Published : reading list massage (If A Leaf Falls press)

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Very happy to have a new pamphlet released with If a leaf falls press, in an edition of 60, entitled reading list massage.

It has sold out on the publisher’s site, Sam Riviere, but do go buy other titles https://www.samriviere.com/index.php?/together/if-a-leaf-falls-press/

I have a few copies spare, signed, and welcome enquiries if anyone wants one http://www.stevenjfowler.com/contact.

A few words on the book = “A succinct suite of minimal misspelled poems written for, and published by, Sam Riviere's If a leaf falls micropress. Fragments of speech, mis or unlabelled quotations and comforting typopoetry reference self-referentiality as a kind of brief, grim spectre descending upon writers and academics, in rare moments of lucidity, too clever by half.”

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The booklette was written a few years ago, and is constructed, in parts, of quotations, with my poetry written through. The tone was meant to be different than most of my literary work, ironising a personal subjective involvement in the poems a little bit, following people like Paul Blackburn, Ed Dorn. and Tom Raworth, who weren’t ironic, but acknowledged themselves in their poems with a raised eyebrow.

❧ If a Leaf Falls Press publishes limited edition titles with an emphasis on appropriative and procedural writing processes.

A note on: new articles commissioned for Versopolis

The European Review of Poetry, Books and Culture is an online literary journal, funded by the European Union, aiming to create an anglophone publication platform with a focus on continental Europe and world beyond. www.versopolis.com

A sample of the articles I've commissioned recently.

Published: a poem in Revolve:R edition 3

Delighted to be involved in the Revolve:R project for its third revolution. Read about the wonderful exploration of creative interpretation across artistic mediums http://www.revolve-r.com/index.php/the-revolver-project/ My poem can be read at the link below, and will be responded to by another poet, in this case Chris McCabe. I've popped in the epigraph to my below too. http://www.revolve-r.com/index.php/a-poet-responds-three/poem1/

These masterful images because complete
Grew in pure mind but out of what began?
A mound of refuse or the sweepings of a street,
Old kettle, old bottles, and a broken can,
Old iron, old bones, old rags, that raving slut
Who keeps the till. Now that my ladder’s gone
I must lie down where all the ladders start
In the foul rag and bone shop of the heart.
                                                   WB Yeats

A note on: the final States of Mind event at Wellcome Collection

A real high point for me as a curator, and a major step forward in this area of interest. A really wonderful night, brilliant talks from Srivas Chennu, Lotje Sodderland, Sam Winston and Barry Smith, so full of insight and so remarkably balanced together. I had such a resonant and engaged experience working with Wellcome on these events, do visit www.stevenjfowler.com/statesofmind for more.

A note on: States of Mind - 3 events in July for Wellcome Collection

States of Mind: Tracing the edges of consciousness
3 events in July 2016 at Wellcome Collection

Great to be speaking at and curating three events for Wellcome Collection's exhibition on consciousness, States of Mind. These events will bring together expertise from a wide array of fields, from neuroscience to performance art, from philosophy to filmmaking, in order to explore the notion of consciousness through the concepts of language, sound and narrative. www.stevenjfowler.com/statesofmind

Through informal academic talks alongside newly commissioned artworks, the variance of speakers, with their uniformly exciting and innovative approaches to the notion of consciousness, will ensure three remarkable events, free to attend, this July, in London.

https://wellcomecollection.org/exhibitions/states-mind-tracing-edges-consciousness Tickets available from late June.

The Poetry of Consciousness

Thursday 7 July, 19.00-20.30

FREE | TICKETED at Wellcome Collection

From the perspective of the neuroscientist, the poet, the translator - a discussion of the role of language in constituting our consciousness, presenting talks and newly commissioned works for performance on the night.

Featuring: Daniel Margulies, SJ Fowler, Noah Hutton & Jen Calleja.

The Sound of Consciousness

Thursday 14 July, 19.00-20.30

FREE | TICKETED at Wellcome Collection

This event asks what role sound takes in shaping our experience and understanding of consciousness and offers artist’s reflections on the pivotal role sound has in the firmament of our daily lives, drawing from the worlds of neuroscience, anthropology, film, composition and sound poetry.

Featuring: John Gruzelier, Nick Ryan, Vincent Moon & Maja Jantar.

The Narrative of Consciousness

Thursday 21 July, 19.00-20.30

FREE | TICKETED at Wellcome Collection

Within and without language, how does the notion of narrative define our experience of the world through consciousness? An event featuring some of the most dynamic contemporary artists, neuroscientists and writers, exploring how narrative interacts with consciousness and what happens when this begins to break down, whether through trauma or conditions like aphasia.

Featuring: Lotje Sodderland, Srivas Chennu, Sam Winston and Barry Smith.

Published: Revolve:R edition 2

Such a wonderful project curated by Ricarda Vidal and Sam Treadaway, Revolve:R is a multidisciplinary collaborative prorgramme based on visual correspondence, which explores a transmission of ideas, through a host of artists and a few poets. It's an exploration of collaboration, translation and transition of ideas and inspirations.

I got to write 3 new poems for the 2nd edition of the project, each responding to a new revolution of artworks, which has been published in a really beautiful hardback book, and has recently been shared at multiple galleries including the Fruitmarket in Edinburgh. http://revolve-r.com/index.php/edition-two/ You can read my poems in the book and buy it online.

Revolve:R - edition 2: pre-order to support!

The amazing Revolve:R project are currently raising funds in order to publish Revolve:R, edition two, a collaborative project produced by dialogue between artists, writers and filmmakers from the U.K.Europe, South Africa and the U.S.A. To raise these funds they are inviting support of their publication by pre-ordering the bookwork (50% off RRP) and/or limited edition prints. You can back the project from £6 upwards and your support will be invaluable in enabling to raise the funds needed for publication costs. All supporters will be credited as a supporter of the project within the publication (unless you say otherwise). #The first 25 copies of the bookwork pre-ordered will also receive a mystery limited edition giclée print#.Options to support the publication of Revolve:R, edition two can be found here: http://www.revolve-r.com/index.php/shop/

I'm chuffed to have poems included, unpublished elsewhere and written specifically for the project, in response to the myriad of artworks which make up edition. My poem Billy Meat, for the project has just had a filmmaker create a new work in response to it - Billy goes Mad, by Daniel Smedley  http://www.revolve-r.com/index.php/a-filmmaker-replies/film3/

About Revolve:R: Based on visual correspondence, Revolve:R is a collaboration exploring the exchange of ideas via physical and tactile forms of communication the project results in the publication of limited-edition book-works, giclée prints, poetry and short films. Resulting artworks are presented in print, online, and at events and exhibitions. Revolve:R extends beyond national, linguistic and disciplinary boundaries with a strong collaborative ethos which initiates and develops networks between local, national and international arts communities. The Revolve:R project is active in supporting early and mid-career artists through the publication, exhibitions and promotion of their work and practice.

Revolve:R edition two: Works by: Alastair Whitton (SA), Ricarda Vidal (UK), Linnea Vedder (USA), Sam Treadaway (UK), Laura Santamaria (IT), David Shillinglaw (UK), Kate Street (UK), Clare Thornton (UK), Solveig Settemsdal (UK), Daniel Smedly, (UK), Matt Rowe (UK), Pietro Reviglio (IT), James Rigler (UK), Bernd Reichert (B), Rammatik(FO), Juneau Projects (UK), One Five West (UK), Domingo Martinez (ES), John Matthias (UK), Anna Mace (UK), Julie McCalden (UK), Sharon Kivland (F), Hayden Kays (UK), Peter Hoiss (AT), Alice Hendy (UK), Verena Hägler (G), Patrick Galway (UK), Steven Fowler (UK), Stephanie Douet (UK), Todd DiCiurcio (USA), Emma Cocker 
(UK), Anna Cady (UK), Richard Broomhall (UK), Oscar Bandtlow (UK), Maria Anastassiou (CY), Diana Ali (UK).

Yes But Are We Enemies? diary #1 : Belfast - a beginning

An extraordinary beginning to the Yes But Are We Enemies? project in Ireland, the wonderful poets of Belfast couldn't have been more generous and hospitable, and enthusiastic, to us and the idea. Such a privilege to meet so many I have admired from afar in person, including Billy Ramsell, Ailbhe Darcy, Robert Maclean, Susan Tomaselli, Damian Smyth, and to be taken in so fully by the amazing young poets around the University and the Heaney Centre in Belfast like Manuela Moser, Stephen Sexton and Padraig Regan. After arriving and exploring the city a wee bit, I was taken in to a bookshop lock-in by Stephen Connolly who has created a real scene around the Lifeboat reading series before we headed to the Crescent Arts Centre. The readings were uniformly intense and generous, and the vibe, as so often is the case with Enemies, was really warm and cohesive, and carried on into the night after the poetry. Such a great way to begin our tour. 
Stephen Connolly & Stephen Sexton - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wGEISvlX-7U
Padraig Regan & Manuela Moser - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hgc2OR8uL3Y
Sophie Collins & Robert Maclean - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yo9_BrrmBZU
Caitlin Newby & Andy Eaton - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wxpcE3Rv3s8
Tom Saunders & Lorcan Mullan - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q03_BFgpoOY
Patrick Coyle & Ailbhe Darcy - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xUw3x4W0fXk
Sam Riviere & Christodoulos Makris - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P5K9yYcSHGQ

Marginalia: an anthology for a decade of Penned in the Margins

Really happy to be featured in the Penned in the Margins ten year anniversary anthology. An amazing achievement for Tom Chivers and the team, and an organisation I'm very proud to have worked with so often. My collaboration with Sam Riviere, from Enemies http://www.pennedinthemargins.co.uk/index.php/2013/09/enemies-2/ features in the volume.

Revolve:R exhibition in Lugano, Switzerland

I'm a very small part of this group exhibition in Switzerland http://www.choisi.info/eventi.php#27 with some poetry of mine included in the remarkable Revolve:R collaborative project led by Ricarda Vidal and Sam Treadaway. 
"Focus: “Revolve:R”
Revolve:R is a project in visual correspondence, by Sam Treadaway and Ricarda Vidal, in collaboration with a number of international artists, writers, and curators.
Revolve:R culminates in the publication of hand-made limited edition bookworks and giclée prints.
The project explores the possibilities of an exchange of ideas via a visual and tactile, rather than virtual, form of communication. Each cycle of the project we call a Revolve. After six Revolves the work is published as a limited edition bookwork.

Edition one, inspired by chaos theory, was initiated in late 2011 and published in 2013. The second edition will be published in early 2015.

Edition Two. Works by: Alastair Whitton, Ricarda Vidal, Linnea Vedder, Sam Treadaway, Kate Street, Clare Thornton, Emily Speed, Solveig Settemsdal, Matt Rowe, James Rigler, Bernd Reichert, Domingo Martínez, John Matthias, Anna Mace, Antun Maračić, Julie McCaldon, Sharon Kivland, Hayden Kays, Alice Hendy, Verena Hägler, Patrick Galway, Steven Fowler, Stephanie Douet, Todd DiCiurcio, Emma Cocker, Anna Cady, Oscar Bandtlow, Diana Ali, plus special guests."

poem for Revolve:R

http://www.revolve-r.com/index.php/poetical-response/revolve1/ An amazing project to be involved in, I'm one of only two poets capturing the overturning flow of a mass of brilliant artists, a true narrative collaborative project, very original and dynamic. 

 "Revolve:R is a project in visual correspondence, by Sam Treadaway and Ricarda Vidal, in collaboration with a number of international artists, writers, and curators based throughout Europe, Africa and the U.S.A. Revolve:R culminates in the publication of hand-made limited edition bookworks and giclée prints. The project explores the possibilities of an exchange of ideas via a visual and tactile, rather than virtual, form of communication. Each cycle of the project we call a Revolve. After six Revolves the work is published as a limited edition bookwork. As site and source of collaborative experimentation for diverse artistic practices, Revolve:R is a vehicle for a new collective language, made physical in the shape of the Revolve:R bookwork."

Revolver
ever an under, there will always be an under
so it is not worthy
of us
to pour over
what other information could you seek?
to race to the seat? to be so small
you are under
Heckler & Koch / Sig Sauer / Steyr Aug
the ball bearing
not a single one revolving but mag loading
under
the 15 caps in the Glock each represent
images ...

Translation Games at the Poetry Library

From the moment I came into contact with Translation Games, through the unusually considered and energetic work of Ricarda Vidal and Jenny Chamarette, I knew it was the kind of project I wanted to be involved in. The kinship it has with what Im trying to do with the Enemies project goes beyond the similar contextual concerns into the very culture of the project, it's openness, it's direction, it's appreciation of complexity. translationgames.net
ALL IS CIRCULAR, LIKE THE SUN. AND ALL BURNS US, EVENTUALLY.
I came into Translation Games at the beginning of it's second phase, as Ricarda and Jenny were expanding the scope of the program and working towards an event, which happened just a few days ago, at the Poetry Library, as part of their special edition series. The process involved 3 artists translating a selection of concrete poems from Antonio Claudio Carvalho's amazing POW series, into their own mediums. They had just a week to do so, and the results were unveiled at the event, with a general presentation of the project and its aims, as I sat in the dark, at the back of audience, live translating the translations and the general goings on.
THE NEEDLE THAT BOWS THE MUSCLES BEFORE IT PIERCES.
There was a Q&A after the works were presented too, where I got to share the stage with Ricarda, and with two of the artists involved, the film maker Anna Cady and the artist Sam Treadaway. Both their work really was a joy to witness, and being so familiar with the POW series, I felt I had an inside track to the roots of their process. Anna's ethereal filmwork highlighted the potential of realising certain paradoxes about death and expiry which cannot be attained in formal language, and Sam's transforming of Simon Barraclough's sun poetry into scent was breathtaking. Sam handed tiny discs to the audience, which were miniaturised renditions of the poem and were infused with the scent of leather, oranges, cedarwood...it was remarkable. You can, and should, read more about it on the translation games website.
7 MINUTES OF LENGTH
IS LOOPED
CUT
LIKE FILM
So much came out of the discussion and the work, but perhaps pivotally for me, I was really forced to consider the lines between translating and collaborating, and how intention defines the difference between these ambiguous concepts when they are deployed as I deploy them, which is, hopefully, a test to traditional boundaries. The live writing was a pleasure, because the event was a pleasure, and I tried to inculcate a meta-dialogue (humorous, I hope) alongside actual expressionistic poetic response. The words, as I was spilling them out, appeared on a screen so the audience could read as the event unfolded. The entire live writing text has been published online and if you liked the excerpts here, you can read it allll http://translationgames.net/?page_id=295