Tweetspeak Poetry

  • Home
  • FREE prompts
  • Earth Song
  • Every Day Poems—Subscribe! ✨
  • Teaching Tools
  • Books, Etc.
  • Patron Love

Poets and Poems: Michael Pedersen and “Oyster”

By Glynn Young 4 Comments

Man in park Michael Pederson Oyster

Have you told someone “I love you” with the “mechanical bareness of a warden clamping a car?” Have you felt someone’s skin zip around you? Is your moon face full like a Christmas belly? Have you read a poem about a peeping Tom, or about a conversation overheard in the dentist’s office? How about a free personality test administered by the Church of Scientology?

This is Oyster, a collection of poems by Scottish poet Michael Pedersen.

To call this collection jarring doesn’t do it justice. In fact, it’s difficult to come up with a single word of description that does it justice. Irreverent. Provoking. Odd. Disturbing. Funny. Way off. Way out. Creative. Not-like-anything-you-ever-read-before poems. The 48 individual poems often sound (when read aloud) like what you might imagine a gang of Scottish toughs to sound like, including the dialect. They sound like conversations you might imagine young men having, smoking cigarettes as they stand around barrel fires in shady parts of Glasgow or Edinburgh on a cold night.

And then Pedersen wallops you with unexpected tenderness, like in “When Carla Moved Out.”

When Carla Moved Out

Oyster by Michael PedersonWithout you I have no butter,
no shampoo, no part of me
that you make happen, empty
shelves, cupboards bare, a soup
of snot for breakfast, a bowling
ball belly. I am glad you took
the silk pillowcase I bought you
from John Lewis. I am sad you left
flamingo slippers I ordered online
– I had to chuck them out.
Their feathers thinned, I grew
tired of sniffing them, my feet
were too bulky. When you moved
out I found another corner
of the room had got
too big for its boots, I stopped smelling
of rain and red playdough.

It’s the tenderness of loss, of remorse, articulated first in the loss of things (butter, shampoo, empty shelves, a silk pillowcase). It’s about the loss of things remaining, like old flamingo slippers falling apart from handling because they’re all that’s left to touch. It’s about a home shared that becomes too big room by room.

Michael Pederson

Michael Pedersen

Based in Edinburgh, Pedersen has received a number of prizes and fellowships, including a Cove Park Residency, the John Mather Trust Rising Star Award in 2014, and a 2015 Robert Louis Stevenson Fellowship. He has previously published a poetry collection, Play With Me (2013), and served as editor and contributor for two poetry anthologies, both published in 2015—#UntitledOne: Neu! Reekie! and #UntitledTwo: Neu! Reekie!. The illustrator for Oyster is Scott Hutchinson, the front man for the Scottish indie band Frightened Rabbit.

Oyster is a collection of poems about lives tethered and untethered, of trying to hold things together while you feel they’re coming apart. When you’re finished reading, you’re oddly moved. And moved, oddly.

Related:

The Fountain interviews Michael Pedersen on Oyster

Browse more book reviews

Photo by Rowan Gillette-Fussell, Creative Commons, via Flickr. Post by Glynn Young, author of the novels Dancing Priest, and A Light Shining, and the newly published Dancing King, and Poetry at Work.

__________________________

How to Read a Poem by Tania Runyan How to Read a Poem uses images like the mouse, the hive, the switch (from the Billy Collins poem)—to guide readers into new ways of understanding poems. Anthology included.

“I require all our incoming poetry students—in the MFA I direct—to buy and read this book.”

—Jeanetta Calhoun Mish

Buy How to Read a Poem Now!

  • Author
  • Recent Posts
Glynn Young
Follow Glynn
Glynn Young
Editor and Twitter-Party-Cool-Poem-Weaver at Tweetspeak Poetry
Glynn Young lives in St. Louis where he retired as the team leader for Online Strategy & Communications for a Fortune 500 company. Glynn writes poetry, short stories and fiction, and he loves to bike. He is the author of Poetry at Work and the Dancing Priest Series. Find Glynn at Faith, Fiction, Friends.
Glynn Young
Follow Glynn
Latest posts by Glynn Young (see all)
  • Poets and Poems: James Sale and “StairWell” - May 23, 2023
  • Poets and Poems: Catherine Esposito Prescott and “Accidental Garden” - May 16, 2023
  • Yes, Edith Wharton was also a poet - May 9, 2023

Filed Under: article, book reviews, Books, Britain, Poems, poetry, poetry reviews, Poets

Write with Us

Comments

  1. Maureen says

    January 23, 2018 at 1:09 pm

    ‘When Carla Moved Out’ is wonderful. Like any rich memory that keeps a once-beloved close, it turns on concrete details that create a marvelously visual narrative of relationship – of missing-ness and absence. How great is ‘…another corner of the room had got too big for its boots….’

    Thank you for this introduction to Pedersen. No wonder he’s won awards.

    Reply
  2. Laura Lynn Brown says

    January 23, 2018 at 1:12 pm

    What an up-and-coming guy, to get all these prizes and fellowships. What a brash and charming poem you’ve selected.

    I’m seeing a poem assignment in your first line — what’s a metaphorical manner I have said “I love you” to someone, or had it said to me, or watched it said to another?

    Reply
  3. Sandra Heska King says

    January 26, 2018 at 10:52 am

    He seems so young to have written such a tender and image-filled poem. And yes, I nosed around Google–he’s got a whole range of words and writings. Some made me squirm a little. 😉 So talented.

    Reply

Trackbacks

  1. Poetry on a winter’s night – Hell Fire Poetry: WORD Christchurch Festival 2018 – Christchurch City Libraries Blog says:
    September 1, 2018 at 4:23 am

    […] Stevenson award, amongst others, who kicked off with the title poem from his recent collection Oyster. Tall, wiry, and charismatic, with a mop-top haircut and mellifluous lilting Scottish brogue, he […]

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Cute Comic

😊

The Sadbook Collections

A stick-figure human sure to capture your heart.

Take How to Read a Poem

Get the Introduction, the Billy Collins poem, and Chapter 1

get the sample now

Welcome to Tweetspeak

New to Tweetspeak Poetry? Start here, in The Mischief Café. You're a regular? Check out our May Menu.

Patron Love

❤️

Welcome a little patron love, when you help keep the world poetic.

Your Comments

  • L.L. Barkat on Awe & Wonder Journal
  • L.L. Barkat on The Honey Field—10: Anna’s Heart
  • Laurie Klein on Poems to Listen By: Black Bird Soirée 06—Noah’s Crow
  • Bethany R. on Poems to Listen By: Black Bird Soirée 06—Noah’s Crow

Get Every Day Poems

Featured In

We're happy to have been featured in...

The Huffington Post

The Paris Review

The New York Observer

Tumblr Book News

Stay in Touch With Us

Categories

Coloring Page Poem Printables!

Get all free coloring page poems now

Learn to Write Form Poems

How to Write an Acrostic

How to Write a Ballad

How to Write a Catalog Poem

How to Write a Ghazal

How to Write a Haiku

How to Write an Ode

How to Write a Pantoum

How to Write a Rondeau

How to Write a Sestina

How to Write a Sonnet

How to Write a Villanelle

5 FREE POETRY PROMPTS

Get 5 FREE inbox poetry prompts from the popular book How to Write a Poem

Shakespeare Resources

Poetry Classroom: Sonnet 18

Common Core Picture Poems: Sonnet 73

Sonnet 104 Annotated

Sonnet 116 Annotated

Character Analysis: Romeo and Juliet

Character Analysis: Was Hamlet Sane or Insane?

Why Does Hamlet Wait to Kill the King?

10 Fun Shakespeare Resources

About Shakespeare: Poet and Playwright

Top 10 Shakespeare Sonnets

See all 154 Shakespeare sonnets in our Shakespeare Library!

Explore Work From Black Poets

About Us

  • • A Blessing for Writers
  • • Annual Theme 2022: Perspective
  • • Annual Theme 2021: Generous
  • • Our Story
  • • Meet Our Team
  • • Literary Citizenship
  • • Poet Laura
  • • Poetry for Life: The 5 Vital Approaches
  • • T. S. Poetry Press – All Books
  • • Contact Us

Write With Us

  • • 5 FREE Poetry Prompts-Inbox Delivery
  • • 30 Days to Richer Writing Workshop
  • • Poetry Prompts
  • • Submissions
  • • The Write to Poetry

Read With Us

  • • All Our Books
  • • Book Club
  • • Every Day Poems—Subscribe! ✨
  • • Literacy Extras
  • • Poems to Listen By: Audio Series
  • • Poet-a-Day
  • • Poets and Poems
  • • 50 States Projects
  • • Charlotte Perkins Gilman Poems Library
  • • Edgar Allan Poe Poems Arts & Experience Library
  • • William Blake Poems Arts & Experience Library
  • • William Shakespeare Sonnet Library

Celebrate With Us

  • • Poem on Your Pillow Day
  • • Poetic Earth Month
  • • Poet in a Cupcake Day
  • • Poetry at Work Day
  • • Random Acts of Poetry Day
  • • Take Your Poet to School Week
  • • Take Your Poet to Work Day

Gift Ideas

  • • Every Day Poems
  • • Our Shop
  • • Everybody Loves a Book!

Connect

  • • Donate
  • • Blog Buttons
  • • By Heart
  • • Shop for Tweetspeak Fun Stuff

Copyright © 2023 Tweetspeak Poetry · FAQ, Disclosure & Privacy Policy

We serve poetry with our cookies. Because that's the way it should be.
We serve poetry with your cookies on our website to give you the most relevant experience by remembering your preferences and repeat visits. By clicking “Accept”, you... accept the cookies with a smile.
Do not sell my personal information.
Cookie SettingsAccept
update cookie prefs

Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience.
Necessary
Always Enabled
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. These cookies ensure basic functionalities and security features of the website, anonymously.
CookieDurationDescription
cookielawinfo-checkbox-analytics11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Analytics".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-functional11 monthsThe cookie is set by GDPR cookie consent to record the user consent for the cookies in the category "Functional".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-necessary11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookies is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Necessary".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-others11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Other.
cookielawinfo-checkbox-performance11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Performance".
viewed_cookie_policy11 monthsThe cookie is set by the GDPR Cookie Consent plugin and is used to store whether or not user has consented to the use of cookies. It does not store any personal data.
Functional
Functional cookies help to perform certain functionalities like sharing the content of the website on social media platforms, collect feedbacks, and other third-party features.
Performance
Performance cookies are used to understand and analyze the key performance indexes of the website which helps in delivering a better user experience for the visitors.
Analytics
Analytical cookies are used to understand how visitors interact with the website. These cookies help provide information on metrics the number of visitors, bounce rate, traffic source, etc.
Advertisement
Advertisement cookies are used to provide visitors with relevant ads and marketing campaigns. These cookies track visitors across websites and collect information to provide customized ads.
Others
Other uncategorized cookies are those that are being analyzed and have not been classified into a category as yet.
SAVE & ACCEPT