Tuesday, 04 February 2025

Monday, 03 February 2025

Last year's astronaut by Paul Warren


'Last year's astronaut' is a collage by UK artist Paul Warren, and is inspired by my foreward to his forthcoming collage novella Lay of the Land.

Paul is also the creator of the collage novella Desire follows one step behind and collaborated with me on Animal eyeball, a series of seven prose poems by me while he contributed collages.


Monday, 27 January 2025

Rereading Left Over by Kobus Moolman


This morning I started rereading Left Over by Kobus Moolman, which Dye Hard Press published in 2013. It was the second Moolman title to be published by Dye Hard Press. 

Saturday, 25 January 2025

Wednesday, 22 January 2025

Chatsworth available again at select Exclusive Books branches

 

Pravasan Pillay's much-acclaimed debut short story collection Chatsworth will soon be available again at Exclusive Books Gateway and La Lucia branches in KwaZulu-Natal.

Wednesday, 15 January 2025

Tuesday, 14 January 2025

I telephoned God available 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.

Sunday, 12 January 2025

A Dye Hard Interview: Guided by colours -- Robert Roman speaks about Pascal Ulrich

Robert Roman (R) and Pascal Ulrich in Toulouse 2000
 

Artist and poet Pascal Ulrich was born in Strasbourg in 1964. He started writing poetry at the age of 16 and at 23 he created a small poetry magazine called Dada 64. When he was 25, after a suicide attempt and time spent in a psychiatric hospital, he was given a disability pension and was thereafter able to devote himself to writing and art. Having battled with depression and alcohol problems throughout his life, Ulrich committed suicide in 2009.

Robert Roman is a poet and artist who befriend Ulrich in 1994. After Ulrich’s death he published a biography of him, Pascal Ulrich –  The Lucid Dreamer,  plus several collections of Ulrich’s poems and drawings. In 2014 he formed  the BAKOU 98 association to preserve Ulrich’s work. He  also created a blog devoted to Ulrich’s poetry, art and life.

When and how did you meet Pascal Ulrich? Had you been aware of his art or poetry before you met him?

Pascal Ulrich wrote me a first letter on June 16, 1994. I received it two days later, directly at my workplace. The letter came with a collage. In his letter, Pascal explained to me that he was contacting me following a request from Patrick Oustric, with whom he had been corresponding for several years. And it turns out that this Patrick Oustric, poet, and great lover of ancient letters, was one of my work colleagues! At that time I had not heard of Pascal Ulrich. I responded very quickly and that’s how our friendship began .. Read more

Friday, 10 January 2025

Outside the cave is still available from Clarke's

 

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.

Who was Sinclair Beiles? at Clarke's in Cape Town

 

Who was Sinclair Beiles?, a compilation of writings about South African beat poet Sinclair Beiles, edited by Gary Cummiskey and Eva Kowalska, is still available from Clarkes.

Alternatively, you can order a copy directly from the publisher at cummiskeyg@gmail.com

Originally published in 2010, this is a revised and expanded edition that was published in 2014. 

Thursday, 09 January 2025

Wednesday, 08 January 2025

I telephoned God is selling out fast!


I telephoned God, the cassette tape of me reading my poetry that was produced by Sloow Tapes in Belgium, is almost sold out! 

On the 40-minute tape I read a generous selection of my poems from 1990 to the present. 

The cassette cover shows three collages by French poet and collagist Bruno Sourdin.

To order please visit Sloow Tapes.


Sunday, 05 January 2025

Chatsworth still available at Made in Durban

 

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

Translaed poems from Somewhere else to appear in French poetry magazine

 

Five poems from Somewhere else have been translated into French by poet and collagist Bruno Sourdin and will be published in the French poetry journal Dierese in mid-2025!

Thank you, Bruno!

Somewhere else is published by Graffiti, Kolkata, the publishing press by the late Bengali poet Subhankar Das.

The cover design and cover art is by British artist Paul Warren.