Dark ships… are on the horizon,

profane cargoes,

holed up and howling.

Drawn,

to the centre of it…

1. There is a hole in the city.
2. The edge of the hole is ringed with steel.
3. Nobody has seen the whole of the hole.
4. The hole is not the head or the heart…the hole is the pancreas.
5. The hole is not black but that does not mean it has never been or may not yet be.
6. ALL CAPS LETTERS SIGNS.
7. Arrows, roads and paths mark the centre.
8. 6 hours walking to it, from it and around it.
9. “We roped ourselves together”
10. A single bell hung from a lamppost was rung every 13minutes.

Dark ships…

moored in the tepid swell,

unload their cargo.

Pomona is rising.

Everything is connected/Everything is separate

Collection 4

Collection 3

Everything is separate/Everything is connected.

Collection 2

Collection 1

I have been really lucky recently to see a real cultural giant, right here in Manchester: Black American poet Arimi Baraka.
 Amiri Baraka was on at Contact Theatre  http://contactmcr.com/  as part of the Manchester International Literature festival http://www.manchesterliteraturefestival.co.uk/
 

(Tried to find a credit for this photo but couldnt. sorry internet 🙂

I was turned on to the work of Baraka at a Beat film night in Vancouver when I was travelling a few years back with my good friend “The doctor”. It was a great night that showed the wonderful Jack Kerouac narrated/Robert Frank directed “Pull my Daisy”. The film starred Allen Ginsberg and Old Bull Lee Bill Burroughs in sort of subverted “ I love Lucy” domestic beat-romp (if you have ever read those words in a sentence before then you win some sort of prize) You can watch it, as well as finding other underground gems on the wonderful www.ubu.com It also pops up online every now and again; this was the only version I could find and you have to install something  http://www.veoh.com/watch/v6406893MxQs3zEx?h1=Pull+My+Daisy 
On the same night there was a great film that had Amiri Baraka (then still under his original name LeRoi Jones) reading on it (which i have never been able to track down!!).
I was bowled over by the power and intensity of his words and his delivery, so when I heard he was on in Manchester I jumped at the chance to see THE voice of black American beat culture, whose poems still have the power and relevance to cause controversy.
We were treated to an introductory performance by the wonderful performance group Young Identity http://www.youngidentity.org/ . Now usually if you said to me “youth performance poetry” I would be inclined to give it a miss, and this is from someone who performs poetry! I think it brings up in people’s minds badly written work performed by surly teenagers or overly precocious drama school types. (I know how many assumptions and generalisations there are in that sentence, just deal with it yo!). This couldn’t have been further from that unfair stereotype: beautiful, powerful and dripping with emotion, quality and talent. Truly astounding. As a group they were excellent with each individual piece being astounding. Phenomenal. I will be looking out for their next performance; it has completely changed my view of youth poetry and performance.

The Amiri Baraka section was split into a brief interview followed by a reading. The interview was ok; he was fascinating and covered a wide range of topics from his youth and upbringing in Newark, to his time with the beats in Greenwich Village and then Harlem, to his current views on America and the Obama administration. He was one of those people who you could just listen to speak all day long. The interview was slightly clunky as it was clear that rather than respond to what was said, the interviewer had a list of pre-prepared questions which she would not deviate from. It just didn’t quite flow…man. When he got up to read this slightly frail and bookish 78 year old gentlemen was transformed in to the eloquent and angry colossus that we know and love. He sang, beat the lectern, be-bopped, hooted, howled and did, as he said in his own words, what an artists should do “Tell the truth…and make it beautiful”

He was funny too, he had us rocking and rolling as the razor of his sharp mind , honed by years in the poetic-political landscape, cut deep, to the bone, and made you think. Even weeks afterwards lines keep popping in my head and I’ve become an avid reader of his work as well as finding the many wonderful recorded performances on you tube. Here is one that he read on the night, recorded somewhere else :  “Something in the way of things”  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pKcPlbVHdy0  
The work is sometimes difficult, sometimes challenging but always powerful and worth paying attention to.

(Sorry for my terrible qulaity photo from the audience at Contact, its only in there to make the writing seem better 😉

Why Sheffield? You may well ask. It’s simple, we needs a weekend away, we got a Groupon voucher and a friend of ours has opened a new bakery over there so we thought we would take a look. In the past I have only visited Sheffield for gigs at the Leadmill and to the amazing soul night Brighton Beach that used to be held in the splendour that was the town hall.  
We weren’t sure what to expect…

There are two Sheffield’s, at least two. We started off in Sheffield one. If anyone has ever seen the film “Threads”  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Threads   then you will be familiar with where we we’re staying. Mile after mile of concrete wasteland, boarded up buildings, scrub land…this is where we were pitched up for the weekend. All the hotels seem to be grouped together ( probably huddling together to feel safe) in this oppressively ugly part of town. To actually get into the city you have to wander through Castle market, which although it is a fabulous example of the kind of concrete brutalism you would expect to find in an Eastern European, ex-communist state, it doesn’t endear you to the city at all. We stayed at the Park Inn which has a wonderful abandoned petrol station right next to the front door, which is blocked off with concrete rings full of rubble, giving it the feel of a secure compound in a war torn city. The park inn is a hotel, we ate there and it served food. No more, no less. The staff were very friendly and the place was fine. 

There are some lovely parts of the city, the Graves gallery was a high point with a fantastic collection as well as two excellent temporary exhibitions. Easy photo policy too, “in these rooms you can, in those rooms you can’t” simple. (the picture above was one of my favourites) The gardens next to the town hall were lovely too, it was great to see people out in the sunshine enjoying a free, open city space. I imagine this is what Piccadilly gardens would be like if it wasn’t so seedy and grim. Just sayin…
Later we visited the other Sheffield, Sheffield 2: This time it’s beautiful. I was lucky to have been given an alternative guide to Sheffield by the lovely Claire from design company Eleven http://www.elevendesign.co.uk   at the first Creative Tourist  www.creativetourist.com    #blognorth event which pointed us in the direction of the wonderland that is Sharrow Vale road. http://sheffieldblog.com/2010/05/13/sheffield-our-favourite-places-book  (picture of the gudie at the top of this post)
 If you know Manchester, think of it as a mix of the northern Qtr and Chorlton just sans hipsters. We also went up there because our good friend Laura is doing a grand job of establishing a wonderful artisan bakery called “7 Hills Bakery” http://www.facebook.com/pages/Seven-Hills-Bakery/310468188968495 

Specialising in freshly made bread as well as a great selection of brioche and cakes, it’s truly divine. We walked out with armfuls of some of the best tasting bread I have ever had and the constant stream of visitors is a testament to their success. We explored the rest of Sharrow Vale Road, little antique and boutique shops as well as a wide range of independent retailers. What an antidote to the oppressive sameness of the usual high street, and of the endless boarded up wasteland of the town centre. We went to a burger place called Relish which was aces (one between two and a side of onion rings is more than enough) and then popped for pint in a great pub called The Lescar . http://www.thelescarhuntersbar.co.uk   Grilling the locals it was clear that there are other great bits of Sheffield but they are spread out all over and that you have to trek from decent pub to decent pub or restaurant. We strolled back to the apocalypse and decided that if we were to return to Sheffield it would be for a day trip and that we would keep our visits to the parts of the city which are welcoming and warm.

Note: Can i just say Posterous has been particularly difficult today, there would be more pictures but it took nearly 2hours just to get this post to actually post, non of my links worked and it re-arranged the text a few times. I dont often blame my tools but in this case I feel entirely justified

Just wanted do a quick write up of the open air cinema down at canal fest last night. http://www.creativetourist.com/featured/drive-in-moor-up-stroll-by-a-guide-to-the-2012-canal-festival  Last week I was in Paris watching “The Virgin Suicides” en plain air in Park Villette http://www.villette.com/fr/  so was looking forward to what Manchester had to offer. There was a great atmosphere down at Piccadilly basin, a part of town I had never visited before but which obviously has a great deal going on and I will be popping back to. Deck chairs, beer, great food from Ning http://www.ningcatering.com/index.php and a real sense of occasional had the whole place buzzing. It’s a great to see people try something new and to try and put on something a little different. I even got to have a quick peek at the Lomo wall http://cityco.com/initiative/lomowall-manchester/ which was great, and the Atelier sheds too http://cityco.com/initiative/atelier-zero/  which were locked but looked lovely.

 The film was too dark and difficult to see to be perfectly honest, and having seen Captain America before, it is a very dark film (in palette if not in theme.)

 I think the organisers would admit that it’s wasnt clear enough for people to be able to follow. It would be easy to be snarky and critical as the essential element of the night, the film, didn’t quite pan out but… I had a really great time! Sat with friends, had some excellent food and a chat, saw a bit of the film, cheered every time recognised the northern quarter ( yes, we are losers) and would go to it again. On the first night of things you might have a few teething troubles which you can sort out for next time. The lighting around the screen needed dimming and the projection needed to be 10% brighter and perhaps a film with a brighter palette would work better ( we thought of Little Miss Sunshine and The Truman Show), these are all things that can be sorted. I would go again and I’m sure next time will be better, and I’ll be popping to Ning soon as is decent to try the full menu. I cant make it tonight, but “The life Aquatic” is showing from 830-9ish but the whole place is open from 6 ish for food and a pint. Lovely. Follow all the goings on on Twitter with the hashtag #canalfest