A note on: Summer performances 2016 - Poland, Holland, Serbia, Georgia & more

Summer performances from Miłosz Festival (Poland), Tbilisi Literature Festival (Georgia), Krokodil Festival (Serbia), Poetry International on Vlieland (Holland), South West Poetry Tour, Parasol Unit, CapLet and European Poetry Night (UK). www.stevenjfowler.com

Praxis at Parasol Unit, London. A new collaborative performance with Maja Jantar, on an evening curated by Simon Pomery and Lala Thorpe. 

South West Poetry Tour: A collaborative poetry tour of Cornwall, Devon and Somerset. New readings and performances with JR Carpenter, John Hall, Matti Spence, Annabel Banks and Camilla Nelson www.stevenjfowler.com/southwest/

Tbilisi International Literature Festival, Georgia: brand new reading and performance collaborations with Luke Kennard, Eley Williams, Zaza Koshkadze and Lia Liqokeli. Curated by Davit Gabunia www.stevenjfowler.com/georgia

My Century / Mój wiek' at the Miłosz Festival, Krakow: a new UNESCO City of Literature Krakow commissioned performance with Tom Jenks and Weronika Lewandowska. Curated by Justyna Jochym. www.stevenjfowler.com/krakow

Krokodil Festival, Museum of Yugoslav History, Belgrade: 8th edition of the Krokodil Festival in Serbia hosted CROWD literature's Omnibus project. www.stevenjfowler.com/belgrade

Poetry International at Stortemelk, Vlieland Holland: Reading of new poems, translated by Tsead Bruinja, hosted by Tsead and Bas Kwakman.
www.stevenjfowler.com/vlieland

CapLet, London: A new performance with Prudence Chamberlain, launching the collaborative poetry collection, House of House. CapLet reading series is curated by Jonathan Mann www.stevenjfowler.com/houseofmouse

European Poetry Night: part of European Literature Festival in 2016, a new collaborative performance with Ásta Fanney Sigurðardóttir www.theenemiesproject.com/epn

A note on: footage from Milosz festival with Tom Jenks & Weronika Lewandowska

Beautiful to have this footage from a great collaboration in Krakow this past June. Performance art, video art, poetry, theatre, it was a grand pleasure making the work with Tom and Weronika. For more info www.stevenjfowler.com/krakow

A note on: Summer performances in Europe 2016 - a tour of sorts

I am really lucky to have the chance to visit various European nations across May and June through a series of festivals and commissions. By chance, they've aligned around each other and allowed me good time to travel between countries and make a tour of it. More details on the below soon.

May 16th to 23rd – Tbilisi: Mtrebi: a Georgian Enemies project as part of the 2nd International Tbilisi literature festival with Eley Williams, Luke Kennard & co

May 27th – Istanbul: a reading at the DamDayiz Cultural centre with Efe Duyan & others

May 29th – Venice: a reading with Alessandro Burbank, Alessandro Mistrorigo & others

June 10th to 14th – Krakow: a commissioned collaborative performance from UNESCO City of Literature for the Milosz Festival with Tom Jenks, Weronika Lewandowska & Leszek Onak, responding to Aleksandr Wat's 'My Century'

June 16th to 18th – Graz: Forumstadtpark Conference curated by Max Hofler on poetry & politics

June 18th to 24th – Omnibus Tour through Austria, Slovenia, Croatia

June 25th - Belgrade: Krokodil Festival 

A note on: upcoming in 2016

Thanks to everyone who has made 2015 so special, a few highlights, upcoming, for 2016

The final a World without Words event takes place January 9th at Apiary Studios featuring a host of neuroscientists and artists.

I'll be on BBC Radio 3's The Verb with a new commission responding to the Hearing the Voice project in January. 

Ovinir - The Enemies Project: Iceland, includes a big Camarade reading in Reykjavik where I'll be collaborating with Valgerður Þóroddsdóttir, supported by Reykjavik UNESCO city of literature. Then a reading in London, on January 30th, with over 30 poets, where I'll be presenting a new work with Ásta Fanney Sigurðardóttir

February sees a reading in Buenos Aires, hosted by El tercer lugar, curated by flavia pitella, thanks to the British Council.

The Soundings project will continue with 7 new collaborative performances including works with Tamarin Norwood (February), Sharon Gal (March), Patrick Coyle (April), Phil Minton (June), all responding to prompts from Wellcome Librarians.

I'll be attending the StAnza festival on the weekend of March 5th, speaking at an event on the body and poetry, responding to a film about bp nichol and leading a workshop / curating a Camarade collaborative event.

I'll be curating the English PEN Modern Literature Festival over one day on April 2nd, featuring 50 writers writing new works responding to some of PEN's writers at risk cases. Free to attend, but signing up for membership encouraged!

Very happy to be attending the Tbilisi International Festival of Literature in May 2016, thanks to the British Council, Writers Centre Norwich and the International Literature Fund, beginning a Georgian Enemies project: Mtrebi, which will return to the UK in July, where it'll visit the Ledbury Poetry Festival and the Rich Mix in London.

I'll be curating a Camarade for the Essex Book Festival on March Sunday 20th and I'll be curating further innovative Camarade events, including the University Camarade, on April 23rd, where students from five different creative writing departments (including my own at Kingston) create new collaborations across institutions.

Alongside both Croatian & British collaborators I'll be attending Vicenza's ArtBox reading series in May, curated by Marco Fazzini.

I'll be attending the Milosz Festival in Krakow in June, writing new collaborations with Polish poets / artists, thanks to UNESCO Krakow City of Literature, The British Council & co.

The Kakania project will return with readings in Berlin and London, from February to September 2016, all featuring new commissions of poets and artists responding to figures from Habsburg Vienna.

I'm happy to be part of the ambitious CROWD project, which crosses Europe next summer, travelling from Finland to Cyprus, over many months, with lots of interchanging poets on a bus. I'm doing Graz to Belgrade in June 2016.

Lots more publications, events and projects to be announced next year.

the Enemies Project: Spring Programme 2015

I’m happy to present the new Enemies project website in time to announce our full Spring program. The website explains our previous programs and future plans in some depth, and stands as a resource of documentation for all the work the 400 poets and artists have put into the project so far. Please have a look and share the word.

www.theenemiesproject.com

You can also follow the project on Twitter @enemiesproject 

As well as the previously mentioned Wrogowie: a Polish Enemies project  & a Cemetery Romance, both free to attend and taking place on March Saturday 28th, here are our events up to the summer.

Enemigos: a Mexican Enemies project www.theenemiesproject.com/enemigos 

April Tues 14th : 7.30pm : Rich Mix Arts Centre: Main Space : Free Entry

in partnership with the British Council, the London Book Fair & Conaculta

New collaborations from Rocio Ceron & Holly Pester, Nell Leyshon & Carmen Buellosa, Adriana Diaz Enciso & Fabian Peake, and Amanda de la Garza & I. Also the launch of the long awaited Enemigos anthology.

Co-curated by Rocio Ceron.

Feinde: an Austrian Enemies project www.theenemiesproject.com/feinde

in partnership with the Austrian Cultural Forum

May Friday 8th : 7.30pm : Rich Mix Arts Centre: Main Space : Free Entry

New collaborations from Jörg Piringer & I, Max Höfler & Robert Herbert McClean, James Wilkes & Esther Strauss. Also featuring Ann Cotton, Tim Atkins & Jeff Hilson Philip Terry & James Davies, Purdey Lord Kreiden & more. 

May Tuesday 12th : 7.30pm: Austrian Cultural Forum

Solo readings from Ann Cotton, Rebecca Perry, Jen Calleja & more. 

The Feinde exhibition – May 1st to 14th at the Hardy Tree Gallery

An exhibition of contemporary European concrete &  visual poetry, celebrating the contribution of Austria to this tradition, among others. New works from Anatol Knotek, Victoria Bean & others. There will be a special view and reading held on May Sunday 10th at the Hardy Tree Gallery, free entry, from 7.30pm.

European Literature Night: Edinburgh www.theenemiesproject.com/eln

in partnership with UNESCO, Edinburgh City of Literature, Caesura & others.

May Thursday 14th: multiple venues, 6pm then 8.30pm : Free Entry for all 

4 simultaneous events with solo performances from poets travelling across Europe culminate in a massive 24 poet collaborative camarade event in the city of Edinburgh. Featuring Mariusz Pisarski, Valgerður Þórodds, Eduard Escoffet, Martin Bakero, J.Johanneson Gaitan & many others.

Co-curated by Ryan Van Winkle, Graeme Smith, Iain Morrison & Colin Herd.

Gelynion: a Welsh Enemies project www.theenemiesproject.com/gelynion

in partnership with Arts Council Wales, Poetry Wales and the Hay-on-Wye festival

Enemies Cymru: Six poets – Nia Davies, Joe Dunthorne, Zoë Skoulding, Eurig Salisbury, Rhys Trimble & I - touring new collaborations across Wales drawing in poets for Camarade events in each location. Beginning in Newport on May 19th, Gelynion visits Cardiff, Swansea, Aberystwyth, Bangor before a culminating premiere performance at the Hay-on-Wye festival on May 29th. Then the project will close for 2015 with a reading at the Rich Mix in London on June 5th. 

Co-curated by Nia Davies.

Mahu: an exhibition www.theenemiesproject.com/mahu

June 6th to 27th at the Hardy Tree Gallery, Kings Cross, London.

An exhibition exploring asemic live writing where an entire novel will be inscribed onto the walls of the gallery only to be erased when the exhibition finishes. Ten events over three weeks features events celebrating presses (Test Centre, Influx, Blart, If p then q), poets (Tom Raworth, Tomaz Salamun) and collaborative practise.

a Berlin Camarade www.theenemiesproject.com/berlin

June Tuesday 23rd: at Lettretage in Kreuzberg 7.30pm : Free Entry

in partnership with Lettretage & Kookbooks.

Drawing on vast and brilliant vanguard poetry community of Berlin, this Camarade event, taking place during the Berlin poetry festival, will feature new collaborative work in multiple languages from some of the most exciting poets in Europe.

Featuring Max Czollek, Ernesto Estrella, Tom Breseman, Alexander Filyuta, Daniella Seer, Cia Rinne, Uljana Wolf, Monika Rinck, Alexander Gumz, Christoph Szalay, Eugene Ostashevsky, Georg Leß & more.

More information forthcoming about each project as it arrives and our equally exciting summer and winter program for the year. www.theenemiesproject.com

Wrogowie: a Polish Enemies project - March 28th

Wrogowie: a Polish Enemies project   www.theenemiesproject.com/wrogowie

March Sat 28th :7.30pm : Rich Mix Arts Centre: Venue 2 : Free Entry
in partnership with the Polish Cultural Institute http://www.polishculture.org.uk/

Celebrating the great modern tradition of Polish & British experimental poetry alongside innovative collaborative practise, this will be an exchange between the increasingly familial nations of Poland and England featuring 16 of the most dynamic poets from those nations. This event will see brand new collaborations between the pairs of poets, asked to work together for the first time, specifically for this event at the Rich Mix Arts Centre.

Elzbieta Wójcik-Leese & Scott Thurston
Wojciech Bonowicz & James Davies
Malgorzata Lebda & Tom Jenks
Milosz Biedrzycki & I
Marek Kazmierski & Stephen Watts
Kamila Pawluś & Lila Matsumoto
Tomasz Mielcarek & Marcus Slease
Tasimbaradzwa Kanyangarara & Nik Way

Wrogowie year two is co-curated by Elzbieta Wójcik-Leese

Wrogowie: Polish Enemies

"It had all the marks of a successful literary event: originality, variety, contrasts, even controversies..." So said one of the fine Polish poets who graced the rich mix with his poetry this saturday passed. I wasn't there for the last part, but the rest, I witnessed, and happily, considering it was lashing down outside, and in filthy weather, the event all the more of a success as an incubator for good will and really considered collaborations. I don't want to write too much about it, but the legacy of Polish poetry in the 20th is so immense, with such validated gravitas, that often working with the poets of the country brings out the worst in the formal (powerful) v. avant garde (flippant) myth. This wasnt the case saturday, these divisions didnt seem obvious, or present, or necessary, and so I judge the proceedings to be a success. My work with Piotr too was a great pleasure to write and to read. He is a really gentle soul, an erudite man, seemingly as emotionally wise as he is in his writing. Such a benefit to me to create this exchange with him, lifted from found texts in philosophy as well as new writing, all about the lost margins of our possible perception of death and transition. Suitably cheery. 

Amy Cutler & Ula Chowaniec http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J6LdC442EKk

Angus Sinclair & Laura Elliott http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UrH3G34BQ_M

Francesca Listette & Joanna Rzadowska http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZukpdL6Cxk0

Philip Terry & Adam Zdrodowski http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OHzymaGAgPQ

Marcus Slease & Grzegorz Wroblewski http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7yuRzUnOYXk

Wrogowie - Feb sat 8th at the Rich Mix, London

Wrogowie: February Sat 8th at the Rich Mix Arts Centre:

7pm doors. Free entry.

http://www.richmix.org.uk/whats-on/event/wrogowie-the-enemies-project-polish-poetry/

http://www.polishculture.org.uk/literature/events/news/article/wrogowie-the-enemies-project-2244.html

Marcus Slease & Grzegorz Wróblewski

Joanna Rzadowska & Francesca Lisette

Ula Chowaniec & Amy Cutler

Piotr Gwiazda & SJ Fowler

Adam Zdrodowski & Philip Terry

+ Laura Elliott & Angus Sinclair

This saturday evening, the Enemies project presents Wrogowie: 5 pairs of poets from Poland & the UK premiering original collaborations, and beginning a year long engagement between contemporary Polish poets & their British peers in collaboration & translation. Featuring Polish poets travelling from America, Denmark and of course, Poland, this should be an exciting beginning to our focus on European poetry during the second year of Enemies. Wrogowie is co-curated by Marcus Slease and generously supported by the Polish Cultural Institute http://www.polishculture.org.uk/ & UCL SSEES http://www.ucl.ac.uk/ssees

& on the afternoon preceding, Friday Feb 7^th at 5pm, another extraordinary event will take place to celebrate Wrogowie as part of the Emigrating Landscape program, curated by Ula Chowaniec. http://emigratinglandscapes.org/events/grzegorz_wroblewski

The event will feature a poetry reading and discussion with Grzegorz Wróblewski, about Kopenhaga, the first comprehensive collection of prose poetry by Grzegorz, one of Poland’s leading contemporary avant garde writers, and his translators, Piotr Gwiazda and Adam Zdrodowski, in the 4th floor Masaryk Senior Common Room, UCL School of Slavonic and East European Studies, 16 Taviton Street, London WC1H 0BW. Not to be missed.

maintenant #97 – tadeusz różewicz

A poet who changed the face of twentieth century poetry, Tadeusz Różewicz is a giant of Polish literature and undoubtedly one of the most important poets the country has ever produced. Still writing in his 91st year, his lifetime engagement with groundbreaking poetry, fiction and plays has spanned, and often encapsulated, the seismic tumult of the past century in his home nation. His poetic is the rarest of things, an anti-art that resides still within the realm of the explicable, and the ethical, striding between the utterly personal and the political – often brutal in its beauty and intensity, it is an aesthetic that is wholly his own, unique and unwavering. His first poems were published in 1938, before he served in the Polish underground home army in WWII. His brother, Janusz, also a poet, was executed by the Gestapo. This desolate chapter in our collective European history produced few artists and writers able to even begin to make sense of such destruction, but the eruption of poetry and dramaturgy that followed the war experiences of Tadeusz Różewicz has set him aside as one of the most respected innovators and stylists in modern European history. In the decades since the war he has continued to produce extraordinary literature, winning the Nike prize, the Griffin prize and the European literature prize, and now, on the eve of a brand new translation, into English, of his work ‘Mother Departs‘ by Stork Press, we are proud to elevate the Maintenant series with the inclusion of Tadeusz Różewicz, our 97th poet.

http://www.3ammagazine.com/3am/maintenant-97-tadeusz-rozewicz/

Far and away this is the edition of Maintenant I am most proud of, Różewicz's work being so fundamental in the beginnings of my own. I want to thank and acknowledge the tireless work of Joanna Zgadzaj for making this interview possible, and draw attention to the extraordinary celebration of Różewicz's work and life that happened last Saturday evening at the Southbank centre, as part of their literature festival, and for the launch of the brand new translation mentioned above. Here is a podcast the Polish institute produced about the event I was so sad to miss, being in Norwich, finishing off the EVP tour