T.S. Eliot
Prize for Poetry
is supported
by a hedge fund –
that’s a bit prickly,
a bit pear shaped,
a bit suspect
for an anti-capitalist.
Ouch!
John Kinsella
makes a stand
on the pointy end
of capitalism.
I withdraw my nomination,
he shouts, then jumps
with a dramatic flourish.
It began with Alice Oswald -
poetry should be questioning
not endorsing such institutions.
The Government
is pulling the funds,
left, right and centre.
What’s a poor
Poetry Book Society
to do?
Where do you find
that stream of purest money
to finance the arts?
No-one has an answer
but making headlines -
must be good
for poets and poetry;
another layer in the
proof of existence.
© Gabrielle Bryden
We shouldn't forget that TS Eliot was a banker
--------------------------------------------------------
Gabrielle Bryden is an Australian poet published in a range of books, print and online journals and on ABC National radio. She blogs at http://gabriellebryden.wordpress.com and tweets as GabrielleBryden.
