Mahu: to Tom Raworth - June Tues 7th: the videos

A properly close, community reading, celebrating the greatest living British poet, in my humble opinion.

Mahu was an exhibition by SJ Fowler at the Hardy Tree Gallery, in Kings Cross, London running from June 6th to 27th 2015. www.stevenjfowler.com/mahu Mahu is an exhibition of writing & asemic art - a novel written upon gallery walls, growing as the exhibition passes.

Mahu was an exhibition by SJ Fowler at the Hardy Tree Gallery, in Kings Cross, London running from June 6th to 27th 2015. www.stevenjfowler.com/mahu Mahu is an exhibition of writing & asemic art - a novel written upon gallery walls, growing as the exhibition passes.

Mahu: celebrating Blart & Homebaked Books - Sunday June 7th: the videos

A beautiful Sunday evening in Kings Cross. Thanks to Stephen Emmerson, Lucy Harvest Clarke & MJ Weller.

Mahu was an exhibition by SJ Fowler at the Hardy Tree Gallery, in Kings Cross, London running from June 6th to 27th 2015. www.stevenjfowler.com/mahu Mahu is an exhibition of writing & asemic art - a novel written upon gallery walls, growing as the exhibition passes.

Mahu was an exhibition by SJ Fowler at the Hardy Tree Gallery, in Kings Cross, London running from June 6th to 27th 2015. www.stevenjfowler.com/mahu Mahu is an exhibition of writing & asemic art - a novel written upon gallery walls, growing as the exhibition passes.

Mahu - Opening Night - In Sound

Thanks to Daniela Cascella, Sharon Gal & all the readers. A beautiful way to open the exhibition, and so many discoveries.

Mahu was an exhibition by SJ Fowler at the Hardy Tree Gallery, in Kings Cross, London running from June 6th to 27th 2015. www.stevenjfowler.com/mahu Mahu is an exhibition of writing & asemic art - a novel written upon gallery walls, growing as the exhibition passes.

Mahu was an exhibition by SJ Fowler at the Hardy Tree Gallery, in Kings Cross, London running from June 6th to 27th 2015. www.stevenjfowler.com/mahu Mahu is an exhibition of writing & asemic art - a novel written upon gallery walls, growing as the exhibition passes.

Beginning the work of Mahu - 25 hours of handwriting into my exhibition novel

A concept that cannot be understood until it is realised. I had three days from exhibition opening to when I arrived back in London from time in Wales. During that time I had three events, including the launch of my book. I spent 25 hours in those three days in the Hardy Tree Gallery, writing the beginning of my novel by hand. I did not plan the content, but I did try and keep it, strictly, narrative (if strange and menacing) and clear. I began by writing on the wall, then I realised this would be a profound waste. So we got scrolls of paper to hang on the wall. Then I wrote on the scrolls. Then after 5 hours and one scroll done, I got deep stress position pains. So I took the other scrolls down and wrote on them while at a desk, pulling the paper slack up as it was needed. 

The story is of a lonely, scholarly farm child called Mahu, living in the countryside of Wiltshire. The townspeople think him strange and he only goes into town to buy supplies for his ailing, if distant mother. His 12 brothers and sisters all have jobs, while he schemes of ways to keep from working so he can keep secretly reading the church histories and occult papers he has stolen in the company of his dog. He meets someone and his priorities shift. She disappears, and he begins to follow her, leaving Devizes for the first time in his life, down the polluted banks of the river Kennet.

Now I'll be writing a wall of the gallery for each week of the run, so by the end, by June 27th, all four walls will be covered and the novel will be finished. The first wall was an experience of chest pain and some agitation, but I have already forgotten that pain and the response from those who have seen it so far has been really pleasing. They say my handwriting is neat.

Reading at Stoke Newington Literary Festival 2015

Held on June 6th 2015, in the White Hart, Influx press curated a day of readings evidenced the close knit bonds of London's small press scene, part of which included a reading celebrating Test Centre press. Iain Sinclair, Tom Chivers and SJ Fowler read from their books with Test Centre, before a Q&A, in front of a sold out audience.

Just a few days after the launch of {Enthusiasm}, I had the privilege to read alongside Iain Sinclair and Tom Chivers at the Stoke Newington Literary Festival. Influx press, whom I respect immensely, had been given a day to curate and had invited Test Centre to present three of their authors. So I had the pleasure to read alongside two people who have helped me greatly in my work. Iain was the first to really support my work, extremely early on, months into writing, and Tom has been a consistent champion of my stuff. At certain moments, certain perceptions and realities only become real because you hear them being made so. What Iain said in his slot, about my work, will stay with me as a great treasure for a very long time.

The very first reading from {Enthusiasm}

Blog #7: Gelynion in London - June 5th 2015

A bash to finish. All the core poets together for one last time (this time around anyway) as well as a host of people travelling from Wales and new collaborations from London based poets too. Still fresh of course, though in just a week it felt as thought the time in Wales itself has been long ago, it was lovely to feel the closeness of the tour exactly where we had left it in Hay. Real bonds have been made.

The first half of the night was dedicated to those we had met on the tour and those specifically asked to present new works for the night, who lived in London. It was a seismic split between quite lyrical poetry, some beautiful works from Sampurna Chatterji & Sharon Morris, David Berridge & Steven Hitchins, and some far wilder, more performance orientated work. I almost had to tackle Cris Paul for setting fire to the Conservative manifesto almost directly below a smoke alarm during his performance with Josh Robinson and this was very much the spirit we had allowed to be present in Gelynion, if people wanted it to be. 

The final part of the night saw Joe, Eurig, Nia, Rhys, Zoe and I do another showcase, roundrobin, where we read excerpts of our longer collaborations in quick succession. It was the best of what we'd done, which was always gratifying and of a high standard. Such brilliant writers and such generous people, if I am to have other experiences as rich and memorable as Gelynion I should live to be a lucky man.

Gelynion: a Welsh Enemies project / Enemies Cymru was an exploration of contemporary Welsh poetry through the potential of collaboration on a seven date tour from May 19th to June 5th 2015. www.theenemiesproject.com/gelynion Gelynion aimed to bring together communities of writers that might not otherwise collaborate, from all four corners of Wales, generously supported by the Arts Council of Wales & Poetry Wales.

Gelynion: a Welsh Enemies project / Enemies Cymru was an exploration of contemporary Welsh poetry through the potential of collaboration on a seven date tour from May 19th to June 5th 2015. www.theenemiesproject.com/gelynion Gelynion aimed to bring together communities of writers that might not otherwise collaborate, from all four corners of Wales, generously supported by the Arts Council of Wales & Poetry Wales.

visit www.theenemiesproject.com/gelynion for all the vids

Reading at the Garden Museum - Thursday June 11th 2015

Very excited to be reading at the Garden Museum this week upcoming. The event is a chance for me to read some of the poems I've written during my residence with the amazing landscape architects http://www.jlg-london.com/ called http://thegreenerinfrastructure.tumblr.com/. The work of Jo and the team at J&L Gibbons has been a real inspiration and they published an extraordinary pamphlet entitled Soil last year, the poems from which I will be reading on the night.

Mahu: an exhibition at the Hardy Tree Gallery - June 6th to 27th 2015

My first solo exhibition in London will run for three weeks in the Hardy Tree Gallery, in Kings Cross, just behind the British Library.

Mahu is an exhibition of writing - a novel written upon the gallery walls, growing as the exhibition passes. A living book in ink, veering between sense, story and abstraction. The gallery is covered in scrolls of paper, onto which I write, without preparation and entirely within the gallery. As the exhibition passes, so the walls become entirely covered. The text will never be typed, only read, ready to be unfurled.

Mahu remains a novel, in the true sense of that word, employing abstraction as a necessary part of the narrative, a narrative that will evolve as the exhibiting takes place. Ostensibly the story of a man living on a farm in Devizes with his distant mother, hagiographical manuscripts and loyal bulldog, Mahu must leave the only place he has ever known to follow the polluted river Kennet out of Devizes, tracing the clues left by the one human in town who'll tolerate him. A story of menace in small town England, Mahu can be read in cursive from the walls. 

As part of the exhibition, the gallery will host 11 events. Each & every event is free to attend, with doors at 7pm, unless otherwise stated below. The gallery’s address is 119 Pancras Road. London, UK. NW1 1UN www.hardytreegallery.com​

Click on the event to visit its specific event page, with details of readers and happenings:

June Saturday 6th: Mahu in Sound - 6.30pm start
A sound poetry choir led by Sharon Gal, following a workshop - a celebration of Daniela Cascella's new book F-M-R-L, with Christian Patracchini, Eleanor Vonne Brown, Georgia Rodger, Helena Hunter, Mark Peter Wright & more. 

June Sunday 7th - Blart Books & Home baked Books
Curated by Stephen Emmerson & Lucy Harvest Clarke, readings from Blart Books authors, Richard Barrett, Cathy Weedon, Marcus Slease & more – Celebrating ten years of MJ Weller's Home Baked Books 

June Tuesday 9th - to Tom Raworth
A host of poets pay their debt to the greatest living British poet by reading selections from his work. Readings from Andrew Spragg, Tim Atkins, John Clegg, Fabian Peake, Philip Terry, Michael Zand & many more. 

June Wednesday 10th - Railtracks 
Curated by Gareth Evans. A complete reading of Anne Michaels & John Berger's collaborative book, read by actors. 11,000 words over an hour. Read by Anamaria Marinca and Tony Grisoni. RSVP required for this event. Please email steven@sjfowlerpoetry to reserve one of the last few places remaining.

June Friday 12th - Test Centre
Curated by Jess Chandler & Will Shutes, featuring Paul Buck's Pressed Curtains tape project. 

June Saturday 13th – Mahu Cinema
Co-curated by Dave Spittle. Screenings of over a dozen filmpoems, the emerging medium of poetry film or cinepoetry, crossing poetic principles with video art. A full program of screenings. 

June Sunday 14th - Mahu Camarade
Pairs of poets collaborate to produce original works of poetry especially for this night. Featuring Sarah Dawson & Lucy Furlong, Clover Peake & Giovanna Coppola, Doug Jones & Matt Martin & more.

June Wednesday 17th - a World without Words II
Co-curated by Lotje Sodderland & Thomas Duggan. A World Without Words is an exploration of language, neuroscience & art. Featuring talks by Harry Man, Malinda McPherson & more

June Thursday 25th - Kakania anthology launch
A celebration of Habsburg Vienna in 21st century London. www.kakania.co.uk Readings from Aki Schilz, David Kelly-Mancaux Emily Berry. Jeff Hilson, Pascal O'Loughlin, Rhys Trimble. Vicky Sparrow, Alison Gibb, Eley Williams & more 

June Friday 26th - Influx press
Curated by Gary Budden and Kit Caless. Influx press & their books explore, in some fashion, the idea of ‘place’. Readings from Paul Hawkins, Clare Sita Fisher & more. 

June Saturday 27th - If P then Q press & Mahu in Paint
If P then Q is a pioneering British press edited by James Davies, readings from Peter Jaeger, Nathan Walker, Chrissy Williams & more. Following the readings a live collective art & poetry collective collaboration.

a lovely report on the 1st a World without Words event on Bold ideas

Thanks to Dan Davies & Catalina Bolozan

"A World Without Words, an ambitious new project by three, London-based experimenters: writer and filmmakerLotje Sodderland, in collaboration with poet and curator SJ Fowler, and Thomas Duggan, an artist and material engineer, invites us to explore human language in staggering and intimate depth. Language theory walks hand-in-hand with neuroscience and sensory aesthetics to investigate how our brains map meaning. With such an incredibly broad scope you might be forgiven for wondering how anyone would go about tackling such a vast and complex subject matter, and perhaps question their motivation. In this case, the answer is disarmingly personal. With the World Without Words programme unfurling over the coming months, certainly into November 2015, there will be plenty of time to engage with and enjoy this truly multifaceted project."

Videos from Kettle's Yard talk on Henri Gaudier-Brzeska's the Wrestlers

An amazing night in Cambridge with Jenny Powell, Sarah Turner and Lynn Nead www.stevenjfowler.com/thewrestlers

An evening talk and performance exploring Gaudier-Brzeska and modern artists' engagement with wrestling and sport at the beautiful Kettle's Yard in Cambridge on May 13th. Gaudier-Brzeska expert, Dr Sarah Victoria Turner (Paul Mellon Centre) and poet and trained wrestler Steven Fowler were joined by Art historian Professor Lynda Nead (Birkbeck) who chaired the event curated by Dr. Jenny Powell.

An evening talk and performance exploring Gaudier-Brzeska and modern artists' engagement with wrestling and sport at the beautiful Kettle's Yard in Cambridge on May 13th. Gaudier-Brzeska expert, Dr Sarah Victoria Turner (Paul Mellon Centre) and poet and trained wrestler Steven Fowler were joined by Art historian Professor Lynda Nead (Birkbeck) who chaired the event curated by Dr. Jenny Powell.

Ragnarok published in Long Poem magazine

A magazine I've long admired, the remit of Long Poem is beautifully attended to by Lucy Hamilton and Linda Black, and I am so happy my poem Ragnarok, part of my Viking series, has appeared as the very last poem of this wonderful latest issue. I'm happy too to be in there with some great poets - Geraldine Monk, Claire Trevien, Will Stone, Ian Seed and more.

My poem draws a lot from the work of Pentti Saarikoski, and was something I worked on quite intensely while in Copenhagen last year. It mediates his sense of disjunction and magical contradiction between the banal and the profound by evoking the world's end.

You can order the issue here: http://www.longpoemmagazine.org.uk/page4.htm

European Literature Night Edinburgh videos

More to come from the various and ambitious readings that took place across the city of Edinburgh on May 14th, but a good selection can be found here http://www.theenemiesproject.com/eln 

Held at Summerhall in Edinburgh to a sold out crowd on May 14th, the 2015 Edinburgh European Literature Night, produced by the Enemies project and supported by Edinburgh UNESCO city of literature, hosted 5 events in one night, culminating in this event where 10 pairs of poets produced new collaborations.

Held at the Sutton Gallery in Edinburgh to a sold out audience on May 14th, the 2015 Edinburgh European Literature Night, produced by the Enemies project and supported by Edinburgh UNESCO city of literature, hosted 5 events in one night, of which this event was one. www.theenemiesproject.com/eln http://www.cityofliterature.com/

Including Colin Herd & I's launch of the collaboration poetry book celebrating the life of Oskar Kokoschka - Oberwildling. 

In the new Lighthouse magazine

Really pleased to feature in the special collaboration issue of Lighthouse magazine, thanks to Meirion Jordan, Angus Sinclair & co. My Estates of Westeros collaboration with the artist Ben Morris remains one of my very favourite works and in typical fashion, Lighthouse did an amazing job of rendering the visually complex work. A great magazine, one of the best in this country, supporting new writers as a mission, so pleased to be included

Buy it here : http://www.gatehousepress.com/
shop/anthologies/
lighthouse-issue-8/

launching my new book {Enthusiasm} with Test Centre

www.stevenjfowler.com/enthusiasm A collection that stands, more than any other before it, to represent something of the entirety, or unity, of what I want to do with poetry, to share my work in such an atmosphere of support seemed appropriate. I have spoken often of what being prolific in publishing poetry means to me, how to it became clear to me after the death of the great poet Anselm Hollo, when I read his life's work, book by book, and realising the synchronicities of my own life and his, how this taught me a poetry book is something much less and much more than I thought it was. It is not a step on a ladder. It is a potential portal to a chunk of my life. And so launching this book, in the beautiful X Marks the Bokship, in Matt's Gallery, in Mile End, surrounded by friends, recognising just how my relationship with Jess & Will of Test Centre is now a friendship, a considered one, I'm sure a lasting one and more than any book, was a resonant moment for me. Moreover, Eleanor of the Bokship, kindly hosting us, had blown the cover of the book up six feet by ten feet and hung it outside the gallery. A massive Memento Mori, fulfilling the purpose of the cover, why I requested it, in huge, bold, glaring clarity. An amazing sight, to walk down a Mile End street to see your book's skull looming in the distance.

Thanks to everyone who came to support me.

Enthusiasm} is a poetry collection by SJ Fowler (www.stevenjfowler.com), published by Test Centre. http://testcentre.org.uk/product/enthusiasm/ It was launched aon Wednesday 3rd June 2015 within X Marks the Bökship at Matt's Gallery in Mile End, London.

Blog #6: Gelynion in Hay-on-Wye at the Hay Festival: May 29th

Hay Day 1: The grand drive to Hay, making out east from Bangor, trailing the north coast of Wales, adjacent to it in fact, the modern motorway plunked between sea and mountains. This is where my parents came to holiday when they were kids, in the 50s, nipping to Llandudno from Liverpool. We stopped in Conwy. Joe was attached by a diving seagull. It tore his lamb sandwich from his novelist’s grip, but then he met a pug puppy, gurning, and karma has rebalanced. I discovered a tack shop or four, and bought a wraparound lobster bracelet. A defining object from some power from thereon in, many a famous writer has their wrist Llobstered (with an emphasis on the Ll being the top-of-the-mouth Welsh pronunciation).

With Joe shaking from the bird attack, Nia drove us back into England before we turned straight south. The day was a beautiful one and I was aware of the rarity of the occasion, the privilege, to be talking with these poets who had become friends, to be hearing about their work and the history of the places we passed, thanks to Eurig, whose erudition and knowledge of his nation’s history is quite remarkable. We stopped in at the most isolated café in the Shropshire hills, who offered dishes which (for real) advertised ‘a free phonecall to the hospital’, such was there fat content, admittedly.

We made it to Hay by the later afternoon, and having never been before I will admit to it being a very special experience for me. We were treated pretty remarkably well, with the staff being really hospitable and helpful, giving us access to the spaces for the readers and artists, and tickets to other events. We got to see Gareth Thomas give a brilliant talk, utterly immediate and unpretentious, before we got to see Tinariwen live in the big tent. I’ve loved their music for a long time. We headed into Hereford, where we were staying in the 11th century Green Dragon hotel, late, but happy. 

Hay day 2: With our final performance in Wales being a completely different format from the other events we prepared accordingly, and excerpted our 15, ten minute, core poet collaborations into 3 minute bursts. We rehearsed them in order, so that as one poet pair finished the other would stand up to follow it. 15 works, over 40 minutes, all showing the way in which the unique structure of Gelynion, and it’s rare atmosphere of generosity and creativity, has created such different and complimentary works. We spent hours hewing the works down, retrying them, building on the many performances in Wales, the rare second chance and we even stepped through the whole show, which would finish with a reading of the pamphlet produced by Hazard Press and a Q&A.

Gelynion: a Welsh Enemies project / Enemies Cymru was an exploration of contemporary Welsh poetry through the potential of collaboration on a seven date tour from May 19th to June 5th 2015. www.theenemiesproject.com/gelynion Gelynion aimed to bring together communities of writers that might not otherwise collaborate, from all four corners of Wales, generously supported by the Arts Council of Wales & Poetry Wales.

Gelynion: a Welsh Enemies project / Enemies Cymru was an exploration of contemporary Welsh poetry through the potential of collaboration on a seven date tour from May 19th to June 5th 2015. www.theenemiesproject.com/gelynion Gelynion aimed to bring together communities of writers that might not otherwise collaborate, from all four corners of Wales, generously supported by the Arts Council of Wales & Poetry Wales.

Gelynion: a Welsh Enemies project / Enemies Cymru was an exploration of contemporary Welsh poetry through the potential of collaboration on a seven date tour from May 19th to June 5th 2015. www.theenemiesproject.com/gelynion Gelynion aimed to bring together communities of writers that might not otherwise collaborate, from all four corners of Wales, generously supported by the Arts Council of Wales & Poetry Wales.

Gelynion: a Welsh Enemies project / Enemies Cymru was an exploration of contemporary Welsh poetry through the potential of collaboration on a seven date tour from May 19th to June 5th 2015. www.theenemiesproject.com/gelynion Gelynion aimed to bring together communities of writers that might not otherwise collaborate, from all four corners of Wales, generously supported by the Arts Council of Wales & Poetry Wales.

I had some really interesting and lovely conversations during the day, there is always the rare chance to meet people you admire at things like Hay, not that I’d really know, but speaking to Helen McDonald, David Mitchell, and lots of old friends from the Norwich Writers Centre and the British Council made the experience more homely than I’d imagined. I also always find these kind of enterprises, which are quite ambitious and labyrinthine, tend to be run by younger people with necessary senses of humour, and I could have a laugh with my Llobster.

Our performance was a real joy, such a privilege to be working with Rhys, Zoe, Joe, Eurig, and Nia, and I took the time to thank them properly. We all hit our marks and added new strings to our previous collaborative bows. The event was schedule opposite some huge events and so our attendance wasn’t great, but that was a consequence of other factors and didn’t detract from the intensity of the experience, and the growing realisation that this project has been very very special. A rare and important tour, Gelynion had clearly left its mark on Wales, and the poets who had participated. It has to be said, as we chatted with the manager of the Poetry Bookshop in Hay (where I bought 1st edition Tom Raworth and Anselm Hollo books), who had heard of our tour and Enemies in general, that we realised just how much it now felt that Wales was waiting for something like Gelynion, and for me, just how energetic, positive and humble the poets involved were. Everyone gave their all and some real friendships were made, and some real ground broken.

Blog #5: Gelynion in Bangor: May 26th 2015

An incredible drive through Snowdonia, a scenic route for our privilege, Joe, Nia and Eurig accompanied me in from the west coast and up into the mountains. We stopped a few times to hear Eurig’s description of the places, his climbs, and to pose for catalogue model, or boyband-like (I won’t reveal our hypothetical band name), photoshoots. Such beautiful weather, perfect blue skies and though busy, what seemed to me completely pristine country.

Into Bangor, and it struck me as a very charming place, Zoe’s homeland, a University town, but also with its intense population (I saw teen scraps in the highstreet within minutes, sustained) the countryside surrounding encroached and struck me as an oasis of a place in someways. Our reading was the same night as our travelling so we soon visited the Blue Sky Café and Nia and I met Elan Mererid Rhys, the wonderful auto-harp player and folk musician, whom I had come across in Cecil Sharp House in London, by pure chance, a few weeks before, just like Patrick Rimes. Elan could not have been more warm hearted and wonderful to work with, and Nia and I decided to read the 6 way collaborative poem written by the group and published by Hazard press over the playing of Elan, to set everything gently, and it worked out so nicely.

Gelynion: a Welsh Enemies project / Enemies Cymru was an exploration of contemporary Welsh poetry through the potential of collaboration on a seven date tour from May 19th to June 5th 2015. www.theenemiesproject.com/gelynion Gelynion aimed to bring together communities of writers that might not otherwise collaborate, from all four corners of Wales, generously supported by the Arts Council of Wales & Poetry Wales.

 In the end, I think Bangor was my favourite event. The quality of some of the work was so remarkable, the café was packed, 50 or 60 people, or more, and such a memorable assortment of works. Ghazal Mosadeq, who had travelled all the way from London, presented amazing work with Ifor Ap Glyn. Robert Sheppard, who travelled from Manchester, worked with Alys Conran to generate another mysterious European poet. Sophie McKeand, Fiona Cameron, Karen Owen, Sian Northey, really I could list the whole evening. It was a special one.

Sophie McKeand & Fiona Cameron https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WJirFOPHuK0 - Karen Owen & Sian Northey https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-08J_iqWZZY - Ifor Ap Glyn & Ghazal Mosadeq https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JMFTBB6k-hc - Robert Sheppard & Alys Conran https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kVOfQEMoss4 - Nia Davies, SJ Fowler & Elan Mererid Rhys https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u827pCCzBiQ - Zoë Skoulding & Eurig Salisbury https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i2_G9SukXvE - Joe Dunthorne & Rhys Trimble https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tC0luz3pIUM - Elan Mererid Rhys https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Paq3P9ElV68

Blog #4: Gelynion in Aberystwyth: May 25th

Nia, the commander, rightly so, led the way, kind enough to drive up the West coast of Wales with Rhys, Annwn and I in the backseat, travelling to Aberystwyth, one of the most isolated cities in the UK, and a beautiful place - a university town, sat on the sea. It possessed a completely different atmosphere to our previous stops on the tour so far. Eurig’s hometown, really the bastion for Welsh language studies and history, Aberystwyth seemed to possess the spirit of independence I had been fascinated to see, really Welsh culture. The seafront was lined with the flags of disputed or marginalised nations in a show of solidarity. I’d also been told our gig was highly anticipated. Really the places I have yet to travel to are the ones I await the most.

We travelled with Rhys' dog Annwn, who I instantly fell in love with and finally felt like there was someone on the tour I could really show my true feelings to. We all stopped by the sea in a small town on the way into Aberystwyth, and I tried to escape with Annwn, but he turned back, loyal to Rhys. A free day upon arrival, Joe, Nia and I ate out and spoke later into the night, the first real chance for the natural side effect of such a project as Gelynion to inculcate the exchanges that build friendships and rich collaborations. Joe and I continued to speak over breakfast each day, and getting to know him far better, a deep privilege, was an education as well as a pleasure.

Gelynion: a Welsh Enemies project / Enemies Cymru was an exploration of contemporary Welsh poetry through the potential of collaboration on a seven date tour from May 19th to June 5th 2015. www.theenemiesproject.com/gelynion Gelynion aimed to bring together communities of writers that might not otherwise collaborate, from all four corners of Wales, generously supported by the Arts Council of Wales & Poetry Wales.

For the reading, set up on the hills of Aberytwyth, in the University, I collaborated with Eurig, and it being his home town, I was fortunate to work with him. We decided to repair the besmirchment of the mythical Welsh hero Owen Glendower by rewriting Henry IV. Shakespeare remixed, and we dragged in Rhys, Nia and Joe as the performance became a kind of anti-amateur dramatics. The gig itself was packed, held at Aberystwyth Arts Studio, the University’s massive 70s concrete architecture housing the beautiful circular dome where we set up in the round. We had to find more chairs in the end, such was the turnout. The reading felt more like a workshop, such was the familiarity of the atmosphere. It was great to see Jemma King, Amy McCauley, Mari Sion, Kath Stansfield, and all the other poets, all of whom I had researched and many of whom were local through study and not birth, reinterpret the collaborative medium once again.

We all piled into a tiny Moroccan restaurant to close out the night, the real unity and cohesion of the group and the project becoming palpable. The first pangs that the whole thing has gone by too fast already.

Nicky Arscott & Kath Stansfield https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0B0sRusEDJw - Mari Siôn & Elin Ap Hywel https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GgjrpZZ-bXg - Siân Melangell Dafydd & John Barnie https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Phtm6u8QzwY - Amy McCauley & Jemma L King https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fUQmaWFTD3A - Joe Dunthorne & Zoë Skoulding https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cTVA7veibyc - Nia Davies & Rhys Trimble https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xTslGiEnVHg - SJ Fowler & Eurig Salisbury https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8kJPjOpHePA

Check out www.theenemiesproject.com/gelynion or www.stevenjfowler.com/gelynion for all the blogs!

Gelynion: a publication by Hazard Press

Thanks to the remarkable skill and generosity of Jeremy Dixon, Gelynion was accompanied by a beautiful, handmade publication. A six way collaborative poem, where each of the core touring six poets - Nia Davies, Zoë Skoulding, Eurig Salisbury, Joe Dunthorne, SJ Fowler & Rhys Trimble - each wrote a line, and then, with names removed, each other poet added a line, wherever they wished on the page until six poems of six lines had been written. Each poem a truly collaborative work.

Jeremy, who makes such wonderful literary objects at http://hazardpress.co.uk/ then handcrafted just 60 copies for a limited edtion run. He had them waiting for us at the very first gig in Newport and they proved to be a great success throughout the tour. It's hard to convey their delicate and unique character, small and elaborately finished. A huge thanks to Jeremy, do visit Hazard Press and peruse their wares.

The poems within were read twice on the tour, including being the very last reading at the last Welsh gig, at the Hay Festival, where each of us six stood to read a poem each. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sb40wuSWBxo

Gelynion: Enemies Cymru - Blog #3 Swansea

A homecoming for two of our core touring six, Swansea being the home of Nia Davies and Joe Dunthorne. So much is said about Swansea, or was said to me, as I expressed excitement to come here for the first time in my life. It's clearly a place that engenders strong feeling, of pride or criticism. Off the train, the cab driver, born and raised, told me how much he hated it, before dropping me off at a beautiful B&B with expansive sea views over clear blue skies, surrounded by cafes and shops in the Upplands. Meeting the other poets and driving back into town to the incredible venue, what used to be an Iceland Supermarket and is now the Volcano theatre, on the high street, minutes from the train station, I began to get the impression that while Swansea has its edges, it is also an energetic, distinct and striking city.

Gelynion: a Welsh Enemies project / Enemies Cymru was an exploration of contemporary Welsh poetry through the potential of collaboration on a seven date tour from May 19th to June 5th 2015. www.theenemiesproject.com/gelynion Gelynion aimed to bring together communities of writers that might not otherwise collaborate, from all four corners of Wales, generously supported by the Arts Council of Wales & Poetry Wales.

I collaborated with Joe, and we had written a poetic dialogue that diffused the notion of the nation of Iceland, and our respective visits to that place, with the Iceland Supermarket that once inhabited our performance space. We created an overlapping narrative, something written to be read, and it came together with incredible ease and speed. We also gave out cards with the names of foods sold in Iceland, the supermarket, to be shouted out between our reading, a kind of call to the frozen ghosts from the audience. 

The performance space was unique and like all of Gelynion so far, each of the pairs, 10 in all this night, took the commission extremely seriously and presented an array of differing and energetic works. And again the nature of the collaborations and the community feel created an open, generous and expansive atmosphere. We were joined again by our Indian contingent, Jeet Thayil and Sampurna Chatterji reading, and I finally got to meet and speak to poets I've read and followed from afar - Meirion Jordon, Aneirin Karadog, Lyndon Davies, Graham Hartill and John Goodby. Their work was brilliant, such strength in depth, such a wonderful representation of Swansea.

We had our first in Wales day off and I spent many hours walking along the seafront to the Gower and around the city, and attacking a long run on the particularly soft sand and up the particularly steep hills, in particularly hot sun, getting lost in seemingly endless winding suburbs, before we reconvened for a barbeque at Nia's house and I heard about the revelry that went on late into the post-reading night, after I had left getting ahead of the Friday night crowds.

{Enthusiasm} by SJ Fowler available to pre-order - Test Centre announcement

 

We are excited to announce that {Enthusiasm}, the new poetry collection from poet, artist, curator and vanguardist SJ Fowler, is now available to pre-order.

{Enthusiasm} is Fowler's 7th collection, following highly-acclaimed publications including The Rottweiler's guide to the Dog Owner (commended by the Forward Prize judges) and Enemies: the selected collaborations of SJ Fowler. The book's 81 poems are intended as individual pieces in their own right, but are interlinked by subjects including battle and violence, infants and infancy, religion, economy and population, the self, modernity, and the past. http://testcentre.org.uk/product/enthusiasm/

Fowler's poetry is playful and allusive, international in its scope. His Enemies project, concerning the possibilities of poetry in collaboration, has curated over 70 events and 9 exhibitions in 13 nations – these possibilities feed into the possibilities of his texts, his awareness of different modes of expression. {Enthusiasm} thrives upon the effect on language of modern modes of communication, and the book makes disarming use of accident, irony, and error. This substantial collection marks a decisive step in Fowler's tireless, expansive career.

{Enthusiasm} is published in a limited edition of 400 copies, including 25 special edition copies which are signed and numbered by the author and contain additional holograph material.

Pre-orders are available now, ahead of the book's publication on the 3rd of June. 

£12 | £25 + p&p | 225 x 151mm. 96pp. Limited to 400 copies.
Section sewn. Printed offset black throughout.
Designed by Traven T. Croves

Click here to pre-order your copy

About SJ Fowler

SJ Fowler is a poet, artist, curator & vanguardist. He works in the modernist and avant garde traditions, across poetry, fiction, theatre, sonic art, visual art, installation and performance. He has published six previous collections of poetry and been commissioned by Tate Britain, the British Council, Tate Modern, Highlight Arts, Mercy, Penned in the Margins and the London Sinfonietta. He has been translated into 13 languages and performed at venues across the world. He is the poetry editor of3:AM Magazine and the curator of the Enemiesproject.

{Enthusiasm} Launch

To celebrate the publication of {Enthusiasm}, there will be a launch on Wednesday 3rd June from 7–9pm at X Marks the Bökship @ Matt’s Gallery, 42–44 Copperfield Road, Mile End, London E3 4RR. More details to follow soon.