Patrick Jones's performances are always thought provoking, often disquieting and the intensity of his poetic delivery leaves more than a few in the audience feeling a little shell-shocked. Those of you who imagine a gentle, poetic stroll through themes of Love And Nature with a few comic ditties thrown in about the State Of The Nation are in for a bit of an eye-opener, and a welcome one at that. Those of you who have heard about the Waterstones fiasco, the sad oppression of a poet’s voice, and the standoff with hardline religious activists from Christian Voice will have a better idea of what to expect.

Patrick is not shy about using his art to tackle tough subjects, and although he appears quite nervous and even a little anxious on stage, he delivers powerful, uncompromising words without flinching from either his intended message or the obvious surprise of the audience – something that takes a lot of nerve. Sex, politics, religion, homophobia, racism and male domestic abuse read as a tough list of topics to cover during forty minutes of entertainment, but there is something disarmingly self-effacing about Patrick, and this leads to certain factions within an audience, who might usually respond to his words with outrage or even disgust, being placated by his mannerisms; for his boldness he is rewarded with cheers and whoops of appreciation from those who respect his audacity.

Patrick’s latest collection of poetry, Darkness is Where the Stars Are relates to some very intimate events from the author’s own life, so when I caught up with him I wanted to know if it was uncomfortable to share such personal issues, especially on stage? Patrick explained, “It’s really about the skill of the performance, look at Allen Ginsberg’s Howl, it’s brilliant, poetry should be about baring part of your soul. Sometimes poets don’t seem to have any connection with the audience or even their own poetry.
“I mean what I say when I’m performing, so I don’t have to plan how to perform. I do have a few prompts but I don’t want it become an act - more a bearing of who I am.” Patrick is honest when he admits that, “I do feel vulnerable at times when sharing some things, it can be difficult, but I like Arthur Miller’s take on it when he said that he ‘wanted people to be less alone.’”

So, is he a poet, playwright or musician? “I’ll think about writing a poem,” he told me, “but then I’ll hear the voice of a character so things will come together that way; then I might think maybe I should get some images. It’s odd because some people don’t take me seriously as a playwright because I write poetry, then I come out with a CD and people think ‘oh he’s really fucked up there!’ they don’t know where to pigeonhole me.”

Regardless of how you view Patrick’s work, and I place myself firmly in the ‘fan’ category here, it is an undeniable fact that he is a prolific writer whose obsession with the human condition, whether his own or that of an Islamic woman suffering at the hands of her husband, is the driving force behind his work. He is unflinching in his appraisal of the people of the 21st century; stripping bare our neuroses and prejudices he deftly sets to work at the carcasses of old relationships and misplaced religious beliefs with an artist’s skill - and some very sharp, knives.