takahē magazine
I’m very pleased to see two of my poems in takahē magazine
takahē magazine “exists to develop and promote art and literature that represents the diverse voices of Aotearoa New Zealand within the global context, publishing innovative short fiction, poetry, art, and critique by emerging and established practitioners”.
I’m presently enjoying a southern hemisphere summer, along with the fabulous bonhomie of Christchurch’s thriving literary scene. My great thanks to Canterbury Poets’ Collective, to Erik, Lee, and the many poets I’ve met, and to the other venues at which I have heard and read poems: Space Academy, the Austin Club, and Little Andromeda.
Mercurius
I’m delighted to a part of The Surreal-Absurd: An Anthology of Contemporary Surrealist and Absurdist Poetry.
You can find out all you need to know here: https://www.mercurius.one/books/the-surreal-absurd-an-anthology-of-contemporary-surrealist-and-absurdist-poetry
(from the site) About Mercurius Magazine and the Surreal-Absurd
Founded in 2020, Mercurius Magazine has evolved to specialise in contemporary surrealism. Editors Thomas Helm and Marcus Silcock coined the phrase “surreal-absurd” to categorise a new kind of surrealist poetry: one that combined surrealism with elements of minimalism, absurdism, and story-telling, with a strong preference for the prose-poem.
Although many authors were writing in this mode, their work seemed scattered across diverse journals without a single centre of gravity. Helm and Silcock felt passionately about this form, not only for its immediacy, inventiveness, and lovely weirdness, but also for its non-elitism and accessibility. They wanted to consolidate a truly popular form that spoke to the times and could be enjoyed by all kinds of readers.
With the critical input of two additional editors–Vik Shirley and Ben Niezpodziany–the Mercurius editorial team spent the next four years archiving the world’s finest poets working in this emerging form. The result is the Surreal-Absurd anthology.
Holding My Breath in a Bathful of Words
Holding My Breath in a Bathful of Words
90 x 75 cm
Acrylic on canvas
Enter Stage Left
Acrylic and acrylic ink on canvas
50 x 40 cm
Publication day!
Come to the River
AI Literary Review #2
The second issue of AI Literary Review is now online.
My poem ‘We’re So Tired of Men’ from the Off-Page exhibition earlier this year sits alongside all sorts of works ‘that use AI technology in novel ways, and that merge human intention with digital automation. We’re looking for poems written by humans using AI as a creative tool. Poems must be at least partially generated with AI, or adapted from AI-generated material.’
Take a look here.
The Interpreter’s House #81
It’s always a buzz to be accepted for The Interpreter’s House, and I have a poem in the latest issue (#81).
My thanks, as ever, to Georgi & Louise who keep things rolling.
Random Records
I see I haven’t updated for a while, so here’s the first of a few things that have happened this year.
In April, my installation ‘Random Records‘ was part of the Off-Page exhibition at Many Studios in Glasgow’s East End.
The exhibition deals with visual poetry and the poetic visual, with work from Julie Laing, CD Boyland, Gabriela Milkova, Miriam Ali, Lorna Callery-Sithole, Alison Cohen, Caroline Campbell & Scott Carroll, Catherine Euenson, & Keira McLean.
The exhibition was a terrific experience, and you can view the other exhibits on my own and Off Page Vispo’s Instagram pages.
Mark Russell 