I’m really pleased to have had some new poems and an illustration published in the 2nd Birthday edition of The Shrieking Violet Zine http://theshriekingviolets.blogspot.com/ .

(With a great front cover, above, by graphic designer Alyson Exall http://alysonexall.com/ whose work I am really loving)

This is a great publication put together by Manchester Based artist and urban explorer, Natalie Bradbury, who also pulled together the brilliant Zine Convention that was held at Victoria Baths. The Zine itself has a great mix of writing, music, niche interests and of course poetry that makes it an all round good read. I also like the fact that not only is it free in physical format at some of my favourite Manchester places such as 
Good Grief! Shop  http://goodgriefshop.blogspot.com/
Oklahoma, (no site, seemed a bit strange)
Koffee Pot http://www.thekoffeepot.co.uk/
Common http://www.aplacecalledcommon.co.uk/
An Outlet, http://www.anoutlet.net/
Manchester Craft Centre  http://www.craftanddesign.com/
Nexus Art Cafe http://welcometo.nexusartcafe.com/
Piccadilly Records http://www.piccadillyrecords.com/shop/index.php

it is also freely available online so you can read it and a sort of magical/virtual way…as if one was living in the future

You can download it here         http://www.mediafire.com/?kxngy1s3ahfjppx

And all the earlier editions here http://www.mediafire.com/?f8r29uqccnskk

Big thanks for Natalie for this; she has done all the hard work it putting it all together,

 It was great to see some of the poems again, as when you write and send off a fair bit you forget them and seeing them again was like meeting an old friend. I was particularly pleased with the short “Street Vignette” which post-riots seemed to take on a different meaning. The poems remain though the world moves on. Enjoy

The wide open abandoned space of the former Warner Bros Cinema at Pilsworth industrial estate has long held a weird fascination for me, drawing me towards it without really understanding why. (It is listed here in a strange Domesday entry http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/domesday/dblock/GB-380000-408000/page/6

Pilsworth was the first big out of town development near Bury, with Cinema, bowling, ASDA and always some sort of family eating place (Chiquitos, Pizza Hut etc), so subsequently I have spent a fair bit of time up there shopping, watching movies and bowling. The cinema closed a while ago and sits as this huge boarded-up building, completely useless and probably never likely to be of any use again, a modern ruin? Although boarded up and empty shops are a lot more commonplace as the financial crisis begins to properly bite, the scale of abandonment here felt overwhelming and frightening

I wanted to go and make some art there, to confront the emptiness and sense of desolation by doing something creative in a place that seem bereft of hope, potential or future.

 Me and him (good friend and fellow artist/poet Martin http://malleableart.wordpress.com/ )

went up to the overgrown car park armed with paper and chalk to do something with the space, we didn’t really have a focus but part of the fun was to simply go and take over this concrete wilderness that was sitting useless and make it useful for a time.

I think we were also a little bit fed up with the Manchester International Festival ( http://mif.co.uk/ ) which seemed to be promoting art, creativity and inclusivity still didn’t feel like it was open to all to take part in, mainly due to the cost of many of the events. The not part of festival ( http://notpartof.org/ ) does seek to re-address that balance but somehow we just couldn’t seem to get an “in”, perhaps next time.

We drew, talked about art and left a mark somewhere where it may never be seen. Sometimes it’s enough to do something rather than nothing, and to take an abandoned place and use it, like that empty shop I keep walking past…Hmmm http://www.artistsandmakers.com/staticpages/index.php/emptyshops

 I am a bit obsessed with design, packaging and I am a self confessed typography geek. Although I feel a bit queesy at the idea of having to “sell oneself”, this was the information panel I used at a recent exhibition some of my work featured in. There were quite a few artists in the exhibition and each artist produced an A4 panel about themselves, which made for an interesting side exhibition in of itself.

I am really pleased to announce that my first short collection of poetry and images is now available to buy for Kindle Via the amazon store

http://amzn.to/fCCGU6 

I have been writing poetry for a long time and often find it the best method and form for expressing my thoughts. I have self published some of my work in the past but this is the first time I have put together a collection to go out into the wider world. Its been a really interesting experience and I hope that it provides for others what writing it has provide for me, moments of pause.

The ambulances are always full of pain.
Flocking down the arterial routes of towns
and of cities

With the compression and concussion of sound

They fill world-weary concrete space
along, and around

 in every single direction

Microscopic
Nay, atomic
flecks of sodium orange sit deep in your eyes

reflecting, effecting or affecting?

 injecting the light
with luminessence.
That comes from your honourable and noble gases

Everything burnt

and we were made new again

but this time

everything felt and looked different

Roads distant,

Snow covered and treacherous.

A prisoner,

In the gulag of the mind.