Oyster is the second collection from prize-winning Edinburgh poet Michael Pedersen. From Grez-sur-Loing and festive nights to sizzling summers stretched out in the Meadows and Portobello, Michael Pedersen’s unique brand of poetry captures a debauchery and a disputation of characters, narrated with an intense honesty and a love of language that is playful, powerful and penetrative; he vividly illuminates scenes with an energy that is both witty, humourous but also deeply intelligent. Oyster is iced, spiced, baked and beaming for your pleasure. Oyster features bespoke illustrations from Frightened Rabbit lead singer and songwriter Scott Hutchison. Pedersen's poems exist in a febrile realm of heightened emotion; they come pouring across the page like a rowdy crowd at a Hogmanay street party [with] an infectious enthusiasm for the downright amazingness of existence' Roger Cox, Scotsman Michael Pedersen (b. 1984) is a poet, playwright and animateur with an electric reputation on the performance circuit and a prolific precedent of collaborations, having teamed up with some of the UK's top musicians, film-makers and artists. He is widely published in magazines, journals, anthologies and e-zines; his inaugural chapbook 'Part-Truths' (Koo Press) was a Callum MacDonald Memorial Award finalist; its sequel 'The Basic Algebra of Buttering Bread' (Windfall Books) received flocks of reviewer plaudits. He is co-founder and circus master at Neu! Reekie! - now one of the country's most formidable literary nights and DIY record labels - and a key creative within Dream Tower Productions. He's also the lyricist for cult band Jesus, Baby! and has written short plays for various troupes including the National Theatre of Scotland. Having travelled the world and taught in Cambodia for a year, Pedersen writes verse that gives a vivid idea of what it is to be young, socially aware and irrepressibly optimistic in the melting pot of the twenty-first century. He also enjoys sewing. Oyster By Michael Pedersen, Scott Hutchison Birlinn Limited Copyright © 2017 Michael Pedersen All rights reserved. ISBN: 978-1-84697-397-0 Contents Obsessive Cannibal Love Poem, 1, Starry-Eyed, 2, Kung Fu Fighting, 5, Gravity, 6, Cannae Sleep, 8, Highland Koo, 11, Big Feardie, 14, Swallow the Pill, 16, Limelite Bar, Meadowbank, 18, Fancy Dress for Fancy Folks, 20, Oyster, 23, Middle November, Paris, 2015, 26, What was Supposed to be an Angry One, 31, When you Came to me in Grez-sur-Loing, 32, Birds & Trains, 34, Ying-Yang-Wrang-Wan-Right, 37, When they got together they knew what they weren't, 38, Antipodeans, 41, Cliff & Noc, 42, Rollercoasters, 45, Finding Grace, 47, James Dovetail, 51, life of owen, 53, I'm a PC, 56, Invitation for Luncheon with Caddy D, 58, John Up High, 62, Birthday BBQ, 2008, 64, Manchester John: Episode II, 66, Christmas at Omega Sauna, 68, W1, 71, W1(III), 73, When Carla Moved Out, 75, Hey Ho Here Comes Colin, 77, Transmorphisizing, 79, Greetin' fur Gretna Green, 81, Humping Cows, 84, FUCK!, 86, A Year, Aye?, 90, Totem Pole Capable, 91, Conversation Overheard in Craigmillar Dental Practice, 93, R v Brown, 96, Free Personality Test, Sir?!, 98, Superstition & Superheroes, 100, (In between) Mud & Stars, 103, Portree's Lost & Found, 105, Guide to Space Proofing your Robot Heart, 109, Deep, deep down, 113, Hello, I am Scotland, 114, Acknowledgements, 117, CHAPTER 1 Obsessive Cannibal Love Poem Today is yes please and now to zipping your skin around me, to wrapping up in you like a winter coat with matching scarf and walking barefoot on powdered snow, you: the flakes squeezing between my toes; the biscuits I brought to snack on are your bones baked and sweetened; like counting stars I do not think I will ever be done kissing you: honey all over and deep inside, I will swallow your dancing tongue; take your daydreams into my nightdreams, all neu-wave heavenly, ethereal gleam on wet tarmac, enemy of the rain which fell between us, which has no business being there. Other days a text message or quick chat on the phone will do just fine – I never can tell. Starry-Eyed There are scientists with mouths agape, eyes gazing at Saturn's rings: a satellite's sink and swing make it so, unveil space secrets, star trails, objects born of light and dust. If a bell rings in space they'll have an idea how it sounds, they probably put it there: can a bell ring underwater? you're maybe thinking – me too. Not a bell but a crash in the rings has caught their eye, a swell of disturbance created by a creature: Peggy. At the time of writing, reader, Peggy has never exposed herself: what's seen is the ripples pulsing, ripples rising. We know what she's not: not a moonlet, which would part the dust more violently – so a non-moonlet – not biblical, not a fish, the ripples are not akin to those on Scottish lochs. Peggy leaves