seaside reverie . . .

The unseasonably summery conditions made for a slow session - could see plenty of people cooling themselves on the balcony, the terrace and the beach. The 'P' word tends to put people off and have tried hard not to say it ... but children and young people tend to be less easily put off by the idea of making poems ! there was a nice thoughtful piece from a student from Sussex Coast College and some local school girls were keen to express their love of Bexhill in swirly felt pen. Some are torn by the desire to just walk away thinking it's not for them and then a word of phrase catches their eye and then they play around with words for a while - sometimes happy to display their creation on the window, others preferring to just leave their verse on the table.

Well done to everyone who got creative and took part !

The Poetry Jukebox

I was back in Gallery 2 for the second Poetry Jukebox, this week, inviting visitors to choose a poem on the theme of light - and then performing them, live and unrehearsed - whilst the lights of Cerith Wyn Evans' S=U=P=E=R=S=T=R=U=C=T=U=R=E turned on and off. Over the course of three hours - I performed to 53 people. That's a lot of poems!

"Hearing the poem was quite an experience," said Lisa, who was visiting with a group of friends, "I walked past the art and thought - I don't get that. But when I went and sat and felt the lights going on and off, it gave it a different feel."

As this was the last Poetry Jukebox at the De La Warr, I also composed a poem especially for the event, borrowing text from the exhibition catalogue - rather in the way that Cerith Wyn Evans borrows words by Guy De Bord and Jimi Hendrix in the art works on show in the Pavilion. The resulting video-poem is called s_u_p_e_r_c_o_n_d_u_c_t_o_r and explores the theme of longing. So hit the play button, and enjoy the poetry jukebox one last time...