There is nothing cooler than being chauffeur-driven across London, east to west, to Television Centre by a requisitioned BBC car. The sense of temporary authority – an invitation from the Establishment – is palpable. As we rose onto the Westway, the outside world was something else, below me – minions, peasants, plebs. They have nothing to say. I am on theContinue reading “The World Today – Poetry goes Primetime”
Salt Shaken
Some readers may already have heard that independent poetry press Salt Publishing has been going through some pretty nasty financial difficulties of late. They have started a campaign to save their business, spearheaded by this irreverent YouTube viral. It’s difficult to exaggerate the impact that Salt has made on UK (and to a lesser extent US and Australian)Continue reading “Salt Shaken”
Poem as splint
or crutch; the one to straighten, the other to keep the weight on. So he sings, who would splutter out some crud on weather, but instead another plinth resounds. My mind is unmadeupable. Pistol-whip the butler. Pluck his eyes with a decorative spoon. Prepare the necessary length and tuck behind the ear like so; theContinue reading “Poem as splint”
Launch of How To Build A City
My first collection, How To Build A City (Salt Publishing), is being launched on Saturday 13th June at The Slaughtered Lamb in Clerkenwell. Joining me to launch their own new books are Luke Kennard and Abi Curtis. Ross Sutherland will also be appearing, in the combination-lock role of poet/compere. It’s shaping up to be a goodContinue reading “Launch of How To Build A City”
Ephemera of the month
Recent cultural consumption has included – Generation Kill – 7-part mini-series from the makers of The Wire which follows a company of US marines during the invasion of Iraq in 2003. Brutal and very funny. See clip below. In the Loop – biting political satire with creative swearing and the best cameo ever by Steve Coogan.Continue reading “Ephemera of the month”
Poem as punctured lung,
as bladder, wracked and spongy. Follow the language deep inside; pipe bone flutes into a dog’s rump, inhale and play. What’s on my mind? Cross-section of a larynx in full flow; sphinx at the open window as baffled kitten kitted out in rain-soaked mufti, tuft of ginger felt above the sphincter. Nothing says haircut likeContinue reading “Poem as punctured lung,”
More Terrors reactions
Jane Holland has reviewed The Terrors over at Raw Light. This is contemporary elegy, then, for the long-dead, the unknown, many of them victims of a clumsy, unjust and barbaric legal system. […] The Terrors is a bold, dark, and deeply unsettling collection which introduces a strong new poetic voice. [more] Reviews also at Gists & PithsContinue reading “More Terrors reactions”
Poets take up a new muse – modern technology
‘The poet’s muse is traditionally a goddess with long flowing hair, emblem in hand – but for a new generation of poets the muse is a digital native with WiFi access and an iPod. Tom Chivers is a 26-year-old poet living in East London who in recent years has found he wants to let technologicalContinue reading “Poets take up a new muse – modern technology”
Poem as bullet
A typographic rukus interrupts their dense arrangement of wires; language for its own sake was alone on top of a cold building. Steel performs a shedding of skin in reverse. The snake creeps back inside. In truth, the whole metropolis is bleeding from the guts and gums. To order space when we cannot even tellContinue reading “Poem as bullet”
Terrors in the City
Here’s a little video I shot to promote my pamphlet The Terrors. It includes two of my ‘imagined emails’ to inmates at Newgate Prison. The first is addressed to the Waltham Blacks; the second to John Price, aka Jack Ketch.
Tom Chivers 