Poetry and Performance During the British Poetry Revival 1960–1980: Event and Effect (Modern and Contemporary Poetry and Poetics)

This book examines intersections of poetry and performance during the British Poetry Revival. Its investigations are centered on four specific performance events: The First International Poetry Incarnation at the Royal Albert Hall in 1965; Denise Riley’s first public reading at the Cambridge Poetry Festival in 1977; Eric Mottram’s __Pollock Record__; and Allen Fisher’s __Blood Bone Brain__. Drawing upon a range of archival resources, recordings, and interviews, Juha Virtanen offers engaging and detailed “archaeological” accounts and analyses of these largely unexamined events as well as the potential dialogues between them. The appendices of the book also feature previously unpublished interviews with both Fisher and Riley. This book is essential reading for poetry and performance enthusiasts, particularly those interested in innovative British Poetry. Front Matter ....Pages i-ix Introduction (Juha Virtanen)....Pages 1-26 Be Kind to This Place: Allen Ginsberg and the First International Poetry Incarnation (Juha Virtanen)....Pages 27-53 This Blank Space from Which I Speak: Denise Riley at the Cambridge Poetry Festival‚ April 15th 1977 (Juha Virtanen)....Pages 55-81 Memories Arrested in Space: Eric Mottram’s Pollock Record (Juha Virtanen)....Pages 83-103 You Are Invited to Perform: Process‚ Mutation and Participation in Allen Fisher’s Blood Bone Brain (Juha Virtanen)....Pages 105-140 Epilogue (Juha Virtanen)....Pages 141-153 An Interview with Allen Fisher (Juha Virtanen)....Pages 155-175 An Interview with Denise Riley (Juha Virtanen)....Pages 177-187 Back Matter ....Pages 189-209 Annotation This volume examines intersections of poetry and performance during the British Poetry Revival. Its investigations are centred on four specific performance events: The First International Poetry Incarnation at the Royal Albert Hall in 1965; Denise Riley's first public reading at the Cambridge Poetry Festival in 1977; Eric Mottram's Pollock Record; and Allen Fisher's Blood Bone Brain. Drawing upon a range of archival resources, recordings, and interviews, Juha Virtanen offers engaging and detailed 'archaeological' accounts and analyses of these largely unexamined events as well as the potential dialogues between them Acknowledgements 6 Contents 8 List of Figures 9 1 Introduction 10 2 Be Kind to This Place: Allen Ginsberg and the First International Poetry Incarnation 36 3 This Blank Space from Which I Speak: Denise Riley at the Cambridge Poetry Festival, April 15th 1977 63 4 Memories Arrested in Space: Eric Mottram’s Pollock Record 90 5 You Are Invited to Perform: Process‚ Mutation and Participation in Allen Fisher’s Blood Bone Brain 111 6 Epilogue 147 7 An Interview with Allen Fisher 160 8 An Interview with Denise Riley 181 Bibliography 192 Index 204 Juha Virtanen. Includes Bibliographical References (pages 189-200) And Index.