Monday, July 14, 2014

World Cup football poetry launch


 “The World Cup issue of broadsheet /13 was successfully launched at the Embassy of Brazil in Wellington, New Zealand on 2 July this year.

Speakers and poets entertained the audience with a night of creative words, football and song. The event received wonderful hospitality from the Brazilian Embassy staff.
Wellington City Councillor Andy Foster launched the book, and gave a short talk about his own personal love of football since he was a boy, and his delight at launching the book at the Brazilian Embassy. 

He finished by congratulating Mark Pirie on his achievement in compiling the book and noted the powerful evocations of the poetry in particular Mark’s ‘All White on the Night’ about the All Whites’ victory over Bahrain to qualify for the 2010 World Cup. The game had a record attendance of 35,000 in Wellington and Foster said that sports fans from all codes noted it as a standout sports event in recent history.

Mark Pirie spoke next and talked of his own love of Brazil sportspersons since he was a boy watching World Cups and Formula 1 Grand Prixs on TV. Mark reeled off a list of Brazilian greats from Pelé to Ronaldinho. 

Mark summarised the book’s contents and talked of his own football playing days from 1983-1993 when he played for Onslow Juniors, Wellington College and Victoria University (in 1992) with Foster. (That season was Foster’s only season with Victoria before playing for Waterside Karori for many years.)

Mark finished by reading several poems: ‘Racing Cars [for Ayrton Senna]’, ‘Boots’ and ‘Sonnet for [Ex-All White] Simon Elliott’, whom Mark knew at Wellington College.
Mark then introduced the keynote speaker, ex-All White Michael Groom 1980-84 and now a coach at the Clube in Hamilton.

Groom regaled the audience with a retelling of how he had heard lines in Portuguese from Ronaldinho and grew to love the Brazilian jogo bonito (the moment when futebol becomes the beautiful game). Groom runs a samba style school in Hamilton (and coached the young Chris Wood and Marco Rojas both future All Whites) but said his way of coaching was not a method but more a way of spiritual connection with the love of football.

He ended by playing an original song with samba music about Ronaldinho that he had penned. While the music played, Groom juggled an official World Cup ball and balanced it on his back, neck and head a number of times, evoking the presence of Ronaldinho in the room. Mark in Brazi
l-coloured trainers also had a go at dribbling with some Brazilian turns/step overs.

A poetry reading followed with young poet Dylan Groom reading his powerful poem ‘Football’ about his comeback from open heart surgery to resume football with his father and brothers at the Clube. Michael O’Leary read a poem about the Manchester United visit to Auckland of 1967 during the Summer of Love: “Watching Soccer could be like a rock concert”. David McGill read a short limerick upon meeting England great and 1966 World Cup-winning captain Bobby Moore. Simon Boyce finished the readings with a poem about his early love of football “when the / schoolboy’s dream / was still alive”.
The event was also marking broadsheet editor and poet Mark Pirie’s 40th birthday, and the audience led by Michael O’Leary joined in to sing “For he’s a jolly good fellow!”

Brazilian Ambassador Eduardo Gradilone ended the lively evening by noting some aspects of football in Brazil, congratulating Mark on the achievement of bringing football and poetry together, and expressing the future hope that there would be more interest in New Zealand’s main national sport rugby in Brazil. This was particularly apt with rugby to feature at the Rio Olympics in 2016.
Michael Groom continued his juggling to music (an encore request) as the book signings began.”

Excerpt from Mark Pirie’s poem Boots:

BOOTS

(for Dean)

1
On Winter days, the cold chill forming
pimples on our skin, we would travel out together

in rain and wind and put foot to ball, or ball
to foot. You were always a lot faster, a lot fitter

than me, but we trained constantly, honing our
skills: Brazilian turns, back flicks, free-kicks

and corners - and collected all the soccer mags
we could find: Shoot, Match, World Soccer,

and our very own Soccer Express (before it
ended). Then, it was the late '80s: Mal Dunford

was captain of the All Whites and Ironside
controlled the midfield. Rufer seldom played a game,

except the odd appearance in a World Cup qualifier.
Instead, we read of him: 'a star of the Bundesliga'.

We looked up to Rufer tho', thinking we would be 'stars' too.
It was when I was cleaning up the other day that I found

my boots, last used at ’Varsity (two seasons played),
still dusted in dirt, but mindful as ever of you.

© Mark Pirie 2014 (from broadsheet 13 – the football issue)



 David McGill reading.

  
Michael Groom balancing the ball.

  
Mark Pirie speaking.



Some of the speakers from the evening: Michael Groom, Eduardo Gradilone (Brazil Ambassador to Wellington), Dylan Groom, Mark Pirie and Councillor Andy Foster.

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