Hello Aberdeen, Hello Poetry

The fine folks at ‘Hello Poetry’ and the wizard, Rapunzel Wizard, have a mega-show for you. It is called ‘Demented Eloquence’ and it is massive. I’m looking forward to seeing Rapunzel again and, of course, being up in Aberdeen where people have always been super kind and supportive. Here’s the deal:

Saturday, 14 April, 20:30 – Demented Eloquence – Cellar 35, Aberdeen, £4: ANDREW FERGUSON, DUFFY, RYAN VAN WINKLE,  GRAHAM BRODIE, ROBIN CAIRNS, and, of course, RAPUNZEL WIZARD!

Verses and lines that will make you laugh, make you cry, and say something to you about your life, featuring top names in spoken word performance.

This month: Poetry and prose from Andrew Ferguson and Hello Poetry.

ANDREW FERGUSON
is from Glenrothes and is a member of Writers’ Bloc. He recites poems and spins tales from the daft to the dark.
“All the energy and vigour of early Irvine Welsh, but with far more humour and nuance.” – The Scotsman

HELLO POETRY
Are touring Scotland. The aim to get differing performer on stage together, and bring poets to places they don’t normally recite. For our night in Aberdeen we have the poetic cream of the Central Belt.

DUFFY: is a performance poet and prime mover behind Hello Poetry. He has also appeared on Channel 4 reciting on a beach in Largs.

RYAN VAN WINKLE: is an American living in Edinburgh. He writes award winning poems and recites them interspersed with sharp patter.

GRAHAM BRODIE: is editor of Whirlpool Press and all-round-poetic wildman.

ROBIN CAIRNS: is a performance poet, who is never happier than when he has an audience laughing – as long as he knows he has something up his sleeve to squeeze a tear out of them soon.

RAPUNZEL WIZARD…
will be you host, settling you into the evening with verses sometime eloquent but always demented.

Plus a limited number of open mic spots for…
Freestylers, Stand up poets, Ranters, M.C.s, Performance Poets, Rhymesters, Rappers, or any other spoken word ne’er-do-wells
Email : dementedeloquence@yahoo.co.uk
to book your three minutes of fame. First come first served. Silly prize for best performer courtesy of Spar’s bargain bucket…

Plus the audience poem…
Your chance to create a great piece of literature without leaving your seat. Silly prize for best line courtesy of Spar’s aforementioned bargain bucket.

 

Reading at W.P.M. Glasgow

I’ve been invited to read at the ineffable W.P.M. in Glasgow. (That’s, Words Per Minute, for those not in the know…). I’ll be sharing a stage with fellow expert on late-80s SNL cast members, the American, Jarred McGinnes. There is also Elaine DiRollo and Michael Pederson. Anything else happinging on the 1st of April will be expertly guided by hosts Kirstin Innes, Kirsty Logan and Helen Sedgwick. There will be many surprises. American accents, booze, and trivia. And fools. Many many fools. Glasgow, I hope to see you there.

Sunday, 1 April — Words Per Minute — The Arches, Glasgow, 16.00, £5: I’ll be sharing a stage with fellow expert on late-80s SNL cast members, the American, Jarred McInnes. Hosted by Kirstin Innes, Kirsty Logan and Helen Sedgwick.

Turns out, if you write a book of poems, you can keep getting reviews for years. So, while my first collection was published by Salt in November, 2010 — people are still talking about it in 2012. Those people include — Poetry New Zealand who published an encouraging and short review (along with the revelation that my book costs $31.99 in NZ. Pssst, New Zealand, give me a call, I know a dude who can get it to you cheap.) Here’s what the poet and critic Siobhan Harvey said:

‘Poems in the book unite tender evocations of relationships with literary and academic notions of displacement. Always, there’s a ‘searching’ — for love, belonging, understanding — embedded in Van Winkle’s work which challenges the reader’s expectations….Tomorrow, We Will Live Here is a rich symbol of contemporary UK poetry.’

Those of you whom have already bought the book you are probably stroking your goatee, thinking, ‘Indeed, quite right.’ For those of you who haven’t gotten a copy yet. Mail me for a signed copy or visit the Salt shop. They’ll sort you out. Perhaps you need more convincing. Well, in this generous review from Scots Whay Hae my work is compared to Bruce Springsteen, Grant Wood, Robert Altman, Peter Bogdanovich, Lewis Grassic Gibbons, and Ted Hughes. Here’s my favourite bit of the review, but you can read the whole thing here.

‘this collection is an evocative, sensual, and at times cinematic journey through place and past.’

Then there was a couple of ultra flattering mentions in the latest issue of the Edinburgh Review. First, the respected poet and critic, Miriam Gamble, penned an excellent review which dug fully into the collection as few others have. I was surprised to find the collection held up (in Gamble’s eyes) under the scrutiny and, in fact, she articulated certain truths about the work that I’d never been able to. She does this with a generous eye for detail and a thoughtfulness which I found humbling. I very much want to quote the whole thing, but that would be ridiculous. Here’s some choice blurbs:

This is not a book for the faint-hearted. But neither ought it to be. Heaney has said there are two types of poem: one gives you the rosy glow of recognition, the other disorientates, annuls your set coordinates.Van Winkle’s poetry wears the garb of the former, but belongs in the latter category. He is not formally or stylistically experimental – while the poems are rarely in fixed forms, neither are they ‘avant-garde’ in the sense of being materially fragmented. They are, however, subversive, in that they tread where others fear to, and force the reader to admit complicity. It is not that the work inhabits ‘unfamiliar’ territory. Rather, it wallows in the dark and disregarded areas with which we strive to keep a silent truce.

I liked that this review has a warning, of sorts, in the beginning and Gamble returns to this notion throughout the review. Most forefully in the conclusion which made me feel more brave and courageous than I have any right to feel. In this section Gamble discusses my very short poem ‘The Day He Went to War’ which reads as follows:

The Day He Went to War

was bright, white and clean; an advertisement

for fresh laundry, lady things, or whatever.

 

we watched him from joe’s garage, our music clanging;

hub caps and tin cans thrown against cement.

 

we watched his mother watch the car

that took him, saw her wave at nothing,

 

then, we took it from the top:

one, two, a – one two three four

Here, Gamble breaks down the poem in a way that makes me blush. I’m proud the review examined the poem this way.

‘The Day He Went to War’, which manages,in eight lines, to capture an entire zeitgeist in relation to conflict. It does so,furthermore, with a touch that is dangerously light, resonant beyond mere poignancy, and profoundly, disturbingly accurate in its depiction of the place of war in contemporary society (no village gathering sending the boys offhere; no torrent, but an endless, invisible trickle). This poem – it cannotbe stated enough – is a huge risk: it breaks all the rules of engagement; itwholesale revises what a war poem can and ought to be in cultures where conflict is an industry, not an event. As with the rest of the poems, you may not like what it has to say. But that’s its greatest recommendation: we don’t live in an age when poetry should warm your heart.

Lastly, there was a positive review in the ER by Willy Maley on an anthology I was in — The Year of Open Doors (Cargo). My poem opens the short-fiction collection. I was proud to have it there at the time, as it welcomes readers into an excellent collection of new Scottish writing including many old friends and c0-workers. Here’s what Maley said of my work. I particularly like the Tom Leonard reference:

The opening piece by Ryan Van Winkle is no ripping yarn but a tripping verse. Those who concur with Tom Leonard’s barb about prose limping while poets leap will be pleased to hear that this is one of the strongest entrants: ‘Door, I have knocked, pushed/ licked and, for a year, stroked/your veins smooth as varnish’. This poem, with its wink at John Donne’sbesieged beseeching in Holy Sonnet XIV – ‘Batter my heart, three person’d God; for, you/ As yet but knocke, breathe, shine, and seeke to mend’ – is theperfect welcome mat for the reader in the wake of Glass’s chatty intro. And the stories – poetic prejudices aside – don’t disappoint.

So, thanks to Maley, Gamble, Scots Whay Hae!, and Harvey for such positive encouragement. They say releasing a collection of poems is like dropping a rose petal into the grand canyon. While this may mostly ring true, it is heartening to know that some people have seen it fall. Thanks to all who took the time to review my work. You can purchase Tomorrow, We Will Live Here from Salt. You can find more reviews and links to the complete articles (where available) on the Reviews Page.

I’m excited to reprise my role in this great poetry / jazz project. I’ll be reading Brian Johnstone’s poem, music will be playing and I will be enjoying myself immensely. Join us in St: Andrews! Details below, tickets here. RVW

Richard Ingham and poet Brian Johnstone have been working together since 2007 when they formed, with bass player Louise Major, the poetry & jazz group Trio Verso whose performances have included the Big Tent Festival, Edinburgh’s Traverse Theatre and the Ted Hughes Festival in Yorkshire.

2011 saw an altogether larger collaboration: a setting for 20 piece jazz orchestra of the narrative poem Robinson. The evening features a set from Trio Verso and a full performance of Robinson featuring soloists Colin Steele (trumpet) and John Kenny (trombone).

Expect an evening of “bizarre clarinet-play, blasphemous saxophony” and “dark primeval sonorities” in a “living tapestry of sound”.

Time(s) of Event: 7.30pm
Start Date: 07/03/2012 End Date: 07/03/2012
Ticket Prices: £9
Location of Event:AB Paterson Auditorium

I’ve been invited to Dundee as a guest reader / talker / discusser-of-things for their Salon. It sounds like good fun and a way to meet some new folks in a casual kind of way. If you find yourself in Dundee and want to come along, it would be great to see you there. RVW

“The Salons are like no other ‘Reading’ or ‘Lecture’ or ‘talk’ on offer anywhere else – in Scotland or beyond – breaking down the barriers that all too often inhibit the growth and expression of cultural life for ordinary people.

Instead here is a forum in which everyone’s ideas matter, irrespective of professional background, taste or experience.

1 March
Seasoned poet and performer, Ryan Van Winkle, is the poet in residence for the Scottish Poetry Library. Just returned from a year’s travelling around his homeland of America, Ryan will read some of his exciting work, talk about his journeys and discuss how he has managed to make a career from poems. Join us for an exciting night that is sure to make you think differently about the world of poetry.”

A long time ago, when I was on live radio with Jed Milroy, I accidentally let the f-word slip about 3 minutes into the conversation. Let’s assume that will not happen when I appear on Brian Taylor’s Big Debate on Friday 24, February. Myself and the illustrious panel will discuss the issues of the day (or the day before) with young people from local schools and colleges and they’ll be asking the questions. I don’t know what the questions will be but I do know the panel. They include: Labour MSP Kezia Dugdale, Rae Cahill (member of the Scottish Youth Parliament), and Conservative MSP Gavin Brown. Tune in at 12:15 to hear me not curse. Definitely not.

SATURDAY JANUARY 14TH AT PLACEBO SPACE. 9pm.

THIS EVENT IS PAY-WHAT-YOU-CAN.

Edinburgh’s Lit&Music Cabaret Comes to Toronto

Poets read. Musicians play. The audience is incited to revolution—or a stiff drink.

DAMIAN ROGERS: Electrifying. Damian’s poetry is rock’n’roll. Sample: “I say let’s keep wasting our lives and burn/our trash as we go.”

RYAN VAN WINKLE: Award-winning, Edinburgh-dwelling bearded poet. He’ll make you swoon. Sample: “We were fucking/our way up the tower and God saw us coming.”

MATTHEW J. TRAFFORD: Crafter of surreal short stories featuring Jesus clones & mermaids. Sample: “I was born library, where my parents read from opening until closing every day, where they met, where I assume they first coupled.”

TRAPLINESA: banjo. Some poems. Do we need to say more?Sample: “I got so fat they called a crane. Everyone was nice about it, but I was too fat to care.”

NEIL QUIN: The guitarist from Zeus will blow you away with his shiny solo act.

PHANTOM SHORES: Ottawa-based folk rockers with lush harmonies and blazing lyrics. Violin, sex & rock’n’roll.

CHLOE CHARLES: This hypnotizing songstress will leave you spellbound – just try to resist.

PLUS SPECIAL MUSICAL GUEST.
THIS EVENT IS PAY-WHAT-YOU-CAN.

AT PLACEBO SPACE. 1409 Bloor Street West, Apt A

I have two new poems in the latest issue of Gutter — The Magazine for new Scottish writing. I’m very pleased to have these published as they are the first new poems to see the world since the publication of Tomorrow, We Will Live Here — they sound a little different and I’m quite shy about them. So, support Gutter and check let me know what you think about ‘Gerontocracy’ and ‘A Raincoat, A Spell of Rain Ago’. Also, in this issue, you’ll find new work from a lot of talented friends — some of whom are:  Anneliese Mackintosh, Michael Cannon, Tracey Emerson, Kirsty Logan, Brian Johnstone, Sally Evans, Rodge Glass, Ewan Morrison, Iyad Hayatleh and Tessa Ransford, Jim Carruth, Sandra Alland, Kevin McNeil, and Colin Will. It is good to be in good company. You can get a copy of the magazine here.

This should be a pretty amazing August. Between parties at Forest and the general buzz of the Edinburgh International Book Festival I’ll be doing a few readings and performances as well as hosting two Golden Hours. There will probably be more but — in the meantime — here’s the dates for your diaries:

Sunday, 7 August — The Naughty Boys at Faceplant, The Forest, 6-9pm, FREE

The Naughty Boys make improvised electro po-noize.  Poems vs computers vs drums vs salvaged keyboards and whatever else we can find. You will come.

The Naughty Boys are:  * DanSeizure on keys and computer loop. * Stevie Paterson on keys and percussion noises. * Ryan Van Winkle —Spoken Words.

Also appearing: Alison Smith, Colin Herd, Fiona Soe Paing, Mark Mace Smith, Nuala Watt, Rachel McCrum, ShellSuit Massacre & Sophie Mayer

Thursday, 18 August — The Golden Hour at the Edinburgh International Book Festival, The Spiegeltent, Charlotte Square, 9-11pm, FREE

Live and Kicking in the Spiegeltent! With Kelly Link, William Letford, Joe Dunthorme, Billy Liar, Mikel Krumins and Earl Grey and the Loose Leaves!!!

Saturday, 20 August — The Edinburgh International Book Festival with Rachael Boast & Will Eaves, Charlotte Square, 8.30-9.30pm, £7/5

Considering all the things they’ve done, it is perhaps surprising that these three talented poets are only now publishing their debut collections. Will Eaves is an established author and Arts Editor of The Times Literary Supplement; Ryan Van Winkle is host of the much-loved Edinburgh literary evening The Golden Hour; and Rachael Boast has a PhD in Creative Writing from St Andrews University. Join them to hear how their experiences translate into fresh, exuberant, thought-provoking new verse.

Sunday, 21 August — Edgelands — a conference from the borders of performance, 11am-7pm at The Forest Fringe, FREE

Wednesday , 24 August — The Golden Hour , The Forest, FREE – 1pm – 3am

Here it is — the last ever Golden Hour at the Forest Cafe at 3 Bristo Place. After this marathon event, we’re going to all rest up and think about new ways to do what we love — mixing poetry, stories, cartoons, music, drunkeness and dancing. In the meantime — you’ll have this massive event to remember us by — featuring: Tom Pow, Jonny Berliner, William Letford, Emily Ballou, Robin Grey, Anna Crowe, Ericka Duffy, Kirstin Innes, John Glenday, The Little Big Band, Alan Bissett, The Ghost of Joseph Seal, Jed Milroy & Hailey Beavis, Paper Cinema, Jason Morton, Jane Flett, Toby Mottershead, Jen and the Gents and Dolphin Boy + much more including films by Roxana Pope and some special Reel Festivals gubbins. You will want to buy a hamburger.

Friday, 26 August — Words Per Minute at the Edinburgh International Book Festival, The Spiegeltent, Charlotte Square, 9-11pm, FREE

Join your hosts, Kirstin Innes, Kirsty Logan and Helen Sedgwick for an evening of special treats where all performers get ten minutes to impress the audience – no matter how famous they are. Expect the unexpected and some familiar faces at WPM at Unbound including, novelist, playwright and dazzling performer, Alan Bissett and American author Adam Levin and other American — me.

I was happy to be invited by Conor Mahood to take part in his one thousand stories project. I’m pretty sure I ruined the whole thing as my other friends who have done it are far more interesting and articulate than I. So, if you don’t want to listen to me, you can hear Deborah Pearson, Holly Conrad or Morgan McBride all of whom know how to actually speak.

Here’s what Conor says about the porject:

A Thousand Stories is a podcast project where I will interview people using the same rough pool of questions each time and see what emerges.

Though it’s from a pool of questions, I may ask someone all or only a couple of these in the actual interview.

The goal is one thousand people.

And here is my contribution to the project — The Lucky Episode 13

For the long-delayed 13th episode I interviewed Ryan Van Winkle, reader in residence at the Scottish Poetry Library and poet, author of the collection Tomorrow, We Will Live Here. Ryan also hosts a poetry podcast for the Scottish Poetry Library, find out more about it here.

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