Brian Bilston: wonderfully daft poetry

I recently discovered the work of Brian Bilston, also known as the ‘Banksy of poetry’ or the ‘Brian Bilston of Twitter’, through an article on the BBC News website. Clever, amusing and sometimes thought-provoking, his poems are now gathered together in an anthology: You Took The Last Bus Home, available from Edge of the World bookshop.

DONALD TRUMPTON

Skew,
Spew,
Barmy Hairdo,
Cut-throat,
Bigot,
and Smug.

— Brian Bilston (@brian_bilston) March 2, 2016

Topical, eh?

Brian (not his real name) became famous through his posts on Twitter (@brian_bilston) where 37,000 followers now hang on his words. Sadly for us at the Litfest, it seems that Brian is a private man and it’s unlikely that we will be able to get him to participate in 2017. A Brian Bilston tribute act might be on the cards though!

One of his most poignant works is simply called Refugees:

My poem ‘Refugees’ for #refugeeswelcome pic.twitter.com/6HzTFdOMXv

— Brian Bilston (@brian_bilston) September 17, 2016

Of course, even if we don’t manage to bring Brian to Penzance next year, there will be plenty of poetry lined up for 2017 as the spoken word is always a keystone of the Litfest.

Even if the poetry isn’t quite as wonderfully daft as this.

I’M A CELERIAC GET ME OUT OF HERE

A knobbly root vegetable
with a plan
and bravado

was able to escape
from the van
of Ocado.

— Brian Bilston (@brian_bilston) November 15, 2015

You can find out more about Brian Bilston at brianbilston.com, Twitter or Facebook. You won’t be disappointed.