Happy new year. The happenings of 2013, a bit of an epic one. It’s been an immense
year, a big year to thank collaborators / friends, one + the same. Im always in two minds whether to do one of these, and email it out to my mailing list, always worry about seeming egotistic or careerist. But its good to challenge oneself on that front perhaps, to be concerned with that possibility, when I do try my best to not be. Ive just found sharing links and projects and ideas breeds more of the same, and increases creative outlets and new opportunities to meet people and do things, and thats the point, so Im trying to stay outside my comfort zone and go out and share this stuff with people.
For EVP I
featured on the Verb with Ian
McMillian for BBC radio 3 https://soundcloud.com/sjfowler/sj-fowler-on-the-verb-bbc
My book Enemies was published in October, by
Penned in the Margins, a selected collaborations with 29 collaborators
featured. http://www.pennedinthemargins.co.uk/index.php/2013/09/enemies-2/
There were reviews at Annexe http://annexemagazine.com/review-enemies-sj-fowler/
& Windswept edge http://windsweptedge.com/2013/11/14/literature-review-s-j-fowler-enemies/
&
introduction to the book was published online http://www.pennedinthemargins.co.uk/index.php/2013/11/a-miniaturised-bulkwark-against-being-solitary-sj-fowler-introduces-enemies/
The Tate
published my commissioned suite of poems on Henri Gaudier-Brzeska’s ‘The Wrestlers’ http://www.tate.org.uk/art/research-publications/gaudier-brzeska-wrestlers/sj-fowler-a-poets-response-r1142398
and an
article on Ezra Pound.
I performed in Mexico city during the Day of the Dead first at the
Laboratorio Arte Alameda https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sX4uU7OUxX4
before a showcase at the Centro Cultural de Espana en Mexico, as part of
Festival Expandible & the Enemigos
project https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1bNO5qmGPOQ
Blogs: http://blutkitt.blogspot.co.uk/2013/10/mexico-city-diario-de-poesia-1.html
+
I got to contribute lectures and teaching sessions to over six months of
the Southbank centre’s remarkable Rest
is Noise festival, with much of that material hosted on their Soundcloud
page, covering a variety of topics.
the occluded: British avant garde poetry in the era of Britten https://soundcloud.com/southbankcentre/british-avant-garde-poetry
Black Mountain college: panel with Tim Atkins, Peter Jaeger & Alyce
Mahon https://soundcloud.com/southbankcentre/alyce-mahon-peter-jeager-tim
on 21st
century British poetry https://soundcloud.com/stevenjfowler/sj-fowler-on-21st-british
I got the
chance to exhibit & perform with Alessandra Eramo in Berlin at the Wortwedding gallery http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v3-EypR64No
Blog: http://blutkitt.blogspot.co.uk/2013/03/enemies-berlin-feinde-with-alessandra.html
Had the privilege of reading at the Ars
Poetica festival in Bratislava, adding my name to the many 100s of
brilliant poets who’ve read there over the last decade https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aVdQmpWeui0 Blog: http://blutkitt.blogspot.co.uk/2013/10/ars-poetica-bratislava-diary-of-magic.html
I got to read in Edinburgh, at nick-e melville’s remarkable DOLE project and at Graeme Smith’s Caesura
series https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vRLDIZECVgY
& with nick-e melville & Jow Lindsay https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-1xhXdkVjDY
Released two book-in-boxes collaborations with artists Ben Morris &
David Kelly, ‘the Estates of Westeros’ & ‘Gilles de Rais’ with Like This
press http://www.likethispress.co.uk/specialoffers
These works were then exhibited at the Darnley Gallery http://www.weareenemies.com/synesthesia.html
& The Rich Mix Arts Centre http://www.weareenemies.com/estatesgillesexhibition.html
Released
collaborative book of poemplays with Marcus Slease, called Elephanche, with Department press http://departmentzine.blogspot.co.uk/2013/03/marcus-slease-sj-fowler-elephanche.html & a newspaper form collaboration with the
photographer Matteo Patocchi, called Twins born Triplets http://blutkitt.blogspot.co.uk/2013/10/twins-born-triplets-new-publication.html
The
Enemies project underpinned the entire year, some amazing events, beginning
with
Camarade VI, on February 8th http://www.weareenemies.com/camarade.html
featuring 13 pairs of poets, including Carol Watts & George Szirtes http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8phvyg1Euhc
On March
22nd I curated a poetry event for Reel Iraq, for the remarkable festival at the Rich mix. http://blutkitt.blogspot.co.uk/2013/03/reel-iraq-poetry-videos.html
with some amazing new work from David Berridge http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XeQHOmgrIeM
& others
Enemies of the North took place in
Manchester’s Cornerhouse, celebrating the northwest avantgarde poetry scene, on
March 30th http://www.weareenemies.com/enemiesnorth.html
featuring
the likes of James Byrne & Sandeep Parmar http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wm9I2Odu85A
At the
Arnolfini gallery in Bristol, on April 27th, Enemies of the South featured 14 poets reading original work http://www.weareenemies.com/enemiessouth.html
including Holly Pester & Emma Bennett. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9-TiVTTfDuM
My collaboration with Patrick Coyle for this event was published by Morphrog http://morphrog.com/morphrog7/Fowler%20&%20Coyle.html#Bristol
Enemigos, the London leg held on May 30th,
featured the British poets that act as one half of this unique, cross-national
transliteration anthology between Londoners & Chilangos, due out next year.
http://www.weareenemies.com/enemigos.html
On June
30th, Philip Venables remarkable portrait concert at LSO St Lukes was
headlined by our collaborative work, the
Revenge of Miguel Cotto, commissioned as part of the London Sinfonietta’s
Blue Touch Paper scheme http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hiT9bGiqxEU
The visual art & avantgarde poetry
exhibition at the Hardy Tree gallery ran throughout July and featured 7
different events, celebrating Sound art, the Dear world...anthology, the CPRC,
POW, minilectures (Peter Jaeger - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ygBbV9AnFBY)
& more. http://www.weareenemies.com/artpoetry.html
Over two dozen poets contributed to this extraordinary two weeks. My
collaboration, printed in pure silk, with Thomas Duggan was exhibited http://blutkitt.blogspot.co.uk/2013/06/silk-thomas-duggan.html
and my sound collaboration with Dylan Nyoukis & Ben Morris was a personal
highlight. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pABB6cMDqxQ
The Enemies book was launched at Toynbee
studios, featuring Eiríkur Örn Norðdahl & http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BEKQ7r8SkZk
Sam Riviere and I http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FRri0O3hkOo
amongst many collaborators the night before...
Camaradefest. The highlight of the year, event wise.
Hundreds in attendance, nearly 80 poets reading, 40 original poetic commissions
http://blutkitt.blogspot.co.uk/2013/11/camaradefest-videos.html
so many highlights, but James Davies & Philip Terry http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7hP1ODIUA_E
& an
amazing podcast of the day by Ryan Van Winkle http://culturelaser.podomatic.com/entry/2013-10-31T23_49_26-07_00
The Erkembode exhibition ran the length of
November at the Hardy tree gallery, featuring unique art/poetry collaborations
& the Poets as Saints event, amongst others, including Marcus Slease http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3073DcMsjI0
Enemies Slovakia welcomed international
poets, a sign of things to come in 2014, for original collaborations along with
British poets in late November. http://blutkitt.blogspot.co.uk/2013/11/enemies-slovakia-videos.html
& the
Wildermenn exhibition http://wildermenn.weebly.com/, at the
House gallery in Peckham, just last month, was an appropriate way to finish the
collaborative themed events of 2013 http://blutkitt.blogspot.co.uk/2013/12/wildermenn-have-passed-to-dredge-again.html
outside
Enemies, I had the chance to speak at the International Translation day at the
British Library, the first Kingston international pedagogy conference,
Emigrating Landscapes at the Slavonic school, UCL and the Austrian Cultural
Forum. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hdIWsSXvcEc
& read at the Blue bus, the Runnymede poetry festival & Xing the Line.
I had vispo in the Poetry Library concrete poetry exhibition and Calligrams in
the 5X7 exhibition at the Hardy tree http://blutkitt.blogspot.co.uk/2013/12/5x7-group-show-at-hardy-tree-in.html?view=classic
I
featured in the Scottish poetry library Podcast in January, talking with Ryan
Van Winkle http://scottishpoetrylibrary.podomatic.com/entry/2013-01-07T00_00_00-08_00
& I
was interviewed by Sarah Dawson for the Poetry School http://campus.poetryschool.com/maintenant-interview-s-j-fowler/
with
Zuzana Husarova & Martin Solotruk for the European Poetry Forum http://poetryforum.arspoetica.sk/
with Tom
Jeffreys for the Learned Pig http://www.thelearnedpig.org/on-collaboration/544
with
Marek Kazmierski for Emigrating landscapes http://emigratinglandscapes.org/2013/06/12/emigrating-landscapes-interview-steven-fowler/
with
Jacob Silkstone for the Missing Slate http://blutkitt.blogspot.co.uk/2013/03/missing-slate-published-interview-with.html
My Maintenant series continued at www.3ammagazine.com, reaching a personal
high with the legendary Tadeusz Rozewicz http://www.maintenant.co.uk/
and Poetry International continued
to do a remarkable job republishing the older issues http://pionline.wordpress.com/category/maintenant/
I also interviewed the great American poet Will Alexander http://www.3ammagazine.com/3am/interview-will-alexander/
I
featured in the anthologies Dear World & Everyone in it http://www.bloodaxebooks.com/titlepage.asp?isbn=1852249498
Coin
Opera 2 http://www.drfulminare.com/coinoperaii.php
Stop/Sharpening/Your/Knives
5 http://www.eggboxpublishing.com/books/show/stop_sharpening_your_knives_5
the Will
Rowe celebration volume http://www.bbk.ac.uk/cprc/publications/veer-books
I completed a trilogy of conceptual / art performances about boxing,
called Pugilistica, at galleries in
London
666
blows, one break http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iNm2fBFcfFI
Apologia
to st.christopher http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ff5E-MfmiOw
& had
poetry in the journals: the Wolf http://wolfmagazine.co.uk/
Rattle
magazine http://rattlejournal.org.uk/issue-four/
Recours
au Poeme (French translations) http://www.recoursaupoeme.fr/po%C3%A8tes/sj-fowler
Kokoro
(Spanish translations) http://revistakokoro.com/incidentesfowler.html
Belleville
Park Pages http://www.bellevilleparkpages.com/
The
Bohemyth http://thebohemyth.com/2013/12/07/steven-j-fowler/
Shadowtrain
http://www.shadowtrain.com/id462.html
Turkish
Solidarity Park Project http://solidaritypark.wordpress.com/2013/06/08/they-will-have-dried-by-december/
amongst others
It was
also the year the great Anselm Hollo died http://www.3ammagazine.com/3am/anselm-hollo-1934-2013/
Stephen Watts saying farewell better than I ever could http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VYTaPcOz6yw
All in
all Enemies involved around 200 poets and artists from across the planet in 23
events, 5 exhibitions, 5 publications +. Thanks to the Jerwood Charitable
Foundation and Arts Council England, and everyone who made the year such a
memorable one. 2014 will be bigger and better yet, plans for this year upcoming
to follow.