A note on : The Best Typographic Moments of the Year - Guillaume!

Very cool https://lbbonline.com/news/lovely-letters-the-best-typographic-moments-of-the-year

We’re constantly surrounded by letters. And not just those that you’re reading right now or on the news, but ones that are beautifully crafted, carry character and wit, and are full of emotive storytelling. That’s right, letters can tell stories not only with what they’re telling us but with how they look… At Little Black Book, we are suckers for beautiful visual design, particularly when it comes to lettering. That’s why we decided to speak to typers and visual nerds from across the industry to find out more about the best and most eye-catching moments of the year.

A note on : Live from Bern, a talking poem

Entirely improvised, live and from scratch, a talking poem performance commissioned by, and performed at, the Bone Wort festival 2023 in Bern, Switzerland. Curated by Regina Durig. November 25th 2023. Photos by Anouk el Gabri.

A note on : a special Camarade

A very special night for me at the amazing Iklectik Artlab, which we will all miss terribly if it does indeed close in early 2024 as the landlords threaten it will. Save Iklectik https://www.iklectik.org/saveiklectik. 10 performances marked the night, one I will always remember. Nice pictures below with dear friends.

A note on : European Poetry Festival Camarade!

Huge crowd, unexpectedly so, nearly 100 people came to the see the interim collaborative camarade event for my festival, The European Poetry Festival, at Rich Mix in Bethnal Green, London. As ever before, the event had new works made by pairs of poets, many old hats, many new to it and my events. Some real highlights, and all documented on the event page here https://www.europeanpoetryfestival.com/wintercamarade

For my part I had the pleasure of working again with close friend and musician maestro Benedict Taylor. We have now a very accurate sympatico, being our 7th or 8th full scratch improvisation together in the last few years. It was a really neat 4 minutes i think.

A note on : Launching The Hyphen is a Dagger at St Bride

A very special night launching a letterpress rarity made by Pat Randle, Angie Butler and myself - The Hyphen is a Dagger, Guillaume IX troubadour crusader, and available now to buy here https://www.nomadletterpress.com/guillaume

This edition of 80 copies have been printed during 2023.
60 numbered copies have been covered using Fabriano paper and stitch-sewn.
20 further copies, marked I - XX, have been case-bound by Roger Grech.

St Bride is a venerable institution and it felt like the right place to launch such a special publication. The night began with performances by Jules Sprake and Simon Tyrrell before we screened a short film I made during the making of process of the publication. Then Angie, myself and Pat gave short talks followed by a conversation and a questions session, helped by Simon. The videos below show the talks and the chat, which all seemed to go really well.

What was emphasised here was the role printers and poets can play in synthesising their collaborations, and how vital friendship is to such a unique and demanding process. And the latter was why this was so nice, in this lovely venue, supporting by the St Bride staff, and watched online as well with their high tech streaming setup. Guillaume is out in the world now, and this night marked that.

A note on : The Aleph anthology

A truly unique anthology in parts from the mysterious and brilliant The Aleph.

I have in it a postcard of a meme poem taken from recently attracted reality influencers. A postcard meme poem with chris morris and al swearengen on it. Happy to be in this packet.

https://thealeph.limitedrun.com/products/748637-the-aleph-anthology-ii

Anthology includes; contents sheet, bookmark, 4x digital prints, 3x screen prints, 2x pamphlets, 1x letter & envelope, 1x journal, 1x screen printed cover/poster.

Edition of 100 (20 artist copies)

ALL PROFITS WILL BE DONATED TO MSF (https://msf.org.uk/

Gullfinger!

Gullfinger by SJ Fowler and Bård Torgersen from Hærverk Forlag

My latest collaborative collection has been published in Norway by Hærverk Forlag. A full colour limited edition poetry and photopoetry odyssey. It is my second work with Norwegian writer performer Bård Torgersen. The book was launched with a performance in Oslo, video below, a real 45 minute long juicy mess, like the book itself. Only 20 copies are for sale in the UK, all signed, available here! https://stevenjfowler.bigcartel.com/product/gullfinger 

A note on : Stony Thursday Book 2023 - collaboration with Zuzana Husarova

Superb to have a new collaboration in the latest edition of https://www.limerick.ie/ ‘s Stony Thursday Book publication, edited by Christodoulos Makris, one of the most interesting and active poets in Europe.

The work in the book is by Zuzana Husarova and I, entitled we haven’t performed. The poem was written for a recent performance at the european poetry festival at Iklectik Artlab, where the words, which we both felt emerged naturally and with some resonance, took a back seat to the nature of our performance. Hence we sought a home for it in print, and none better than in this book.

A note on : Seeing in Tongues, an anthology of visual poetry

James Knight, the brilliant poet and writer, has put together an extraordinary anthology of visual poetry from across the world. Released with his press Steel Incisors, it is entitled Seeing in Tongues, and is available here https://www.steelincisors.com/s/stories/seeing-in-tongues-an-anthology-of-visual-poetry

An anthology of contemporary visual poetry, representing the extraordinary richness and diversity of a particularly vibrant hybrid form. The 350-page book includes pieces made from physical materials, digitally constructed work, and hybrids of the two, and encompasses collage, cut-up, erasure, asemic writing, painting, photography, glitch, drawing, aleatory processes, and numerous other techniques.

Lots of friends have work in there including Susie Campbell, Theodoros Chiotis, Madelaine Culver, Emma Filtness, Sylee Gore, Victoria Kaye, Dan Power, Imogen Reid, Stephen Sunderland, Michael Sutton, Simon Tyrrell, Martin Wakefield & Bob Modem and many more.

My four pieces in the book are all versions of past works made new or unpublished before, and each is very different from the last.

A note on : Writers Kingston Poem Brut and Joby Pool

A huge poem brut performance literature event in Kingston, with 17 performances. All videos are up here https://www.writerskingston.com/#/poembrut23/ The event featured two sections,debut or early career poets and poets in the new steel incisors anthology Seeing in tongues. The former, many were my students, the latter many friends old and new. Some proper weird and wonderful stuff.

For my own part I performed with Joby Pool, a snow leopard, witnessing him with bouncy balls.

The Hyphen is a Dagger! Launch at St Bride Foundation

A rare new publication, made in a rare way. I'm delighted to announce the launch of The Hyphen is a Dagger; Guillaume XI Troubadour Crusader this November 22nd at 7pm, at the venerable St Bride Foundation in London.

Tickets here, both for in person and online attendance sbf.org.uk/whats-on/view/the-hyphen-is-a-dagger-poets-and-printers-in-collaboration/ 

Please come along for a unique night of performance, reading and discussion. The Hyphen is a Dagger is a product of a unique collaborative letterpress project between printers Pat Randle, Angie Butler and I. 60 numbered copies have been stitch-sewn & 20 marked I-XX case-bound by Roger Grech, available at the launch, and afterwards online. More on the book below...

"A distinctive, eccentric, playful work of literature, The Hyphen is a Dagger is a product of a unique collaborative project between printers and poets – Angie Butler, Pat Randle and SJ Fowler. This publication was made with the letterpress process as both constraint and guide, using wood-letter from the stores of the legendary Whittington Press in the heart of the Cotswolds. Working to vocabularies and sorts available to hand, the poems were written by Fowler to be then edited, whilst being set, across a series of collaborative on- press sessions over 2022 and 2023.

The poems themselves relate to the place of their making, centring around the real-life crusader Sir Richard de Croupes, whose tomb adjoins the press at St Bartholomew’s Church. Guillaume, the hero of the story, was the first recorded troubadour. The typefaces are from a unique collection sourced from the Cambridge University Press and date back to the golden age of letterpress printing. Most were manufactured by the Delittle Foundry in York and each face contained within this project is identified in the margin of the page. This publication is an outstanding example of what is possible when writers and printers work together with simultaneous purpose; unlocking the creative potential of contemporary prose within the confines of letterpress printing."

A note on : Performing at BONE festival in Bern this month

https://2023.boneperformance.com/programm/sj-fowler/ hastag englisch! an amazing festival in switzerland curated with huge energy be regina durig. im exciting to perform there and am on saturday november 25th at 20.30 in Bern at PROZESS, the venue

they did quite a lovely number on my pic

and a below podcast I did with Regina for the fest

And my bio in German, quite nice,

Bitte nach unten scrollen für einfache Sprache. - SJ Fowler ist Schriftsteller, Dichter und Performer und lebt in London. In seiner Arbeit widmet er sich Dichtung und Literatur in allen Facetten – textlich, visuell, asemisch, konkret, klanglich, kollaborativ, performativ und improvisiert. Sein Werk umfasst 50 Veröffentlichungen und 200 Performances in über 40 Ländern, darüber hinaus kuratiert und organisiert er Literaturfestivals, macht Auftragsarbeiten, Kooperationen und mehr. SJ Fowler leitet das Writers’ Centre Kingston an der Kingston University und das European Poetry Festival (UK).

Zu seinen jüngsten Veröffentlichungen gehören «How Do You In Devon» (Moormaid Press, 2023), «Bab’s London Adventures» (8ox publishing, 2023) und die Novelle «MUEM» (Tenement Press, 2022). Im Sommer 2023 hat er für die National Gallery (London, UK) Gedichte zu Gemälden verfasst, die er während drei Nacht-Veranstaltungen mit den Museumsaufsichten improvisiert aufgeführt hat.

Beim BONE W ORT wird Steve eine Poetry Performance machen, ein Format, das er so beschreibt: «Ein Spiel mit dem Potenzial von Live-Literatur – mit Raum, Stimme, Interaktion, Körperlichkeit – vor Ort, mit einem Publikum. Oft improvisiert, aber durch und durch poetisch.»

#Dichtung #Spielfreude #Improvisation #Englisch

A note on : Table at the Small Publishers Fair and sharing The Hyphen is a Dagger

I had a brilliant few days running a table of my books at the Small Publishers Fair 2023. It is always really so friendly, inspiring, generous. I met so many interesting new people and caught up with dozens of friends. And many friends helped me on my stall too, huge thanks to them Simon Tyrrell, Lisa Blackwell, Jules Sprake, Bob T Bright, Ailsa Holland, Bev Frydman, Patrick Cosgrove. Thanks to my collaborators that made it so special too Dominic Jaeckle, Pat Randle and many others. And to those who run the fair, long may it continue.

Three new publications were launched, which included a very special letterpress edition made with Pat Randle and Angie Butler. We shared it, Pat and I, at an event as part of the library reading program, and can be watched here. We discussed the unique process, then read the poems, then fielded some questions.

A note on : Writers Kingston begins with a Camarade, and improvising with Benedict Taylor

A beginning to the 2023 / 2024 Writers Kingston program with a collaborative Camarade event with some brilliant poets and equally brilliant performances. Some real highlights worth watching at the event link above and I had the chance to work with violaist Benedict Taylor again, for the fifth time in the last year or so, doing an entirely improvised talking performance with his music.





A note on : Asemic poems from Oslo workshop

Some brilliant works below produced by some of those who generously attended my workshop at Oslo National Academy of the Arts (Kunsthøgskolen i Oslo) on asemic poetry and handwriting literature. All thanks to Stefan Ellmer and Maziar Raein for inviting me.

a selection of asemics by the group

by Thales Vikanes

by Mona Huang Høivik

by Simen Løvgren

by Nicolas Vittori

by Apollonia Stroiczek

by Per Brehmer

by Åsta Sparr

A note on : Cafe Haerverk, launching Gullfinger

Bard Torgersen, Dario Fariello and I performed an hour long set of complete free improvisation at Cafe Haerverk in Oslo to launch Bard and I’s new book, Gullfinger, the first ever publication by Haerverk Forlag (publishing house).

It doesn’t really tell the story. The hour was one of the strangest and floppiest I’ve been a part of, it was quite something, and I was surprised how much the audience seemed to love it. It was wholesome terror, in a way. I cut my head with a mic. Bard gave out a nobel prize and threw dollars into the audience. A lot of things happened. The video is coming.

This was one of the nicest gigs I’ve done, ever. Bard and I spent the first hour of opening signing books, which was a surprise to me, as Gullfinger is also one of the most chaotic books I’ve written. But people came out in droves for Bard and Dario, they are very much loved and appreciated in Oslo.

The publishers, who run the venue, were fantastic and enthusiastic and weird like us. And we sold a load of copies. Unlike normally I stayed for hours afterward too, met some amazing people.

A note on : Teaching at Oslo National Academy of the Arts

I had the chance to give a talk at the Oslo National Academy of the Arts (Kunsthøgskolen i Oslo) on asemic writing and then lead a workshop with about 20 students, over an entire day, creating asemic poems.

The invitation was thanks the brilliant typographer Stefan Ellmer and designer Maziar Raein. They have led a research group at the academy on asemic and abstract writing and we’ve corresponded on the subject for quite some time.

The talk I gave will be online soon, but following a fascinating technical talk from Stefan I spoke off the cuff not only about asemic poetry was, in my opinion, but why i think i was led to it as a form of poetry, and what it’s benefits are.

The workshop that followed was really resonant, and went so well I took things from it that I will factor into all my future teaching in the subject. The students, like Stefan and Maziar, were unusually hospitable and kind and funny. Over the course of the day I had the students writing with their mouths and feets, backwards and upside down, battling over pens mid script, and creating giant scrolls of asemic poems.

A great experience and more documentation to post soon.