mercredi 25 juin 2014

Sorting books

I write. I read. I have far too many books and I am moving in four days. In the garage of the new house are fifty boxes containing my dad's books, my grandparents books and possible their parents books. There are books everywhere; books I keep for the title (ex a scientific theory of bowls), old books, new books, a blue book (my sister gave me), classic books and modern fiction. There are kids books, non-fiction books, cookery books and those which I keep by my bed, just because I want them close while I sleep. Some books house so many memories I'd like to chuck them on a bonfire and watch them burn. Other books are unfamiliar, I don't know how they got on to my shelf. I've made so many boxes of books, I can't count. They bring me laughter, bewilderment, a nest to escape to, miracles for dreaming,   a place to hide.  

mardi 24 juin 2014

Foucault against Foucault



Been watching an Arte documentary "Foucault contre Foucault" about the astonishing nomadic French thinker, philosopher, Foucault. He says,

"Do not ask me who I am and do not ask me to stay the same: this is a moral and civic right".

I love this idea, rather like Montaigne, that morals and thoughts should evolve, transform with situations. Montaigne says we never swim in the same river water twice. Foucault strives with each book, each oeuvre, to challenge Foucault. 

jeudi 5 juin 2014

Bob Wilson sounds

Photo of Hugo Ball reciting sound poem Karawane at the Cabaret Voltaire

Been reading an edition of Libération dedicated to the dancer-director-artist Robert Wilson. If you read French, it's here. I find his work inspiring. You can watch his performance of Shakespeare's sonnets here. I love his take on language in this piece; words are transformed into dislocated, archaic sounds, like 'speaking in tongues' or Hugo Ball's Dada poetry. Bodies become stream-lined puppets, drawing shapes on the stage. This is the kind of physical avant-garde theatre that you can watch with your kids.



mercredi 4 juin 2014

Awkwordpapercut

I was invited to contribute to AwkwordPaperCut. You can hear me reading my text on this podcast
There is very cool music, vivid words, evocative sounds...there is Michael Dickes and Bill Yarrow, and Ken Brecher talking about storytelling in the modern world. 
Listen, listen, listen...

mardi 3 juin 2014

Visual verse: The weIght of Matter

A piece that I wrote, 'The Weight of Matter' is on Visual Verse. You can read it here. All the full stops seem to have fallen out of the text, so you shall just have to imagine that they are there.

Here's a little taster:

To my dear niece Clementine, 
Inside this trunk are the remains of my worldly goods; I could not decide what to keep or discard, so I am sending you everything. Albert says I must hurry, the airport taxi is due; we are leaving for China today. Strangely, I cannot bear the weight of matter anymore. I always considered myself a nostalgic hoarder, but I now see these objects as artificial limbs, a prosthetic fleshy armour....