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Poetea!
I shall writing a poem in response to the Strong tea....
Muyock
Part of my ongoing long poem Muyock, which is about Tiphaine Mancaux, the D-Day landings and Matteo Patocchi's photographs of Aomi Muyock, has been published by Walter Ruhlmann's 'D-Day 68th Anniversary Anthology' through the Anglo-French online press mgversion2.0>datura. http://mgversion2datura.blogspot.co.uk/ You can buy the anthology on Issuu and Lulu, in both digital and hard copies.... an excerpt below
on m knees
theearth bere
ft breaks
intodryred
mud
heavy w birds
& gherman pricks
dumpin a way that invites...
until th wet congeals
everywhere / in the great
arches of invitation
..
all th roads ar ebuilt
now you can fuck
off back to spider island
w allthe dead i cant thank enough
Performance at Cafe Oto with Ben Morris for Mercy: Electronic Voice Phenomena
It was also a great pleasure to perform for Mercy. Nathan Jones is one of a few remarkable figures in poetry and sonic art I am fortunate enough to call my contemporary who is genuinely enthused by complex and intense performance, and who will do the hard work it takes to get that performance a proper stage and reception. He feels a stringent sense of responsibility to promote the work of others and this kind of selflessness is integral to the building of a scene of dynamic poetry and sound performance. I know I speak for Ben when I say to have the opportunity to work with Mercy producing these new commissions is a privilege.
In the end, the performance was something I am pleased with, of course never wholly, but conceptually. I had really hoped it would explore avenues of delirium, confusion, kineticism - that it would not just be about violence and force, as some of my other pieces have been. I deliberately made the format of my punching non combative, so I stood still, used 'James Toney' type hands, with sloppy angles and no power form, and would emphasise my breathing and noise and would create motion blurs, using speed, rather than some dumb platform for the force of my punching.
The piece is called "We're getting married tomorrow" and is described as "A piece of conceptual sonic art in collaboration that explores notions of exhaustion, suffocation, exertion & kineticism, drawing together a specific mode of bodily, as well as vocal, experimental expression and innovative performance."
Massive thanks to Alexander Kell, who held the pads for me and is a loyal friend and great training partner, to David Kelly, Tiphaine Mancaux and Catherine Carncross who came to support and film and photo, and of course Nathan and Ben. I have a good feeling more work will emerge from this relationship.
The Revenge of Cotto - preview performance
Philip Venables and I had the preview performance culmination of our London Sinfonietta Blue Touch Paper commission a few weeks ago at the Village Underground in Shoreditch. Philip has kindly aligned the video above. From Phil "The preview version of The Revenge of Miguel Cotto was premiered on 16th May at Village Underground in Shoreditch, London. What a great evening! The London Sinfonietta were performing, conducted by Richard Baker, with vocalists Leigh Melrose and Alexander Robin Baker" It was undoubtedly a special evening, the culmination of much hard work by many.
Species published by Sand: Berlin's English language journal
Really proud to feature again in SAND, it's one of the best quaility journals in Europe and to have ties with the Berlin literary scene is important to me. You can see the contents, where the issue is sold and other stuff here http://sandjournal.com/issues The poems included this time are a meditation on species of bears.
{Species}
all bears today have descended from a common ancestor known Ursavus or ‘dawn bear’. This animal, which lived about 20 million years ago, was about the size of a small terrier.
Bernd Brunner
i. Ursus Arctos
blonde bear
so populous to be popular
& if blackened, silver tipped
watch for the large hump
of muscle, if you see its worry
you are likely food
ii. Ursus Maritinus
give of thy hands
to measure its awful size!
creampuff or fat white its blubber ...........
Museum of death & an interview with Jack Little at Ofi press
The Mexico based journal Ofi press has published the first part of my collaboration with the photographer Alex Kell, due out this summer, the Museum of death http://theofipress.webs.com/collaboration.htm
#1
wife; lunatic
until moonlit
then, a dwarf
of melody
a celestial harmony
perfection
below
thus, a debut
in the unter
tow
Alongside this work, the editor Jack Little, has interviewed me for the site http://theofipress.webs.com/interview.htm
3. Is poetry flourishing today?
Hard to know and of course it depends on each individuals perception. I would say in general probably not, but that isn’t a bad thing necessarily. Perhaps I should only speak for England, or even London. I would say if poetry isn’t flourishing, it is doing poets as much of a service as a disservice.....
This is a genuinely exciting enterprise from Jack Little, a journal that is bringing together some genuinely exciting work from across the globe and really creating a hub for an exploration of contemporary Mexican poetry in and out of that country.
wolves in chernobyl - featured artist on Counterexample poetics
http://www.counterexamplepoetics.com/2012/05/sj-fowler-featured-artist.html
April 26th 1986
Ю
but even apart from our wood
I do not know how one should say
things in the dark have colour
will the wise do things,
things that are forbidden,
knowing it won’t be found out?
a simple answer isn’t easy to find
but freedom from trouble in the thing
and from pain in the thing
are still in the pleasure,
but joy in the thing, and exultation,
are considered, involving motion.
Ю
all the day
life in the town goes on as normal
families shop and walk their dogs
fisherman lug their tackle off to the Prypyat river
couples sunbath around the cooling ponds
football matches go ahead
as do sixteen outdoor weddings
sponsored by the communist youth league
...
{such a pleasure to be featured in the remarkable journal Counterexample Poetics, edited by Felino Soriano, one of the most prolific and sophisticated poets in the US. The site has a special section called featured artists, where these poems are housed}
Rattle iii - Brumhold's diary: a collaboration with Lone Eriksen
Rattle issue iii is now available, priced £8 + p&p here.
"....my work with a Danish photographer, Lone Eriksen. She took a series of pictures in Norway, while teaching, deliberately distorting pictures of people taking pictures..... realist fiction, the Scandinavian / Habsburg fin de siecle era. Thus I created a diary in collaboration with the images. I wanted the diary to be like a tiny glimpse of what might seem like a massive narrative, and one that carries with it the tonality of the detail, introspection and excessive information of the 19th century type novel, norwegian and danish novels specifically too, people like Hamsun, Gaborg, Hansen etc..."
October 5th night
1987
I
threw up again after the lutefisk. Dagny cried again. She asked me for a review
of the meal. I accused her of trying to poison me. She said it was true; she
was like the doctor who administers chemotherapy so that she might flush out my
‘polluted’ system. To me she looks old, not clever enough to be unhappy, but
she wears a face that would make you otherwise. And she is so tall. Never is
she 27 years of age.
Sinfonietta review at the Rambler
http://johnsonsrambler.wordpress.com/2012/05/17/talking-up-not-down-london-sinfoniettas-new-blue-touch-paper-series/
Talking up, not down: London Sinfonietta’s new Blue Touch Paper series
I was lucky to have been invited last night to attend a preview of the London Sinfonietta’s three latest projects in their Blue Touch Paper scheme.
The main part of the evening involved work-in-progress previews of around 20 minutes for each piece (they were all projected to last 45–60 minutes when finished). This was followed by an after-show discussion – we divided into three small groups to take part in a guided critique/dialogue with the creators of each piece. The three pieces were:
- 100 Combat Troupes by Steve Potter (composer) and Kélina Gotman(writer/dramaturg);
- Half of Me by Elspeth Brooke (composer), Seonaid Goody (puppeteer) and Anna Jones (director); and
- The Revenge of Miguel Cotto by Philip Venables (composer) and Steven J. Fowler (poet)
The Revenge of Miguel Cotto (pdf) was, for my money, the most musically complete of the three. An exploration of the ‘sanctioned violence’ of boxing it was set out in a series of contrasting panels (rounds?), some of them connecting clearly with violent and physical theme, others more contemplative. (I half imagined these as post-endorphin come-downs, or as the fighter’s moments of clarity when decisions are made to punch or block, left or right.) There were lots of great musical effect in a score that always held your attention, but the best was two percussionists marking the beat in one section by alternately thwacking a pair of punch bags with giant plastic tubes. As well as the obvious sonic and theatrical verismo, there was an interesting musical function too. Punchbags are imprecisely made by the standards of modern orchestral percussion, so some thwacks came sounded high, some low. Like a metronome, the high ones sounded like accented beats, the low ones off-beats. So despite the relentless crotchets, the metrical pattern kept shifting, giving an unpredictable edge to the whole ensemble sound.
Poetry & Revolution International Conference at the CPRC, Birkbeck College (Friday 25 May 2012 - Sunday 27 May 2012)
Papers: Approximately 45 papers on a wide range of issues over the Saturday and Sunday. Speakers from Portugal, Greece, the USA, Ireland, & the UK
Liaisons and co-operation with Occupied and Free Spaces
Venue: Birkbeck Main Building, Torrington Sq., WC1.
Registration: No registration required. All welcome.
Contact: Stephen Mooney, estaphin@gmail.com
Supported by the Birkbeck Institute of the Humanities, and co-sponsored by the Centre for Modern and Contemporary Writing, University of Southampton
See http://www.bbk.ac.uk/cprc/events/Poetry_and_Revolution for further updates
*************************************
Full Conference Schedule below:
Poetry and RevolutionConference Schedule Sunday 27 May 2012
10.00-11.30 8 papers in 3 parallel sessions
11.30-12.00 Coffee break
12:00-13:30 9 papers in 3 parallel sessions
13.30-14.30 Lunch break
14:30-16.00 11 papers in 4 parallel sessions
16:00-16.30 Tea break
16:30-17:30 Mark Nowak keynote with immigrant workers from UNITE
17:30-18:00 General discussion
18:00-19:00 Wine & chat
All conference rooms are in the Malet Street main building, Birkbeck College, University of London, Bloomsbury
, London WC1E 7HX (entrance on Torrington Sqr)
Sunday 27 May 2012 - Papers
Panel B (Room 354) Chair: Luis Trindade
Richard Owens
SHATTERED SPACE AND LYRIC PRACTICE
SHATTERED SPACE AND LYRIC PRACTICE
Steven Fowler
Dada: the ethical exception.
Dada: the ethical exception.
Maintenant #93 - Charles Simic
What more can be asked of a poet than that they maintain their own sense of integrity towards what they deem poetic? It follows then if the poet who does maintain a writing life of such commitment is a thinker of originality and insight, and that they maintain this commitment across a lifetime, then their work will have a life far beyond them. All the more if they do so with an affability that belies their skill, and a determination that proves them to be enduring. For a lifetime of writing, Charles Simic has been one of world's most engaging and singular poets. He has exerted such an influence over so many and for so long, he has almost come to define an era. His voice is sure, utterly recognisable, both profound and humble, both grounded and flighted, both incisive and witty and he has straddled labels and definitions, as he has the continents of North America and Europe. Never has his own work been occluded by his translations but his lifetime of service to European poetry has fundamentally shaped the perception of Serbian, and Balkan, poetry in the English speaking world at large. He is an immense presence in US poetry and inarguably one of the most important poets of the late 20th century. For edition 93 of the Maintenant series, Charles Simic.
To accompany the interview is an original poem, never before published, ‘Ghost Cinema’
Aqua Rosa by Sarah Crewe
http://www.erbacce-press.com/#/sarah-crewe/4562125882
A really exciting poet from the northwest, Sarah Crewe, has just realised her first publication with Erbacce press. I was pleased to offer a comment on the book.
'She is the creator of poetic vignettes, an imagery not of the surreal but of the proto-mundane, the elastic and the luminous. Sarah-Louise Crewe is a poet of distinction in vocabulary, author of a lexicon that reaffirms the everyday in its intensity, utilising a finesse that pales the false poetic posturing of those travelling in the roadmarks of what was. This is a stone's throw from Maggie O'Sullivan, from Geraldine Monk, this marks a beginning that can bring only hope to those discerning enough to recognise it.' SJ Fowler
Here's her work on 3am http://www.3ammagazine.com/3am/three-poems-sarah-crewe/
Lex-Icon Blog Project Post 50 : the charging puffer
http://lex-icon21.blogspot.fr/2012/05/lex-icon-blog-project-post-50-steven-j.html
Following the Maintenant:celebration of Avant-Garde poetry event I had a lovely invitation from the remarkable poet and critic, Jen Dick, a centrifugal force in Parisian poetry, and French poetry in general. Around a conference called "Lex-ICON: treating the text as image and the image as text" which will be held at UHA in Mulhouse, France, she is curating a post-a-day blog project of visual works for 60 days from 20 march through 20 May 2012 on http://lex-icon21.blogspot.fr/ with an image/text + commentary + bio of the artist/author who created it. These are in French and English.
May 8th, post 50, this is my day:
Following the Maintenant:celebration of Avant-Garde poetry event I had a lovely invitation from the remarkable poet and critic, Jen Dick, a centrifugal force in Parisian poetry, and French poetry in general. Around a conference called "Lex-ICON: treating the text as image and the image as text" which will be held at UHA in Mulhouse, France, she is curating a post-a-day blog project of visual works for 60 days from 20 march through 20 May 2012 on http://lex-icon21.blogspot.fr/ with an image/text + commentary + bio of the artist/author who created it. These are in French and English.May 8th, post 50, this is my day:
chargingpuffer 4
"The conceptual brilliance, and historical prevalence, of the calligram need not be overstated, and though forms like square kufic have influenced me, it is Apollinaire's calligrammes which have inspired me, as they have many others. However, the calligram has always attracted me first and foremost precisely because of the illegibility of the handwriting! It allows for multiple readings of the text as well as of the image. Thus I have been faithful to this notion, and though the poem hidden in this fish is indeed real, it is determinately vague."—Steven J. Fowler
'Wormwood scrubs' published by Exquisite Corpse
http://www.corpse.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=710&Itemid=32
Wormwood scrubs
to Anselm Hollo
o my best friend
bones
if i should die
≠
all those emails unanswered
might be a tiny ear
in the palm
...
Andrei Codrescu reviews Minimum Security Prison Dentistry at Exquisite Corpse
http://www.corpse.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=506&Itemid=65"
London Sinfonietta - Blue Touch Paper blog entry
http://www.londonsinfonietta.org.uk/artist/philip-venables-amp-steven-j-fowler
Composer Philip Venables and poet Steven J Fowler’s work The Revenge of Miguel Cotto, explores the violence, sanctioned by society, that is boxing. Steven writes…
Tragedy is a subject best approached indirectly, certainly one runs immense risks in writing tragic poetry in 2012. We opened ourselves up to that contingency when we decided to take on the narrative that we did. When first Philip and I agreed, at my gentle urging, to formulate a piece about the boxer Miguel Cotto, he had yet to rematch the man who beaten him into a state of near death using (discovered posthumously) hand bandages loaded with plaster of paris. It is boxing’s own particular brand of madness that such a rematch with this man, Antonio Margarito, was allowed to happen at all. All to our advantage. The point being our work together was born of possibility, of chance, of contingency and we welcomed that into our process and our collaboration. Poetry and music does not mix easily, nor gently, and that is perhaps what is attractive about the union. And beyond that, when first scores were being drawn, staging arranged, poetry mooted we did not even know whether the piece would be a story of tragedy or of revenge.
As Philip has trusted me into the world of boxing (and poetry) so I have trusted him to shape the narrative beyond the narrative, and therein lies the key to our work being successful, that it might utilise notions apparent in the subject to embody something original, and powerful, perhaps even aggressively so. And as I have suggested, it has always been my experience that music doesn’t synthesis easily with poetry – it requires innovation, intention and a fair measure of sacrifice. So I believe our piece, as it nears its beginning (which can feel like an end, strangely, for the preview show) has become defined by its rough edges and at its core, will retain something of the volatility of both our subject and our method. I have been asked already if our piece might allow those who don’t appreciate boxing to enter into my perception, and thus appreciation of the sport … I can only say I feel it’s not for me to say, nor has it become a concern of ours. Boxing is a repository for a palpable sense of being, of alive-ness, whether it is enjoyed or not. And I would venture the same goes for good music and good poetry. If our piece comes close to achieving the same sensation, we will be exceedingly happy.
Steven J Fowler, poet, The Revenge of Miguel Cotto
Oxfam anthology released
All the profits of this 'young British poetry' anthology go to Oxfam, and it has to be said the selection of poets, numbering well over 100 in total (its one poem per poet) is remarkably wide in methodology and style. So often people take lazy potshots at anthology editors, often with solid foundations to do so, but in this case the attention to detail, the sense of responsibility to the work and not the reputation, and the refusal of any limited notion or camp or clique is really striking. Respect has to be shown to the editors, Todd Swift and Kim Lockwood, for such a vast undertaking and one that is truly pluralist in nature. I'm very happy to be featured alongside poets who are making geuinely innovative strides like Emily Critchley, Amy De'Ath, Anna Selby, Agnes Lehoczky, Bobby Parker, Kelina Gotman, Michael Egan, Chris McCabe, Alistair Noon, James Byrne, Sandeep Parmar, Jon Stone and Sam Riviere, amongst many others.
My poem is taken from my Taxidermy collection, called (Steggr). It's quite formalist in nature, but in a roundabout way. It is about the sigil of Robert Baratheon, from the George RR Martin books. So its a formal poem about a fantasy warlord torturing people.
new Knives Forks & Spoons website
A brand new website for the publisher of my first collection, Red Museum, the ever impressive and energetic Knives Forks and Spoons press has regenerated the innovative poetry publishing scene and been part of a great time for underground presses. They are hardly underground though, publishing some of the best poets in the country. Huge props to Alec Newman and his team in newton-le-willows.
Arthur Abraham - http://www.knivesforksandspoonspress.co.uk/fights1arthurabr.html
and from the Submissions page 'We are only looking for avant-garde poetry in its extreme form. So, check out Richard Barrett, S. J. Fowler, Robert Sheppard, Bruno Nevia, Philip Davenport, Bobby Parker, Anna McKerrow, Rebecca Cremin, Evelyn Posamentier, Sarah Kelly, J. J. Hastain and Patricia Farrell on the internet before you submit.'
the Other Room anthology 4
The Other Room Anthology 2011/12 features work from Tim Allen, David Berridge, Andrea Brady, Rachel Lois Clapham & Stephen Perry, Jennifer Cooke, Ken Edwards, Carrie Etter, Alec Finlay, SJ Fowler, Chris Goode, Phil Hall, Alan Halsey, Derek Henderson, Colin Herd, Karen Mac Cormack, Steve McCaffery, nick-e melville, Geraldine Monk, Tamarin Norwood, Vanessa Place and Philip Terry. Click HERE to buy a copy for £6.75 including postage within the UK or HERE to buy a copy for £8 including postage anywhere else.