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Just finished Being a Chair Essays on Choreographic Poetry by Janne-Camilla Lyster and was blown away by her ability to simplify something as abstract as scoring a dance through poetry. She touches on (bodily) time, dance as a concrete image of another person, and books as tools for inspiration all in under 50 pages. The pieces are split into small prose-poetic musings with a subheading that entice the reader, which include; Forgetting your own name, Time and Space, Hearing a Light, and notably the inspiration for the title ā being a chair. Picked this up in Stolkholm when I went over last summer. I hadnāt heard of Varamo Press before so I grabbed the oddly small books. I got another book by them Iāll have to read and see what itās saying.
Dec 27, 2024
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But I would start with āForeign Bodyā or āOn Lighthousesā.
She primarily works with the physical experience of memory. Endlessly subtle, touching, and funny.
Feb 8, 2024
Sorry to double rec the same artist, but this one is probably more what you were after as it weaves stories of their practise as an artist, development of their work and also a look into the their ideas of what performance art is/why they do it etc, interwoven with poetry.
Apr 4, 2024
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I read Clare Barronās play Dance Nation and it touched something in me that was so personal and deep in there that I then read every other play of hers currently available, and they ALL did that for me. Without exception. I donāt know if itās because sheās interested in the same things I am, or if itās as simple as āsheās a beautiful writerā, but whatever it is, it feels like I told her all my secrets except theyāre secrets I didnāt even know I had. Thatās the best way I can describe her work- especially the monologues- they make me feel like I didnāt know that feeling or that impulse or experience was something I felt but it is. Absolutely thrilling to read. And perform! Not that I have gotten the privilege of being in one of her plays. I am unfortunately just talking about reading them out loud alone in my apartment, performing every character, recording the whole thing in photo booth, and then never watching it and deleting it 4 months later.
Aug 12, 2021
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recently Iāve been listening to Portishead again because it made me think of my art teacher in high school who I thought was super cool and she mentioned she had seen them play in Paris in the 90s and at the time I thought wow I canāt even imagine being in Europe at all Iām now I live in London a place than I wouldnt have thought Iād be back then so I started listening to them again from this other point in life that feels enitrly new and yet somehow completely purposeful Itās not as if I believe in fate or anything like that but listening to Portishead in London holds a little bit of magic to it that I have no other way of expressing so I am listening again and now as I write this ramble here because I am tired of internet spaces that feel chockablock with ads and people who exist to be walking ads themselves as if that made them some how better than normal people People whose Tupperware isnāt made of glass and they have jobs that arenāt glamorous or ācleanā that cannot be done wearing a jacquemus dress attempting to make gummies out of scratch with a voice so soft and monotone that it rides up into you like a spell So I am listening to Portishead which is a different kind of spell a waking up spell and writing this here now and hoping to find a space where people are just people and not ads.
Dec 20, 2024
Just read Writing by Marguerite Duras in one go which is often either a sign of my mental health going haywire or a book being so tantalizingly real and/or inspiring that time goes out the window and I am hooked into every word like a calf to a teat in search of protein I was especially drawn into these reflections about writing a book and what it means to a be a writer A contradiction that is both of the world and seperate from it that is a witness and being witnessed constantly in two phases Highly recommend for writers and readers that love reading writing about writing
Dec 21, 2024
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It was as if all the yearning I had cultivated over the years, spending it hundred, and eventually thousands, of miles away from my family had finally subsided. I was sad that Christmas was spent away. I am looking forward to spending it in a new way I do feel a pang of guilt for this feeling tho. As if my body knows what is expected and feels shame for not feeling what one should feel. I miss them of course I do but I also feel happy with the distance. Are those things mutually exclusive?
Dec 23, 2024