see nerd) blog
2007

horrid coincidence

image: an image I’ve received another set of CDs from Stockhausen Verlag, which, not surprisingly, remains active despite the death of the great composer. I find I really am enjoying these recordings of his late works. I hope to put some reviews up here eventually.

Stockhausen has influenced my poetry in a number of ways. This includes a couple of horrid coincidences.

I named one of my longer poems after his work Hymnen: the loneliness and isolation I heard in his music of that name inspired me. Although I started my work in the late 1980s, I only got the chance to perform it fully a decade later (at CB1 Poetry). It took a few weeks to prepare and get right. Unfortunately, events of the day changed everything. I still performed the poem, I decided I had to, but I cut some lines. The day was September 11th, 2001.

My sequence of poems C++ have been collected in the book Literature and Science, edited by Philip Coleman, publish by Four Courts Press, Dublin. This is the first time such collecting has happened to my work. The book launch was earlier this month. I was there, and enjoyed myself. Stockhausen had died that day.

20.12.7

stockhausen

image: an image I’ve just heard of the death of Stockhausen. This is very saddening news.

I was hoping to get to his 80th birthday concert series next year, having managed to attend a concert in last year’s series. That performance, of Komet amongst other pieces, was very much a staged work, not just music, and I wanted to see more.

I love his music, even naming a poem for a piece that directly inspired it (with his permission, I might add). I bought CDs directly from his home business. My next purchase was going to be the Licht operas, so far as possible given a couple remain unrecorded.

There are a lot of stories turning up around the man, which make him sound somewhat cuckoo. Ignore them, just listen to the music. It’s wonderful.

7.12.7

nowhere to park?

image: an image There is a chance I’ll be leaving Belgium for Switzerland next year, swapping one small country full of different tribes that keep arguing with each other for another small country full of different tribes that keep arguing with each other. At least all that makes a change from living in the UK, a small country full of different tribes that keep arguing with each other.

LATER: Switzerland didn’t work out.

4.12.7

change

image: an image I want to give this site a major overhaul.

I’ve tried packages such as Apple’s iLife. This blog, and the new ‘casts, are produced by iLife. It creates good looking results that fit neatly into a good looking, small site, formula. That’s not me.

I’ve tried packages for larger sites, such as Microsoft’s Expression Web. They create good looking results that fit neatly into a good looking, corporate, formula. That’s not me either.

Most of this site is hand–coded HTML. I’ll have to write a program to migrate the existing content. If I’m going to do that, I might as well go further and build software to generate the new site.

Since I’m writing the software, I can fully control the results; I don’t have to submit to someone else’s meta–template. So I’m aiming for a site that’ll visually appeal to a photographer (me), with content that appeals to a poet (me), assembled by a programmer (me). And all three object to fuss. But this will occupy me. You should expect fewer updates in the meantime.

11.11.7

for devon garde

image: an image Devon’s been in touch, complaining about my mixes, again. “You’ve got the copyright”, he scuffed, “but you ain’t done ‘em right”.

He’s got a point. So I’ve acquired some decent kit, & I’ll be remixing and posting his work as and when. Keep you eye on the new Devon Garde videocast.

I hope that he’ll want to make some more music. It’s embarrassing to admit, but his music gets the most hits on this site.

27.10.7

classic poetry aloud

image: an image I found an interesting podcast in iTunes: classic poetry aloud.

The guy who recites this English language poetry is clear & precise, and sounds the poetic effect very well. I’m not always convinced by his emotional voice, but you can fill that in yourself. He’s got a very British accent, incidentally: Oxford, I think.

I recently found a recording of Yeats reciting, and he’s incredible. It’s on volume 1 of Poetry on Record, which I found enthralling. I wonder if the original recording’s online somewhere; it has got to be well out of copyright.

21.10.7

recited poetry online

image: an image It’s an impressive recital can blast through my workplace. So here’s a nod to Geraldine Monk, who’s startling texture has twice broken me out of some arbeital reverie.

I’ve been hoovering Ubu’s sound poetry, and the Archive of the Now, into my new iPod. My vacuum action has raided Salt and Bloodaxe, and will target epoetry and epoetry. There is much to explore.

Is it an abuse of poets’ work to shuffle their recitals as accompaniment to the 9–5?

14.10.7