Monday, December 7, 2009

Poems in Shops hits the big time


This evening
"
International put your poem in a shop month"
made it to the biggest shop on the planet (or at least the biggest one near to me) and you know what? this stuff is not for the faint hearted... I thought, go for a big browser friendly shop, sure there'll be no bother getting the poems up there, I told myself, (for I had in my pockets 2 copies of my latest poem, since I was covering such a huge footfall), with the crowds there'll be ample cover, I told myself. Not so, my friends, more people equals more people ready to look at you as if you're a big weird poem placing weirdo, plus the millions of staff they have, on the look out for suspicious looking persons such as yourself. I did know this one would be my biggest challenge yet, so I spent some time in the shadows of the car park, saying a fond farewell to the handwritten scraps - one a piece of paper, one cardboard.
Then into the store. Got the cardboard poem stowed first, in behind a box-set - my best hope of it lasting a bit longer with all the eagle eyed staff everywhere (them and their free health care and spectacles and vitamins no doubt because of where they happen to work).Then the paper one, uncrinkled from my pocket, standing loud and proud in front of something that cost 20 euros, maybe someone will think the poem costs 20 euros, (oh if only people were willing to pay 20 euros for a poem!!)
A good day's work - two more poems out there in the wilderness.... Rrrraarrrr!!

If you're frustrated because you can't see the poems properly - send me 20 euros and I'll write them out again for you, alternatively - I did type it out there on a blog post about 3 days back...

9 comments:

Titus said...

I'm in poem-placing heaven because of this! Magnificent work! Love the one behind the box-set.

Seriously inspired to bigger and better things than my last effort: I will sally forth anon.

This was not only a brilliant idea, it is also funny.

Niamh B said...

It is fun, but tough on the old nerves, I'll be all night trying to calm myself down, and be fully convinced that they won't get me from the CCTV footage....

Totalfeckineejit said...

That's a proper wall in your photo Mrs Niamh.
The biggest shop on the planet? Well it can't be Jimmy Doyle's the butchers because he doesn't sell box sets of meat.Was it Quinns the haberdashers?
Either way tis more brave and brilliant work.I haven't put my award winning second poem in anywhere yet but amazingly the first one was still on the shelf the next day.It had moved about 10 inches, probably on it's own. A lot of my poems are very moving.

Niamh B said...

Meat shops aren't the only big shops where I live, that's great about your poem's longevity - does that mean there'll be actual photographic proof of its on locational whereabouts? - not that I doubt you...

NanU said...

Excellent, Niamh! More power to you!

Batteson.Ind said...

I recognise that piece of wall! we have one suspiciously similar in the yard... hhhmmmmmm...
anyway, you were very brave to enter into the realms of mass consumers... I'm still waiting to be taken out somewhere... we're buying some haybales later, but not sure this will count...

Niamh B said...

Thanks NanU, any more power and I'd be corrupted, corrupted!!
Watercats - what I liked most was the bleeding of colour from the leechy thing onto the wall - nature's coffee stain, Go on - poem in a haybale shop - go on!!
I'm repeating myself alot alot...

Rachel Fox said...

Done my assignment and posted. I had an accomplice with a clever phone which helped!
x

Niamh B said...

Rachel, lovely poem, and great choice of placement, the poem looks so lovely on the postcard, I think people are definitely going to pick up and try to buy it!! but then will end up taking it home for free and treasuring...
It is harder to do than you would imagine isn't it? Well done, and thanks for taking part!