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Saturday, November 7
John Hegley at Aldeburgh - not poetry but poetrees...
by
Charles Christian
on Sat 07 Nov 2009 01:37 PM GMT
Yes, the cafes in Aldeburgh have put on some special offers for poets – no stereotypes about starving in their garrets here then. Meanwhile John Hegley gave his second performance of the Festival on Saturday morning, giving his leftfield perspective on his journey from Luton and beyond. In contrast with one of the discussions earlier this morning – looking at whether love and death are 'the only true subjects' for poetry – Hegley takes the view that "the everyday is as important as love and death" and that poems about potatoes, dogs and spectacles are just as valid.
Hegley said he got into poetry "because he liked the way words and language can fly and be potent". Howevr he went on to add that "its not just about poetry – its about poetrees... there are lots of different fruit on the poetree – some are easily accessible, some are very hard to understand and reach."
Does time matter to poets - more from Aldeburgh
by
Charles Christian
on Sat 07 Nov 2009 09:56 AM GMT
After some vile weather last night, the sun is out in Aldeburgh and there are egrets on the wing across the marshes between here and Thorpeness, the next village along the coast. I'll be reporting on the day's events and sights later however back to yesterday evening...
One of the other sessions I caught was the exchange between Peter Blegvad and Albert Goldbarth on the role of time in poetry. Was it 'the grand metaphysical imponderable' for poets. Discussing such issues as whether time was cyclical or flowed like an arrow – citing poets and philosophies from around the world – Goldbarth and Blegvad treated the audience to a fast and furious foray into one of the key issues poets have struggled with throughout the ages. Although if you accept the argument that time is cyclical, then we'll all be revisiting this topic at another festival in a few millennia's time.
After several audience participation questions – one of which revealed that the younger half of the audience felt they had all the time in the world, whereas it was tempus fugit – and grab every pleasure while you still can, preferably right this instant – for the older half, the conversation moved off into the realms of Albert Golbarth's 'memory car' mnemonic for helping to stimulate memory. Memory car??? If you want to remember fish, think of the fins of a 1950s era Cadillac.
We were also treated to such nuggets from Blegvad as time comprising "a beginning, muddle and end," "imagination is like a muscle, it will increase with exercise" and "time is abolished by a god metaphor". Goldman countered with the idea that "when you open a book, the author lives again" before going to explain that the old 4-frame cartoon strip has the same structure as a sonnet or setsina. This final point may seem a little obscure but as both Blegvad and Goldbarth explained – before time's arrow ran its course and the session ended – both poetry and comic strips can only provide the framework, leaving it to the reader to fill in the gaps, whereas with short stories and novels, the author does most of this for you. As Blegvad summed it up "poets leave everything out – they telescope narrative time – and leave you to write the story in your head."
All in all, a fascinating and thought provoking session – if only there had been more time to explore it further, which is where we came in...
Friday, November 6
Its day one in the Poetry Festival house...
by
Charles Christian
on Fri 06 Nov 2009 06:03 PM GMT
More from the Aldeburgh festival front. We've sung happy birthday – eaten cake – and have full evening ahead – including the notorious festival quiz. Last night I actually overheard someone complaining that there had been cheating at last year's quiz. To think, poets cheat to win prizes. More pictures to follow.
Thursday, November 5
Aldeburgh Poetry Festival Update #1
by
Charles Christian
on Thu 05 Nov 2009 10:56 AM GMT
Here's a link to the latest edition of The Poetry Trust's Stuff e-newsletter – TPT are the people behind this weekend's Aldeburgh Poetry Festival
www.thepoetrytrust.org/stuff/category/november-2009/
Wednesday, November 4
Following us on Twitter
by
Charles Christian
on Wed 04 Nov 2009 09:00 AM GMT
Because the Twitter account we use – @ChristianUncut – is a mixture of business and pleasure, to make it simpler to follow us, we are will be adding the #IS&T hash-tag to all our poetry and prose related postings. And if you don't know or care what hash-tags are, don't worry, you can live without them.
And, talking of Twitter – don't forget that from the end of this week Charles Christian will be blogging and tweeting on the 21st Aldebugh Poetry Festival, which takes place in Suffolk (England) on 6-to-8 November. We'll be blogging here on Ink Sweat but tweeting to @thepoetrytrust
Monday, November 2
Ink Sweat hits another traffic record
by
Charles Christian
on Mon 02 Nov 2009 09:00 AM GMT
October was yet another good month for Ink Sweat & Tears visitor traffic, hitting a new high of 10,600 readers (defined as unique addresses served) and a total of 43,000 page views. Once again, many thanks.
Sunday, November 1
Purple Patch announces its 'Best of 2009 Poetry' lists
by
Charles Christian
on Sun 01 Nov 2009 06:56 PM GMT
The annual Purple Patch Small Press Poetry Bests have now been announced for 2009 by Purple Patch magazine's publisher (and Ink Sweat & Tears contributor) Geoff Stevens
PURPLE PATCH SMALL PRESS BEST OF 2009 LISTS (2008 places in brackets)
Best UK Small Press Magazines of the Year
Poetry Scotland no.60 (6)
Sarasvati no.3
Carillon 24
The Journal #26 (12=)
Global Tapestry #31 (10=)
Poetic Licence 29 (2)
Handshake 75
Envoi 151
9= First Time 56
9= Reach 131 (12=)
11=Ambit 195
11= Southlight 4
13=Quarry no.7
13=Quarry no.8
13=Carillon 23
16=Mslexia 38
16=The Coffee House no.10
Poetry Cornwall 25
19=The Journal 24, 25; The Ugly Tree 20
19=Carillon 22
UK Best Small Press Poets of the Year
1. K.V.Skene
2. Henry Blake
3. Norman Bissett
4. Joanna Ezekiel
5. Bobby Parker
6. David Eyre
7. Paul Tanner
8. Michael Newman
9= Terry Quinn (12=) 9= Neil Leadbeater(12=)
11=Gordon Scapens (12=) 11= Steve Sneyd
14= Ken Champion, Kate Edwards, Robin Ford,
Peter Faulkner, Peter Johnson, C.Despardes
Gerald Zipper, Pat Jourdan and Graham Fulton
Best Overseas Small Press Poets of the Year (new category)
A.D. Winans
Kyle Lewis
Lyn Lifshin
Jude Dillon
5 Dave Newman
6 B.Z. Niditch
7= Robert M.Zoschke 7= T. Kilgore Sprake
9= Tyson Schroeder 9= Ruth Moon Kemper
9= Kirkor N.Der Hohannesian
Best Individual Collections of the Year
The Wrong Jarrow by Tom Kelly (Smokestack Books)
For The Living Dead by Eric Greinke (Free Books, Lowell, USA)
Poems For The Disenchanted by Henry Blake (Henry Blake)
Verses From The Crematorium by Henry Blake (Henry Blake)
Piercing The Darkness by Norman Bissett (Poetry Monthly Press)
Singular by Eleanor Dent (Indigo Dreams Publishing)
7= Listening For Light by Ken Head (Poetry Monthly Press)
7= Third Wish Wasted by Roddy Lumsden (Bloodaxe)
7= Dreamer In A Cold Climate by Tom Kelly (Red Squirrel Press)
10 Salvador Dali Paints Juliet by Wendy Webb(Indigo Dreams Press)
11 A Tapestry of Absent Sitters by Alan Morrison (Waterloo Press)
12= Songs For Lesser Gods by Lesley Quayle (erbacce-press)
12= Vincent Van Gogh Would Love Your Mum by Bobby Parker
(last chance before bathtime publications)
Corfu Holiday Poems Galore by Simon Robson (Grosvenor Road Books)
Dead Cat Bounce by Richard Warren (White Elephant Press)
Reading Lesson in the Lifers’Wing by F.J.Williams (Peterloo Poets)
This 7 Year Old Walks Into A Bar by Gill O’Halloran
(Indigo Dreams Press)
The Way Of The Dance by Ronnie Goodyer (Indigo Dreams Press)
Lovelines by Tom Kelly (Red Squirrel Press)
20= Science & Magic by Richard Warren (White Elephant Press)
20= Walayat Deko by Khadim Hussain (Mudfog)
20= If by Peter Day (Poetry Monthly Press)
Best Anthologies of 2009
1969 And All That Ed.Pete Presford (Malfunction Press)
Ink, Sweat & Tears www.ink-sweat-and-tears.com – hoorah, that's us
Irish Lifelines Ed. Eamer O’Keeffe (London Irish Women’s Centre)
Subterranean Homesick Yorkshire Blues (Indigo Dreams Press)
and again last night (Indigo Dreams Press)
Get It by Onya Wick (Cestrian Press)
Trouble Swapped For Something Fresh Ed.Rupert Loydell (Salt)
Norfolk Poets and Writers Ed.Wendy Webb (Wendy Webb Books)(3)
Waves 2009 (Soc. of Civil &Public Service Workers)(5)
The Exhibitionists (Stairwell Books)
Best Overseas Magazines of the Year
Chiron Review no.85 (USA)
Chiron Review no.87
Chimera no.7 (France)
The Moon vol.7 no.7 (USA)
The Moon vol.7 no.9
The Moon vol.7 no.8
Labour of Love no.32 (Canada) (3)
8= Labour of Love no.31
8= People Cant Drive (USA)
Waterways vol.29 no. 10 (USA) (4)
11= Litspeak 24 (Germany)
11= Waterways vol.29 no.s 7,8.
Thursday, October 29
The Aldeburgh Poetry Festival Blog...
by
Charles Christian
on Thu 29 Oct 2009 03:14 PM GMT
The Poetry Trust is offering a two-for-one ticket offer for two fantastic events taking place during the 21st Aldeburgh Poetry Festival 6 - 8 November 2009. To book your discounted tickets call the Box Office on 01728 687110 and quote ‘Cut Offer’.
TWO FOR ONE: FAMILY READING: JOHN HEGLEY - FRIDAY 6 NOVEMBER, JUBILEE HALL, 6.00 – 7.00PM, £6 adults/£4 (under 16s)
The hugely entertaining and fabulously funny John Hegley is one of the country's best-loved poet/performers . An hour of songs, poems and joining in's for all ages is promised as John reflects on insects, people and potatoes. The Observer says ‘John Hegley is to potatoes what Wordsworth has been to daffodils’. The evening begins with a short and always endearing reading by the winners of the Suffolk Young Poets Competition.
TWO FOR ONE: PETER BLEGVAD IN PERFORMANCE - SATURDAY 7 NOVEMBER, JUBILEE HALL, 5.45 – 6.30PM, £6
Cult-cartoonist and successful singer-songwriter Peter Blegvad will provide a musical interlude during the annual Aldeburgh weekend of words. Described as a veritable mix of Bob Dylan, Elvis Costello, Leonard Cohen, Loudon Wainwright III and Tom Waits this is a rare chance to hear him solo and acoustic. Peter Blegvad is also the genius behind the Independent on Sunday cartoon creation Leviathan which entertained readers throughout the 90s. You can expect the same surreal wit, pathos and entertainment from his cool tunes and sharp lyrics.
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