A few months ago, we ran a feature on Berlin and Bristol based poet and songwriter Sarah Maguire. She has news: not only that her child was born, but also that she teamed up with a stunning group of artists and starred in the filmed poem : “Mother”. You should watch it! A mystery triangle symbol ties everything together visually, as Tim Atkins recites to a crisp silent film in black and white. I get neo-noir vibes all over, a bit of gothic, feminism and surrealism. Don’t miss these gripping and artistically polished four and a half minutes:
MOTHER – Short Film from Graeme Maguire on Vimeo.
In Manchester, poet and novelist Craig Podmore is so confident in his video art, he doesn’t bother to use words in his film. “Pornocopia”, a teaser for his latest poetry collection, navigates the space between man’s animality, the film industry’s gloss and shine, and the white noise of porn images in rapid succession. Craig’s first set of poems, “Do Not Censor”, already explored the dark side of sexualization in Hollywood. With the new “Pornocopia” we can expect to zoom in on the violence and vileness that lurks behind it. See for yourself:
Stateside: Alexandra Naughton has poetry forthcoming from Punk Hostage Press, and on top of that she just earned a publishing deal through an open manuscript contest (congrats!). The world can look forward to some new material which will be darkly attractive, raw, and genuine.
YOU COULD NEVER OBJECTIFY ME MORE THAN I’VE ALREADY OBJECTIFIED MYSELF :
Novelist Rohan Quine not only has several books out. He also has a career in alternative modeling and film to look back on. Naturally, he has gone on to make a series of silent short films to go with an audio track of the author reading from his work. It’s flooded with city lights, drugs and darkness. One foot in the New York Nineties, and one foot in today’s London, it’s both hypnotic and gut-churning. Check out this video. And discover his massive archive.
Rohan Quine – The Imagination Thief – "ALAIA 8" from Rohan Quine on Vimeo.
There’s a kaleidoscope of renaissance men and women bouncing through the new media galaxy, who write, sing, film, play, design… together or alone.
In the pioneer days of the web, anyone could blog anything. Self-publishing platforms to print books mushroomed as an extension to that and here we are now. YouTube, facebook etc. become ways of narrowcasting PR campaigns that bypass the old media. I hope to discover more mixed-new-media artists. If you know any, please point me their way…
By Polly, an ex-hooker, heroin addict, and psychiatric ward woman, also the author of “Cured Meat” and this video:
Polly@indierepublik.tempurl.host
My Cosmo Interview (not for the faint-hearted)
Cured Meat
“Head and shoulders the best book I have read this year” — Dan Holloway
A tale of the deeper feelings in life, from the bowels of the city, and the fringes of madness. The writer was a heroin addict and a sex worker, yet a star student in her youth. The book experiments with literary prose, and offers lyrical renditions of horrific events.
“Cathartic” – Marie Claire UK
