Monday, February 05, 2007

Homage to H.G.Wells and the Telescope Sign

Just to say, this is my favourite sign. There is the artfully smudged blue paint, the strange spelling and the overpowering poignancy of the poem/instructions. The harsh irony of that 'enjoy the view' borders on the inhuman. The second stanza makes hot tears spurt. The final stanza is, of course, unbearable. The telescope in question is at Wells-next-the-Sea in Norfolk. It was there that H.G.Wells told his son to take a photograph of him. 'There,' he said, 'now you have a picture of Wells next the sea in Wells-next-the-Sea.' Greatness.

4 comments:

  1. That is a lovely example of 'found poetry' (the apotheosis of which is Radio 4 LW's Shipping Forecast).

    The quickest source of found poetry these days is email spam. Here's one I made earlier from a day's worth of subject lines:

    Non-english nut-gathering?
    Thanks Placemats Turkey!
    Peach blister New Hampshire,
    ore smelter mis-mark

    lamb preparatory.

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  2. Can you use the telescope if you don't have a child to hand?

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  3. Thank you, Brit, loved the lamb preparatory. And, Neil, perhaps a child is provided or some local tyke is chained to the telescope ready to stand on the footstand for a few coppers.

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  4. Can anyone top this Spam Poem? If they can I'll eat my hat.

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