We have friends - a lesbian couple actually - who've told us, you must come and visit us in Brighton. Was never particularly keen on the idea. Less so, James, after reading your poem...
The thing is, Louis, it's the kind and degree of homosexuality in Brighton that set one's teeth on edge. Fine - be gay, lesbian, whatever, but for pity's sake cut out the constant in-yer-face vulgarity, the incessant gross sexualisation of every aspect of life. Plus, Brighton, now exclusively obsessed with this aspect of its identity, seems to possess zero concern for the elegance and just simple kempt-ness of its streets, squares and general environment, which are, as my poem, details, run-down and grotty in the extreme. I have no doubt this is all of a piece with our current social crisis in the West (and western cities in general). It's just that I've known Brighton since I was a kid; it was always a bohemian place but decade-on-decade it's surrendered more and more to an ultimately faux, decadent liberalism, and now it's just a hideous wasteland.
We have friends - a lesbian couple actually - who've told us, you must come and visit us in Brighton. Was never particularly keen on the idea. Less so, James, after reading your poem...
The thing is, Louis, it's the kind and degree of homosexuality in Brighton that set one's teeth on edge. Fine - be gay, lesbian, whatever, but for pity's sake cut out the constant in-yer-face vulgarity, the incessant gross sexualisation of every aspect of life. Plus, Brighton, now exclusively obsessed with this aspect of its identity, seems to possess zero concern for the elegance and just simple kempt-ness of its streets, squares and general environment, which are, as my poem, details, run-down and grotty in the extreme. I have no doubt this is all of a piece with our current social crisis in the West (and western cities in general). It's just that I've known Brighton since I was a kid; it was always a bohemian place but decade-on-decade it's surrendered more and more to an ultimately faux, decadent liberalism, and now it's just a hideous wasteland.
I get the picture. Your poem already conveyed that very effectively. Sounds like a concentrated expression of general trends...
Indeed! 😳