general review of bury text festival
What do I make of the Bury Text Festival - which is still going on if you haven't visited yet - having had a few days to digest what I've seen so far?
The first question that occurred to me was, what did I take away from the festival? For me a lot of the emphasis was on poetry. I wasn't sure though how far this was a reflection of the people I met up with and the way I chose to view the events. But the events I attended were Poetry Film, Geof Huth's reading at the opening of the exhibitions at Bury Art Gallery, The Bury Poems, and Ron Silliman's reading. In all of these poetry was the central focus.
This raised another set of questions. What is the focus of the festival beyond 'text'? Is there indeed a focus beyond 'text', and if not, does it matter? The first question I found difficult to answer. It might be argued given what I wrote above, and given the emphasis of my coverage to date that the focus was poetry. But if you spend time looking at The Agency of Words and Signs of the Times (and you really should) then the impression you come away with is quite different, and more diverse.
Signs of the Times is perhaps the easier to characterise, focusing as it does on text as a functional signifier, be it labels, letters, adverts, warnings etc. but with an eye on the playfulness of language and the uses of even mundane text for creativity. The Agency of Words is more difficult to pin down ranging from functional text (the film of end credits from several films by Patrick Fabian Panetta) through spoken text (in Ming Wong's humorous films) to non-functional, illegible or inaudible text (the large silicon text hanging, Ben Gwilliam's tape recorder and acetate of text). Perhaps the focus here is on text as an object over its functional use - although a piece like Liz Collini's beautiful text drawn in white chalk on a deep blue wall crosses these boundaries.
I'm still not sure that this amounts to a single focus beyond 'text'. We have functional text, we have text as art object, and the area where they overlap also overlaps with poetry. In this light Geof Huth looks like a particularly good match for the Signs of the Times exhibition. And of course I've completely failed to mention Catriona Glover's cast a moving body at Bury Met Arts, which like Liz Collini's text uses both functional and understandable text, and text as an object. Nonetheless these are intersecting areas rather than a single area of focus. But does this matter? I don't think it's a problem, on the contrary I think it's actually a strength, and allows the various complementary threads to illuminate one another. It's therefore perhaps a shame that there are so few poems or performances of poems documented in the exhibition, and especially a shame that Tom Konyves selection of poetry film isn't installed somewhere for visitors to watch. For me the poetry films and the performances were a crucial element of the festival and it would add something for them to have been documented and made available. And I am aware that I missed the symposium on Sunday, which I'm sure I would have learned a lot from.
With that out of the way, what have I taken away from the festival beyond a clutch of ideas that may be turned into poems? I'm still not certain of that, but here are some initial thoughts:
*
Text often remains wholly unconsidered as an object in itself even in creative work. Its usual function is to be an unnoticed vehicle for what the text conveys. But of course as we can see in advertising especially, the form of the text is not easily separated from the content of the words represented by the text. In light of this it makes sense that along with visual art, and sound art making use of text, poetry should be one of the major components of the festival. The texture, sound, patterning and appearance of text are extremely important parts of poetry. This is especially so in the contemporary writing world where visual and sound poetry have clearly asserted their value.
*
Continuing to focus on poetry, I was reminded of how much reading I have done in the last eighteen months since finally discovering the experimental practices I had been looking for over the previous sixteen years. I have in fact contemplated a post listing the writers that I've encountered for the first time in that period. The reason I haven't done so yet is that a list of names, even with links embedded, would be a pretty dull read. I may yet do it, perhaps more in the form of an essay exploring particular writers, books and individual works, and kinds of poetry I've encountered, along with online resources that may be useful.
This thought came about mainly from the observation that, given the number of universities in Greater Manchester and the wider Northwest, given the number of creative writing courses, magazines, writers, and poetry nights, and given the presence of publishing and media industries locally I would have thought there was a huge number of people within easy reach of Bury with an interest in this festival. And yet although events were well attended I always felt that there should have been more people present. Although it was never a serious idea I did toy with the notion of a 'name and shame' post listing all the Manchester writers who I didn't see over the weekend.
*
Alternative, experimental, post-avant, innovative practices in poetry, or whatever you want to call them, do seem to have a very low profile in the UK. The few times you see an established poet or commentator speak on the subject it usually seems to be to dismiss it (witness Seamus Heaney's comments about there being 'no avant-garde' in The Guardian). Poetry only seems to merit a profile if it's performance/slam/urban/hip-hop poetry - presumably because that's condescendingly seen as relevant to young people, or when some major name either dies or gets an award. It's probable that without Carol Ann Duffy being awarded the laureateship the minor spat over Ruth Padel's candidature for Chair of Poetry at Oxford wouldn't have warranted any attention for instance.
A festival like this which engages in a dialogue about what is possible within text and text-based arts (which are far broader than poetry) is deserving of a lot of attention and should be supported. With the selection of books available in bookshops narrowing all the time, and with the most visible cultural products operating at levels of idiotic simplicity, a festival which doesn't patronise you and which gives a prominent position to challenging work - Phil Davenport, Geof Huth, Tony Lopez, Ron SIlliman, Carol Watts, etc - is to be applauded and encouraged.
*
These thoughts have all been expressed in quite negative terms though, and this was not the experience of the festival. The most important thing I took from the Bury Text Festival was the opportunity to meet and talk with a huge range of writers and artists, to have a rare opportunity to see Geof Huth and Ron SIlliman read in person, and to see a quantity of exciting and stimulating work in a variety of media. I had a fantastic weekend that inspired masses of different thoughts and made me feel much more confident about what I'm doing. Like the Openned events (which I haven't been able to attend) and associated blog, like The Other Room and associated blog, Bury Text Festival was an oasis. All too often you can feel isolated from other artists doing the same thing and begin to doubt yourself. The opportunity to meet with people face to face, to exchange ideas, and just to enjoy quality work in a friendly environment is not to be ignored.
This is the most lasting aspect of the period from Thursday evening through to Saturday night for me. It made me happy, I enjoyed myself, and I was sad when it was over. There will be more to write about this, and there are the associated publications, further events, and additional visits to the exhibitions to enjoy.
The first question that occurred to me was, what did I take away from the festival? For me a lot of the emphasis was on poetry. I wasn't sure though how far this was a reflection of the people I met up with and the way I chose to view the events. But the events I attended were Poetry Film, Geof Huth's reading at the opening of the exhibitions at Bury Art Gallery, The Bury Poems, and Ron Silliman's reading. In all of these poetry was the central focus.
This raised another set of questions. What is the focus of the festival beyond 'text'? Is there indeed a focus beyond 'text', and if not, does it matter? The first question I found difficult to answer. It might be argued given what I wrote above, and given the emphasis of my coverage to date that the focus was poetry. But if you spend time looking at The Agency of Words and Signs of the Times (and you really should) then the impression you come away with is quite different, and more diverse.
Signs of the Times is perhaps the easier to characterise, focusing as it does on text as a functional signifier, be it labels, letters, adverts, warnings etc. but with an eye on the playfulness of language and the uses of even mundane text for creativity. The Agency of Words is more difficult to pin down ranging from functional text (the film of end credits from several films by Patrick Fabian Panetta) through spoken text (in Ming Wong's humorous films) to non-functional, illegible or inaudible text (the large silicon text hanging, Ben Gwilliam's tape recorder and acetate of text). Perhaps the focus here is on text as an object over its functional use - although a piece like Liz Collini's beautiful text drawn in white chalk on a deep blue wall crosses these boundaries.
I'm still not sure that this amounts to a single focus beyond 'text'. We have functional text, we have text as art object, and the area where they overlap also overlaps with poetry. In this light Geof Huth looks like a particularly good match for the Signs of the Times exhibition. And of course I've completely failed to mention Catriona Glover's cast a moving body at Bury Met Arts, which like Liz Collini's text uses both functional and understandable text, and text as an object. Nonetheless these are intersecting areas rather than a single area of focus. But does this matter? I don't think it's a problem, on the contrary I think it's actually a strength, and allows the various complementary threads to illuminate one another. It's therefore perhaps a shame that there are so few poems or performances of poems documented in the exhibition, and especially a shame that Tom Konyves selection of poetry film isn't installed somewhere for visitors to watch. For me the poetry films and the performances were a crucial element of the festival and it would add something for them to have been documented and made available. And I am aware that I missed the symposium on Sunday, which I'm sure I would have learned a lot from.
With that out of the way, what have I taken away from the festival beyond a clutch of ideas that may be turned into poems? I'm still not certain of that, but here are some initial thoughts:
*
Text often remains wholly unconsidered as an object in itself even in creative work. Its usual function is to be an unnoticed vehicle for what the text conveys. But of course as we can see in advertising especially, the form of the text is not easily separated from the content of the words represented by the text. In light of this it makes sense that along with visual art, and sound art making use of text, poetry should be one of the major components of the festival. The texture, sound, patterning and appearance of text are extremely important parts of poetry. This is especially so in the contemporary writing world where visual and sound poetry have clearly asserted their value.
*
Continuing to focus on poetry, I was reminded of how much reading I have done in the last eighteen months since finally discovering the experimental practices I had been looking for over the previous sixteen years. I have in fact contemplated a post listing the writers that I've encountered for the first time in that period. The reason I haven't done so yet is that a list of names, even with links embedded, would be a pretty dull read. I may yet do it, perhaps more in the form of an essay exploring particular writers, books and individual works, and kinds of poetry I've encountered, along with online resources that may be useful.
This thought came about mainly from the observation that, given the number of universities in Greater Manchester and the wider Northwest, given the number of creative writing courses, magazines, writers, and poetry nights, and given the presence of publishing and media industries locally I would have thought there was a huge number of people within easy reach of Bury with an interest in this festival. And yet although events were well attended I always felt that there should have been more people present. Although it was never a serious idea I did toy with the notion of a 'name and shame' post listing all the Manchester writers who I didn't see over the weekend.
*
Alternative, experimental, post-avant, innovative practices in poetry, or whatever you want to call them, do seem to have a very low profile in the UK. The few times you see an established poet or commentator speak on the subject it usually seems to be to dismiss it (witness Seamus Heaney's comments about there being 'no avant-garde' in The Guardian). Poetry only seems to merit a profile if it's performance/slam/urban/hip-hop poetry - presumably because that's condescendingly seen as relevant to young people, or when some major name either dies or gets an award. It's probable that without Carol Ann Duffy being awarded the laureateship the minor spat over Ruth Padel's candidature for Chair of Poetry at Oxford wouldn't have warranted any attention for instance.
A festival like this which engages in a dialogue about what is possible within text and text-based arts (which are far broader than poetry) is deserving of a lot of attention and should be supported. With the selection of books available in bookshops narrowing all the time, and with the most visible cultural products operating at levels of idiotic simplicity, a festival which doesn't patronise you and which gives a prominent position to challenging work - Phil Davenport, Geof Huth, Tony Lopez, Ron SIlliman, Carol Watts, etc - is to be applauded and encouraged.
*
These thoughts have all been expressed in quite negative terms though, and this was not the experience of the festival. The most important thing I took from the Bury Text Festival was the opportunity to meet and talk with a huge range of writers and artists, to have a rare opportunity to see Geof Huth and Ron SIlliman read in person, and to see a quantity of exciting and stimulating work in a variety of media. I had a fantastic weekend that inspired masses of different thoughts and made me feel much more confident about what I'm doing. Like the Openned events (which I haven't been able to attend) and associated blog, like The Other Room and associated blog, Bury Text Festival was an oasis. All too often you can feel isolated from other artists doing the same thing and begin to doubt yourself. The opportunity to meet with people face to face, to exchange ideas, and just to enjoy quality work in a friendly environment is not to be ignored.
This is the most lasting aspect of the period from Thursday evening through to Saturday night for me. It made me happy, I enjoyed myself, and I was sad when it was over. There will be more to write about this, and there are the associated publications, further events, and additional visits to the exhibitions to enjoy.
Comments
Thanks also for putting the festival together. I regret missing the previous one even more. It's been a fantastic experience so far.