We are all from somewhere else

Somewhere else, the latest poetry collection by Gary Cummiskey, was published in 2024 by Graffiti (Kolkata), and is still available from Clarke's in Cape Town.

It consists of 24 poems, and the cover collage is by UK artist Paul Warren.

Somewhere else in Cape Town

You can buy a copy of my latest poetry collection, Somewhere else, from Clarke's in Cape Town!

Somewhere else was published by the late Subhankar Das's Graffiti in Kolkata, India, in 2024.

32 pages.

The cover art is by UK artist Paul Warren.

Somewhere else at the Kolkata Small Magazine Fair

Photo: Santanu Roy

 The photo of a bit blurred, but here at the Graffiti stand at the Small Magazine Fair in Kolkata, you can see Subhankar Das's widow Sabina, with various Graffiti publications on sale, including my latest poetry collection, Somewhere else. 

Durable goods from 2012 with Subhankar Das and others

Durable Goods was (is still?) a micro poetry journal published in the US. Issue 65 contained poems by Rajarshi Chattopadhyay, Sharmy Pandey (who also did the cover art), the late Subhankar Das and yours truly.

Subhankar Das published two collections of mine - Sky Dreaming in 2011 and Somewhere else in 2024.

 

Additional copies of Somewhere else arrive in SA

Last week I also received a few additional copies of my latest poetry collection Somewhere else, published by the late Subhankar Das's Graffiti, in Kolkata, India. Enclosed was a sweet little note from Sub's widow, Sabina.

French translations from Somewhere else in Dierese

 

Four of my poems from my latest collection Somewhere else that were translated into French by Bruno Sourdin have been published in the French literary journal Dierese.

Thank you, Bruno!

Goodies received from Kolkata

Proud to have received the latest edition of Graffiti, which is dedicated to the late Kolkata poet and publishr Subhankas Das, and contains my tribute to Sub. Sub had published two collections of mine - Sky dreaming in 2011, and Somewhere else in 2024. It was truly an honour to be published by him. 

I was also delighted to have received my copy of Santanu Roy's new journal Barnaperon, which means Chromatic Abberation in English. The journal contains three poems of mine.

Sketches of dreams in Johannesburg

Seven poems from my recent collection Somewhere else have been translated into French by poet and collagist Bruno Sourdin, and appear on his blog Syncopes.

Thank you, Bruno Sourdin!

Somewhere else was published in 2024 by Graffiti in Kolkata, the publishing venue of the late Bengali poet Subhankar Das.

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

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.

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! 

 

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.

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

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.

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. 

A highlight of 2024: Somewhere else, published by Graffiti, Kolkata

Another highlight of 2024 was the publication of Somewhere else, my second poetry collection to be published by Graffiti, in Kolkata, India. Unfortunately its publication was soon followed by its publisher, poet Subhankar Das, a great figure in comtemporary Bengali poetry and champion of independent publishing.

The cover collage is by UK artist Paul Warren, who is also designed the cover.

Gone fishing - a collage by Paul Warren

 

Gone Fishing is a collage by UK artist Paul Warren, inspired by my prose poem 'Gone Fishing' from my latest collection, Somewhere else, published by Graffiti in Kolkata.

The poem is as follows:

The fish with the face of a judge moves slowly as always, just breaking the surface. There is no sound as you trace your fingers down the length of my spine. The fan in the restaurant turns noiselessly round and round. The waiters stand in the doorway, casting over our table. Hooks lodge in our lips, so we dare not move.

You can order Somewhere else from Clarke's Bookshop in Cape Town here.

I telephoned God awaits you!

Sloow tapes in Belgium has released a 40-minute cassette tape of me reading my poetry, titled I telephoned God.

The poems read are from my selected poems volume Outside the cave, but also from Thunder on the highway, Animal eyeball (a collaboration with UK artist Paul Warren), and my latest collection Somewhere else.

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

To order, please visit Sloow Tapes.

Somewhere else at Clarke's

 

My latest poetry collection Somewhere else is now available from Clarke's in Cape Town. You can order online or visit the shop in Long Street, Cape Town.

Somewhere else consists of 26 poems and is published by Graffiti Kolkata, India. It was the last book published before Graffiti's founder, poet Subhankar Das, passed from a sudden heart attack.