A man wearing a ruffled white satin poet shirt.

A poet shirt (also known as a poet blouse or pirate shirt) is a type of shirt made as a loose-fitting blouse with full bishop sleeves, usually decorated with large frills on the front and on the cuffs.^[1] Typically, it has a laced-up V-neck opening, designed to pull over the head, but can have a full-length opening fastened by buttons. The collar may be standing or folded over with points. Fabrics commonly used in its manufacture include linen, cotton, velvet and satin, while frills may be of the same fabric or of lace. Originally intended as a male garment, it is also worn by women today (though still interchangeably referred to as both a "shirt" and a "blouse" regardless of which gender is wearing it).^[2]

History[link]

Although descended from the shirts worn by men in the 17th and 18th centuries, the modern poet blouse combines two aspects: the fineness of ruffled shirts worn as an undergarment by aristocrats and the informality of plain shirts worn (normally open-necked) as a standalone garment by workmen. Inspired by Romanticism^[3][4], it was a popular style for boys during the 19th century^[5] and for the pseudo-historical costumes worn by Hollywood actors portraying characters such as swordsmen or pirates during the 20th century.

A tailored version of the poet shirt became highly fashionable for young men during the 1960s, particularly in London. Jane Ormsby Gore described her discussions at that time with her then husband, Michael Rainey, who owned a men's clothing shop in Chelsea: "We were very influenced by Byron … those Byron shirts with frilly fronts and big sleeves".^[6] Epitomised by bands such as Duran Duran and Spandau Ballet, the vogue for androgynous frilly blouses played a significant part in the New Romantic male fashion of the 1980s.^[7] Today, the style remains popular in some modern movements such as the Goth subculture, where it may be valued simply for its romantic or swashbuckling image, intended as part of a themed costume (e.g. vampire) or worn in defiance of mainstream conventions as a deliberate expression of gender ambiguity (in the same tradition as glam rock^[8]).

A ruffled poet shirt, often worn with a wide belt or other item of clothing traditionally associated with pirates, has been the central theme of a spate of fashion trends stimulated by the Pirates of the Caribbean series of adventure films, the first of which was released in 2003.^[9]

References[link]

Barry Keenan is an American businessman who is best known as the mastermind behind the 1963 kidnapping of Frank Sinatra, Jr.^[1]

At the age of 21, Keenan was already successful in the world of business, as well as being the youngest member of the Los Angeles Stock Exchange.^[1] A car accident left Keenan penniless and addicted to painkillers; eventually leading him to hatch the scheme and enlist help in the kidnap-for-ransom plan.^[2] Keenan, along with Johnny Irwin and Joe Amsler, conspired to kidnap Frank Sinatra Jr.^[3] Keenan had a psychiatric condition in which he heard voices, and felt that his plan was blessed by God; since he intended to eventually pay the money back, he did not think the kidnapping was immoral.^[4] After successfully nabbing Sinatra Jr. from the Harrah's Lodge at South Lake Tahoe, Keenan made contact with Frank Sinatra, Sr. to make ransom arrangements. Sinatra initially offered one million dollars, but Keenan demanded $240,000 instead; significantly less.^[5] Despite the nature of the crime, Keenan illogically felt that he was bringing the Sinatra family closer together and assisting the Sinatras in other intangible ways.^[4][5]

Sinatra paid the ransom and the three men released his son. Within days, all three conspirators were apprehended by the FBI. Keenan was sentenced to life plus seventy-five years in prison for his crimes, but only served four and a half years before he was released,^[6] because it was determined that he was legally insane at the time of the crime.^[4]

After his release, Keenan went on to become successful as a real estate developer.^[7] He is currently writing a book about the affair, with all proceeds going to charity, due for publication in 2013. The event was made into the basis for a Showtime movie released in 2003, Stealing Sinatra, starring David Arquette and William H. Macy^[4]

References[link]

Shane L. Koyczan (born 22 May 1976) is a Canadian poet and writer. Born in Yellowknife, Northwest Territories, Koyczan grew up in Penticton, British Columbia. In 2000, he became the first Canadian to win the Individual Championship title at the US National Poetry Slam.^[1] Together with Mighty Mike McGee and C. R. Avery, he is the co-founder of spoken word, "talk rock" trio, Tons of Fun University (T.O.F.U.). In August 2007 Shane Koyczan and his work were the subject of an episode of the television documentary series Heart of a Poet, produced by Canadian filmmaker Maureen Judge for broadcaster Bravo!.^[2]

Koyczan has published two books, poetry collection Visiting Hours, and Stickboy, a novel in verse. Visiting Hours was selected by both the Guardian and Globe and Mail for their 2005 Best Books of the Year lists.

Koyczan’s "We Are More" and Ivan Bielinski’s "La première fois", commissioned by the Canadian Tourism Commission, were unveiled at Canada Day festivities on Parliament Hill in Ottawa on 1 July 2007.^[3] Koyczan performed a variation on his piece at the Opening Ceremony of the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver.^[4]

Koyczan also collaborated on Vancouver-based musician Dan Mangan's Roboteering EP on the track Tragic Turn of Events - Move Pen Move.

Bibliography[link]

• I'm Calling you friend
• Help Wanted
• I Drew That For You
• Visiting Hours (2005, House of Parlance Media; ISBN 978-0-9738131-0-4)
• Stickboy ( 2008, House of Parlance Media ISBN 978-0-9738131-6-6)^[5]

Discography[link]

• Perfect
• 2nd Time Around
• Visiting Hours
• American Pie Chart
• Shut Up And Say Something

With Tons of Fun University (ToFU):

• The Them They're Talking About (2005)
• Hard to Tell (2009)

As Shane Koyczan and The Short Story Long:

• A Pretty Decent Cape in My Closet (2007)
  • includes "The Crickets Have Arthritis"

As Shane Koyczan and The Short Story Long:

• "Remembrance Year" (2012)

Filmography[link]

• The 2000 National Poetry Slam Finals (2000, The Wordsmith Press)

Notes[link]

External links[link]

• Shane Koyczan and the Short Story Long at MySpace
• Text of "We Are More", as recited at the 2010 Olympics opening

John Cooper Clarke
In Cardiff, March 1979
Born	(1949-01-25) 25 January 1949 (age 63) Salford, England
Occupation	Poet
Nationality	British
www.johncooperclarke.com

John Cooper Clarke (born 25 January 1949) is an English performance poet who first became famous during the punk rock era of the late 1970s when he became known as a "punk poet". He released several albums in the late 1970s and early 1980s, and continues to perform regularly.

His recorded output has mainly centred around musical backing from The Invisible Girls, which featured Martin Hannett, Pete Shelley, Bill Nelson, Paul Burgess and Steve Hopkins.

Career[link]

Clarke was born in Salford, Lancashire in 1949.^[1] His first job was a laboratory technician at the University of Salford.^[2] He began his performance career in Manchester folk clubs, where he began working with Rick Goldstraw and his band The Ferrets.^[1] His first releases were on the independent label Rabid, starting with the EP Innocents in October 1977.^[1] He toured with Bill Nelson's band Be-Bop Deluxe in 1978 and was signed by Epic Records, who issued the Nelson-produced debut album Disguise In Love in 1978.^[1] In 1979 he had his only UK top 40 hit with "Gimmix! (Play Loud)".^[1][3] Clarke toured with Linton Kwesi Johnson, and has performed on the same bill as bands such as Sex Pistols, The Fall, Joy Division, Buzzcocks, Siouxsie and the Banshees, Elvis Costello, Rockpile, and New Order (including at their May 1984 Music for Miners benefit concert at London's Royal Festival Hall). His set is characterised by lively, rapid-fire renditions of his poems, usually performed a cappella. Often referred to as "the bard of Salford",^[3] he usually refers to himself on stage as "Johnny Clarke, the name behind the hairstyle".

In 1979 he applied to join actors' union Equity, but as there was already a member named John Cooper Clarke, he joined under the name Lenny Siberia.^[4] His 1980 album Snap, Crackle & Bop gave him his highest album chart placing, reaching number 26.^[1]

Performing in Cardiff, 1979

Clarke appeared in a 1982 music documentary compilation Urgh! A Music War, in which he performed his poem "Health Fanatic".^[5] The film featured live performances of mainstream artists (The Police, The Go-Gos, Pere Ubu, XTC, Devo) as well as more obscure bands (The Alley Cats, Invisible Sex, Athletico Spizz '80, Chelsea) using concert footage from around the world. For many people, this was their first introduction to the works of John Cooper Clarke.^{[citation needed]} He also starred in another 1982 film titled John Cooper Clarke - Ten Years in an Open Necked Shirt directed by Nick May and produced for the Arts Council of Great Britain and Channel 4. Somewhere between a narrative film, a series of music videos and a documentary, the film features interviews and performances by Clarke and Linton Kwesi Johnson among others.^[6]

Clarke released a further album in 1982, Zip Style Method, which was less successful, and Clarke performed his live act less frequently, spending much of the 1980s addicted to heroin, living in a "domestic partnership" with singer and fellow addict Nico.^[7][8] He described this period of his life: "It was a feral existence. I was on drugs. It was hand to mouth."^[9] He made an appearance in two UK adverts for Sugar Puffs in 1988, taking second billing to the Honey Monster. He returned to live performance in the 1990s.^[1] More recently, Clarke has turned some of his stage act away from an emphasis on performance poetry and towards more of a stand-up-oriented affair, but poetry is still very much a key part of his performance. He supported Joe Strummer & The Mescaleros.^[when?] He has toured several times supporting The Fall. He also duetted with a poem entitled "Last Resort" with Reverend Jon McClure at a Reverend and the Makers concert at London's Spread Eagle, which later was released as the b-side for the band's single "Heavyweight Champion of the World". Clarke also recorded a song with the band entitled "Dead Man's Shoes". Clarke's recording of "Evidently Chickentown" from his album Snap, Crackle & Bop was also featured prominently in the closing scene of The Sopranos episode Stage 5. A live performance of the same poem appears in the film Control with Clarke portraying himself in a re-creation of a 1977 concert in which he supported Joy Division, despite having aged 30 years since the events depicted in the movie. "Evidently Chickentown" (recited by Christopher Eccleston) is featured in the made-for-television film Strumpet.

At Bedford's Rhythm Festival, 2006

Clarke's poem "Out of Control Fairground" was printed inside Arctic Monkeys' single "Fluorescent Adolescent" CD, which was released on 9 July 2007. The poem is also the inspiration behind the single's video in which clowns brawl. Another poem was printed inside the 10" release of the same single. Alex Turner of Arctic Monkeys has said he is very fond of Clarke's work and takes inspiration for lyrics from his poems.^[10][11]

Clarke was the subject of a BBC Four documentary, Evidently... John Cooper Clarke, in May 2012, screened as part of the BBC's 'Punk Britannia' season.^[9]

Clarke lives in Essex with his French wife Evie, with whom he has a daughter.^[9]

Discography[link]

Albums[link]

• Disguise in Love (1978), Epic
• Walking Back to Happiness (1979), Epic
• Snap, Crackle & Bop (1980), Epic - UK #26^[1]
• Zip Style Method (1982), Epic - UK #97^[1]

Compilations

• Où est la maison de fromage? (1978), Rabid ^[12]
• Me and My Big Mouth (1981), Epic
• Word of Mouth: The Very Best of John Cooper Clarke (2002), Sony

Singles, EPs[link]

• Innocents EP (1977), Rabid
• "Post-War Glamour Girl" (1978), Epic
• "Gimmix! (Play Loud)" (1979), Epic - UK #39^[1]
• "Splat"/"Twat" (1979), Epic
• "The It Man" (1980), Epic
• "The Day My Pad Went Mad" (1982), Epic
• "Night People" (1982), Epic

DVDs, Videos[link]

• Zip Style (2011), Ozit

Compilation appearances

• Urgh! A Music War (1981), Warners - "Health Fanatic"
• The Old Grey Whistle Test Volume 3 (2004), 2 Entertain - "I Don't Want to Be Nice"
• Poets, Punks, Beatniks and Counter Culture Heroes (2010), Ozit - includes rare JCC film footage from the 1980s

Bibliography[link]

Ten Years In an Open-Necked Shirt and other Poems (1981), Arena

References[link]

External links[link]

• Official website
• Official Facebook news page
• John Cooper Clarke performs Beasley Street at Hammersmith Palais
• John Cooper Clarke Interview 2012