Memory is deep

 

New from Dye Hard Press: Curry and Bread by Pravasan Pillay

 

Blending memoir, humour, lists, slices of life, and vignettes into a layered collage, Curry and Bread is Pravasan Pillay’s offbeat exploration of the food and foodways of working-class South African Indians – as well as his own food memories.

The book’s structure is an intriguing interplay between lighter and more melancholic moments. There are tongue-in-cheek guides to eating bunny chows and messy crab curries, an examination of the special relationship between Indian aunties and ice cream containers, an ode to the humble baked beans curry, a ranking of extremely weird sandwiches, a trainspotter’s list of South African Indian tomato chutneys, and much more – a veritable breyani in its construction.

Pillay now lives in Sweden and we are also given glimpses of his culinary adjustment there, ranging from his experimental dhals to his ruminations on frozen curry leaves.

Curry and Bread is a funny, and, at times, bitter-sweet book about food, but it is ultimately about memory, home, nostalgia, migration, and identity.

140 pages.

ISBN: 978-1-0370-6553-8

If you order directly from Dye Hard Press, the price is R320, including the cost of courier directly to your door. Email the publisher at cummiskeyg@gmail.com.

Curry and Bread will also soon be available from Made in Durban and select bookstores.

Curry and Bread has arrived from the printer

 

Curry and Bread is the latest title by Pravasan Pillay, published by Dye Hard Press.

Alchemical room

 

Eye patch

 

Inside your head

 

The future's so bright ...

 

Rengade eye: collages by Gary Cummiskey

 

Renegade eye is a selection of 18 collages by Gary Cummiskey, published by new imprint Turquoise Press. Renegade eye is available as a flip-book on Heyzine. 

You can also download it as a PDF here.

Gary Cummiskey is a South African poet, writer and publisher of Dye Hard Press. His latest poetry collection is Somewhere else, published by Graffiti, Kolkata, in 2024.

There vanished forever

 

You Joe

 

Coming soon: Renegade eye -- collages by Gary Cummiskey

Renegade eye is a selection of 18 collages by Gary Cummiskey, published by new imprint Turquoise Press. Renegade eye will be available as a flip-book and PDF on Issuu. 

Gary Cummiskey is a South African poet, writer and publisher of Dye Hard Press. His latest poetry collection is Somewhere else, published by Graffiti, Kolkata, in 2024.

Animal eyeball, his collaboration with British artist Paul Warren, is also available on Issuu.

The proof copy of Curry and Bread has arrived

 The proof copy of Pravasan Pillay's Curry and Bread has arrived and it is looking beautiful! Curry and Bread is the latest and third title by Pillay to be published by Dye Hard Press.

I ain't no dancer

 

 

Translations from Somewhere else to appear in French literary journal

French poet and collagist Bruno Sourdin has translated some poems from my collection Somewhere else (Graffiti, Kolkata), which will be published in the French literary journal Dierese.

I am looking forward to receiving a copy soon! 

 

Curry and Bread is off to the printer!

Pravasan Pilay's new book, Curry and Bread, is now at the printer! Dye Hard Press should receive the proof copy early next week.

Watch this space!

On this day in 2021

On this day in 2021, Sreemanti Sengupta in Kolkata, India, received her copy of Thunder on the highway by Gary Cummiskey, published by Dye Hard Press.

Thunder on the highway was limited to 50 numbered copies.

 

An unusual situation

 

A year ago today

It was a year ago today that Kolkata-based poet and publisher Subhankar Das passed on. I still struggle to comprehend that is is gone.  Just a month before he had published my latest poetry collection, Somewhere else.

Life is fragile. We are fragile.

Forthcoming from Dye Hard Press: Curry and Bread by Pravasan Pillay

Here's a sneak peak of the cover of Pravasan Pillay's forthcoming book, Curry and Bread, soon to be published by Dye Hard Press.

Blending memoir, humour, lists, slices of life, and vignettes into a layered collage, Curry and Bread is Pravasan Pillay's offbeat exploration of the food and foodways of working-class South African Indians – as well as his own food memories.

Watch this space! 

What goes up?

 

Chatsworth is still around

 

A reminder that you can still buy copies of Pravasan Pillay's much-acclaimed debut short story collection Chatsworth at Made in Durban.

Don't forget to telephone God at bandcamp!

 

I telephoned God, a 40-minute recording of Gary Cummiskey reading a selection of his poetry and released by Sloow Tapes in Belgium, is available for download on Bandcamp.

Check it out here.

Animal eyeball is waiting for you

 

Respected and acclaimed South African poet Kobus Moolman calls Animal eyeball 'a fantastic visual and linguistic collaboration'. 

Animal eyeball is a free e-chapbook of seven cut-up prose poems accompanied by collages by UK artist Paul Warren.

It won't cost you anything to read, but it may take your mind to where it has never been before!

To access the book on Issuu click here.

You can also access and download a PDF version here.

Outside the cave still available

 

Outside the cave: selected poems by Gary Cummiskey, is still available from Clarke's Bookstore or directly from the publisher at cummiskeyg@gmail.com.

Selected and introduced by Kobus Moolman. 162 pages. Selected poems from 1990 to 2020.

Dreaming Princess

 

There must be an end of this, Julia

 

Proofreading Pravasan Pillay's Curry and Bread

The latest Dye Hard Press title, Curry and Bread, by Pravasan Pillay, is at the proofreading stage. Publication is scheduled for late May/early June.

We are almost there - watch this space! 

The water is rising

 

Gary Cummiskey reading at Off the Wall

 

Please enjoy this recording of me reading my poetry at Off the Wall on April 7. I read a selection of poems from my collections Thunder on the highway, Somewhere else and Outside the cave.

The recording can only be kept up for a limited time so you may want to downloadd it for future use.

https://us06web.zoom.us/rec/share/YzcNoVvVbBvIG55-Pi3JKHOAHjL7s0m_HaLt81dIsYov0-nehXLvb3dF89aFO4Ra.GCLtPCwqOAtVAHR2?startTime=1744047157000

Passcode: E@%g5PDH

Sabina, Subhankar Das's widow, at the Small Magazine Fair in Kolkata

 

Sabina, the widow of poet and publisher Subhankar Das, at the Graffiti stand of the Small Magazine Fair in Kolkata. At the front centre is a book of Subhankar with a painting by Pascal Ulrich on the cover.

Graffiti published my latest collection of poems, Somewhere else, in 2024, as well as an earlier collection, Sky dreaming, in 2011. 

I recently conducted an interview with poet and publisher Robert Roman about the life and work of artist and poet Pascal Ulrich.

Gary Cummiskey reading at Off the Wall

 

Gary Cummiskey is a poet, short story writer and publisher living in Johannesburg. He is the author of several poetry chapbooks and collections, the latest being Somewhere else (Graffiti, Kolkata, 2024). In 2009 he published Who was Sinclair Beiles?, a compilation of writings about the South African Beat poet, co-edited with Eva Kowalska. A revised and expanded edition was published in 2014. His short fiction collection Off-ramp was a finalist for the 2014 Nadine Gordimer Short Story Award. From 2014 to 2016 he was editor of New Coin, one of South Africa’s oldest and most prestigious poetry journals.

Host: Elisa Galgut

Zoom Room: https://us05web.zoom.us/j/89955065083...

Meeting ID: 899 5506 5083

Passcode: 4ucS3b

What you see (when you're not there)

 

For your pleasure

 

Pravasan Pillay's Curry and Bread now in production

Pravasan Pillay’s new book, Curry and Bread, is now in production!

Blending memoir, humour, lists, slices of life, and vignettes into a layered collage, Curry and Bread is an offbeat exploration of the food and foodways of working-class South African Indians – as well as Pillay's own food memories.

Watch this space!

Strictly confidential

 

For your eyes only

 

Don't forget to telephone God on bandcamp!

 

Great news -- I telephoned God, a 40-minute recording of Gary Cummiskey reading a selection of his poetry and released by Sloow Tapes in Belgium, is now available for download on Bandcamp.

Check it out here.

Outside the cave available from Clarke's in Cape Town

 

Outside the cave: selected poems by Gary Cummiskey, is still available from Clarke's Bookstore or directly from the publisher at cummiskeyg@gmail.com.

Selected and introduced by Kobus Moolman. 162 pages. Selected poems from 1990 to 2020.

Before a word is said

                                                                            

 

Clarke's has ordered more copies of He Said/ /She Said

 

Clarke's in Cape Town has just ordered more copies of Kobus Moolman's He Said/ /She Said and I am now out of stock!

He Said/ /She Said is a limited edition of 120 numbered copies. So if you don't have a copy, you had best order from Clarke's soon.

Coded cushion cycle

 

Somewhere else in hand

Nice to see Saloni Pandey holding a copy of my latest poetry collection, Somewhere else, published by the late Subhankar Das's press, Grafitti, in Kolkata, India.

The cover art, and cover design, is by UK artist Paul Warren.

Mellow me

 

To be continued

 

Off-ramp in England

Nice to see that UK artist Paul Warren was able to obtain a copy of my short story collection Off-ramp from 2013, which was a finalist in the Nadine Gordimer Short Story Award the following year.

Copies of Off-ramp are available from Dye Hard Press at R140 a copy, including courier to your door (regret South Africa only). Email cummiskeyg@gmail.com to order. 

The galaxy waits for me

 

The lay of the land by Paul Warren, with a foreword by Gary Cummiskey

The lay of the land is a flipbook by UK artist Paul Warren, and consists of 12 collages, with a foreword by Gary Cummiskey.

You can read The lay of the land on Issuu.

Forthcoming from Dye Hard Press: Curry and Bread by Pravasan Pillay

 

Coming soon from Dye Hard Press: Pravasan Pillay's latest book, Curry and Bread. Watch this space!

Lift words

 

Those eyes were watching

 

No time to go