Published : Great Apes in Prototype Anthology III

Very happy to be featured in the “The third instalment of Prototype’s annual anthology: a space for new work, open to all and free from formal guidelines or restrictions. Poetry, prose, visual work and experiments in between.” My work is an excerpt from THE GREAT APES, a long poem in five parts that was written a few years ago and is awaiting publication as a book. It’s a work I’m excited to share, and this excerpt also features an original illustration by me I made for the issue. Always lovely to work with editor Jess Chandler. https://prototypepublishing.co.uk/product/prototype-3/

Published : Virtual Oasis, an AI anthology from Trickhouse Press

Very good yes to have a poem in a new anthology from Trickhouse Press, edited by Dan Power, who are publishing my new visual poetry brut book Sticker Poems soon in 2021. The anthology is entitled VIRTUAL OASIS and “is a collaboration between human writers and AI artists, a dream shared between machines both fleshy and fibre-optic. This anthology contains 23 original poems responding to automatically generated images.” Some brilliant people within, such as James Knight, Matthew Haigh, Robin Boothroyd, Sam Riviere, and Vik Shirley. Buy one here https://www.trickhousepress.com/product/virtual-oasis-/5?cs=true&cst=custom

Published : Anthology, Arrival at Elsewhere

https://againstthegrainpoetrypress.wordpress.com/arrival-at-elsewhere

“In this book-length poem, curated by Carl Griffin, poets from across the world speak in one voice in response to 2020’s life-changing pandemic. Not a definitive voice, nor an authoritative one. But a contrasting, contradicting, confused voice, set both in the UK and everywhere else, represented by one narrator who, just like the rest of us, is made up of a hundred different people. A narrator cohesive only in his/her/their contemplation of Elsewhere. Elsewhere has arrived…to everyone affected by the Covid-19 pandemic – in aid of NHS Charities Together

THE POETS - Indran Amirthanayagam, Penny Boxall, Martyn Crucefix, SJ Fowler, Linda France, John Glenday, Rebecca Goss, Philip Gross, Rachel Hadas, Matthew Haigh, Sarah Hymas, Yusef Komunyakaa, Lorraine Mariner, Chris McCabe, Richie McCaffery, Michael McKimm, Jessica Mookherjee, Abegail Morley, Katrina Naomi, Sean O’Brien, Alasdair Paterson, Jeremy Reed, Eléna Rivera, Chrys Salt, Maria Sledmere, Julian Stannard, Alina Stefanescu, Arundhathi Subramaniam, Hideko Sueoka, George Szirtes, Helen Tookey, Bogusia Wardein and many many more

PUBLISHER NOTE - When the idea for this book was pitched to us it was still fairly early in the global Covid-19 pandemic. We were all still probably in a state of shock. All locked down, uncertain what was happening – we certainly felt we had landed in a new place. All three of us, like many poets, were unsure how to creatively assess this new situation. That’s why we wanted to support this book. A collaboration of sorts, a creation of a road through all the work of poets who contributed to its making and a maker who has sensitively crafted this winding path of a poem from all our tongues. We are happy to support this work and its intention to support the NHS. Abegail Morley, Karen Dennison and Jessica Mookherjee

A note on : on EUROPOE by Andrew Hopkins

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It natural to feel many of things one has done have been somewhat overlooked, but in the case of EUROPOE - an anthology of contemporary European poetry I edited in 2019 stevenjfowler.com/europoe - that is mostly my fault. It was intended as a compliment to my festival europeanpoetryfestival.com and not a comprehensive document in anyway. But it ended up being pretty ambitious, really bringing together a vast array of poets and poetries, from language to conceptual, visual, asemic and more. I feel quite proud of it, but putting it out very limited edition with Kingston University Press, who don’t really trade beyond the academic regions, was setting myself up for overlookedness. The poets in it seemed happy though. A few copies went out recently and one of the recipients was the excellent Cumbrian-based poet Andrew Hopkins, who wrote a really considered / considerable response or review, which is worth and a read and can be found andyhopkinspoet.wordpress.com/2020/07/08/europoe/

A note on: Wretched Strangers anthology

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JT Welsch and Ágnes Lehóczky have assembled an anthology to mark the vital contribution of non-UK-born writers to this country’s poetry culture. Wretched Strangers brings together innovative writing from around the globe, celebrating the irreducible diversity such work brings to ‘British’ poetry. While documenting the challenges faced by writers from elsewhere, these pieces offer hopeful re-conceptions of ‘shared foreignness’.

The book is published by Boiler House Press to commemorate the anniversary of the June 2016 EU Referendum and in solidarity through struggles ongoing and to come. Proceeds will be donated to charities fighting for the rights of refugees.

https://www.boilerhouse.press/product-page/wretched-strangers

My poem in this anthology is taken from my new book The Wrestlers, entitled Loneliness wrestles Xmas.

Published: The Austrian Illuminations Anthology is in the world

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The Austrian Cultural Forum and the design agency Polimekanos have done an extraordinary job bringing together 20 separate artists work drawn from the first three events of the Illuminations series. What really makes the book so brilliant is its beautiful design, its produced to such a high quality and the variation of work within. There's poetry, fiction, non-fiction, photography, visual art, conceptual -- all aligned, feeling cohesive and complimentary. It's a book I'm proud to have edited.

"Bringing to light the work of writers fundamental to the unique Austrian contribution to world literature in the post-war era, Illuminations presented three events in 2017, in London, with over 20 artists. By commissioning truly contemporary and avant-garde writers, poets, filmmakers, performers and artists, asking each make new work responding to the oeuvre or life of the celebrated figure in question – Elfriede Jelinek, Erich Fried, Peter Handke – the aim was to transpose the brilliance of the original into a new moment. One that would stimulate as well as illuminate. 

This anthology brings together those new commissions made for the project, from some of Europe’s most exciting artists. It transposes many live works onto the page, and is full of the originality and resonance of the project as a whole. New fiction, poetry, visual and conceptual art, translations, photography and drawing makes up this unique volume, the 17th edition of the Occasions series for the Austrian Cultural Forum in London."

A note on: Austrian Illuminations Anthology (launch May 10th)

Austrian Illuminations Launch - May 10th at 7pm

Free Entry but booking suggested www.acflondon.org/events/austrian-illuminations/
Austrian Cultural Forum London - 28 Rutland Gate, Knightsbridge, London SW7 1PQ, UK

Bringing together over 15 new literary artworks made by the artists and writers commissioned for Illuminations events celebrating Elfriede Jelinek, Erich Fried and Peter Handke, this beautifully designed limited-edition anthology will be launched in London with readings and performances from contributors. The anthology is issue 17 in the ACF's remarkable Occasions series, a publication project celebrating the groundbreaking work they do, and was designed by www.polimekanos.com in London.

Featuring live works by David Rickard, Iris Colomb, David Fried, Joshua Alexander, SJ Fowler and more. http://www.theenemiesproject.com/illuminations

Published: Atlantic Drift anthology now available

ed. James Byrne and Robert Sheppard Part of our Arc International Poets series
Atlantic Drift publishes twenty-four poets from the UK, Ireland, USA and Canada in an exciting partnership between Arc Publications and Edge Hill University Press. This anthology seeks to highlight new and existing writing and to define/redefine the discussions between poets from both sides of 'the pond'. By developing a dialogue between English-speaking traditions, Atlantic Drift will include some of the most exceptional poetry and poetics written in the twenty-first century, featuring Claudia Rankine, Jerome Rothenberg, Rosmarie Waldrop, Charles Bernstein, Bhanu Kapil and Allen Fisher. Edited by James Byrne and Robert Sheppard.

A note on: Atlantic Drift page on Edge Hill site

Really a grand anthology to be part of, so many poets included are quite beyond me, I am in every way the runt. It's been brilliantly fashioned by Arc publishing and the good folk at Edge Hill Uni, and they've thrown up a page about me

https://www.edgehill.ac.uk/university-press/steven-fowler/ 

It includes this interview, shot specifically for the project in Liverpool while I was there for Camarade'ing.

A note on: Atlantic Drift anthology

Special to be in this new anthology - "Atlantic Drift publishes twenty-four poets from the UK, Ireland, USA and Canada in an exciting partnership between Arc Publications and Edge Hill University Press. This anthology seeks to highlight new and existing writing and to define/redefine the discussions between poets from both sides of 'the pond'. By developing a dialogue between English-speaking traditions, Atlantic Drift will include some of the most exceptional poetry and poetics written in the twenty-first century"  https://www.edgehill.ac.uk/university-press/poetsreveal/

A note on: Launching Capitals anthology at SOAS, London

A pleasure to read at SOAS in Bloomsbury for the first time to celebrate the launch of Capitals, edited by Abhay K, a poet and diplomat from Delhi who came all the way from India to share the book. I had the pleasure of reading alongside friends like George Szirtes and meeting folk Ive corresponded with but never met before. A lovely evening and the book is remarkable, a poet for each capital city in the world! I wrote on Freetown, having visited Sierra Leone in the past. http://www.bloomsbury.com/in/capitals-9789386141118/

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Published: a poem in Capitals: an anthology from Bloomsbury

"CAPITALS has been published by Bloomsbury books, edited by Abhay K. One of its kind, CAPITALS has poems on 185 Capitals cities contributed by 173 poets from all continents. You can see the complete list of contributing poets at http://www.abhayk.com/p/global-poetry-project.html . It is a sort of Poetry Atlas for the capital cities of the World."

My poem in the anthology is on Free Town in Sierra Leone. The anthology will be launched in London on 1st February at B111 at SOAS, Brunei Gallery at 5 pm. SOAS, University of London. http://www.amazon.in/Capitals-Poetry-Anthology-Abhay-K/dp/9386141116

A note on: The Long White Thread - poems for John Berger

Delighted to have a new poem, dedicated to the man himself, in this new anthology released for John Berger's 90th birthday by Smokestack Books. http://smokestack-books.co.uk/book.php?book=124

"Novelist, draughtsman, film-maker, essayist and critic – John Berger is one of the major European intellectuals of our time. Since the 1950s he has been challenging the way we see the world and how we think about it in books like Ways of Seeing, Permanent Red, To the Wedding, A Painter of Our Time, Pig Earth, Once in Europa, Lilac and Flag, A Seventh Man, Pages of the Wound and From A to X. In 1972 he won the James Tait Black Memorial Prize and the Booker Prize for his novel G. In 2009 he was awarded the Golden PEN award by London PEN for a lifetime’s contribution to literature. His Collected Poems was published in 2014. The Long White Thread of Words is a celebration of John Berger’s ninetieth birthday by poets from all over the world. Edited by Amarjit Chandan, Gareth Evans and Yasmin Gunarat nam, it features poets from Australia, Bulgaria, Canada, China, Cuba, France, Greece, India, Indonesia, Iraq, Italy, Kenya, Macedonia, Nigeria, Palestine, Spain, Turkey, the USA and the UK"

The bear stands upon its hind legs - SJ Fowler

Metaphor is needed. Metaphor is temporary. It does not replace theory.
            John Berger A Seventh Man

Doubt is the product of a book.

At this point in the film, not believing he’d done it, the interviewer asks the executive whether the project will harm people? Everything in the wrong dose will harm people is the reply....

Published: Birdbook: Saltwater and Shore anthology from Sidekick Books

I'm very pleased to have two poems (on the razorbill and the snow bunting) in the latest Birdbook from Sidekick Books, entitled Saltwater and Shore, edited by Kirsten Irving and Jon Stone (£12.00 + postage, September 2016, 140pp) 
http://www.sidekickbooks.com/birdbookiv.php

Saltwater and Shore is the final volume of Sidekick’s wildly ambitious Birdbook series – a collaborative alternative ornothopedia where every species gets equal billing. This time we find ourselves flung beyond the limits of the island, before being gathered in again at its outcrops, outposts, briny mouths and sandy fringes, where well-established stars like the puffin jostle with the lesser-known knot, scaup and razorbill, the whimbrel, spoonbill and turnstone. It’s a bustling, polyphonic cliffside colony of a book, a multitude of individual voices and dynamic images poised to spill into the air and take flight in the willing imagination.

Featuring poems by friends including Annabel Banks, Vahni Capildeo, Holly Corfield Carr, Rishi Dastadar, Sasha Dugdale, Harry Giles, Kirsten Irving, Jon Stone, David Tait, Kate Wakeling

my poem in the New Concrete anthology

The most beautiful anthology I've been a part of, my poem is rendered wonderfully in this major achievement, summing up the best of 21st century concrete poetry. You can buy the book here http://shop.southbankcentre.co.uk/the-new-concrete-visual-poetry-in-the-21st-century.html & it'll be launched here http://www.whitechapelgallery.org/events/new-concrete/

The New Concrete anthology: launch at the Whitechapel Gallery - July 25th

This is the most significant anthology of concrete poetry of my generation. I'm delighted to be included, and alongside many friends / peers - Antonio Claudio Carvalho,  Marco Giovenale, Tom Jenks, Sarah Kelly, John Kinsella, Anatol Knotek, Márton Koppány, nick-e melville, and Jörg Piringer  & legends like Vito Acconci, Augusto de Campos, Henri Chopin, Bob Cobbing, Ian Hamilton Finlay https://thenewconcrete.wordpress.com/about

"The New Concrete is a major new anthology of visual poetry edited by Victoria Bean and Chris McCabe and published by Hayward Publishing (July 2015). The book represents visual poetry published from 2000 to the present day and suggests ways in which the original concrete movement of the 1950s and ’60s has been built upon, developed and redefined by subsequent generations of poets and artists." You can buy it here http://shop.southbankcentre.co.uk/the-new-concrete-visual-poetry-in-the-21st-century.html

The anthology will be launched in a full whack 5 hours programme at the whitechapel gallery on July 25th http://www.whitechapelgallery.org/events/new-concrete/ I'll be performing "Join us for an afternoon of film and live performance showcasing some of the most exciting work in this field. The event brings together some of the most celebrated poets and artists working at the intersection of visual art and poetry."

Reading at the launch of Coin Opera 2

I was very privileged to feature in the magical Coin Opera 2 anthology of video game poetry edited by Kirsty Irving and Jon Stone and their always beautifully rendered Sidekick books. Not only was the anthology full of great poets and poems but the whole enterprise felt fresh and valuable to me, this is what anthologies should be about, not a taxonomy but a commission, a chance for new work and collective community. I was even happier to get to read at the launch, held upstairs at the Four Quarters bar in Peckham, essentially the loft room of a fully functioning arcade. Pretty grand stuff. 

 Do buy the book here http://www.drfulminare.com/coinoperaii.php Here's my wee reading.