{"id":5738,"date":"2023-11-02T09:36:11","date_gmt":"2023-11-02T09:36:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/writersrebel.com\/?p=5738"},"modified":"2023-11-02T09:39:31","modified_gmt":"2023-11-02T09:39:31","slug":"the-union-of-laughter","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/writersrebel.com\/the-union-of-laughter\/","title":{"rendered":"THE UNION OF LAUGHTER\u00a0<\/span>Raymond Antrobus\u00a0<\/span>"},"content":{"rendered":"

 <\/p>\n

First we laughed with prickly legs<\/span>
\n<\/span>and stubble beards at police<\/span>
\n<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>
\n<\/span>in polished riot vans.<\/span>
\n<\/span>Then we laughed<\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>shivering like candles<\/span>
\n<\/span>at the Prime Minister\u2019s heated<\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>swimming pool. We carried<\/span>
\n<\/span>our laughter like\u00a0<\/span>The Big Issue<\/span><\/i>\u00a0\u00a0<\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>and hurled it at the Education<\/span>
\n<\/span>Minister and his ten-thousand-<\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>pound Rolex. When they took<\/span>
\n<\/span>our right to laugh we laughed<\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>in our passport photos so we couldn\u2019t<\/span>
\n<\/span>leave our country. We gathered<\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>laughing in Trafalgar Square,<\/span>
\n<\/span>painted laughing lions<\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>on placards as experts<\/span>
\n<\/span>appeared on radio<\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>and TV to voice<\/span>
\n<\/span>the natural inferiority of laughter,<\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>the infectious killer jokes.<\/span>
\n<\/span>The broadcasts were eaten up<\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>by our laughter, which roared<\/span>
\n<\/span>around the world<\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>while the suits spoke<\/span>
\n<\/span>of the dangers of dying<\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>in fits of laughter<\/span>
\n<\/span>and some of us held<\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>the sharp splits<\/span>
\n<\/span>of our sides<\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>and gasped<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Raymond Antrobus <\/b>is the author of\u00a0<\/span>To Sweeten Bitter\u00a0(2017, Out-Spoken Press), The Perseverance\u00a0(2018,\u00a0Penned In The Margins)\u00a0All The Names Given<\/span><\/i>\u00a0(<\/span>2021, Picador<\/span><\/i>)\u00a0and the children’s picture book\u00a0<\/span>Can Bears Ski?\u00a0(2020, Walkers Books).<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

Call to action: <\/b>I hope this poem inspires anyone doubting the power of people affecting change. I hope we keep our progressive spirits alive, especially in the face of a hostile environment, cost of living crisis and apathetic politicians. Keep signing petitions, attending rallies, curating communities while making and sharing art that expresses the reality of our struggle and the possibility of our liberation.\u00a0And if you are looking for a writing and literature community, get involved in the Conversations With Baldwin workshops, happening nationally across the UK: https:\/\/wordsofcolour.co.uk\/conversations-with-baldwin\/<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

  First we laughed with prickly legs and stubble beards at police \u00a0 in polished riot vans. Then we laughed shivering like candles at the Prime Minister\u2019s heated swimming pool. We carried our laughter like\u00a0The Big Issue\u00a0\u00a0 and hurled it at the Education Minister and his ten-thousand- pound Rolex. When they took our right to […]<\/p>\n

Read More… from THE UNION OF LAUGHTER\u00a0<\/span>Raymond Antrobus\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":22,"featured_media":5733,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[4,1],"tags":[590,577,185,47,301],"yoast_head":"\nTHE UNION OF LAUGHTER\u00a0 - Writers Rebel<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/writersrebel.com\/the-union-of-laughter\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_GB\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"THE UNION OF LAUGHTER\u00a0 - Writers Rebel\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"  First we laughed with prickly legs and stubble beards at police \u00a0 in polished riot vans. 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