In this episode you will hear extraordinary actor Paterson Joseph talking about the poem that has been a friend to him - '5 AM' by Roxy Dunn.

Paterson Joseph is a beloved British actor and writer. Recently seen on Vigil and Noughts and Crosses, he has also starred in Peep Show and Law & Order UK and he plays Arthur Slugworth in the forthcoming Wonka movie. Paterson's debut novel is The Secret Diaries of Charles Ignatius Sancho, published by Dialogue Books in 2022 to great acclaim. https://www.dialoguebooks.co.uk/titles/paterson-joseph/the-secret-diaries-of-charles-ignatius-sancho/9780349702360/

Paterson visited us at The October Gallery in London. We are very grateful to The October Gallery for hosting The Poetry Exchange so warmly.

Thank you also to the Roxy Dunn for kindly granting permission for us to use the poem in this way. Roxy Dunn is a bold and brilliant writer with many strings to her bow...you can find out more about her work in this fabulous interview with Verve Poetry Press, which publishes her collection 'Big Sexy Lunch'. Her debut collection (in which '5AM' features) is 'Clowning', from Eyewear Publishing.

Please also feel free to explore more about Kiki Dimoula, the Poet behind Fiona's emerging friend, 'The Wrong Arrangement'.

Paterson is in conversation with The Poetry Exchange team members Fiona Bennett and Michael Schaeffer.

'5AM' is read by Michael Schaeffer

*****

5AM

by Roxy Dunn

It's not quite light

am I getting old?

old people wake early

half a croissant is on the desk

like a squashed crescent

and there's that record I bought

with the Soviet rocket sleeve

Around the corner in Highbury

Keith's cat has given you fleas

your bags are packed for Antibes

I wonder if I care about the right things

like rabbits dying slowly and Brexit

sometimes I’m secretly unfazed

I feel selfish and middle-aged

I'd like to play this rocket record

but I don't have a record player

the band are from Leeds, is that cool?

I can't work out if this is regret

or just the onset of dullness

I think I'll eat breakfast then sleep till noon

eat the remains of last night's moon

'5 AM' by Roxy Dunn. Printed by permission of Roxy Dunn. Taken from 'Clowning' (Eyewear Publishing, 2016)

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