Wednesday 19 August 2009

the Italo-Welsh connection



Last night's reading at the Lamb featured (from top) Angela Gardner, Elizabeth James and myself. It was a pretty good turnout for August. Angela has a new book, Views of the Hudson, from Shearsman that will be launched in London in October. She read from this as well as her earlier book, Parts of Speech (University of Queensland Press). The reading was a reunion of sorts. Angela and I had gravitated together in Brisbane where she still lives. And it turned out that she and Elizabeth James were school friends in Wales. Angela is back in the northern hemisphere for a few months and currently working on a project in Ireland (to see some of her visual works among other things try the above link). It was a great gig too, even if the accordionist at the adjacent Italian restaurant struck up while I was reading some shorter stuff.

7 comments:

Anonymous said...

most interesting to me laurie
is you blocking of ruark lewis
from further discussion on your blog
its a no blog heh?

Laurie Duggan said...

Well, Ruark had made his point and I gave him the space to do so. But he kept making it again and again which I found a bit boring so (as any magazine editor would) I exercised my prerogative. And, hey, Mr (or Ms) Anon, it's MY blog, innit?

Anonymous said...

yeah i'm sorry i forgot to leave my name but you'd know who i am because when you took over from Mr Mead as poetry editor of Meanjin you wandered past me at the Jas Duke Memorial where i was showing my films and said you and your mates won't get a show while i'm poetry editor...i've put up with this sort of crap in Australia for a long time, yes its your blog, where's the grace? it never has existed within your groupies!! you are behaving like the L=A=N group
!!! works both ways old mate
yours pete spence

Laurie Duggan said...

Eh, Pete? I don't recollect this event at all. Actually when I was poetry ed of Meanjin I published quite a range of things - a range broader than my own personal taste - because it was that kind of magazine. But I also did it with the intent of not being there for too long - long enough to give an idea of my broader tastes but short enough for someone completely different to follow me. I was indeed at one of the Jas Duke events and I was there because I admired (still do) his work. But I said no such thing about either you or anyone else at that gathering. Sounds like paranoia to me mate.

Anonymous said...

Laurie sorry i haven't come back on the discussion...bloody students at Mullumbimby High kicked a student to death so a few people close to him dropped by my place a bit of a shocked community here!
pete

louise waller said...

hi Laurie,

thanks for posting the pic of Angela, and her new book of poetry will be a fabulous one, (if it is as good as some early poems i was lucky to read suggest it will be)

shame about the little bit of barb in this comment stream. the mention of Ruark brings back memories from the poneme list, something he said about me and a rat or rats up my arse...
but he did email me off list and was sorry it happened,

heat and art and passion, hey

lovely to see a picture of Angela reading.

cheers,
louise

Laurie Duggan said...

Pete, condolences. Sounds terrible. Let me add that I respect what you guys are doing and have no hard feelings about any of this. We can all get a bit edgy at times.

Louise, yeah the reading was great. And Angela has a lot more up her sleeve too. Having a break from grinding work has really set her going with both visual and verbal material.