“It’s just nice to put on poetry events,” writes Harry Burke via email, a poet, art graduate and organiser behind a title-less poetry reading at Test Centre, November 16.
As part of a month-long programme at the Stoke Newington space that ran from October 24 to November 24, Burke invited some of his favourite poets to read on the night in support of an anthology, edited by him, to launch in Spring 2014. In recognising that art and language have always been closely entwined, the project explores the multiple modes of mediation available beyond the traditional “white space” of the printed form.
As formats expand and evolve, presentation appears to have become a key focus across creatives pressing forward into a digital cultural age. Burke’s interests are no different as he aims to examine these “new poetries and new ways of presenting poetries”, across collaborations between poets and artists. Paul Kneale, Sophie Collins, Timothy Thornton, Paul Kneale, Huw Lemmey, Francesca Lisette and Diane Marie, appeared on the night, while Burke explained a bit about his thoughts on the new narratives and ways of making and expressing meaning emerging in this “shifting landscape.” **
