange background. Text reads: View from a field...

Steve Pottinger@bigstevepoet· May 12

I've spent the evening writing... stevepottinger.substack.com/p/marvelling...

White text on an organge background. Text reads: marvelling at incredible things

Steve Pottinger@bigstevepoet· May 6

In which our correspondent reluctantly dips their toes into the tepid bath of public opinion just one day before council elections... stevepottinger.substack.com/p/previously...

White text on an orange background. Text reads: Previously unseen interviews... #CrookedNigel. The following interviews, collected at considerable personal risk by an unnamed correspondent, offer a valuable insight into the mindset of a section of the public easily swayed by sectarian....

Steve Pottinger@bigstevepoet· May 6

This is it for now, but I can't promise there won't be more... 🙃

Standing on the door of Crooked Nigel’s Emporium of Broken Nostalgia™, Furious Bellwether (49) rolls his shoulders and holds forth. “His skill, of course, is in telling me exactly what I want to hear. Which is that all my disappointments in life – patchy employment record, brushes with the law, failures with women – are the fault of people in dinghies who I’ve never met. It’s scapegoating par excellence, and yes, it’s nonsense, of course it is, but you can see the appeal.” Something akin to a smile flickers, momentarily, across his face. “He’s also promised to rescind the restraining order my ex-wife took out, which is music to my ears. Wagner, Ride of the Valkyries, if you were wondering. Real alpha male energy there, not that you’d understand. Now I suggest you move along, sir. I feel an act of gratuitous violence coming on.”

(this report forged by your correspondent in the searing heat of the Blast Furnace of Truth from the rusted remains of an Austin Allegro, a set of brass knuckledusters, and a buggered Scalextric)

#CrookedNigel

Steve Pottinger@bigstevepoet· May 6

And yes, there's more...

Stumbling out into the evening gloom from Crooked Nigel’s Emporium of Broken Nostalgia™ after an all-day session on gin and bitter lemon, Miss Wisteria Fox (52) sobs “My therapist tells me I’ve a fixation on unattainable father figures, rogues who will only ever treat me badly, and god knows she’s right, but have you ever smelt him? I mean, really smelt him? That unmistakable aroma of entitlement, casual bigotry, and stale Bensons leaves me all of a flutter. I’m unspeakably moist, and unable to answer for my actions, but will he ever deign to look at a wretch like me? No. Never. And that’s no more than I deserve.” And with this, she smooths down her dishevelled suit jacket, adjusts her pearl necklace, and staggers off into the night.

(this report picked from the Haemhorroids of Truth by this correspondent using nothing but dexterity, bare hands, and an incomparable gag reflex)

#CrookedNigel

Steve Pottinger@bigstevepoet· May 6

Next, our humble correspondent's second missive...

Standing outside Crooked Nigel’s Emporium of Broken Nostalgia™, a florid Constipation Arkwright (77) tells your humble correspondent “I’ve been enjoying two and a half pounds of bacon – pounds, mark you, none of your kilogram nonsense here – two and a half pounds of bacon fried in lard every morning since we won back the Falklands. Every last morsel eaten in stalwart defence of our noble Judaeo-Christian culture, whatever that is. The quack says my salt levels are off the scale, but danger’s nothing to me, I was a Marine.” He pauses. “Well, I lived next door to a chap who knew a bloke who snogged a Marine once, and that’s more or less the same, isn’t it? Now, call an ambulance, I beg you, I think I’ve blown a gasket.”

(this report sifted by your correspondent from the Shifting Sands of Truth with the aid of a fish slice and a pair of irretrievably salt-stained loafers)

#CrookedNigel

Steve Pottinger@bigstevepoet· May 6

My brain woke me up in the small hours with these thoughts about #CrookedNigel. So I thought I'd share them with you. Enjoy! 😉

Speaking to the press outside Crooked Nigel’s Emporium of Broken Nostalgia™, Mrs Chlamydia Tonks (83) says of her good fortune “I only went in for the All You Can Hate For A Fiver afternoon tea, but then the bingo started. I’ve always loved a flutter, so I thought I’d give it a go. At first it was the usual balls – woke, windmills, our patriotic duty to huff hydrocarbons – but by the time he pulled out ‘Islamist conspiracies’ and ‘men of fighting age’, I knew I was in with a shot. Boats, cancel culture, and a final ‘you can’t say anything any more’, and that was it. HOUSE!” She beams. “I won a polyester Union Jack (used) made in China, and a can of warm Carling. I just had time to look into his dead, soulless eyes and shake his strangely clammy hand before he slapped me on the arse and told me to get back in the kitchen where I belong. I’ve never been happier.”

(this report hewn by your correspondent from the Coalface of Truth using only a Swiss Army knife and the light of a dying star)

#CrookedNigel

Steve Pottinger@bigstevepoet· May 1

I've got a couple of poems in a brilliant new anthology called 'Shoulder to Shoulder'. It commemorates the centenary of the General Strike, and how solidarity, resistance, and collective action still matter today. So I wrote about it. stevepottinger.substack.com/p/shoulder-t...

White text on an orange background. Text reads: Shoulder to Shoulder

Steve Pottinger@bigstevepoet· Apr 30

Tomorrow evening, in Wolverhampton. Be lovely to see you, if you can make it. 😊

A poster. Text reads: Wolverhampton's annual 1st May festival. Gill's Bar & Banqueting, Jackson St, Whitmore Reans WV6 0QQ Doors open 6.45pm. Free admission. Featuring St Brigids (Riotous Collective), Steve Pottinger, Azaad dhol group, One Love sound sytem, plus May Day speakers. Veggie meal, mehndi, bouncy castle, stalls

Steve Pottinger@bigstevepoet· Apr 20

If you're knocking around Wolverhampton on May 1st, and at a loose end, help is at hand. 😎

A poster. Text reads: Wolverhampton's annual 1st May festival. Friday 1st May, Gill's Bar & Banqueting, Jackson St, Whitmore Reans WV6 0QQ. Doors open 6.45pm. All welcome. Free admission. Featuring

St Brigids (Riotous Collective)
Steve Pottinger
Azaad dhol group
One Love sound system
+ May Day speakers

Veggie meal, mehndi, bouncy castle, stalls

Steve Pottinger@bigstevepoet· Apr 18

Sometimes, it’s a joy to point folk towards artists who excel at what they do. This is one of those times. stevepottinger.substack.com/p/peace-de-r...

White text on an orange background. Text reads: Peace de Resistance

Steve Pottinger@bigstevepoet· Apr 4

Here, have a new poem. 😊 stevepottinger.substack.com/p/a-poem-abo...

White text on an orange background. Text reads: a poem about a thing (which was open and now isn't)

Steve Pottinger@bigstevepoet· Mar 31

Back then, I was just taking my first steps into poetry, stapling together pamphlets of my work and selling them for £1 each. This encouragement meant the world. 😊

An image of a message written in red biro inside a book cover. It reads: Steve - with all the best for your poems. Peace 1990. Burnley. Adrian Mitchell. There's also a drawing of an elephant with its trunk raised.

Steve Pottinger@bigstevepoet· Mar 31

Another day, another Substack. stevepottinger.substack.com/p/no-bloody-...

White text on an orange background. Text reads: no bloody whimsy

Steve Pottinger@bigstevepoet· Mar 30

I spent this morning writing down a few thoughts... stevepottinger.substack.com/p/musings-on...

White text on an orange background. Text reads: musings on the National. Lobbing my two penn'orth into the ring.

Steve Pottinger@bigstevepoet· Mar 21

I took a few minutes away from building stages to scribble down a Substack... stevepottinger.substack.com/p/new-season...

White text on an orange background. Text reads: New season, new poem.... counting my blessings

Steve Pottinger@bigstevepoet· Mar 14

Goodbye, bike. I hope whoever is lucky enough to spend time with you next has as much fun as I did.

An image of a motorbike in a van, strapped down safely and on its way to a new life.

Steve Pottinger@bigstevepoet· Mar 6

I've been busy over on that there Substack again... stevepottinger.substack.com/p/celebratin...

White text on an orange background. Text reads: celebrating small spaces. stevepottinger.substack.com

Steve Pottinger@bigstevepoet· Mar 6

Thank you, Luton. Last night's gig was amazing. 😊

A photo of a gable end wall painted with a deisgn which reads: the future demands your participation. In front of it, orange letters spell out LUTON.

Steve Pottinger@bigstevepoet· Mar 5

Coming up this weekend, it's a Saturday afternoon gig in Wolverhampton for @blackcountrysoc.bsky.social. With contributions from @alexvann.bsky.social @emmapurshouse.bsky.social and Jane Seabourne. It'll be great!

A poster with four headshots. Text in a red banner reads "The Black Country Society presents... A Listen and a Loff. An hour of top-notch entertainment from local voices. Pay as you feel. Alex Vann: singer songwriter. Emma Purshouse: Black Country poetry. Jane Seabourne: Bostin Fittle, a mini talk. Hosted by Steve Pottinger. 3pm Sat 7th March, KTeas Cakes, Wolverhampton.

Steve Pottinger@bigstevepoet· Mar 1

A haiku. Title: same as it ever was.

War never changes.
Rich men – broken, vindictive –
send poor men to die.

Steve Pottinger@bigstevepoet· Feb 21

Sign of the day