I saw this cartoon something like 15 years ago and it stuck with me. Of course, there are no male poets guilty of this… This is from Posy Simmonds’ brilliant ‘Lierary Life’.

Although the official Freiraum broadcast captured all the poetry excellently, the music was not well captured. Fortunately, Phil H. had a back-up sound recording – which he has posted (see below). Hopefully this captures what the sound was like in the auditorium itself on the day.

Reliquiae, the journal, comes out in (I think) January. In the meantime, I thoroughly recommend back issues of the print journal (see the Corbel Stone website – I think the last edition (with a yellow cover) is six pounds – which is a steal for such a strong, well-produced journal of excellent work. Alongside the … More Reliquiae

Here’s the audio recording from the reading of ‘We Were Englished’ last night, at the Beacons project, run by The Patchwork Opera. It was a great event – and it was very well coordinated by John C.. I had a sense as I spoke to other people last night that the green shoots of growth … More Beacons / ‘We Were Englished’

Whatever criteria you have for judging what you are reading surely begins with a ‘gut’ sensation. Your own criteria can only ever be something that you use to rationalise your own ‘like’ or ‘dislike’ of something your internal reaction mechanism has already decided upon. The words – the criteria – come later. They can only … More ‘Dark Hollow Dark’ by Richard Skelton

I realise my blurred and expanded picture of Josephine Dickinson (left) does not do justice to a poetry reading, but it is what I have to hand to mark the recording of Josephine’s poem ‘Alphabetula’ at Frieraum on Sunday. You’d be forgiven for thinking that Freiraum was a shooting star and that we return to … More Freiraum 3

In the days after Freiraum I have kept returning in my mind to one thought: how can art events have a more sustainable impact? To ask a another question (but one that runs off that one), how can we maintain the momentum built by having an event like Freiraum in our city? When the funding … More Freiraum 2

In a time when the world seems to be collapsing in on itself, the Freiraum event in Carlisle on 09.12.18 was a huge moment in a small town. To hear poems in Urdu, Greek, Kurdish, Arabic, German and English was a delight that goes beyond artistic. Congratulations to Phil H., who has seen the project … More Freiraum 1

Here’s the film backdrop for the nightjars’ instrumental ‘Dabbin Houses’ put with a live recording of our last practise this week.

‘Dabbin Houses’ is the instrumental piece performed by nightjars in the second half of the Freiraum event in Carlisle on the 9th December. nightjars is written with a lower case n. If you are a member of the press, you may want some pointers. The piece takes its name from the ‘vernacular architecture’ of this … More ‘Dabbin Houses’ – A (Journalist’s) User Guide