The National Gallery : January 19th

The first of a series of performances I'll be giving at National Gallery in 2024, following three events in 2023. A mix of ekphrastic poetry and art-lectures in miniature, this succinct gallery tour and collaboration with National Gallery guides also includes students from Kingston University. Please join us, free, on Friday January 19th at 7pm. 

https://www.nationalgallery.org.uk/events/friday-lates-tour-and-poetry-readings-sj-fowler-19-01-2024 

"For centuries, the artforms of painting and poetry have been in dialogue, each informing the other, or attempting to translate what makes them unique as their own media into another. Following a series of Friday Lates events last year, poet and performer SJ Fowler returns to the gallery to read new ekphrastic poems written about chosen paintings in our collection, offering alternative interpretations of their meaning, history and standing. Fowler is joined by Gallery Educator Fiona Alderton alongside invited guests from Writers’ Kingston, students and staff from Kingston University, as well as further afield, for a tour and poetry performances around the Gallery. Performers include Danica Ignacio, Monica Nathalal and David Spittle."

www.stevenjfowler.com/nationalgallery

A note on : Nora Lune films Live from Bern

Cool to have a second piece of footage, filmed by artist filmmaker Nora Lune, of my improvised performance in Bern at the end of 2023. The piece seemed to bring together a lot of what Ive been working on over the last few years in performance - talking quicker than thinking, talking as a kind of instrument, the limits of pure improvisation, found text from conversations, tangents and derivations, interactivity etc.

A note on : Budokuz issue 21 - map poems

https://www.buzdokuz.com/2021/11/buzdokuz-21-sayi/

really cool to have a new visual poem in the latest issue of turkish avant garde journal Budokuz

the poem featured is my ‘cartographic voynich’ using the voynich manuscript, which i refer to so often in my teaching, as a photobase.

this poem also features in my upcoming pamphlet with penteract press ‘crocodile tear waterfalls : selected uncollected visual poems 2011 to 2023

Published : A Seasons of Seasons, with Jules Sprake, from Sampson Low

A Seasons of Seasons

See below for more on the book and it’s first launch… buy it here for just five pounds https://sampsonlow.co/2023/12/12/a-seasons-of-seasons-sj-fowler-jules-sprake/

On the publication - A unique document in experimental poetry that celebrates the bone deep passion and pain football inflicts upon its followers. Written ostensibly to follow the turbulent 2022 / 2023 premier league season from the perspective of two lifelong fans of Crystal Palace and Everton respectively, A Seasons of Seasons then spirals out in the mass language ether of the world's most popular game. Unusual for it's methodology as well as its content, dragging in British poetry revival stalwarts alongside Pier Paolo Pasolini, Roy Hodgson and Sean Dyche, the book is a fusion of poetry, found text, collage, illustration, redaction and ground up collaboration. 

"Football, like poetry, is an artform that not so much encourages obsession as demands it. The back and forth between Fowler and Sprake perfectly captures this baroque particularity. Talking about football with a poet is usually like talking about tofu with a mountain lion: they know what it is, but they don’t see how it applies to them. So it’s a pleasure to read A Seasons of Seasons, a text, at last, for the intersection of the Venn diagram, perfect for a cold, wet Tuesday night in Stoke." Tom Jenks

A SEASONS OF SEASONS : LAUNCH 1
at Writers Kingston event #69 : Football and Literature event
Kingston University Town House - December Tuesday 12th 2023

The game of games, the great game, the beautiful ball game - a night of weird and heartfelt literary celebration! Writers of all kits shared poetry, fiction, non-fiction and performance on the world’s most popular sport, in all its facets, from the abstract to the obvious. With local and visiting writers alongside students and staff of Kingston University, this was a memorable night in the RIBA award winning Town House in Kingston. Featuring Jules Sprake and SJ Fowler / Tom Jenks / Peter Dunkley and Ian Brady / Matt Sokulsky / Marcia Knight Latter / Julia Rose Lewis / Safia Kamel. https://www.writerskingston.com/football/

A note on : The Best Typographic Moments of the Year - Guillaume!

Very cool https://lbbonline.com/news/lovely-letters-the-best-typographic-moments-of-the-year

We’re constantly surrounded by letters. And not just those that you’re reading right now or on the news, but ones that are beautifully crafted, carry character and wit, and are full of emotive storytelling. That’s right, letters can tell stories not only with what they’re telling us but with how they look… At Little Black Book, we are suckers for beautiful visual design, particularly when it comes to lettering. That’s why we decided to speak to typers and visual nerds from across the industry to find out more about the best and most eye-catching moments of the year.

A note on : Live from Bern, a talking poem

Entirely improvised, live and from scratch, a talking poem performance commissioned by, and performed at, the Bone Wort festival 2023 in Bern, Switzerland. Curated by Regina Durig. November 25th 2023. Photos by Anouk el Gabri.

A note on : a special Camarade

A very special night for me at the amazing Iklectik Artlab, which we will all miss terribly if it does indeed close in early 2024 as the landlords threaten it will. Save Iklectik https://www.iklectik.org/saveiklectik. 10 performances marked the night, one I will always remember. Nice pictures below with dear friends.

A note on : European Poetry Festival Camarade!

Huge crowd, unexpectedly so, nearly 100 people came to the see the interim collaborative camarade event for my festival, The European Poetry Festival, at Rich Mix in Bethnal Green, London. As ever before, the event had new works made by pairs of poets, many old hats, many new to it and my events. Some real highlights, and all documented on the event page here https://www.europeanpoetryfestival.com/wintercamarade

For my part I had the pleasure of working again with close friend and musician maestro Benedict Taylor. We have now a very accurate sympatico, being our 7th or 8th full scratch improvisation together in the last few years. It was a really neat 4 minutes i think.

A note on : Launching The Hyphen is a Dagger at St Bride

A very special night launching a letterpress rarity made by Pat Randle, Angie Butler and myself - The Hyphen is a Dagger, Guillaume IX troubadour crusader, and available now to buy here https://www.nomadletterpress.com/guillaume

This edition of 80 copies have been printed during 2023.
60 numbered copies have been covered using Fabriano paper and stitch-sewn.
20 further copies, marked I - XX, have been case-bound by Roger Grech.

St Bride is a venerable institution and it felt like the right place to launch such a special publication. The night began with performances by Jules Sprake and Simon Tyrrell before we screened a short film I made during the making of process of the publication. Then Angie, myself and Pat gave short talks followed by a conversation and a questions session, helped by Simon. The videos below show the talks and the chat, which all seemed to go really well.

What was emphasised here was the role printers and poets can play in synthesising their collaborations, and how vital friendship is to such a unique and demanding process. And the latter was why this was so nice, in this lovely venue, supporting by the St Bride staff, and watched online as well with their high tech streaming setup. Guillaume is out in the world now, and this night marked that.

A note on : The Aleph anthology

A truly unique anthology in parts from the mysterious and brilliant The Aleph.

I have in it a postcard of a meme poem taken from recently attracted reality influencers. A postcard meme poem with chris morris and al swearengen on it. Happy to be in this packet.

https://thealeph.limitedrun.com/products/748637-the-aleph-anthology-ii

Anthology includes; contents sheet, bookmark, 4x digital prints, 3x screen prints, 2x pamphlets, 1x letter & envelope, 1x journal, 1x screen printed cover/poster.

Edition of 100 (20 artist copies)

ALL PROFITS WILL BE DONATED TO MSF (https://msf.org.uk/

Gullfinger!

Gullfinger by SJ Fowler and Bård Torgersen from Hærverk Forlag

My latest collaborative collection has been published in Norway by Hærverk Forlag. A full colour limited edition poetry and photopoetry odyssey. It is my second work with Norwegian writer performer Bård Torgersen. The book was launched with a performance in Oslo, video below, a real 45 minute long juicy mess, like the book itself. Only 20 copies are for sale in the UK, all signed, available here! https://stevenjfowler.bigcartel.com/product/gullfinger 

A note on : Stony Thursday Book 2023 - collaboration with Zuzana Husarova

Superb to have a new collaboration in the latest edition of https://www.limerick.ie/ ‘s Stony Thursday Book publication, edited by Christodoulos Makris, one of the most interesting and active poets in Europe.

The work in the book is by Zuzana Husarova and I, entitled we haven’t performed. The poem was written for a recent performance at the european poetry festival at Iklectik Artlab, where the words, which we both felt emerged naturally and with some resonance, took a back seat to the nature of our performance. Hence we sought a home for it in print, and none better than in this book.

A note on : Seeing in Tongues, an anthology of visual poetry

James Knight, the brilliant poet and writer, has put together an extraordinary anthology of visual poetry from across the world. Released with his press Steel Incisors, it is entitled Seeing in Tongues, and is available here https://www.steelincisors.com/s/stories/seeing-in-tongues-an-anthology-of-visual-poetry

An anthology of contemporary visual poetry, representing the extraordinary richness and diversity of a particularly vibrant hybrid form. The 350-page book includes pieces made from physical materials, digitally constructed work, and hybrids of the two, and encompasses collage, cut-up, erasure, asemic writing, painting, photography, glitch, drawing, aleatory processes, and numerous other techniques.

Lots of friends have work in there including Susie Campbell, Theodoros Chiotis, Madelaine Culver, Emma Filtness, Sylee Gore, Victoria Kaye, Dan Power, Imogen Reid, Stephen Sunderland, Michael Sutton, Simon Tyrrell, Martin Wakefield & Bob Modem and many more.

My four pieces in the book are all versions of past works made new or unpublished before, and each is very different from the last.

A note on : Writers Kingston Poem Brut and Joby Pool

A huge poem brut performance literature event in Kingston, with 17 performances. All videos are up here https://www.writerskingston.com/#/poembrut23/ The event featured two sections,debut or early career poets and poets in the new steel incisors anthology Seeing in tongues. The former, many were my students, the latter many friends old and new. Some proper weird and wonderful stuff.

For my own part I performed with Joby Pool, a snow leopard, witnessing him with bouncy balls.

The Hyphen is a Dagger! Launch at St Bride Foundation

A rare new publication, made in a rare way. I'm delighted to announce the launch of The Hyphen is a Dagger; Guillaume XI Troubadour Crusader this November 22nd at 7pm, at the venerable St Bride Foundation in London.

Tickets here, both for in person and online attendance sbf.org.uk/whats-on/view/the-hyphen-is-a-dagger-poets-and-printers-in-collaboration/ 

Please come along for a unique night of performance, reading and discussion. The Hyphen is a Dagger is a product of a unique collaborative letterpress project between printers Pat Randle, Angie Butler and I. 60 numbered copies have been stitch-sewn & 20 marked I-XX case-bound by Roger Grech, available at the launch, and afterwards online. More on the book below...

"A distinctive, eccentric, playful work of literature, The Hyphen is a Dagger is a product of a unique collaborative project between printers and poets – Angie Butler, Pat Randle and SJ Fowler. This publication was made with the letterpress process as both constraint and guide, using wood-letter from the stores of the legendary Whittington Press in the heart of the Cotswolds. Working to vocabularies and sorts available to hand, the poems were written by Fowler to be then edited, whilst being set, across a series of collaborative on- press sessions over 2022 and 2023.

The poems themselves relate to the place of their making, centring around the real-life crusader Sir Richard de Croupes, whose tomb adjoins the press at St Bartholomew’s Church. Guillaume, the hero of the story, was the first recorded troubadour. The typefaces are from a unique collection sourced from the Cambridge University Press and date back to the golden age of letterpress printing. Most were manufactured by the Delittle Foundry in York and each face contained within this project is identified in the margin of the page. This publication is an outstanding example of what is possible when writers and printers work together with simultaneous purpose; unlocking the creative potential of contemporary prose within the confines of letterpress printing."

A note on : Performing at BONE festival in Bern this month

https://2023.boneperformance.com/programm/sj-fowler/ hastag englisch! an amazing festival in switzerland curated with huge energy be regina durig. im exciting to perform there and am on saturday november 25th at 20.30 in Bern at PROZESS, the venue

they did quite a lovely number on my pic

and a below podcast I did with Regina for the fest

And my bio in German, quite nice,

Bitte nach unten scrollen für einfache Sprache. - SJ Fowler ist Schriftsteller, Dichter und Performer und lebt in London. In seiner Arbeit widmet er sich Dichtung und Literatur in allen Facetten – textlich, visuell, asemisch, konkret, klanglich, kollaborativ, performativ und improvisiert. Sein Werk umfasst 50 Veröffentlichungen und 200 Performances in über 40 Ländern, darüber hinaus kuratiert und organisiert er Literaturfestivals, macht Auftragsarbeiten, Kooperationen und mehr. SJ Fowler leitet das Writers’ Centre Kingston an der Kingston University und das European Poetry Festival (UK).

Zu seinen jüngsten Veröffentlichungen gehören «How Do You In Devon» (Moormaid Press, 2023), «Bab’s London Adventures» (8ox publishing, 2023) und die Novelle «MUEM» (Tenement Press, 2022). Im Sommer 2023 hat er für die National Gallery (London, UK) Gedichte zu Gemälden verfasst, die er während drei Nacht-Veranstaltungen mit den Museumsaufsichten improvisiert aufgeführt hat.

Beim BONE W ORT wird Steve eine Poetry Performance machen, ein Format, das er so beschreibt: «Ein Spiel mit dem Potenzial von Live-Literatur – mit Raum, Stimme, Interaktion, Körperlichkeit – vor Ort, mit einem Publikum. Oft improvisiert, aber durch und durch poetisch.»

#Dichtung #Spielfreude #Improvisation #Englisch

A note on : Table at the Small Publishers Fair and sharing The Hyphen is a Dagger

I had a brilliant few days running a table of my books at the Small Publishers Fair 2023. It is always really so friendly, inspiring, generous. I met so many interesting new people and caught up with dozens of friends. And many friends helped me on my stall too, huge thanks to them Simon Tyrrell, Lisa Blackwell, Jules Sprake, Bob T Bright, Ailsa Holland, Bev Frydman, Patrick Cosgrove. Thanks to my collaborators that made it so special too Dominic Jaeckle, Pat Randle and many others. And to those who run the fair, long may it continue.

Three new publications were launched, which included a very special letterpress edition made with Pat Randle and Angie Butler. We shared it, Pat and I, at an event as part of the library reading program, and can be watched here. We discussed the unique process, then read the poems, then fielded some questions.