Jim Monaghan

Jim Monaghan is a poet and political activist.

His debut collection, Cumnock & Other Places takes a look at Scotland from every angle.

He is one of the organisers of the Govanhill Baths project in Glasgow.

Cumnock and Other Places was fully illustrated by Stuart Murphy.

Young People Are Dicks 
(I know, I used to be one)

He said – you can tell a lot about a person 
from how they describe a film,
whether they attribute it to the actor or the director,
whether The Searchers is a John Wayne movie
or a John Ford movie.

He said – culture is merely a scorecard 
in an ongoing battle between those who are creative 
and those who are reactive,
he offered no evidence for this
just a wry smile 
that suggested he was smuggly happy 
that one was an anagram of the other.

He said – anyone who likes heavy metal (or Lord of the Rings),
should be dragged off to a reprogramming camp
and force-fed Mark Twain, Muriel Spark, and Jacques Brel.

So I killed him
He was only 25
And I promise,
to never be like that again.

First World Fish Philosophy

Give a man a fish
and he will eat for a day
Give him the means to catch a fish,
and he will use it twice
put it in a cupboard
and, 3 years later.
Sell it on Ebay.