Poets @ Watsonia this Tuesday 9 March

A last-minute gig alert... this one came out of the blue.

This Tuesday (the 9th of March) I'll be featuring along with Lisa Gorton at Watsonia Library. 7pm for 7.30pm start (or thereabouts).

I expect to read for about 10-15 minutes, mainly material from my manuscript How to be Hungry, probably including two or three poems which I've never performed before.

Would be great to see you there...

upcoming & recent

This Friday I'll be heading along to the monthly reading at Caffe Sospeso. I enjoyed the last installment, which featured David Gilbey and Randall Stephens, plus there was plenty of quality in the open mic. This Friday features Derek Motion versus Nathan Curnow; the theme is domestic rock 'n' roll. Hmmm... if I read in the open mic I might have to tweak that to 'undomesticated' rock 'n' roll. Maybe.

I also went to see Matt Hetherington's feature at the Dan a few weeks ago. Great stuff from Matt... a really diverse set... at times enigmatic, often hilarious... unexpected, vivid... showing no fear of honesty.

Something I couldn't make it to, unfortunately, was the Melbourne launch of Out of the Box: Contemporary Australian Gay and Lesbian Poets, edited by Michael Farrell and Jill Jones. It's a brilliant anthology - highly recommended.

Looking ahead... on Saturday March 13 I'll be at the Format Festival in Adelaide, featuring on a panel re: non-paper publishing as part of the 'Academy of Words'. Chances are I'll be talking about blogs and the online publication of poetry, and the discussion may also swerve into spoken word as a form of publishing.

And one to put in the diary: on Wednesday April 14 (6-8pm) I'll be at Readings Carlton for the launch of Miscellaneous Voices: Australian Blog Writing, which is to be published by Miscellaneous Press. This anthology, edited by Karen Andrews, will feature work by "James Bradley, Lisa Dempster, Angela Meyer, Jennifer Mills, A. S. Patric, Penni Russon, and many others." I'm one of the many others: my poem 'café date' will be in there, and I'll be giving a reading of it at the launch.

November gigs

On Saturday the 21st I took part in heat 2 of the Melbourne Believer Slam at Westgate Baptist Centre in Yarraville.

A welcoming ceremony was performed by Aboriginal elder Reg Blow. His didge playing was awe-inspiring, and the ceremony created an atmosphere of solidarity amongst the participants, rather than competitiveness.

I'd never read poems in a church before. I'm not too fond of having to follow a bunch of rules when performing (it can throw me off in terms of focus), but the poems I read ('For Edwin' and 'Vipassana') were well-received, I thought. And I could understand why the rules had to be in place, given the context and audience.

Aside from religious/spiritual poetry, there were some great protest poems performed on the night, including the most powerful Hurricane Katrina poem I've heard. There were plenty of laughs to be had too though, which is pretty much guaranteed when you have the likes of Ezra Bix, Amanda le Bas de Plumentot and Cameron Semmons gracing the stage.

Thanks to Geoff Fox for inviting me along - I had a great night.

*

On Friday the 27th I was at the launch of Unusual Work #8. As ever, there was a bit of everything... poetry was the driving force, but UW launches are unpredictable, mixed-media affairs. I read 'free of the fear of freedom' (extended performance remix) and 'Found Poem #3' - the latter is featured in UW #8. Anna Fern & co were terrific... loved her haiku double act with Maurice Mcnamara... and Sean O'Callaghan's videopoems (with live delivery) just keep getting more and more mindblowing.

Track down a copy of UW if you haven't already - it's available from Polyester, Readings Carlton, and other non-shit bookstores.

Thanks to TTO for organising another off-the-wall launch, and for allowing me to be part of it.

highlights of This Is Not Art

The three-hour group reading of Gertrude Stein's Stanzas in Meditation began in the park and was still going strong when I got there, about an hour before it was supposed to finish. Later we moved indoors, out of the rain. There was no chance of getting through Stein's work in its entirety within the allotted time, so having got maybe a little past half-way, we opted to read the last two stanzas to round things off. I'm fascinated by Stein - for me she represents a pivotal moment in experimental writing. Stanzas wards off any attempt at cursory reading (or extended reading for that matter) through Stein's characteristic use of repetition, ludic syntax and pronoun-play. An intensive group reading of such a text was, for me, perhaps the best way to approach it, especially given the opportunity to discuss it afterwards. It was an honour to be able to play a small part in this event. Pictured (l-r): Tim Wright (sitting), Michael Farrell, Aden Rolfe, Ella O'Keefe, Jal Nicholl, Penny Duff (sitting).

Landscaping Aesthetics: an experiment which involved artists working more or less independently within the same space, responding to the environment and each other. Maybe it was a loose concept, but it definitely raised possibilities (at least in my mind, and in the chat I had with Derek Motion about it). Derek was incorporating whatever was going on and being said into the poem he was writing on his laptop. Dion Kagan was working on an editing project - perhaps something to be approached differently within such an 'arty' atmosphere? Also 'working the room' were a photographer, a sound artist and a cello player. Creative vibes, creative rushes. What makes a space (potentially) 'creative'? Interesting, interesting...

Tom Cho's reading from Look Who's Morphing at 'Bless Me Reader, For I Have Sinned'. Go Tom!

The Contemporary Poetics (Looking In) panel on Saturday morning, which I blogged about here.

Frame Up, on the place of the arts, was probably the most spirited discussion I witnessed the whole time I was in Newcastle. Hats off to Scott Brewer for facilitating such a fired-up panel. One of the thorns was the place of creative writing in universities, a topic which I'd like to discuss further here at some point.

Breakfast Poetry Collage Reading with Michael Farrell, Jill Jones, Stuart Cooke, Tim Wright, Jal Nicholl, Duncan Hose and Ern Malley: "I have split the infinitive. / Beyond is anything."

The Contemporary Poetics (Looking Out) panel featured Michael Farrell on 'pre-collage and cut-up in Christopher Brennan and Mallarme', Joel Scott on 'translation as exemplary writing practice' and Stuart Cooke on Neruda, Lienlaf and poetic ecology. Three excellent papers, all providing directions for the future which I'm still processing.

I didn't catch all of Constellations: Weather, UFOs, Telepathy and the Cosmos, but enjoyed Jennifer Hamilton's paper on meteorology, its history and representations in literature. Astrid Lorange's paper 'Paronymous Attraction' is available on her blog. It's a must-read: an exemplary, exploratory piece of creative research.

The Launch Pad for Lisa Dempster's Neon Pilgrim and Michaela McGuire's Apply Within turned out to be the 'Giraffe Room' (pictured). I'm not sure the giraffes appreciated the interruption, but they (and we) were treated to excellent teaser readings. Was great to be at the Melbourne launch of Neon Pilgrim on Wednesday. Go Lisa!

The brainchild of Emma Konnaris, Diversity Dinners was an opportunity to share food, ideas and a bit of booze with fellow Critical Animals. I prepared a vegan avocado and lima bean salad under Spartan conditions, which in itself was an exercise in improv and working within constraints. I met some cool people, sampled their signature dishes, and I reckon this event should become an annual fixture.

At the Lock-up Gallery (which itself was a highlight) The Artist as Family (Patrick Jones, Meg Ulman and Zephyr Jones) gave a wake-up call re: waste, permaculture and Future Scenarios in a post-climate change and peak oil world. The talk took place alongside their ten-days'-worth collection of waste from Newcastle's beach and streets (pictured). For me this was another push in the direction of eco-consciousness and eco-poetics. What other direction is there?

Finally, the Newcastle Mattara Art Prize 2009 in St Andrew's Church Hall. This wasn't part of TiNA; I'm only mentioning it here because it came as something of a reality check. I decided to take a look because I had half an hour to kill before heading to the airport to catch my plane home. The paintings on display were predominantly realist or (post-)impressionist. Landscapes, portraits... lots of paintings of flowers, animals, boats and bushland. Amongst the awardees, the emphasis seemed to be on precision of rendering and technical mastery. This was also the emphasis of the one-sided conversation I had with one of the organisers, who was pointing out the use of light and colour in a couple of works from the miniatures section. Maybe I can draw a facetious (and long-bowed?) analogy with what Pam Brown has called the 'new Aussie lyric'. But there were a few leftfielders and oddities in the mix too. I voted for one of the these in the People's Choice Award. Hmmm... This is Art vs. This is Not Art...

I'm sure there's stuff I've forgotten, so I may expand on these or add others later. This blog knows no stasis. (Well duh, it's a web page.)

Thanks again to Aden & Britt for making everything run so smoothly at CA. And shoutouts to all the mad (and not so mad) folk I met up there. You know who you are...

Critical Animals panel discussion

I have plenty to say about my weekend at TINA, but in this post I’ll talk about the Saturday morning panel on the place of the experimental in contemporary Australian poetry. The panelists were Jill Jones, Derek Motion, Michael Farrell and myself. Aden Rolfe was facilitator.

The night before the panel, I’d only managed 3 hours sleep in my tent (which, funnily enough, wasn't soundproof... nor entirely waterproof), so found myself mildly delirious, scattered, running on adrenalin.

Having contested the claims John Kinsella makes about experimentation having become ‘the expectation rather than the departure’ in his introduction to the Penguin Anthology of Australian Poetry (2009), Jill Jones contacted Kinsella to elicit a response from him. Jill read excerpts from his response. He more or less stuck to the arguments he makes in the introduction, which can be read here.

There was some agreement amongst the panelists that the ‘dominant mode’ of contemporary Australian poetry is a mode dependent upon the sincerity of a lyric ‘I’. A recent blog post by Pam Brown on the resurgence/prominence of the 'Aussie lyric' is very relevant to this discussion. After further reflection on this, I’d say that the lyric mode is definitely prevalent, though to call it dominant ... well, it depends on the territory. It’s dominant in certain publications (both print and e-journals) and venues, and in certain circles and organisations with a stake in poetry in this country. I think it's fair to say that it dominates prizes and awards. This mode has also tended to dominate the ‘Best’ anthologies (i.e. Black Inc’s Best Australian Poems and UQP’s Best Australian Poetry), although I look forward to reading Robert Adamson’s selection for the Best Australian Poems 2009 – which, if the list of poets is anything to go by, appears to provide a balanced and diverse cross-section of current work.

The ‘dominant mode’ I’m referring to is certainly represented in Kinsella’s anthology, although Kinsella urges the reader to reconsider the work of particular poets who might be labelled mainstream or conservative (e.g. Peter Porter) and reflect on the transgressive impulses that inform the poetry he's chosen to anthologise.

The panel included readings by all four poets. I read ‘post-rock’ and ‘reproduction infinitum’. I spoke about the composition of the unpunctuated collage-poem ‘post-rock’, where I sampled words/phrases from music journalism and other sources. My rule of thumb: it’s not theft if the appropriated material is not recognisable. Which entails the manipulation of samples (e.g. logical and word-order reversals, transliterations, swapping prefixes and suffixes, etc, etc.). ‘Post-rock’ is a term and music genre ‘invented’ by music journalists and critics to pigeonhole bands such as Godspeed You! Black Emperor, Sigur Ros and Explosions in the Sky. So-called post-rock music tends to be instrumental, dynamic, emotive (but not ‘emo’!). My poem was an attempt to put words to that music, but also to brainstorm around the term ‘post-rock’ and to mine the ‘poetics’ of existing writing on this form of music. The poem is a case of ‘dancing about architecture’, as Elvis Costello put it.

‘reproduction infinitum’ was introduced in the context of failure, which happens to be the subject of Derek’s PhD thesis. As Derek has indicated, when it comes to experimentation of any kind, failure is still a legitimate result, and potentially a very useful one. If all poems are experiments, then all poems admit failure. All poems fail to a certain degree (by which I don't mean to imply that failure in poems can be quantitatively measured). I spoke of how ‘reproduction infinitum’ fails from my point of view, because if anything it’s too comprehensible. Or maybe parts of it are too ‘instinctive’? Michael Farrell has spoken about using chance procedures to ‘escape a reliance on instinct (which often means convention)’. During composition I sometimes find myself seduced by narrative flow, or the urge to ‘tidy up’ the meaning of the poem – seduced by precision, you might say. I’m sure some poets would see precision (and perhaps also narrative flow) as necessary in the construction of a ‘successful’ poem. In the early stages of composition, the possibilities may seem endless. When working with collage, a phrase may glow with potential, with multifarious referentiality. It may seem to magnetise with certain other phrases in the ‘pot’, and to repel others. I usually find there’s an instinctive urge to ‘match’ phrase with phrase along narrative or thematic lines, but often the more interesting links are forged via a certain amount of randomness.

Aden asked whether we consider ourselves experimental poets, and whether others had described our work in this way. At the time I said I couldn’t recall my work being described in this way, although on reflection it probably has been. Not that there’s a voluminous body of criticism on my work (in fact, this ‘body’ is pretty much limited to the comments on this blog)! I added that I don’t introduce myself as ‘Stu Hatton, experimental poet’ (and like Derek, at times I hesitate to even refer to myself as a poet – depends on the context). But when the conversation goes along the lines of ‘Oh, you’re a poet, what kind of poetry do you write?’ I’d probably use the e word in there somewhere, although I’d probably add that my work is fairly eclectic (another 'loaded' e-word). And I should note that I’ve certainly flirted (at length?) with the lyric I / the sincere subjective mode. All of this may become clearer if/when my book surfaces. Having said all that, people are more likely to ask, ‘What do you write about?’ to which I’ve been known to half-jokingly reply, ‘sex, drugs, rock & roll’. But if there’s a one-word answer it may be ‘desire’ – that’s the theme of How to be Hungry, at least.

I went on to say that I found the concept/metaphor of experimentation useful in terms of understanding my poetic practice. I gave a provisional definition of ‘experimental’ within this context: poetry where anything/everything is permitted/admitted – or better: poetry where any form of constraint is permitted. (Cf. OuLiPo). This is a broad and somewhat unsatisfactory definition, but I think it serves a modest purpose in terms of understanding the range of poetic practice, and the openness of outlook which I see as critical to an experimental approach. That hinge of unrestricted/restrictive poetics is important to me. Such a definition isn’t really helpful when looking at individual poems, though. More needs to be said regarding intent.

Jill’s ‘notes for a talk’ come in here. The quote from Gertrude Stein and Jill’s emphasis of certain words within it lead me to the one of the 'lessons'/reminders I've taken from the panel: the convergence of the experimental and experiential. At some point the question of the etymology of ‘experimental’ was raised. A member of the audience responded that it was from the Latin experientia. The history of the word ‘experiment’ aligns it closely with experience. I noted that it may be interesting to substitute the word ‘experiential’ for ‘experimental’ in our discussion, and see where that led/left us. I believe that Jill’s, Michael’s and Derek’s work could be profitably read through this tension (if indeed it is a tension) between experiential and experimental.

Talk of the experiential/experimental immediately led me to mindfulness and awareness, and the admission of the environment, noise and ‘the random’ into the poem at the time of composition. Also admission of the ‘meta’ – the poet’s thoughts during and about compositon, for example, but this covers reflexivity in general.

So far in this post I’ve talked about composition as if it were a discrete time, a cordoned-off period or activity, as if composition doesn’t occur at all times. But the poet is always composing, in so far as the poet is always being composed. Composed by and of. How does composure relate to composition? Back again to mindfulness...

The question of audience came up, namely: who makes up the audience for experimental poetry in Australia? I listed the obvious: other poets, creative writers, artists (particularly those with an experimental bent), literary critics. Beyond that I’d say the audience is largely unknown – but the audience can (and does) exist beyond these confines. Off the top of my head, there are readers of my blog who don’t fit into any of the aforementioned categories. And when we consider experimental poetry beyond the private reader and the public reading, in realms noted by Kinsella, such as installations, multimedia and performance, I believe the potential audience becomes wider. I see multimedia, visual and video poetry as ways forward – by engaging audiences on a audio/visual level that goes beyond perceived ‘limitations’ of poetry as language-art. I’m thinking media and performances which incorporate but are not delimited by the written word, the voiced word, the performative body of the poet.

Thanks to facilitator Aden Rolfe and my fellow panelists for an engaging discussion. At the end, asked to sum up, I said that I still didn't know what 'experimental' meant. I guess I was being flippant. If I were to arrive at a settled definition, maybe my own experimentation would cease at that point. Provisionality is important.

Critical Animals / TINA

On Friday I'll be heading up to This Is Not Art (TINA) in Newcastle. In the afternoon, as part of Critical Animals, I'll be taking part in a group reading of Gertrude Stein's Stanzas in Meditation in Civic Park. Other readers will include Penny Duff, Derek Motion, Michael Farrell, Ella O'Keefe and Jal Nicholl - and members of the audience are also invited to read. The reading runs from 2:30-5:30pm. I expect to arrive fashionably late, probably about halfway through.

On Saturday morning I'll be involved in a panel discussion with Derek Motion, Jill Jones and Michael Farrell (plus facilitator Aden Rolfe), talking about the place of the experimental in contemporary Australian poetry. From the program:

Contemporary Poetics (Looking In): the place of the experimental in contemporary Australian poetry.

Sat 3 Oct: 9.30am – 11.00am

Banquet Room, City Hall

Is experimental poetry now the norm in Australia and what does experimental mean in 2009? Who makes up the audience for experimental poetry? Does the diversity in Australian poetic practice entail a progressive, permissive playing-field? This engaging and exploratory panel discussion includes readings by the panellists.

The impulse for the panel came from John Kinsella's comments in his introduction to The Penguin Anthology of Australian Poetry (2009):

"The publication or presentation of innovative verse-novels, prose poetry, hypertextual poetry, multimedia and performance poetry, installation poetry, concrete poetry and many other cross-generic forms is standard in Australia now. Experimentation is the expectation rather than the departure, but this surely leads us to question what actually constitutes the experimental, and to begin looking elsewhere for what is truly working against the status quo."

Jill Jones has blogged in response to this here. I'm really looking forward to continuing this discussion, and to meeting the other panelists.

Once the panel's done there are a million panels/performances/happenings I want to check out, but there'll also be time to kick back and hang out with the other (critical) animals and festival peeps. I'll be staying in the tent city if anyone's looking for me...

Wrap-up of Overload (and the rest)

What a festival that was! Wish I could've caught more of it, but what I did catch was inspiring. My faith in the Melbourne poetry and spoken word scene has been renewed.

First up there was the launch at the Fitzroy Town Hall. Myron Lysenko MCed and read excerpts from Blake and Auden to get our minds in the frame. Or out of the frame - isn't that what poetry's about? Great selections, Myron! Mayor of Yarra Amanda Stone (who was my Year 8 English teacher!) gave a fitting speech. Jennifer Harrison gave the perfect tribute to the late, great and dearly missed Dorothy Porter. Then the Heart Chamber (Matt Hetherington, Lia Hills, Tom Joyce, Michelle Leber and Marian Spires) performed love poetry which ranged from the flippant to the full-flight ecstatic. It was almost like seeing a group of poet-friends performing as if they were the only ones in the room: it seemed they were freely bouncing poems/fragments off one another. The segues were natural/unexpected rather than contrived. Cool idea... didn't see anything else quite like it for the rest of the festival. Unfortunately I couldn't stick around for the infamous pub crawl (thereby bringing infamy upon myself!).

On Saturday the 5th I went along to the (non-Overload-related) Frame Lines party at Loop. Was great to see photography/artwork from the magazine up on the projector screen, and to meet the staff and artists involved. I read 'chapel st'. Thanks to Sarah and Jeremy for opening up the stage.

Then there was Tripping the Light Ekphrastic at Glitch on Tuesday the 8th. What can I say... great gig, great poets, great performances, great crowd, great souvenir chapbooks (thanks Fee!). As promised, I read 'Sharps' by Nathan Moore and 'Suite' by Dana Guthrie Martin, along with my remixes of those poems: 'Sharps' (Warding Remix) and 'Suite' (Sour Remix). Thanks to everyone who came along. It was an honour to share the stage with Anna Fern, Ahmed Hashim, Fee Sievers, Maurice McNamara and Kristin Henry. All the poets blew me away on the night, and everyone I spoke to said they really enjoyed the performances and concept. Something I should've mentioned earlier is the pre-gig interview I did for the Overland blog. Thanks to Maxine Clarke for organising that.

The following Thursday saw the launch of the first edition of [untitled] at Watsonia library. Kalinda Ashton gave a fantastic launch speech, reminding everyone of the importance of magazines and journals that publish stories and poems by new and emerging writers. Then we were treated to readings by some of the featured writers (I gave a reading of 'hands/office'). Thanks and congrats to Blaise, Les and the rest of the [untitled] crew. A well-attended and memorable launch, for sure. All bodes well for the future of this publication.

On Saturday night I went along to Poetry in Motion at ACMI Studio. David Rozetsky's short films based on poems by Elizabeth Campbell, Philip Salom and Luis Gonzalez Serrano were alluring examples of videopoetry, marrying the short film aesthetic with poem-as-voiceover and music. There was also a series of video poems curated by Sydney's Wordjammin' collective, which were more experimental/avant-garde, in some cases unashamedly lo-fi, but all fascinating in their own way. Sjaak de Jong curated a brilliant selection of vispo and audio-visual pieces from Australia and around the world, including the likes of Warren Burt, Eddy Burger and Richard Tipping. All things considered, with the possible exception of the Surprise Showcase (see below), Poetry in Motion was probably my favourite part of the festival - because it pointed to the future. It promised to be 'a truly innovative session', and for me it definitely delivered.

I stuck around for the Skype Slam, which has been discussed at length on the Overland blog. Despite the technical hitches, it was a lot of fun, and I enjoyed all the performances. Although maybe I would've been more disappointed if I'd just come along for the slam and hadn't already been blown away by Poetry in Motion? Still, I figure the Skype Slam concept was a risk worth taking.

Sunday night's Surprise Showcase at Dante's closed the festival in style, with some captivating performances. Josephine Rowe, Maxine Clarke, Lewis Scott and Felix Nobis were magical. Congrats to all the award winners, who were definitely deserving - especially Michael Reynolds. Again it was great to see such a large, up-for-it crowd... mainly made up of poets, but this was a night for the poets to celebrate what we have.

Thanks to everyone who made Overload what it was: from the festival committee and staff (James Waller, Jon Garrett, Luis Gonzalez Serrano, Sjaak de Jong, Tim Hamilton et al), to the venues, the audiences, and of course the poets.

If there's one thing I'll take from the festival it's that I should get out to at least one gig every week, because the scene is so rich, and should be supported. And because Melbourne's poets are worth hanging out with. Cheers to you guys!

Ok, now I need to lie down.

Below: Tripping the Light Ekphrastic at Glitch Bar. Group shot (L-R): Maurice McNamara, Brett Ditchfield, Kristin Henry, Fee Sievers, Ahmed Hashim, moi, Anna Fern.

gig/antics

It's happenings and gigs a-go-go for the next couple of months.

Before I get to the upcoming stuff, I want to mention how great it was to be there for the launch of Nathan Curnow's Ghost Poetry Project at the Old Melbourne Gaol just over a week ago. Loved Nathan's performances on the night (haunting stuff, seriously). I'd definitely recommend grabbing a copy of zee boke.

On Sunday the 30th of August at BMW Edge, Fed Square, the Melbourne Writers Festival plays host to the final of Poetry Idol. Tickets are still available. I'll be somewhere in the audience, having been involved in judging a couple of heats along the way, and also judging (along with Gig Ryan) two poems submitted by each of the finalists. The scores for the 'page' poems will be tallied up with results from each poet's performance on the night. Good luck to all the poets! I was going to throw in some clever punning based on the fact that Gig Ryan is yet another gig... but I think I'll leave it. The title of this post is probably enough for one day.

As I've mentioned previously, I'll be performing at Overload in Tripping the Light Ekphrastic on Tuesday the 8th of September at Glitch Bar. I'll also be getting to as many other Overload gigs as I can.

Then on Thursday the 10th of September I'll be at the launch of [untitled] magazine's debut issue at Watsonia Library. I'll be performing one of my poems, which is featured in the mag. The launch kicks off at 6:30pm.

Looking further ahead, in early October I'll be heading up to This Is Not Art (TINA) in Newcastle. I'll be involved in a panel discussion with Derek Motion, Jill Jones and Michael Farrell as part of Critical Animals, talking about the place of the experimental in contemporary Australian poetry. I've also put my hand up for a group performance of Gertrude Stein's Stanzas in Meditation. But more on TINA later. The official program will be online in the coming week.

There may be one or two other happenings coming up in the next few weeks - I'll keep you posted.

Overload Poetry Festival 2009

This year's Overload looks like the best yet.

Have a peruse of the program, and I'm sure if you're into poetry you'll find something (or if you're like me, many things) you have to go to.

I'm particularly looking forward to seeing Ania Walwicz perform again, and the Poetry in Motion event, which will include screenings of local and international video poetry, plus the documentary Melbourne City Poems featuring Luis Gonzalez Serrano, Elizabeth Campbell, Philip Salom, and the late Dorothy Porter.

But that's just scratching the surface...

I'll be involved in the Tripping the Light Ekphrastic event on Tuesday 8 September. This will be the final in a series of gigs based around the theme of ekphrasis. This one focuses on 'poem as response', and features Kristin Henry, Ahmed Hashim, Maurice McNamara, Anna Fern and Fee Sievers, with Brett Ditchfield as MC. I've put my hand up to perform stuff based around remixing.

So for the first time I'll be performing original and remixed pieces which came out of collaborations with Dana Guthrie Martin and Nathan Moore.

Can't wait...!

Spinning Room 14/7/09

Made my first visit to The Spinning Room last week. Tuesdays are not normally a night I'm able to head to gigs, but I made an exception to see Maxine Clarke perform. Actually this was the third time I'd seen her (first at the Unusual Work #7 launch, then at the opening night of the Emerging Writers' Festival). She didn't disappoint, with a set of poem-songs and hip-hop stylings that covered all bases: witty, edgy, sexy... It was good to chat to her afterwards, plus I picked up a copy of her chapbook original skin.

Open section was cool too. I got in on the act, reading a couple of newies: 'cafe date' and 'snow/shy'.

The size and atmosphere of the room seems perfect for poetry & performance. The fact there's no need for a mic creates an intimate vibe. Jon and Anth do a great job of running the show too, keeping everyone entertained and on their toes.

Well it took me long enough to finally make it down (I'd been meaning to for... like... years) but I'll be back!

Poetry Idol 2009 : Heat 3

Heat 3 of Poetry Idol will be happening at Mornington Library (Vancouver Street - Melway 104 D10) on Saturday the 16th of May. Poetic and musical goodness kicks off from 11am.

The two judges will be myself and Melissa Delaney, a practising electronic artist who also works as Arts Coordinator with RMIT Union Arts. Previously Melissa was Artistic Director at Express Media (producers of Voiceworks).

As with all the heats, the judges will pick two winners, and the audience gets to vote for a further two poets, making four poets who'll go through to the final.

Hope to see you there!

Emerging Writers' Festival 2009

I'm excited to announce that I'll be participating in a panel discussion at this year's Emerging Writers' Festival.

Here are the details:


The Best Ways Forward

Looking at the merits of the various avenues for helping get your words out into the real world being it tertiary study, short courses, mentors or just sitting down and writing.

With Steven Amsterdam, Rijn Collins, Stu Hatton & Pooja Mittal

Hosted by Tim Sinclair

3pm Sunday the 31st of May

Yarra Room, Melbourne Town Hall


I'll be talking about my Australian Society of Authors mentorship, plus my experience of tertiary study (as student and teacher) and the impact these learning experiences have had on me as a writer. Having done a number of short courses, seminars and workshops over the years, I'll probably throw in my two cents on those too.

A number of questions and uncertainties arise from my experiences with these 'avenues to writing', namely: have these learning experiences made me a 'better' writer, or perhaps a more disciplined one? What did I find most (or least) valuable? To what extent can creative writing be taught? Why not just go it alone and remain 'wild'?

Hope to see you at the festival, which runs from Friday 22nd May until Sunday 31st May. I attended in 2006 and 2007, and can assure you that whatever you write, and whatever stage you're at as a writer, you're sure to find something unmissable in the program. The full 2009 program will be released later this month.

Inspirations at the Dan O'Connell 7/3

Last Saturday there was no feature poet at the Dan; it was an all-open-mic affair, with the theme of 'Inspirations', i.e. which poets/poems have inspired you, or what have they inspired you to write?

I chose to recite William Blake's 'London', which would have been one of the first poems to deliver a cold spinal shock while I was a teenager. In my view it still stands as one of the great city poems, along with the likes of Lorca's 'New York: Office and Denunciation', which I featured as one of the recurring poems on this blog.

Next up I read Pam Brown's 'At the wall', from Dear Deliria: New and Selected Poems. As I said (with a wry smile) on the day, I hope this poem inspires someone to do something other than write poetry. It's a serious punch in the guts - the kind we need.

Finally I read the final (88th) sonnet from Ted Berrigan's The Sonnets. Every hair on my body was standing to attention for those last few lines, ending with 'It is 5:15am ___________ Dear Chris, hello'. I would've first read bits of Berrigan more than ten years ago, but more recently, after reading The Sonnets in full, and hearing Berrigan read them more or less in their entirety after downloading an mp3 from UbuWeb, they've become a central text for me. They're a freaky construction of repetitions, appropriations, interrelations, shifting textures and tones.

It was fun listening to other poets' inspirations, and the fruits thereof. Ledong Qui took the theme laterally, and surprised a few people by pulling out a thesaurus and flicking at random, sampling words from it. Berrigan would've approved.

Below: Reciting 'London' (photo by Michael Reynolds).

Gigs - February '09

First up was the launch of Unusual Work #7 at Uptown Jazz Cafe on the 6th of Feb. Great atmosphere and an appreciative audience for outer-limits poetry and art - what more could you ask for? Loved Sean O'Callaghan's reading with video/slideshow, and to hear Maxine Clarke perform her West Indian patois poems was something else! What a voice! And great to witness Paul Fearne do his first 'public' reading of his work. I love Amelia Walker's 'Norwegian' piece in UW#7 - you should check it out if you haven't already. In the words of PiO: 'small magazines: the life blood of a great literature... MAKE AN EFFORT!'

Then there was Passionate Tongues on Monday the 16th. Tiggy Johnson and Alex Skovron - couldn't have picked two more different poets really - both gave inspired readings. Plenty of quality and good humour in the open mic too. I read two of my WA Notebook poems, coastal and The day writes itself.

Today I made it down to the Dan O'Connell, where Carmen Main was the feature. She rocks... what can I say?! Open mic was fun today too. I read two more from the WA Notebook, development and Waterfront.

That's probably it for this month - I'll be trying to knuckle down to some serious work before March rears its head.

Below: at the Dan O'Connell 21/2/09 (photo by Michael Reynolds)

Poetry Idol heat 1 / Paradise Anthology launch

Last Sunday Nick Whittock and I acted as judges for the first heat of Poetry Idol 2009, which was held at St Kilda Library along with the launch of the second Paradise Anthology.

Nick and I eventually picked out Marc Testart and Ozlem Baro to go through to the final, while the audience voted for Sharona Radovsky and Duanne Clarke. The encouragement award went to Corrine Phillips. All were worthy winners.

The two former Poetry Idol winners, Geoff Lemon and Ezra Bix, gave energised performances of poems and promoted their respective books. The publication of Ezra's had been part of his prize, while Geoff's is published by Picaro.

Aside from judging on the day, in November I ran a workshop with several Paradise Anthology poets to prepare their poems for publication. I was also asked to pick out what I thought were the three best poems in the anthology. The poems I chose were written by Kai Jensen, Emma Kerrin and Fiona Stuart, who were all awarded prizes at the launch.

It was a great day of poetry and music, and a treat to see Chris Wilson perform live again. I also enjoyed Trish Anderson & Michael Crane's duet of Leonard Cohen's Who By Fire.

Thanks to Michael, Odette & Sally for all the support and encouragement. And kudos to all the poets, musicians, organisers, and everyone involved in The Paradise Anthology for pulling off another well-attended and fun event.

The Poetry Idol 2009 final will be held at Federation Square as part of the Age Melbourne Writers Festival. Chances are I'll be judging another heat or two before then. The next heat will be at South Yarra / Toorak library on Monday the 6th of April.

Dan O'Connell, Saturday 13/12/08

On Saturday, after standing in the rain for an hour or so outside the State Library to protest the Australian government's plans to introduce mandatory internet filtering, I headed on down to the Dan O'Connell for the weekly open mic.

As a tribute to Dorothy Porter, I read the Overture from her Carmen sequence (which I posted below). This was originally featured in Driving Too Fast, her book from 1989. Then I read Drive-thru, which I originally wrote for Dorothy's creative writing class at Melbourne Uni in 1998 (Elizabeth Campbell was one of my classmates). I also read Down slow, which I'd been working on during my mentorship with Dorothy in 2007, and which she seemed to take a shine to.

The open mic was as diverse as ever. Several other poets read Dorothy Porter poems. Featured poet Anthea Bartholomeuz was impressive. I'll probably be back again some time in the new year.

Below: Reading Dorothy's poem (photo by Michael Reynolds).

Recent gigs

I've been 'coming out of the woodwork' recently, and heading out to a few gigs.

A few weeks back I went along to hear Elizabeth Campbell, Petra White and Claire Gaskin (and others) reading at Fed Square for International Women's Day. That was a treat - they're all excellent poets.

And a couple of weeks ago I went down to the Dan O'Connell on a Saturday afternoon for the first time in... like... years, to celebrate the birthday of Carmen Main, who was also one of the featured poets. By her own admission her poetry has come along in leaps and bounds in recent times, and she's definitely one to watch for the future. I really enjoyed her set, which mainly consisted of love poems that were lyrical but direct (very contemporary). I got in on the open mic, reading apology and I will not carry.

And just two nights ago I was at the Boroondara Soirée, which happens every two months in the Hawthorn Town Hall's art gallery space. Matt Hetherington is the regular MC, and guests on this particular night were musician Ned Collette and the one and only Emilie Zoey Baker, one of Melbourne's very best performance poets. I enjoyed their respective sets, and the open mic threw up a few surprises too. I read Vipassana.

So yeah... I'm planning to head to some more gigs over the coming weeks, so who knows, we may cross paths. Next stop the Spinning Room...

Verandah 22 launched!

Verandah 22 was launched yesterday at the Melbourne Writers' Festival. As usual, the launch attracted a large, enthusiastic crowd. It was great to see everyone there, and to meet some of the editors and contributors.

I was presented with the 'Books4U Literary Award' for my poem Self portrait (with wires, city & no clothes), and did a reading of the poem. Adam Davis and Tom Cho also performed their work - Tom's delivery of his piece AIYO!!! An evil group of ninjas is entering and destroying a call centre was highly entertaining! Special congrats to the incomparable Toby Davidson, who breezed in from Warrnambool to collect the Penguin Literary Award.

Congratulations to all the other prize winners and contributors, and to the Verandah editors, designers... and everyone involved in the conception and production of this edition. It looks fantastic, and the content is top notch. I especially like Jessika Tong's poem Transformations.

Verandah 22 is available now from good bookshops. In Melbourne, try Readings, The Brunswick St Bookstore, or my personal favourite, Collected Works Poetry & Ideas Bookshop.

Eggs & Roses - post-gig review

Thanks to everyone who made it to Eggs & Roses last Thursday. I enjoyed meeting you all, and reading my poems in an intimate setting. It's always a pleasure to read to an appreciative and friendly crowd!

Thanks to Alexis Harley and the La Trobe English department for having me. And kudos to Catherine Padmore, who also read from her fascinating novel-in-progress.

This was my set list:

Drive-thru
cashed
The Breaking
unplugged
Vipassana
A Taste of Cindy
I will not carry
Saturday, Brunswick St
apology
Self portrait (with wires, city & no clothes)

Verandah 22 Launch - update

I can now confirm that I'll be doing a reading at the launch of Verandah 22 at the Melbourne Writers' Festival. I'll be reading my poem Self portrait (with wires, city & no clothes), which is featured in the journal.

Apparently I'm also going to be presented with some kind of literary award.

As mentioned in an earlier post, this free event is happening from 2pm on Saturday the 1st of September, in the Bagging Room at the Malthouse.