Poem of the month - February 2009

Care for Another? A fool On a stool Will as a rule Care for another That kind of guy Believes he can buy A friend or a brother Care for another? Don’t mind if I do Who’s caring for you? Care for another? Buddy I swear You’ve got me there Do I really dare Care for another? When as you can see Having ordered three I do not care for me Surely that’s clear Like this martini here Care for another? For keeps For good She wishes I could Care for another Care for another? Donny O'Rourke Poem specially commissioned by the Literature Department at the Scottish Arts Council

A few words about the poem This poem, a contemporary show tune lyric, is from 'Blame Yesterday', a Broadway Suite.

About the poet Donny O'Rourke has had overlapping careers in literature, broadcasting, journalism and academia. He has written or edited more than a dozen books and been the recipient of fellowships, residencies and professorships in Britain, on the continent and in North America. Much in demand as a performer of his poems, songs, comedy routines and stories, Donny O'Rourke, who has been called an 'urban seannachie', draws on the folk traditions of Scotland and Ireland, canonical 'high' culture and cabaret/ jazz inflections.   Donny O'Rourke teaches Film and Creative Writing in Glasgow where he holds an Honorary Fellowship at his alma mater. He has just written the chapter on contemporary Scottish poetry for the forthcoming ‘Edinburgh University Companion to Twentieth Century Scottish Literature’.  A major bursary from the Scottish Arts Council supported the writing of the forty five songs in the collection and the project was completed during Donny's six months in Bern as the SAC Scotland-Switzerland Exchange Fellow 2008.