Sex on Toast

Sex on Toast is a collection covering 40 years of Tôpher Mills’ writing. Loosely chronological and in loosely themed sections, this is a book to dip into to enjoy the extensive work of a master poet. In his introduction, Mills provides the perfect illustration of exactly why he’s deserving of the description ‘master poet’. He writes: ‘The entertainer Ken Dodd once asked me, very seriously, “What is Poetry?” The best answer I have been able to come up with, and this is just my definition, is that poetry is the sound and meaning of language combined in such a way as to transcend both.’ This definition is not only succinct, but it feels both profoundly accurate and provocative. It’s also, importantly, given something else by the slightly surreal mention of Ken Dodd: a name best associated with ‘tickle sticks’ and ‘Diddy Men’ rather than poetry. There is no context for this unexpected name drop and all it does is hint at so much more and raise more questions, while simultaneously giving a definition of poetry that you’d find hard to challenge. This is Mills all over: clear, direct, skilled and always hinting at more. Mills’ poetry is like this. Entirely accessible and devoid of the cryptic pretensions that often give poetry a bad name, yet spotted with links and details that can be delved into as much as a reader wants. For example, ‘The Last Day at School’ is a poem that describes, yes, the last day at school: specifically a prank in which a classmate’s bag is thrown in a cement mixer, and a ‘snogging contest’ in which all the boys have to resist erections while kissing all the girls in class. On a literal level, it’s a nostalgic reminiscence of school days. But on another level, are we to make anything of the end of school and the theme of things getting harder? There is humour, nostalgia, but also the hint of a metaphor about the challenges of life. The erections, the stiffening concrete-filled bag, the hardening of life after school? Whether this is intentional or not, it’s a great demonstration of what makes this collection special. Mills brings to this collection a poetic credibility as someone who has travelled extensively performing poetry, published poetry collections and short stories from his own press, and chaired the Welsh Union of Writers. He knows his poetry and poets and there are many references within. Ted Hughes is the subject of ‘Laureate’, Henry Normal gets a homage, and Stevie Smith’s ‘Not Waving but Drowning’ is aped in the form of ‘Not Waving but Capsizing’. In tone and subject it might be argued that Mills is to Cardiff what Roger McGough is to Liverpool in poetic terms. Mills’ talents are manifold, as are the chapters of his life and the experiences he’s had. Poetry is not Mills’ sole calling; he’s worked as a labourer, painter and decorator, shop assistant and much more. Poetry is something that’s been in the background to all this. As a result, the subjects of many of his poems are people and scenarios cribbed from a real working life. The Job Centre, work colleagues, scaffolding, personal anecdotes – this is poetry as a form of expression, not just poetry for its own sake. Tôpher Mills is everything you’d want in a poet: funny, romantic, full of pathos, and rooted in real life. Sex on Toast is not only a display of what Mills has achieved, but also an illustration of what poetry can be. Just as he once told Ken Dodd, this is poetry that transcends the sound and meaning of language. -- Liam Nolan @ www.gwales.com