Hitting the Airwaves

“Genuine poetry can communicate before it is understood.” T. S. Eliot Recently, Head-boy of the college Joseph Roberts was interviewed on BBC Radio Merseyside by Jermaine Foster on the programme called the “Upload Show.” The aim of the interview was to give Joseph the opportunity to talk about his most recent poem “A Man’s Manuel.” This poem explores such themes as, toxic masculinity, mental health awareness and knife crime. Joseph added, “The poem explores the growth of a man, along with the societal pressures and masculine image that men struggle to achieve. The poem is an extended metaphor about a manual of instructions written by society about how a man should look and and behave, in order to build and become a ‘real man’. The conclusion is that we are who we are, and we should strive to defend our uniqueness, as society tries to put us in a category. A man can be emotional, a man can share his thoughts and he also doesn’t have to prove his manhood to anybody”. Joseph said, “Being interviewed on Radio was a great way to help spread the word about my poetry, what poetry can do and the importance of the spoken word.” Jermaine Foster