The tortoise goes movey, movey.
Anonymous
“This prize-winning poem was written by a schoolboy from the North of Ireland some years back. The competition was judged by poet Paul Muldoon, who is Professor of Creative Writing in Princeton University. It seems so simple and yet it’s fresh and inventive and memorable; it brings language alive. There were hundreds of entries and some people, teachers especially, were annoyed with Muldoon for giving first prize to a one-line poem. They argued that there were far more sophisticated entries and that there was no such word as “movey”. ‘Well, there is now,’ replied Muldoon. Every year Professor Muldoon asks his creative writing class at Princeton to describe something in one line and in a way that makes you see that thing in a new way. That is what this boy did when he wrote about the tortoise going m-o-v-e-y, m-o-v-e-y. The poem is best read aloud and very s-l-o-w-l-y.”
This is an excerpt from TEXT An English Reader for Transition Year English by Niall MacMonagle published by Celtic Press you can buy it any book shop that stocks School Books or you can order it directly HERE.
