On the road, again

Dear souls /// it has been some time /// since I have had time /// to write. But I've thrown some lyrics out - which we tour later this week. Whole new set, in prep of a single coming later this year

Vagrant Lovers by Carl Fox

The problem with being an artist/writer/editor/whatever is having the time to do just that - in London. So I can’t wait to have that freedom of touring - and just doing one thing.

Lines of poetry noted on phones. The phone breaking. New screens installed in the Bladerunner tech parasite stalls of Peckham. With warranties offered, but the reality, of margins, marginalia, “Turn it off and on again”. Not wanting to buy more tech. As it rules life, with the social scroll. Distracting from the books. The sunsets. The moment.

In rare slithers of seconds away from Ambit, I’ve been doing up a camper van since last year. It’s black, stealth, a VW Transporter, I lined it like a silver machine. Double Dodo-silver insulation, for those who are interested. You peel it back, stick it to the panels, and it absorbs the sound and vibrations. Over that, I stuck insulation foam, silver-lined to the plywood panels. It was like Warhol’s Factory when Gil’s band came home in the back after their show in Clapton around his album, which is on Bandcamp only. Sadly. He’s the Neal Young of this generation. The van sat on the road. Awaiting the two days I could assign to wallpaper over the lot, after building benches over the wheel arches, mainly from plywood. Buying a DeWalt drill. Feeling I’d won as a feminist. And chopping up a thin memoryfoam mattress, for seats. The inside has a rainforest theme. I’ll share pictures when it’s more settled… As the deadline approaches, of the tour we go on this next week.

Brighton at The Prince Albert, doors at 7pm, Thursday 7 July.

Presenting a Magick Summoning for Creativity workshop, the beginning of an Ambit School - Make-Yer-Own-Merch demos, a short film about our guest editor, Savage Pencil, with a Q&A, hosted in Brighton by Stephen Mallinder, of Cabaret Voltaire (and far more). With live music from the Jonny Halifax Invocation, who are the best band since Hawkwind, with us Vagrant Lovers supporting, on Jonny’s suggestion, when we met at The Seven Stars behind the appeal courts in London, when he was editing the Mick Jagger documentary, which aired over the weekend, and I have yet to watch. He told me I have to make it fun. For myself. As that’s what resonates. So I’m excited to share an entirely new set… I’ve been trying one of the songs out as a poem, upstairs at The French House, for LoveLove magazine, and over the weekend at Robert Montgomery’s party, which was like a neo-Bloomsbury landing pad. Florence Welch liked the words, so that’s a beginning…

I didn’t want the Ambit Pop Tour to be a Kirsty Allison roadshow, but inevitably, when you’re the tour fixer, editor of the magazine that we are doing all of this for, and performer, there’s little escape. I asked several people to host the Q&A in London at Rough Trade East on 19 July, nothing stuck, same with Margate on 9 July, at Tom Thumb Theatre, so I’ll be doing those. It’s tough selling tickets/books/magazines/anything with the ‘cost of living crisis’ where shareholders are the only people who don’t suffer but this offers a really full night of an experience, it’s proper punk. I hope to see some of you, and young folk, inspired - I love the cherry breaking of rhizomatic hand-me-down culture…or why else would we do this? Do let people know these shows are happening - Ambit is a charity, the aim is to provide ladders into literature and art - by supporting those we can, how we can…

Let me know if you’re totally skint and still want to come. xx

We have merch - T-shirts. Rare-ness. Sick and twisted Satanic Mojo stall manned by the Anton-le-vay-esque Jason Atomic, who writes brilliantly on comix and magick in the magazine. There’s an interview with psychedelic artist, probably largely responsible for the whole look, Stanley Mouse, who designed the Grateful Dead posters with Alton Kelly. The interview largely looks at his life before then, doing spray Ts at hot rod shows.

At Hastings on Friday 8 July, David Quantick is hosting. Please do come to one of these shows if you can. We offer a free Ambit Pop magazine with the ticket, which I believe is the best Ambit I’ve worked on so far, featuring black metal images by Gaye Black, the bassist of punk band, The Adverts. First arrivals may be gifted limited edition tote bags. Stories come as music journalism in two forms - a fan account, and a ‘proper’ appraisal by The Wire publisher, Tony Herrington. Also stories from Barbara Frost who wrote to Savage Pencil’s drawings - which I love, twisting the idea of illustration. She’s hosting the Creative Summoning workshop with Edwin Pouncey aka Savage Pencil. Poems from Aviva Dautch, Tony Potts (he started out making films for The Monochrome Set, and is currently in an post-urban-Blakean period), Holly Amber (a true modern beauty). We also feature the meat collages of Sharon Gal, up front like Gucci ads. She’s performing with Savage Pencil in London. I bought her Etudes card pack recently - and they’ve been guiding me like Brian Eno. I took the pack of cards out to Geneva recently, to stay in a friend’s lakehouse, feeling Bryonic, asking teenage daughters to dig into one side of the Pantone spectrum, the flip side has words at angles, as psychic prompts. I love travelling with a guide like that. And a scented candle. And love, of course. And a hat.

TICKETS HERE:

7 July BRIGHTON The Albert

***NEW DATE ADDED*** 8 July HASTINGS The Piper

9 July MARGATE Tom Thumb Theatre

19 July LONDON Rough Trade East

Does someone want to film the tour? Please do get in touch…

I’m also very honoured to be playing a stage in Tempelhof on 15 July, this is a solo performance from me, and I’d be delighted to see friends there. x

Last time I was near Tempelhof, I walked into a cool seeming bar on a corner, and someone sent me over the best wine in the house. Someone I’d taught, who was working there. Magick. Tempelhof is where the American planes would land post-war, throwing out sweets to East Berlin children. Sounds dangerous…

Full info below.

Auf unserer Bühne:
Danielle de Picciotto NYC/Berlin
Kirsty Allison London
Maroula Blades London/Berlin
Wolf Hogekamp Berlin
Gaby Bila- Günther Melbourne/Berlin
Dirk Hülstrunk Frankfurt
DJ Ragu (Alexander Hacke)

BLOOD OF A POET
Poetry und Spoken Word rollen momentan über London, New York und Berlin hinweg. In einer Zeit, in der das Wort entfremdet und neu-erfunden wird, wächst das Verlangen nach Wahrhaftigkeit – und ähnlich den Beatpoeten der 60er Jahre entsteht eine gegenkulturelle Szene neuer Talente, gestützt durch erfahrene Veteranen. Moderne Poesie ist frech, rhythmisch, multikulturell und von Musik und Visuals verstärkt. Vorbei sind die Tage trocken rezitierter Kreuzreime. Spoken Word fordert heraus, reißt mit und am Ende tanzen alle. Am 15. July erwartet Sie eine wunderbare Welt der Poesie, Spoken Word und Musik auf Englisch und Deutsch vorgeführt von international bejubelten Sprach-Künstlern.

BLOOD OF A POET
Poetry and spoken word are sweeping across London, New York and Berlin. At a time when the word is being alienated and reinvented, the need for authenticity is growing - and like the beat poets of the '60s, a countercultural scene of new talent is emerging, supported by seasoned veterans. Modern poetry is bold, rhythmic, multicultural, and amplified by music and visuals. Gone are the days of dryly recited cross-rhymes. Spoken Word challenges our thought patterns and at the end of the night everybody is dancing. On July 15th, a wonderful world of poetry, spoken word and music awaits you in English and German performed by internationally acclaimed language artists.


Danielle de Picciotto NYC/Berlin
Danielle de Picciotto ist eine in Berlin lebende amerikanische Musikerin, Künstlerin und Dichterin. Sie hat die Berlin Love Parade mitbegründet, ist Teil des Duos hackedepicciotto zusammen mit Alexander Hacke von den Einstürzenden Neubauten und Gründerin der Poesiereihe „Blood of the Poet“. Sie hat drei Bücher und sechzehn Alben veröffentlicht. Ihre Kompositionen sind eine Mischung aus gesprochenem Wort, elektronischen Klanglandschaften, melancholischen Geigenharmonien, die sich von experimentellen Klängen zu mystischen Melodien bewegen.

https://www.danielledepicciotto.com/

Danielle de Picciotto is an American musician, artist and poet living in Berlin. She co-founded the Berlin Love Parade, is part of the duo hackedepicciotto together with Alexander Hacke of Einstürzende Neubauten and the founder of the “Blood of the Poet” Poetry Series. She has released three books and sixteen albums (solo and collaboration). Her compositions are a mixture of spoken word, electronic soundscapes, melancholic violin harmonies moving from experimental sounds to mystical melodies.

https://www.danielledepicciotto.com/

Kirsty Allison London
Kirsty Allison ist eine in London geborene Autorin, Redakteurin und Performerin. Sie ist Herausgeberin von Cold Lips Magazin, Editorin von Ambit, der britischen Vierteljahresschrift Poems, Stories, and Art, Mitglied des Duos Vagrant Lovers zusammen mit Gil de Ray und hat gerade ihren ersten Roman Psychomachia (Wrecking Ball Press) veröffentlicht. Im Lockdown produzierte sie eine Sammlung ihrer Gedichte (seit 2007) „Now Is Now“ (Cold Lips), für Abonnenten ihres Substack. Sie begann mit Spoken-Word-Aufführungen, um ihre Fiktion abseits von Tagesjobs als Texter und als Journalistin von The Guardian bis zur BBC, zu entwickeln.

https://kirstyallison.com/

Kirsty Allison is a London-born writer, editor and performer. She is the publisher of
Cold Lips Magazin , the editor of Ambit, the British quarterly of Poems, Stories, and Art, member of the duo Vagrant Lovers together with Gil de Ray and has just published her first novel Psychomachia (Wrecking Ball Press). In lockdown she produced a collection of her poetry since 2007, Now Is Now (Cold Lips) for subscribers to her Substack. She began performing spoken-word to develop her fiction away from day jobs copywriting and working as a journalist everywhere from The Guardian to the BBC.

https://kirstyallison.com/

Maroula Blades London/Berlin
Maroula Blades ist eine afro-britische Dichterin, die in Berlin lebt. Sie wurde für das INITIAL Special Grant der Akademie der Künste in Berlin ausgewählt. Im Jahr 2020 veröffentlichte Chapeltown Books ihre Geschichtensammlung „The World in an Eye“. Ihre Arbeiten werden in zahlreichen Zeitschriften und Anthologien im In- und Ausland veröffentlicht. Seit 1999 arbeitet sie mit dem Multiinstrumentalisten, Komponisten und Arrangeur Jörg Heinrich alias George Henry in seinem POETRYKITCHEN STUDIO BERLIN zusammen.
https://www.literaturport.de/wab/Maroula.Blades/

Maroula Blades is an Afro-British poet living in Berlin. She was selected for the INITIAL Special Grant from the Academy of Arts in Berlin. In 2020, Chapeltown Books published her story collection, “The World in an Eye”. Her works are published in numerous magazines and anthologies at home and abroad. She has been working with the multi-instrumentalist, composer and arranger Jörg Heinrich aka George Henry in his POETRYKITCHEN STUDIO BERLIN since 1999.
https://www.literaturport.de/wab/Maroula.Blades/

Wolf Hogekamp Berlin
Wolf ist ein deutscher Filmemacher, Slam Master und Slam Poet.Seit 1994[2] veranstaltet Wolf Hogekamp in Berlin die älteste Poetry-Slam-Reihe Deutschlands.[3] 1997 organisierte er die ersten deutschsprachigen Poetry-Slam-Meisterschaften und begründete damit die wichtigste Veranstaltungsreihe der Poetry-Slam-Bewegung des deutschen SprachraumsIm Jahr 2000[4] entwickelte Wolf Hogekamp zusammen mit Bas Böttcher das Poetry -Clip-Format. 2005 veröffentlichten sie gemeinsam die DVD Poetry Clips (Vol. 1) auf dem Berliner Label Lieblingslied Records.

http://www.wolfhogekamp.de/

Wolf is a German filmmaker, slam master and slam poet. He has been organizing Germany's oldest poetry slam series in Berlin since 1994. In 1997 he organized the first German-language poetry slam championships. In 2000 Wolf Hogekamp developed the poetry-clip format together with Bas Böttcher. In 2005 they released the DVD Poetry Clips (Vol. 1) together on the Berlin label Favorite Song Records.

http://www.wolfhogekamp.de/

Gaby Bila Gunther Melbourne/Berlin
Lady Gaby ist das Herzstück der englischsprachigen Lyrik in Berlin; Ihre ausgeprägte Stimme hat sie zu einem Favoriten bei Poesieveranstaltungen gemacht. Von Gedichten über das Arbeitsamt bis hin zu Gedichten über Feminismus ist ihre Poesie scharfsinnig, verführerisch und verführerisch persönlich.“ „Lady Gaby verwandelt ihre gesprochenen Worte in eine interaktive Performance, die von Beats, Projektionen und Kostümen begleitet wird. „Sexy und kraftvolle Show“!
https://www.facebook.com/bilagunther

Lady Gaby is at the heart of English-language poetry in Berlin; her distinct voice has made her a favourite at poetry events. With poems about the arbeitsamt (job office) to poems about feminism, her poetry is sharp, seductive, and enticingly personal.' 'Lady Gaby turns her spoken words into an interactive, in- your-face performance accompanied by beats, projections and costumes. ‘Sexy and Powerful show’!
https://www.facebook.com/bilagunther

Dirk Hülstrunk Frankfurt
Dirk Hülstrunk ist Mitbegründer und Vorstandsmitglied des Kulturnetz Frankfurt e.V., ein international tätiger Klangpoet, Spoken-Word-Poet, Autor, Klangkünstler, freiberuflicher Dozent und Moderator sowie Kurator von Kunst- und Literaturveranstaltungen aus Frankfurt/Main. Beeinflusst von Fluxus, DADA, konkreter Poesie, Gertrude Stein und elektronischer Musik bewegt sich Hülstrunks Werk oft zwischen diesen Genres. Dirk hat sechs Bücher veröffentlicht und mehrere Preise für seine Arbeit erhalten.
https://www.dirkhuelstrunk.de/de/

Dirk Hülstrunk is co-founder and board member of Kulturnetz Frankfurt e.V., an internationally active sound poet, spoken word poet, author, sound artist, freelance lecturer and moderator and curator of art and literature events from Frankfurt/Main. Influenced by Fluxus, DADA, concrete poetry, Gertrude Stein and electronic music, Hülstrunk's work often moves between these genres. Dirk has released six book and received multiple prizes for his work.
https://www.dirkhuelstrunk.de/de/

DH Ragu (Alexander Hacke) Berlin
Alexander Hacke ist Musiker, Filmmusik Komponist, Produzent und Klangkünstler.
Es ist Gründungsmitglied der Einstürzenden Neubauten und zusammen mit Danielle de Picciotto Teil des Duos hackedepicciotto. In sehr seltenen Fällen legt er als DJ Ragu ungewöhnliche Musikzusammenstellungen auf.
https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alexander_Hacke

Alexander Hacke is a musician, film music composer, producer, sound artist, founding member of Einstürzenden Neubauten and, together with Danielle de Picciotto, part of the duo hackedepicciotto. In very rare cases he DJs an eclectic music set as DJ Ragu.
https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alexander_Hacke

https://stayhappening.com/e/blood-of-a-poet-E2ISUNX7RQM