Hello! Just thought I'd give a quick shout about an event next Sunday (Dec 13th). It's at the
Betsey Trotwood in London, so a bit far for me to get to, but if you're in the area, it should be an AWESOME day of new-writing. AND, it will feature readings from the first two collections out by
Sidekick Books (the new press from the people who bring us
Fuselit magazine).
They've kindly published one of my poems,
Kappa, in their Japanese folk monster anthology, Obakarama.
The 'kappa' is a river-imp and a trickster; he looks like a cross between a frog, a turtle, and a very small human. People believe that if you wander too close to a river, you will get lured (or pulled!) into the water by the kappa, who will EAT YOU! They're also used to explain drownings ('oh he must have gotten eaten by the kappa' type thing) ... and although it's just folklore, I remember seeing signs along the riverbanks with pictures of kappa on them warning people not to get too close. I think he's quite an interesting character. And as I mentioned in the last post, I'm really really keen on folklore in different cultures, especially Japan, so I jumped at the chance to write about the kappa for
Obakarama.
"Long-necked and long-tongued demons, winged dogs, mysterious children hiding in umbrellas, amphibious tricksters, killer scarves and cloud apparitions are just some of the characters you'll encounter inside.
Features poetry by Adham Smart, Wayne Holloway-Smith, Roddy Lumsden, Ian McLachlan, Aiko Harman, Chrissy Williams, Richard Watt, Kirsten Irving and Amy Blakemore, and artwork by Mike Stone, Hanne Härkönen, Seb Manley, Mary Graham, Darnae “Crimsonwolf” Sobolewski, Jd and Jon Stone."
(Also check out the preview for their other new anthology, Coin Opera - poems about video games! Awesome!)
More about the event on Sunday:
The Christmas We Get We Deserve, an all day event at the Betsey Trotwood, 56 Farringdon Road, London on Sunday 13 December.
3pm till 11pm - £5 suggested donation - the whole pub is open just for this event.
Your hosts: Rising magazine, BroadCast, Fuselit magazine and Donut Press.
From 3pm onwards... times approximate, of course.
3.15: Ashna Sarkar, Sophia Blackwell, Sabrina Mahfouz, Suzanne Andrade reading;
4.30: Coin Opera and Obakarama: Fuselit magazine and Sidekick Books present new video game and Japanese monster themed poems, featuring Amy Key, Adham Smart, David Floyd, Chrissy Williams, Roddy Lumsden, Amy Blakemore, Simon Barraclough and others, hosted by Kirsten Irving and Jon Stone;
5.45: 15 to 1 - Fifteen poets test their trivia skills in the TV show format;
6.30: Best of 2009 - Luke Kennard, Tim Wells, Kate Kilalea, Roddy Lumsden, Patrick Brandon, Tom Chivers and Lorraine Mariner read from some of '09's best collections;
8.15: Xmas Number Ones! - 22 poets read new poems related to the seasonal hits of their birth year, with Jim Dowd, Gale Burns, John Citizen, Matthew Caley, Jacqui Saphra, Matthew Saxton, Jackey Smith, Patrick Brandon, Tim Wells, Dominic O'Rourke, Niall O'Sullivan, Hannah Lowe, Rachel Smith, Chrissy Williams, Sara Byrne, Emily Berry, Sophia Blackwell, Tamsin Kendrick, Nia Davies, Helen Mort, Lizzy Dening and Kayo Chingonyi;
9.30: Tim Turnbull on a rare visit from the North reads from his latest collection;
10.15: harmony singing, old style and new, from the La De Dahs.
I wish I could be there! Please check it out if you're in the neighborhood & let me know how it was! I'm looking forward to the new books and will post again once I've got my contributor's copy. I'm sure it will be gorgeous!
A non-poem but poetry-related publication here!
HOW COOL IS THAT!
I'll post again with pictures once my complimentary copy arrives. Do go check it out at Borders in December! It should be available to buy in the 
