Edinburgh, ay ay!!

1 day to go to the show and I'm off to the Royal Mile now to perform at the street stage.

Other Voices was brill.

I also got to see James McKay's late night rendition to a raucous crowd, who loved it; Sophia Blackwell's engaging After My Own Heart, as well as bits of Rob Auton's show. All in all a really lovely start. (If that means nothing to you, just nod and say that sounds marvellous - I have a slow connection and have to be somewhere fast, so not gonna link them right now)

Ok, onwards!

...from my notes

25/8 - Added missing links and a couple paragraphs so it makes more sense! 

17/8 - Didn't post this before for a few reasons... mostly because these were my half-cooked thoughts I jotted down on scrap paper... but here goes:

So, I read this piece by John Grisham a few days ago and it keeps playing on my mind. (Digested version: he went to investigate why his book’s been banned in Guantanamo and met one of the guys who’d requested it… He was touched by his story… Been there for 11 years – no official charge of course – but it looks quite likely he’s no terrorist… Even so, the guy hasn’t seen family since… and the likelihood of him standing trial for something…. Erm??)

The idea that I don’t know the full extent of some of these injustices makes me feel a little nauseous (bearing in mind that President Obama once saw the unjustness of Guantanamo when he promised to close it within a year – that was in 2008!)

I feel, even as a British citizen, that I’ve unwittingly signed into a system that allows routine detentions, torture, and God knows what else to take place; what angers me is that it's done at the same time we engorge ourselves on concepts such as “freedom” and “democracy”, as if we had some kind of monopoly on them.

All the more frustrating are the several conversations I've had with people going on about “Third World corruption” and/or who raise their eyebrows incredulously whenever someone suggests corruption and discrimination are rife here. No, this isn’t Egypt or Syria. There aren’t hundreds or thousands of people being killed here. I am – we are – able to criticise the government on Facebook, Twitter, on blogs, or however/wherever we want to… but that doesn’t mean abuses aren’t being carried out in our names; it usually means a lot of it is being exported abroad where people are less accountable.

It also means the main perpetrators of such abuse in “Western” countries are people who know they will never be held accountable (who really thought a manslaughter charge would be brought against the police, who have finally accepted some responsibility for Ian Tomlinson’s death?) If we continue to accept the final say of the police/government and their small offerings of (very rare) apologies and payouts whenever they get caught out, we lay ourselves open to further abuses. It's not just about the partners of journalists getting stopped at airports; it's about a system that knows it can manipulate laws for its own ends; it's about a system that can manipulate the public so that it's only informed about selected incidents while at the same time purporting transparency and freedom of information; a system that can manipulate the public so that, even when informed, it only cares about selected incidents.     

Grisham’s post also reminded me of the student forgotten in a cell and left without food or water for days. Great, he was compensated for it – but I can’t help wondering whether the story would have been different if he didn’t happen to be a student, if he did happen to have drugs in his system of a higher class than marijuana, if he (dare I say it) happened to be of another race? The fact is, we don’t hear about a lot of stories simply because certain people have no voice the authorities – and by this, I include the media as well as political institutions – do not give certain people a voice.

I won’t write much more on this now; I just wanted to share it, perhaps as a follow-on from my post a couple of days ago about writing something meaningful. 

EDINBURGH AY, WE HERE!!

So excited!

This is the plan for while I'm up at the Fringe:

TODAY, 16 - Other Voices, PBH Free Fringe 

I'll be doing a special guest slot. 2.50 @ The Banshee Labyrinth. It's going to be awesome.

TOMORROW, 17 - checking out one-off show at La Tasca, 4pm.

I'll post a proper link later, otherwise just come along - poets James McKay and Caleb Beissert doing a really cool reading.

**18-24 - Utter Presents! Identity Mix Up ** La Tasca, 4pm PBH's Free Fringe (come along... it's free!! And it's gonna be wicked!!)

19, 24 - Poetry Under the Hammer workshop 

More details to follow

23 - Guest at I'm Sorry I Haven't Haiku, PBH's Free Fringe (more details to come)

Random outside poetry slots, to be confirmed!

More things...

I've taken a few days' break in order to get ready for what's going to be an intense few weeks: taking Identity Mix-Up up to Edinburgh; coming back and teaching full-time at a new school; and preparing for a new term at university etc. 

Right now, the washing machine needs a final spin and I can pack for my trip tomorrow, all of my identity-related accessories in tow, including an £1.99 automatic pistol (Poundstretcher to the rescue!)

After the preview event last week Monday, it was a good time for some soul-searching; I felt I'd written some great poems for it and had a decent concept, but what do I want people to come away with, once I've finished the poems, cleared the space and hauled myself halfway across town to see some friend's show afterwards? 

(oh, and btw, I need to have words with Angry Sam - he's only gone and booked to perform at exactly the same time I am... what I've seen of his I've really enjoyed though, so if you can't stand six days of Keith Jarrett, go and see Life in Transit!*) 

 

Just as importantly, what do I want to come away with? I think I've found some meaning through the whole process of writing about my personal journey of finding an "identity"; I hope it's all entertaining too (hence the gun and the socks and the dodgy string vest - tell you about that later!) but I also think entertainment should have a point. 

Take Pete the Temp's post here, for instance. Rhythm and lyricism and everything are all good but, like a takeaway meal or an orgasm - the example he used - the side-effects are short-lived. I won't repeat everything he said - and he was talking more about how poets use metaphor and push language - but I'm finding that I have to put more of myself into my poems for me to like them these days. And that means a sizeable proportion of the poetry I wrote for the show doesn't show me in the most flattering light... But that's ok, I think.

...tbc...  

*There's also another half-dozen shows I'm planning to catch... including and not limited to James McKay's Popular Reciter, Sophia Walker's Around the World in Eight Mistakes and I'm Sorry I Haven't Haiku. 

IDENTITY MIX-UP: Just over a week to go (...and then I can talk about other things!)

The countdown continues: 8 days until Identity Mix-Up starts in Edinburgh.

I’m unable to update much as I’m travelling this week and mostly disconnected from the Internet (I know… shocking!) I’ll be back in London Town next week Tuesday and then up to Edinburgh on Thursday.

As it’s drawing closer, the excitement is building. On Monday, I previewed a slightly abridged version of Identity Mix-Up in Brixton’s Effra Social Club. The atmosphere was intimate: three pictures of Winston Churchill behind me with tea lights flickering close by as I read through it; a few chairs and two worn leather sofas with pull-out tables in front of me; and peopling them, some great poets, friends and former strangers who heard about the event and came along. I got some good feedback, which was nearly all positive; a couple of tricky parts needed a reshape and now they’ve got it. We’re (almost) ready!

I now need to gather together small, unrelated objects to go with the show: a small water gun, a pack of cards, a stopwatch and I’m good to go!

The actual show will be kicking off 4pm at La Tasca restaurant on the 18^th and, contrary to what the programme might say, it’s running straight through until the 24^th. Looking forward! 

IDENTITY MIX-UP PREVIEW

... It's on tonight!!! Aaaaghhh! Other poets as below plus Pete the Temp.

I'll let you know how goes and I'll also update on the last week or so, which has been awesome.

See you there if you can make it!

All details here: https://www.facebook.com/events/176129005900998/ 

COMING UP: SCRATCH SHOW IN BRIXTON ON MONDAY!

It's pretty exciting... after all this time, I've just realised I've never organised a poetry event of my own before; nor have I designed a poster. That it happens to be a scratch show of my Identity project - never before entrusted to an audience - makes it extremely nerve-wracking. But, once I'm done, I get to enjoy some of my favourite poets take to the mic in solidarity.

Among those confirmed are Angry Sam, who will also be previewing some of his Edinburgh show, Katie Bonna - an Edinburgh (and off-Broadway) veteran of the stage - plus E. Amato and Pete the Temp, both highly-skilled word artists who I have much respectation for (I'll link them later tonight). 

Meanwhile, I'm looking forward to going up to Edinburgh and seeing the other shows of fellow poets. Among my comrades in Utter! poetryship, Kirsten Luckins has already made her debut and adjustments in her scratch show, and gives some good insight on the power of feedback when testing out new material. Her show The Moon Cannot Be Stolen, goes up to Edinburgh on Saturday. I'll post details on James McKay and Lee Nelson, whose shows are also imminent!

Before we skip too much ahead, the next couple of days I'm excited about 3 gigs, all on my upcoming events tab. I'll be reading fiction this eve, revisiting an epic piece tomorrow and doing rap-themed poetry on Saturday alongside some excellent poetry performers. If you can, come along!