Wednesday 28 August 2013

Reading from 'Abbey Place to Zion Street'

On August 10th 2013 I gave a reading from my hand-made book 'Abbey Place to Zion Street' to the Pennycomequick group of artists in Plymouth.

It was an interesting evening with other writers and poets reading excerpts from their publications, including Steve Spence, Norman Jope, William Telford, Janet Tamblin and Kenny Knight. A wonderful mix of prose, storytelling and poetry.

'Abbey Place to Zion Street' is part of a body of work  investigating my response to living in Plymouth.

By handwriting a list of all the street names in Plymouth, I was introducing a metaphor for duration, referring to the length of time I have lived in Plymouth.

During the process of handwriting the list, I didn't consider the viewer's response in terms of hearing the book read out loud. I was concerned more with the tactile quality of a hand-made book and the spatial quality of the repetitive list form.

Initially, I was concerned that the text would sound dull, but, as I read, I became more conscious of how I intoned the street names, and where and for how long I paused for breath.

By reading out loud from the book, I discovered an interesting, rhythmic, sound quality to the work, which gives it another dimension.





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