Bob Cobbing and Robert Sheppard: Blatent Blather and Virulent Whoops

As part of the interest generated by the tenth anniversary of Cobbing's death, I have been involved in a number of events.

Firstly, I have revived Blatent Blather/Virulent Whoops, my 2001 collaboration with Bob at a reading/performance at Flat Time Gallery in Peckham, London, on the afternoon (2-5) of Sunday 14th October, where Patricia Farrell and I performed it. Jennifer Cobbing, Anna Barham, Julika Gittner, Heather Phillipson also performed or displayed work. It was a great day. See more about Flat Time here.

Then THE OTHER ROOM presented BOB COBBING: A CELEBRATION with CLIVE FENCOTT, an ENSEMBLE PERFORMANCE OF ABC IN SOUND on Tuesday 23rd October 2012, 7pm at The Castle Hotel, Manchester M4 1LE. The video below is from that performance. See

www.otherroom.org

for further videos of the event.




The text may be read here.

[Both my collaborations with Bob are back in print. See Pages: COLLABORATIONS (Bob Cobbing - Robert Sheppard) published in a box by Veer - out now ]

The third event involves the co-editing of a special issue of the Journal of British and Irish Innovative Poetry. Out soon.

Allen Fisher Symposium

ALLEN FISHER SYMPOSIUM


NORTHUMBRIA UNIVERSITY, 23RD; 24TH NOVEMBER 2012

Allen Fisher Reading

23rd Nov 2012, 6pm

Gallery North, City Campus, Northumbria University

Poet and painter Allen Fisher read from his work as part of Northumbria University's Allen Fisher Symposium, reading a range of work old and new. Allen's performance was accompanied by short readings from Ira Lightman (empassioned song and dual-voiced poem) and Sophie Robinson (empassioned political verse).

Allen Fisher Symposium

24th Nov 2012, 10.30 to 5.30

Sutherland Building, City Campus, Northumbria University

Speakers included Peter Barry, Ian Davidson, Peter Garratt, Robert Hampson, Ira Lightman, Ann Matthews, Sophie Robinson, Robert Sheppard, Harriet Tarlo, Rhys Trimble. Papers were  followed by a Q&A/discussion with Allen Fisher, which included a moving account of Fisher's helpers and shapers.

I talked about his recent text Proposals. I concluded: 'In apprehending Proposals, the viewer and reader are one and the same and the formal complexity that results from imperfect fit requires the same readerly energies of a will towards coherence and logic evoked earlier that is formally undermined by the work.' (A version of the talk may be read here, and here is a piece on Fisher's poetics.)

Launch of The Alchemist's Mind 17 November (set list)

REALITY STREET will be at the Small Publishers Fair on Friday 16-Saturday 17 November in London. (You can spot publisher Ken Edwards talking to Tony Frazer on the picture below.)

It takes place at Conway Hall, Red Lion Square, London WC1R 4RL, from 11am-7pm each day.

On the Saturday at 4pm Reality Street will be launching WHITE by Sean Pemberton and THE ALCHEMIST'S MIND, edited by David Miller.

The readers will be Sean Pemberton, Giles Goodland, Johan de Wit, Robert Sheppard.

My contribution is the opening passage of my autrebiography The Given. You know: the one that begins, ‘I don’t remember…’ (All the autebiographies are available here.)

Both these books will be on sale at the launch price of £10 each (retail price subsequently £15 and £13.50). Reality Street Supporters will get them free.

THE ALCHEMIST'S MIND:

A book of narrative prose by poets

An anthology edited by David Miller in collaboration with Ken Edwards. Contributors are: Barbara Guest, Lee Harwood, Ian Robinson, Rosmarie Waldrop, Robert Sheppard, Bernadette Mayer, Paul Buck, Lyn Hejinian, M J Weller, Brian Marley, Johan de Wit, John Levy, Vahni Capildeo, Paul Haines, Lawrence Fixel, Robert Lax, Fanny Howe, David Miller, Keith Waldrop, Giles Goodland, bpNichol, David Rattray, Guy Birchard, Will Petersen, Tom Lowenstein, Kristin Prevallet, Stephen Watts, Daphne Marlatt

Small Publishers Fair 2012

Conway Hall, Red Lion Square, London WC1R 4RL

Friday 16th & Saturday 17th November, 11am to 7pm

The international fair celebrating books by contemporary artists, poets, writers, composers, book designers, and their publishers; together with a programme of readings and talks on Saturday.

For full details www.rgap.co.uk | email helenmitchell@inthefi elds.co.uk | tel 05603 689840 (standard landline charges)

Malcolm Lowry and David Markson event

I am took part in the annual Lowry Lounge event at the Bluecoat in Liverpool on Saturday 28th October (as near to the Day of the Dead as we can get). I talked about the work of Lowry scholar David Markson and his extraordinary postmodern novels.

Lowry: http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/350045/Malcolm-Lowry

Markson on Lowry and Dyaln Thomas: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eRqIIPHY-co


The Lowry Lounge

The Bluecoat’s annual celebration of Wirral-born writer Malcolm Lowry (author of the classic Under the Volcano) comprises a psychogeographical walking tour of Liverpool with artist Colin Dilnot and an afternoon at the Bluecoat including the launch of The Firminist No 3, an occasional journal of all things Lowry, performances, talks and music.

Out on the Lowry walk with Colin Dilnot pointing out the branch of Austin Reed referred to in the newly discovered and soon to be published 'lost' novel of Lowry: Ballast to the White Sea.