Internettal Wonderment

I've just been blown away by some awesome articles that I found while having a cheeky browse on the ol' interwebs. I was trying to find Bob Cobbing's 'A good fuck makes me feel like custard' permutational poem, and, since time was on my side, I went the long route by simply Googling 'Bob Cobbing'.

First up I went on the Electronic Poetry Center site, which linked me to UbuWeb. Both are incredible resources. This article caught my eye, though, as the subject of sound poetry and its power to question the 'linguistic stereotypes' that prevail is rapidly becoming the most important to me. I think this is a very personable collection of thoughts, like a gentle mentor talking to a faithful student. The way it talks about motives, materials and concepts of the 'genre' unlocks so much future it's astounding.


Next up on my information superhighway tour is from the Birkbeck Uni website, which those of you who don't have the Ship of Fools version of Robert Sheppard's The Necessity of Poetics should check out (there are a few differences between the two versions that I found very interesting, especially the 'workshop junkies' element). My wandering took me to Lawrence Upton's Bob Cobbing: and the book as medium; designs for poetry. Now, I've not actually read this one yet, but it looks impressive, especially due to its generous use of pictures which are vital to understand the implications of going beyond (or, more accurately is some ways, before) language. What made me really happy I'd stumbled across this site was it's archive of issues, a vast wealth of discourse on poems and poetry, all free. I don't mention the 'free' bit because I got a puerile, knee-jerk gut reaction to getting something for nothing, I mention it because the implication is that the value in the articles is in sharing them, of learning from them. It's an ever-present debate in the art world, the 'value' of a piece and, of course, the value lies outside the capitalist constructs of monetary wealth, but it's nice to see such a high-standard body of important research being made so freely available. Of course, there are other great free sites, such as New Pages, Black Market Review (currently displaying a lovely bit of collaborative art), National Association of Writers in Education and a whole bunch more. They are all gateways to enlightenment. There are also plenty of journals that charge, and there's nothing wrong with that at all, I'm certainly not implying that 'free is better' in terms of the work itself. Gylphi is one example, London Review of Books, and, I don't know, New Writing? Priceless.

Next: University of Pennsylvania's collection of recordings. Again, you can't really appreciate the magic of this kind of poetry without the benefit of sensory stimulation - aural in this case - so this is massively important for unlocking the 'proper' experience. I'm sure Cobbing would probably not like such terms as 'correct' and 'proper' in this respect, but certainly he'd encourage performance (only one soul was brave enough to try that at the recent JMU exhibit [link correct at time of publishing]) and be more than happy to give his own.

Then I had to modify my search a bit to find this custard malarkey (to 'Bob Cobbing custard'), which eventually got me on the Jacket site,  reading Sheppard's Bob Cobbing: Sightings and Soundings. Each bit is like a match being struck, bright bursts of light, smouldering for a few paragraphs, some being blown out rapidly, before the next one is lit. It was an important read for me, as it really got you past the 'works' and into the contextual side of things. So vivid are the recollections, that I could smell the matchstick sulphur. Maybe this link isn't so interesting for general browsing, i.e. if you're not specifically looking for sound poetry material, but if you are then it's invaluable for those of us that weren't there (though my image of the 'SILLIWHIG' episode is so clear that I feel I was there, in disembodied spirit at least).

Anyhoo, that pretty much completes my redneck ramble, getting all excited about the internet whilst everyone else is probably like, "So what? It's nothing new to us..." Still, I'm glad to show you some groovy links, and remember folks: though these links are are Cobbing-centric, explore the rest of the site! These online journals are a great way to stumble across something new and something relevant, whether directly or indirectly, so be bold.

Ciao for now!

2012 B.C.

It was a bit Python-esque in parts. It was totally free. It was one of the best cultural experiences I've ever had. It was was a celebration of Bob Cobbing's life and works, held at The Castle Hotel in Manchester, organized by The Other Room.

I was suffering a little bit from anxiety (not related to the event), and that coupled with the crowded conditions in the venue meant I didn't get the most out of the night (so it could have been even better than the glowing report I'm about to give it). Yeah it was very cramped, and the way I was 'squishing myself in' led to a wee bit of pain, but that was only due to the popularity of the event, not the limitations of the location (incidentally, The Castle Hotel is a lovely place. I had a couple of pints of Robinson's 'Double Hop', but I'll try and keep this literary and leave the ale monologue for another time). Once I'd settled down, though, the fun began.

The performances were genuinely brilliant, from "only the warm up" right through to the deep-sea diving and Hollywood films, all in the spirit of the late Mr. Cobbing (1920 - 2002). He was an Enfield poet noted for his work in concrete, visual and sound pieces but if you want more biographical details, click on the above link to be taken to his UbuWeb page. Clive Fencott, who was reading from his own collection Am I On My Feet (El Uel Uel U, 1976), helpfully explained a couple of bits and bobs, including the idea of poetry as experience, rather than language (and that Bob could have 'performed a wall panel' if he'd wanted). This brought home to me the importance of the works that were being read out and also meant I 'got' more out of them.

There was a lot of humour, especially during the Hollywood poems, but overall the experience was nigh on indesribable ('fascinating' is right, but doesn't do it justice). I feel sorry for you if you didn't make it, because you really had to be there to feel the full extent of the performance. Even a video recording wouldn't give a fair reflection, the sense of passion from the poets burnt so brightly in person.

The second half saw a cavalcade of poets performing Cobbing's own 'ABC in Sound' which turned out, despite their ostensible reservations, to be well organized. One poet in the ensemble performed accoustically a digital remix he'd done of part of it. The thrill of seeing such a physical and audible collage of artists was fantastic, and I thought to myself I could have no regrets if I died there and then.

I went a bit mad on getting some of the poets' books afterwards, but mourning the pecuniary loss would be silly when I consider the poetic treasures I have gained. It was great to see my sister and other friends there, and everyone was unanimous in their support of a great night. Check out the links throughout the post for more opportunities to take part. Go on, do it now!

Here are some more linky-links to relevant stuff:

• http://robertsheppard.blogspot.co.uk/ (Robert Sheppard's blog, he performed on the night)
• That's it actually, all the other links are in the post pretty much...