Procol Harum

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'Too Many Poets' : Manchester 2001

A bit of fun for the Manchester Convention

This competition … a huge success … is now closed, as of 8 June 2001 : thank you for taking part!
Hear demos of some of the resulting songs

It's a shame that not all Procol fans can come to the Hallé gig in Manchester, and to the Palers' Convention the night before. However anyone who reads this page can participate in 'Too Many Poets', the Convention's Festival of 'faux Procol' songs.

Partly thanks to Keith Reid's wonderful words, Procol Harum continues to sustain our interest on stage and on record. There are dozens of fans who love his work and also enjoy writing, so 'Too Many Poets' is an opportunity for them all to write a Procol lyric of their own!

Our event is modelled on competitions run by The New Statesman magazine in the UK: Chris Copping reminds us that when New Statesman readers were invited to submit their parodies, or imitations, of the novelist Graham Greene, Greene himself entered under a pseudonym ... and came second!

All our entries will be published at BtP, using pseudonyms to ensure impartial judging. Procol Harum's Chris Copping – a musician of wide reading and great literary taste – has kindly agreed to read the entries and select the one he considers most authentic: its author will win a small prize, nature still not decided.

All the poems will be printed and exhibited for the pleasure of the Palers at this year's Convention – and of course it's the taking part, not the winning, that is really going to be so enjoyable. Who knows, some of the song-words might get set to music one day! 

What to do ...
  • Make up song-words that sound like a Procol Harum number 
  • Make it the right sort of length for a typical track 
  • Don't bother about the music for it 
  • Give it a title 
  • Send as many entries as you like 
  • Sign each with a different pseudonym (false name) 
  • Send entries by Friday 8 June to webmaster@procolharum.com 
Only Jens and Roland will know who really wrote, or sent, the words,
and they will not divulge this until 'Too Many Poets' is over.

The entries will be put up, a few a day, at BtP – for everyone to enjoy.

Incidentally by sending in your words you are giving BtP permission to publish them on the web and at Manchester,
but not to use them for any commercial purpose. They will remain the intellectual property of the authors.
We hope that sounds like fun, and look forward to receiving lots of entries by Friday 8 June ... so, please get writing and become one of BtP's 'Too Many Poets'.

Remember ... just a line is all you need ... the rest will come, without a doubt.


 
Procol Harum in Manchester 2001 Procol Harum concerts in 2001: index page
Index of entries for 'Too Many Poets' Palers' Convention in Manchester

Thanks, Jonas Söderström, for the banner!

 
PH on stage | PH on record | PH in print | BtP features | What's new | Interact with BtP | For sale | Site search | Home