FUN IN THE SUN WITH THE PUN preview

 

FOREPLAY 

I thought I’d come out of the closet…the poetic closet that is! I’ve
pestered too many people with too many poems to keep it a secret anymore. 

I’d like to describe this collection with a noble claim such as ‘an eclectic
mix of genres’ or a ‘poetic pastiche’; more likely, it’s a ‘rabble of
rants’. Put it this way, I don’t think I’ve value added to our tradition of
poetry. 

Anyway, I like to write within different characters (enough said!), so
introducing: Rapper Duff Daddy (the ageing rapper), Matt Chum (the friendly
cricket poet from Matcham) and Terry Gall (the poet with a pointy pen). 

Apologies to all those old poets whose poems I’ve played around with.
Apologies to any others I need to apologise to. 

If you’re one of the sick few who haven’t had enough of this stuff, go to
www.neildufty.id.au where there’s plenty more. 

Trust you enjoy. 

Neil

Central
Coast resident Neil Dufty recently launched his first book of satirical
poetry at Breakers Memorial Club. Neil usually writes scientific reports in
his role as an environmental and natural hazards management consultant. But
on the long commute to Parramatta he has turned his writing skills to a very
different genre: humorous and satirical poetry. 

Neil has
always enjoyed reading poetry but only has written it spasmodically during
his lifetime. However, some two years ago, he starting penning satirical
poetry on the train to allay the commute boredom. This has culminated in
Neil’s first book, titled ‘Fun in the Sun with the Pun: A Collection of
Playful Poems’, being published.  

A
particular feature of Neil’s poetry is the re-working of well-known poems
into a contemporary context. “I enjoyed hearing Weird Al Jankovic’s spin on
famous pop tunes so I thought I might try the same approach with some of our
iconic poems”, Neil explains. So Gerard Manley Hopkins’ poem ‘Pied Beauty’
has been transformed into ‘Fried Beauty’ – a satire on fast foods. And the
famous Coleridge poem ‘The Rime of the Ancient Mariner’ has been turned into
‘The Rime of the Central Coast Mariner’ – a tribute to the Coast’s football
team. 

Neil also
writes through a series of characters, one being ‘Rapper Duff Daddy’. “Rap
is the modern day poetry for the people but it is also open to satire”, Neil
suggests. So he has written a series of rap poems that are a light-hearted
send up of the rap culture. An example of these poems is ‘A Rap for Woy Woy’
– a fun response to Spike Milligan’s quip that

Woy Woy was “the
world’s only above-ground cemetery”. 

The
Central Coast lifestyle features strongly in the book’s poems with quirky
offerings such as ‘A Sonnet about a Grommet’. ‘The Ballad of Kenny Campbell’
is a poem about local cricket legend Ken Campbell written in Banjo Patterson
style.  

Neil adds,
“I lived out west for many years so there are also a few samples of bush
verse in the book”. ‘Bush Tennis’ is an example of this verse where Neil
describes in a humorous way the conflict between the ‘rural classes’ that
may occur in isolated communities.

The book
can be ordered through local bookstores or from Poseidon Publishers. A taste
of the poems can be obtained at Neil’s poetry website:

www.neildufty.id.au. New poems can be found at Neil’s blog:

www.blognow.com.au/ndufty 

Enquiries:
Neil Dufty 0427 130 283 (B/H)

READ SOME SAMPLES:

MY POETRY

 

My poetry is full of:

Doggerel and dross,

Flummery and floss,

Drivel I can’t stop.

 

Sometimes a little
quirky,

Mostly, very irky. 

A modicum of meaning



In a milieu of madness

 

FRIED BEAUTY

 Glory be to God for all fried things

–

For well-done patties full of whatever;

For savs encased in thick, crusted batter;

Oily fish and chips; chicken wings;

Chiko rolls – folded, aromatic, full of flavour;

And other beauties, how can they make you fatter? 

 

All fried things crisp, ooey, gooey, strange;

Whatever raises cholesterol (who knows how?)

With ingredients that must keep you trim;

Let’s buy another scallop with the change:

Praise him. 

(Author’s note: Apologies to
Gerard Manley Hopkins for the take on ‘Pied Beauty’)

MY MULLET 

Don’t shave my mullet, my
lovely flowin’ mullet,

Just watch it swayin’ in the
breeze,

And if you shave my mullet, my
lovely flowin’ mullet,

I’ll fall down cryin’ on my
knees.

 

You can stand and bellow that
I’m not a modern fellow,

That my hair is shorter at the
side,

But lookin’ at my mane that’s
givin’ me my fame,

There’s no need to make it go
and hide.

 

Now you can trash my trailer,
yell it from a loud hailer,

Laugh and joke at my retro
look,

But Billy Ray perfected it, why
are you rejectin’ it?

I’m proud of it and will not be
a sook.

 

I can say it’s fair that the
girls just love my hair,

They stroke and fondle it like
a cat,

But there’s an older dame who
really adores my mane,

It’s aunt Raelene with her
ciggy and her tat.

 

So you can look like new and
grow a mullet too,

There are styles that never
ever fail,

Now there‘s one with a perm,
with bleach to make it firm,

Why not that trendy ratty tail?

 

Don’t sneer at my mullet, my
lovely flowing mullet,

It’s the greatest hair-do by a
mile,

And if you sneer at my mullet,
my lovely flowing mullet,

It might soon come back into
style!

 

(Author’s note: To be sung to
that classic ‘Achy Breaky Heart’)