Though the Maintenant series tries not to overstate the importance of the poet’s origin, practicality alone demands an attempt to show the range of European poetries with a representative range of nations. However in actually seeking out those poets creating exciting, original, genuinely evolutionary work, we find many cannot be tied to one single nation – they are migratory, multi-lingual – pan-European if not pan-global. Marcus Slease fits this archetype more than most. By birth he stands as the first Northern Irish poet to feature in our series. However by experience he is a poet of England, America, Poland, Italy, Turkey. Unsurprisingly he is an adroit and worldly writer, defined by his ability to remain elastic and fluid, and utterly unpretentious in his idiom, and yet fulfilling and resonant in his tone. His poetics are extremely contemporary, and yet they seem to maintain the confidence and solidity of time past. A major feature of the current London scene, we are pleased to introduce Marcus Slease as the 61st edition of Maintenant.
Accompanying the interview are six of Marcus' poems.
{Maintenant Slovakia in association with Literature across Frontiers & Arc Publications}
June Saturday 18th 2011 - 7pm - Entrance Free - The Rich Mix arts centre. London
Ivan Štrpka - Mila Haugova - Marcus Slease
Tamarin Norwood - Jonty Tiplady - Colin Herd ...
Slovak poets Ivan Štrpka and Mila Haugova will be joined by a half dozen London-based poets to celebrate the sixth event in the Maintenant series held at the Rich Mix arts centre in London's Brick Lane. As ever, the Maintenant series will advocate a diverse selection of poetic methodologies, ages & nationalities - collecting together some of the most interesting poets Europe has to offer. Further details to follow...