Poetry has been referred to as "the economy of words" but the poetry offered in Thursdays 'Ber-mused An Evening of Poetry' would be better classed as a delicious luxury.

Eight of Bermuda's top poets read their work during 'Ber-mused' on at the Daylesford Theatre on January 21 & 22.

It was a 'Dahn De Hill to Daylesford Fringe' event, a late evening performance designed to run after a regular Bermuda Festival event.

The poets were Jeremy Frith, Christopher Astwood, Kim Dismont-Robinson, Jane Downing, Ronald R.W. Lightbourne, Nancy Anne Miller, Wendy Fulton-Steginsky and Alan C. Smith. Actress and storyteller Ruth Thomas also read and performed some of the poetry.

All of the poets were featured in a recent anthology of 'The Caribbean Writer' a prestigious and highly selective publication.

They took turns reading their own work, and also each other's work.

A lot of Bermudians have a prejudice against poetry, seeing it as something elite and potentially boring. My companion on this evening went reluctantly, grumbling about how there were better things he could be doing with his time.

Despite his dire predictions, he never once fell asleep.

One of the most exciting poems of the evening as Allan C. Smith's 'Love Ring'.

It was based on a true story in Cyril Packwood's book 'Chained On The Rock'.

It is about a slave named Minna who is owned by the Love family.

In the poem, read by Kim Dismont Robinson, Minna tries to steal her dead mistress' silver ring from her finger, and inadvertently wakes the mistress from the grave. Minna is rewarded by a scarring beating, and her freedom.

But arguably, Mr. Smith was the necromancer - the person who really raised the dead. The poem was so vivid, that after hundreds of years of being in her own grave, Minna spoke on that stage.

'Love Ring' was quite different from Mr. Smith's other poem 'The Cock Crows All Night'. Like a lot of Mr. Smith's work, this poem was charged with sexual energy.

Mr. Smith said at the end of the performance that he preferred people to interpret his poems for themselves, rather than him explain the poem. And there were so many ways this poem could be read, some of them clean, and others not so clean.

The imagery in Nancy Miller's 'Mrs. Zuill' was memorable. In the poem her teacher Frances Zuill arrives on a Triumph motorcycle carrying nasturtium sandwiches.

And what woman in the audience couldn't identify with Jane Downing's 'Sized Two Blues'. This was sung in a jazzy style by Ruth Thomas.

"I'm a size eight and all my clothes are twos," the character in the poem laments.

"I got one pair of jeans that fit, and now they are getting snug."

She is being fattened up by a boyfriend who keeps bringing over pizza.

"I may not fit my clothes, but I fit you like a glove."

Dr. Kim Dismont Robinson, Bermuda's Folklife Officer for Community & Cultural Affairs, and writer Ronald Lightbourne both wrote poems about parenthood from different ends of the spectrum.

Dr. Robinson's 'The Known World' was about the miracle of the baby in the womb and its little 'starfish fingers', while Mr. Lightbourne's poem 'How I Hold You Now' was about the joys of having a grown-up daughter.

In the end, he holds his daughter only in the form of a photo in his wallet.

Mr. Lightbourne has done much in the community to nurture love of writing in the community.

Mr. Lightbourne will be holding a writing marathon on February 7 at the Bermuda National Gallery.

Wendy Fulton Steginsky's poem 'Lament for a Nine Year Old Boy' was about a sadder aspect of parenthood, losing a child. It was inspired by the death of her friend's grandson.

During the performance all the poets sat on stage on black boxes. It was interesting looking at the attitudes of the different poets. Some looked shy, or nervous, possibly wondering if the audience was getting it. Like his poetry, Allan C. Smith seemed physically charged, always wiggling or shifting.

Chris Astwood leaned so hard to the side he looked like he was being buffeted by a strong wind. But the slouch went with the gritty realism of his poem about 'Somerset Biyz'. This was about a group of boys growing up in Somerset. He had a fresh perspective on Bermudian life. He appeared to be one of the youngest poets in the group, but he certainly held his own.

Jeremy Frith remained sombre although his poems brought a humourous twist to the night.

His poem 'A Couple of Clunkers' was about an aging couple with spare tyres and broken tail lights who were just "a couple of clunkers in life's used car lot".

He used Bermudian dialect in a wickedly funny way in 'O Gawd I Vish Dis Ig'rance Vud Stop' and in 'Van My Deddy Vas A Bye'.

After the poetry reading there was a brief question and answer session,and then the poets met the audience in the Daylesford Bar for a more intimate exchange of ideas.

Although the Daylesford Theatre wasn't full, Mr. Smith later told The Royal Gazette that it was an extremely good turn-out for a poetry night.

"I'm used to performing before very small audiences," he said. "This was a good turn-out."

And he hinted that there might be more poetry readings like this one.

"I have a feeling that they might do this again soon, and maybe make a bigger deal of it next time," he said. "Not that they didn't make a big deal of it this time."