For I Will Consider Gnorma, The ASDA Pride Gnome
after Christopher Smart’s ‘Jubilate Agno’
For her pointy hat matches her tiny rainbow flag.
For she sports a blood red price tag of £22.
For her cheeks are flushed with the exertion
……………of generations of activists.
For she is Walmart’s canary.
For she wears pink and blue
……………in ironic dismissal of gender binaries.
For her painted mouth is open, as if to declare that, finally,
……………we are special enough to be in the Seasonal Goods section.
For the plastic compounds of her body are prehistoric.
For there are velociraptors behind her mass-produced eyes.
For she is the modern shopper’s Terracotta Army.
For her bearded accomplice Gnorman
……………is her partner only in corporate cosplay.
For the stubby wave of her greeting
……………is about to clench into revolt.
For she is the Herald of Unquestionable Change.
For her comfy pastel loafers sprint from Shame.
For she makes cold warehouses into Pride Parades.
For she stands in solidarity with her inert comrades.
For she yearns to fight giant windmills on rockeries.
For in landfills they will backstroke with sun-blistered skin.
For they are perfect throwaway accessories.
For they propagate acceptance like desperate bees.
For it was Gnorma’s queer shovel that dug our victory.
For the Gnormas have come to save you.
For the Gnormas have come to save us all.
For praise be to Gnorma.
For I am Gnorma and she is me.
from Wasted Rainbow (pub: tall-lighthouse, February 2021)
“For LGBT+ History Month 2021 I gift you Gnorma, The ASDA Pride Gnome.
“I love this poem and it’s such fun to perform: I like to place ‘Gnorma’ somewhere in the audience or stage, then direct the poem ‘to’ her. It’s been through quite a process and received very differing comments from mentors and editors! Which is part of the reason I continue to love it: Gnorma is ever divisive.
“Having encountered Gnorma in an ASDA in south Bristol one spring day, I was struck by the need to respond to that big display stand full of Gnormas (Gnormae?) and Gnormans. There’s more awareness and discussion of ‘pinkwashing’ and ‘rainbow capitalism’ now – and Gnorma felt like such a perfect encapsulation of those ideas that I had to write something – but how to do so eluded me for a while.
“Taking the form of Christopher Smart’s 18th century praise poem in adoration of his cat, ‘Jubilate Agno’ really gave me the shape to explore my response. I’m grateful to Chen Chen – a poet whose work I adore – for his take on the original in, ‘For I Will Consider My Boyfriend Jeffrey’, which is what brought it back to my attention. Chen Chen’s piece is heartfelt and tender, whereas I’m deploying the form much more archly and ironically. Thanks to him for paving the way to queer the ‘Jubilate Agno’ form!
“More recently, I read Simon Barroclough’s great collection, Sunspots – in which he has a magnificent take on this form too, in praise of our sun. I heartily recommend reading it, out loud if possible. The repetition of that ‘For…’ really creates something magical and incantatory. I encourage you to have a go with this form, it’s a wonderful way to explore the many facets of something and to go further than you think you can in those explorations.
“The poem appears towards the end of my pamphlet and, for me, encapsulates some of the queer themes of the work around belonging, commodification, consumerism and environment. I love that as gay people we are accepted enough to be ‘in the Seasonal Goods Section’, but have my reservations about being given the nod by Walmart. As queer writers, I believe we can be both heartfelt and ironic – that our writing and ideas are often doing ‘double duty’. That’s how I view this piece, too.
“I’m keeping an eye out on eBay now for Gnorma, however battered by the elements she might be. Perhaps it’s only by living with Gnorma that I’ll understand how we feel about one another. For I am Gnorma and she is me.”
Caleb Parkin, Bristol City Poet 2020 – 22, has published widely in journals including The Rialto, Poetry Review, Magma, Poetry Wales and Butcher’s Dog, and has won or been shortlisted in major competitions, including second prize in the National Poetry Competition 2016, The Rialto Open Pamphlet Competition 2016 shortlist and first in the Winchester Poetry Prize 2017. He tutors for The Poetry Society, Poetry School, Cheltenham Festivals and First Story and holds an MSc in Creative Writing for Therapeutic Purposes (CWTP). Debut pamphlet: Wasted Rainbow, (tall-lighthouse, Feb 2021). Debut collection: This Fruiting Body (Nine Arches, October 2021). Tweet: @CalebParkin
Click here to book a free ticket for the launch of Caleb’s pamphlet on Feb 13th. You can pre-order a copy of the pamphlet (where this poem will feature) from https://tall-lighthouse.co.uk/caleb-parkin/
Ben Banyard 