Male Call

About

Having written a new work (r nAthair) for the NUIG Choral Society in Galway Ireland, I was asked by conductor Peter Mannion for something lighter for his men's voices. He asked for texts appropriate to the concerns of most males: specifically 'anything to do with college life: exams, drinking, lectures, girls, clubbing etc'!! For texts I returned once more to the poetry of American Jack Prelutsky. Although best-known for his poetry for young people, he has also written poems for adult readers. His collection of 'poems for grown-ups' There'll Be a Slight Delay provided me with the source for the five texts I chose. The first text is a supposed personal ad by someone best described as a 'loser', although an ever optimistic one. The second, very brief, piece relates to certain part of the male anatomy. The third piece,well, the title gives a fair idea of the topic: 'They did it in the shower', the poem then nominates other places 'it' had been done. The fourth piece is a complaint about men who wear strong scent. The final piece presents us with the dilemma of being a 'millennial guy', to be 'mellow' or 'macho'. The poet very kindly updated this last poem especially for this cycle, it was originally published as 'A 90's Type Guy'. My thanks to Jack Prelutsky for giving his permission to me to use these texts for Male Call.