Last night I read at Roehampton's 'Put Your Words Together', a student-organised student reading. I started off with a fluxus piece:
The performer ties a long piece of string to a bottle, then places the bottle on a table and hides. After some time, the performer tugs on the string to knock the bottle of water over. Takes a bow.
I followed this with a poem taking the micky of list poems:
Things to do today
1. Finish this list poem
Then a couple of poems to celebrate Mr. T's Birthday:
Letter to Mr. T.
Dear Mr. T.
Hey, Sucka! I got no time for the jibba-jabba. I’m on a real short leash here, and I’m tired of your crazy rap. What’d you say to me paper champion? You’re washed up, finished. I’m the baddest in the world.
All the best,
Harry.
The second Mr. T. was a song, performed with help from Joe Stohlman and Adam Stone.
I finished my set with another fluxus performance:
Jack Spicer argues with a bottle of water and subsequent murder
Performer sets up The Collected Books of Jack Spicer (open) and the bottle next to each other. The performer stands to the side of the book and takes a photo of the audience and then a photo of the set up. After some time, he slams the book shut. If this doesn’t knock over the bottle, try different things.
(photos from performance)
a very blurred audience.
the set upIt was an energetic, buzz filled couple of minutes. Promptly killed by the reading of prose. Why can't people read prose with the same energy they put into reading their poems?
Wish I could of seen this. Sounds like a cool reading :-) Fluxus and Mr. T. Hm . . . :-)
ReplyDeleteHarry, your four minutes were definately worth the mild-in-hindsight trek to Roehampton. You, if you choose to pursue it, probably have a career in stand-up comedy. Although, as far as I'm aware, there are no comedy venues in Bishop's Stortford.
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