Harry Gilonis has written a review of the BB poetry event for the
Mainstream Web Site. He asked me to distributed on this list too. Here
goes.
Review begins. I hear that there are people Out There in Virtually Wherever
who want to know how the 1997 Durham Basil Bunting birthday event went; and
as non-local attendees were few, I thought I should pass info. on. The
reading was held in Waterstone's in Saddler Street, just down the hill from
the cathedral close by an OK Italian restaurant. At the risk of sounding
like _Hello!_ magazine, attendees included various members of the Bunting
family and assorted local literary eminences, including Peter Hodgkiss
(ex-of Galloping Dog Press), and Anthony Mellors (of the recently-revived
_fragmente_). The event was introduced by Mr Richard Caddel, in his
capacity as Director of the Basil Bunting Poetry Archive; and the readings
began with Mr Caddel in his own right. He and other poets all read Bunting
as well as their own material. I remember Ric's _Let them remember
Samangan_, with impressively and effectively elongated last vowel. He also
read from his new book, Larksong Signal, published from Macao / Plymouth by
Shearsman, @ six pounds and 95 pence; distributed here by Oasis at 12
Stevenage Road, London SW6 6ES*. This collects work from 1990 to 1995, so
there were some already-met but for all that fine pieces. He rounded off
his set with the last third of a long sequence _For the fallen_, a reading
of the old Welsh poem the _Gododdin_, a technicaltour-de-force and clearly
a sod to read (the three sections are set to appear in _Shearsman_, _Angel
Exhaust_ and _fragmente_). Billy Mills, now re-established in Dublin but
over on a flying visit, followed; also launching a book from Shearsman,
_Five Easy Pieces_ at four pounds. It was instructive to hear a voice
neither local not Southron voicing Bunting; Billy read the Bunting birthday
ode and followed with portions of _Pieces_**, as well as a couple of his _5
Horace Traductions_ published by Form Books at one pound and fifty pence
also launched that evening before concluding with Bunting's 300th
anniversary poem for Brigflatts Meeting House. Barry MacSweeney, in good
form and voice, opened with the falcon section of _The Spoils_, read with
the right accent, its music thus unmauled. As well as the ever-topical
_Lament for the Morpethshire Farmer_ he also read sections from his own
_Pearl_, as astonishing a work as he's written, soon to appear in a
Bloodaxe book. After brief but welcome hospitality from Waterstone's, House
Red and risotto appositely garnished with fresh basil - no small
achievement for the time of year - rounded off the evening at the
neighbouring Sicilian restaurant.Review ends. Footnotes begin.
* bite-sized morsel:
LARKSONG SIGNAL
Arcane and isolate breathing
acts of faith - longstone
to blind fiddler. High song
patient in rain. Sing it -
no ideas but in tunes -
"sounds we haven't heard
that the birds know about" -
writing on air for dear life
**bite-sized morsel:
(from) reading Lorine Niedecker
there is a river
in this city
sluggish
mud-grey
not given to flooding
carrying too much history
(no point in snippets from _Pearl_ - everyone SHOULD already have it, if
they haven't there's no gain in lauding it right now as it's out-of-print
until the Bloodaxe edition appears -)
Footnotes end. Message ends.
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