GDS #30: Flying ducks, Buddha & Europa
Posted on | August 25, 2010 | 2 Comments
It’s the season for all things untold: flying ducks in balloons, a machine that plays Buddha and Europe’s “Final Countdown”. What’s he going on about? Well may you ask. And here’s one answer: I’m going on about Going Down Swinging No.30 — the special 30th anniversary edition.
Featuring drop-dead untold cover artwork by Katrina Rhodes, this special issue of Australia’s most innovative literary print journal has some pretty cool specs (as we say in the industry): 172pp Book + 2 Spoken Word CDs & Colour Graphic Novella. As I said: untold. But why take my word for it? Here’s the official word from GDS:
Founders Kevin Brophy and Myron Lysenko and past editors Grant Caldwell and Adam Ford join editors Lisa Greenaway, Nathan Curnow and Ella Holcombe in selecting new works of short fiction, poetry, comic art, haiku and haiga for this commemorative edition of Going Down Swinging. A bumper issue featuring 172 pages of new works from writers and artists in Australia and around the world.
The two accompanying spoken word CDs include both new local works as well as international selections from guest editors Cristin O’Keefe Aptowicz (USA), Ian Ferrier (Canada), David Prater (Europe) and Ian Daley (UK), featuring some of the very best spoken word and slam poetry artists working today.
Through the support of Arts Victoria, GDS has also commissioned for this issue a new short story by Paddy O’Reilly, a longform poem by Eddie Paterson, and a full-colour graphic novella by Michael Camilleri.
So what’s this all got to do with Europe’s “Final Countdown”? Well, as you may have noticed, I was roped in as spoken word editor (Europe) for this issue, and I’m pleased to say tracks by four Europe-based artists have made it onto the international spoken word CD-component, namely: Tsead Bruinja (who writes and performs in Frisian and Dutch), Anna Arov (who writes mostly in English), Ajo (who performs in Spanish) and Gu_rún Grændóttir (who, contrary to your expectations, performs in French). I was asked to provide an editorial for my selections, and here’s what I came up with:
For me, ‘Europe’ always used to conjure up the hair band of the same name. Then I started watching Eurovision and realized it was worse than that: Europe was a cringe-worthy parade of pseudo-pop, watched by millions from Iceland to Albania and Ibiza. Even more alarming, the EU was just a throwback to New Order, while Schengen Visas were a criminally underrated noise-core outfit from Gdansk.
Having lived in the Netherlands for the last two and a half years, I remain none the wiser. This corner of Europe is populated by people who, when they discover you’re Australian, make jokes about yoghurt (you know, even it develops culture after a while) and convicts (always a favourite!), while maintaining a deep reverence for Steve Irwin and whoever decided to hire Guus Hiddinck.
The four tracks I’ve selected for this CD – in English, French, Dutch and Spanish (sorry, Esperanto lovers) – cannot truly represent the variety of spoken word that is being performed across the continent, but they do hopefully dispel the notion that Europe speaks with one voice. From “reality” and DNA to red apples and nylon stockings, these pieces speak to the creative fusions made possible by history.
No more final countdown.
But what about Buddha? you may be asking. Frankly, I’m surprised you’re still here, but the truth of the matter is that Canadian spoken word editor and mango-lover Ian Ferrier also chose a live recording of my track “That’s Buddha” for inclusion on the same CD. I’m really chuffed that Ian saw fit to include this track, which was recorded as part of le Festival Voix d’Amériques in Montreal in 2009. The performance involved two Buddha Machines and me, and was recorded on Wednesday 11 February, 2009 at the Casa del Popolo. If you’d like to hear what two Buddha Machines sound like, you’ll have to buy the CD. Or else, you can check this out.
I’m sad not to be able to make it to the official anniversary untold spinning machine with strobes GDS launch party at the Melbourne Writers Festival, but I just know it’s gonna be huge. If you’d like to put your money where your mouth is and support fine Australian writing and spoken word, mosey on over to the GDS shop, where you can purchase copies of GDS 30 online at a special discount rate.
And that’s Buddha.
My contribution to Overland’s ‘200 poem’ project
Posted on | August 13, 2010 | 1 Comment
Australian literature and politics magazine Overland is on the verge of celebrating its 200th issue. A special feature of said issue will be a 200 line poem composed of lines written by twenty Australian poets.
I’m lucky enough to count myself amongst that select group, thanks to an invitation from ‘poem-master’ Derek Motion to send ten lines.
Following the example set by Adam Ford, who posted his ten lines as well as an explanation of the process leading to their construction, here’s my ten lines in their ragged pre-mix state.
‘On second thought, I decided to act like a hivemind,
a super-conscious eye patrolling wild perimeters, my
role akin to that of those who first rejected me, namely
: exclude some, & keep the others looking busy. But
then (and this is the strange part) I began to display &
/or exhibit signs of a new dispensation: i.e., exclusion
now being the new black; or white. Speaking of post–
/modern conditions, like a pompous twit I recall that
when I raged against the latrine, nobody bothered to
clean up afterwards. This, I leave to you — & to fate.’
Unlike Adam, I’m in no real position to expound upon how these lines were written except to say that in Derek’s original invitation he gave the prompt: ‘on a role: then / now / when’ and I responded by including elements from this prompt in my lines.
One thing I can say for sure, having seen the remixed 200-liner in raw form, is that it’s going to be a doozy. Can’t wait to see the whole thing in print.
New poem in Ekleksographia!
Posted on | August 5, 2010 | No Comments
I’ve got a new, never-seen-before poem in Pam Brown’s Music-themed special issue of US-based web journal Ekleksographia. Well, when I say new I mean I wrote it a year ago in Seoul. This is the first time anyone’s ever seen it, including me. The poem’s called (On the Tomb of) Yun Hye–yong and it’s based on a rather dubious story I read in a Korean newspaper about “one of the former lovers of Kim Jong-Il”. There’s some great poetry (and multimedia) in the issue, it’s well worth checking out in its entirety. I like the philosophy behind Ekleksographia too: “Ekleksographia is an exercise in asymmetrical publishing, and is a shoe (or even two!) thrown at the spotlit shrug and yawn”. Get thee to the contents page immediately!
Cordite 33 is now online!
Posted on | August 2, 2010 | 1 Comment
Now that the major effort is over and the social media sites have been updated it’s time to note, for the benefit of the Dreamnation’s single reader, the release of Cordite 33: Creative Commons.
Our guest poetry editor for the issue is Alison Croggon, and she’s done a great job selecting a bustling swag of new poems. In addition, our features editor Matthew Hall has assembled a stellar collection of essays, interviews and feature articles; and our spoken word editor Emilie Zoey Baker has done the same, selecting six slick audio tracks for your aural pleasure. In further addition there’s the usual assortment of reviews, images, news items and so on and so on. Check it out. Last but not least, we’re now inviting remixes of the issue — get all the DJ details here.
I’m really proud of this issue, not least because I’ve been working overtime on a re-design of the site and while it ain’t perfect, it’s a lot better than our clunky old WordPress default theme mod. That being said, I’d like to pay tribute to afore-mentioned clunky old default theme mod, in the knowledge that from today onwards the only record of its passing will be found within the NLA’s Pandora Archives, and here:
We will never see the likes of it again.
*Sniff*
Daveylands Les 4
Posted on | July 19, 2010 | No Comments
keep looking »het verlengstuk
de sluiproute –>
helaas ben ik niet bereikbaar …
als je je boodschap & telfoonnummer
ik message:
bericht
bereik
spreek in na de piep!
uitstappenhoi! ik bel je over je
email — ik heb je
email gelezen, dat lijkt
me wel, een gooie idee
op zaterdagavond
uit to stappen
bel me terug als je wil.
voorIk wil graag meer
weten over tijd en
plaats en zo doeiwe gaan dit weekend
na mijn ourders
zou
zal ik je zo snel
(als) mogelijk
terugbellen …ik wil het liefst een
appartement in de
binnenstad [die is] dichtbij
horecas en uitgaansgelegenhedenik wil het liefst een woning
met een tuin op het zuiden [maar moet het ook …] /
ook met een bad in het tuin [… hebben]ik wil het liefst een woning
dichtbij een treinstationhet liefst = bij
voorkeurhet moet dichtbij winkels zijn
voorzieningen -
scholen, winkelen etcrevisie: modale verben




