Truth Bombs
20 Mar 2020 Category: this was meant to be the future
This is the third story in a series I’m publishing monthly throughout 2020. More details here.
CW: Gun violence
To: Jamilm@Phaethonlaboratories.com
From: holliec@Phaethonlaboratories.com
Subject: What are you up to?
Hey, hope you’re not going too mad on the eleventh floor!
Just seen this- What crazy things are you up to up there with the nano-bots? Growing a new Prime Minister? LOL
www.youtube.com/truthbombs
H x
AUTO-TRANSCRIPT:
Okay, everyone listen up. I’m about to drop some truth bombs like I do every week. Boom! Like that! See the thing...
Reasons to stay at home
19 Mar 2020 Category: plague notes
So we’re socially isolated for the foreseeable. It’s a weird time, but I’ve been amazed by how people are being incredibly generous. There is so much kindness out there from everyone despite the uncertainty. Here are some things I’ve come across that you may enjoy while distancing from others that may help you feel connected or entertained.
Poetry
Sam Grudgings is doing a weekly newsletter of poetry in order to combat loneliness and forge connections with others. It’s a lovely idea, find it here:
Pascal Vine has shared a long playlist of excellent live poetry. Find
Contributor copy
18 Mar 2020 Category: publications
It’s always nice getting a contributor copy, especially for something you would have purchased anyway. This little book flew over the Atlantic for me, I’m looking forward to reading it.
Encrypted (video)
17 Mar 2020 Category: publications
Social isolation means I’m working through the backlog of things I have to do. So I uploaded this video of my poem Encrypted, which was kindly shot by Chris at Bristol Tonic, one of the best nights around to encourage new writing.
Each month performers get given a prompt and are asked to make a piece in a month. My prompt was “Threw postcards in the shape of airplanes hoping they get to where they meant to.” That’s a great prompt.
I took it in some strange directions. Chris also helped me record an audio version of it which...
Hello Spring
06 Mar 2020 Category: photos
spring is like a perhaps
Hand in a window
(carefully to
and fro moving New and
Old things,while
people stare carefully
moving a perhaps
fraction of flower here placing
an inch of air there)and
without breaking anything.
A hobby
29 Feb 2020 Category: erasure poetry
Taken from Meditations on the suburban surreal by William Doyle in issue 108 of Crack Magazine
Humans are more than money
27 Feb 2020 Category: politics
Humans are worth more than the contents of their bank accounts. That should not be the only criteria we judge them on. Humans are part of society. Humans are activists, speakers, community members, idea incubators, balls of potential that given the right prompting can transform into something new.
Humans are somehow more than their relationships to each other. Humans can make art that creates inexplicable feelings. Humans can imagine new infrastructures. Humans can devise new experiments to test new hypotheses. Humans can transform their landscapes, for better or worse.
When governments are looking for scapegoats, they will often point to...
These Poems are Not What They Seem
23 Feb 2020 Category: publications
I’m delighted to have a poem included in an anthology of poems inspired by Twin Peaks, called These Poems are Not What They Seem, published by APEP publications. My poem is called We’re gonna keep her out of it and draws inspiration from Sarah Palmer and the character of Judy in the return. It’s also about rumours.
The anthology out March 7th and is available for preorder now. It’s a US publication though, so check shipping costs.
I also read my poem as part of Performance Anxiety, a monthly reading on skype. You can listen below. I’m the token...
Squeamish
20 Feb 2020 Category: this was meant to be the future
This is the second story in a series I’m publishing monthly throughout 2020. More details here.
CW: self-harm, blood
From the pharmacist, I get gauze, bandages, surgical tape and antiseptic cream. It took me a while to find a pharmacist that still took cash. From a grotty corner store I pick up the plainest, cheapest razor blades I can find. I don’t need five blades and a trimming razor. The moisturising gel is unimportant. I need razor blades that will break apart easiest.
Complications
13 Feb 2020 Category: poetry
This essay from Jack Underwood blew me away, because he nails down thoughts I’ve had before but have struggled to put into words. He describes poetry as a necessary counterpoint to the simplification of stories we are being fed today:
They know that nostalgia for simpler configurations and categories is a symptom of fear and frustration. They know that as everything gets worse through deliberate inactivity the more frustrated and scared we become. “The answer is simple,” they tell us: “We must simplify!” Then: “You do not cohere to simplicity. Why are you making this so difficult? Everyone...
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