Article
Poetry Hearings 2009
November 10, 2009
Hannah Silva’s “physical performances, fast-talking delivery and innovative use of cut-up text make her one of the most ambitious and entertaining poets in the country” (The Times). Former punk singer Tim Turnbull has slammed his way round the US and UK and many other places besides and is currently writer-in-residence in a prison in Scotland. Three of this year’s poets show the breadth of poetry currently being written in Ireland: no stranger to Berlin, Matthew Sweeney is treating us to his imagistic narrative with Kafkaesque humour and blend of Irish and Eastern European traditions, while Mary Noonan brings French literature into the mix, and fellow Irishman Maurice Scully writes in the modernist tradition with rhythmic, dance-like language play. His most recent books are Humming (Shearman 2009) and Work (Oystercatcher Press).
Also with an Oystercatcher Press pamphlet to his credit (At The Emptying Of Dustbins 2009), Alistair Noon is a “writer to keep an eye on over the next few years”. He founded Poetry Hearings in 2005, so it’s appropriate that he should kick things off this year with his lively readings of poems involving, among other things, Soviet battle tanks. Donna Stonecipher lives in Berlin, too, and brings a deceptive sense of fragility to the fine filigree of her poems. Andrew Shields lives and teaches in Basel in Switzerland and is a translator of German poetry and a musician with his band The Human Shields when not writing poetry. Tom Chivers lives in London where he organises the poetry project Penned in the Margins. His debut collection, How To Build A City (Salt, 2009) recently won the Crashaw Prize.
Once again, Poetry Hearings captures the diversity of English-language poetry, bringing together performance, mainstream and experimental poets, a rare feat in the often territorial world of Anglophone poets. The festival’s reputation now extends well beyond Berlin. Two nights of what might well be the most interesting and entertaining English-language poetry you’ll hear all year.
Fri 20 November 2009, 7 p.m.
Alistair Noon (UK/Berlin), Maurice Scully (Ireland), Mary Noonan (Ireland), Matthew Sweeney (Ireland)
Sat 21 November 2009, 7 p.m.
Tom Chivers (UK/London), Donna Stonecipher (US/Berlin), Andrew Shields (US/Basel), Hannah Silva (UK/Exeter), Tim Turnbull (Scotland)
Kaffee Burger
Torstr. 58-60
10119 Berlin-Mitte
Curated by Catherine Hales
MCs Michael Haeflinger and MC Jabber
Entrance: 6 Euros/night
Two-night Festival Ticket: 10 Euros
Contact
berlinpoems2009@googlemail.com
www.myspace.com/poetryhearings
Thanks to Poetry Hearing sponsors: Culture Ireland, Berlin Metropolitan School, Exberliner, Stanzas Poetry Series at English Theatre Berlin, NPR 104,1 Berlin, and East of Eden International Books.
The Fifth Annual Berlin Festival of Poetry in English
Poetry Hearings returns for the fifth year with high-quality poetry from around the Anglophone world. This year’s festival promises to be the best yet, with a strong line-up of established names and rising stars. Nine poets converge on Kaffee Burger, in Berlin’s central Mitte district, for two nights of intense and energetic poetry, on Fri 20 and Sat 21 November 2009.Hannah Silva’s “physical performances, fast-talking delivery and innovative use of cut-up text make her one of the most ambitious and entertaining poets in the country” (The Times). Former punk singer Tim Turnbull has slammed his way round the US and UK and many other places besides and is currently writer-in-residence in a prison in Scotland. Three of this year’s poets show the breadth of poetry currently being written in Ireland: no stranger to Berlin, Matthew Sweeney is treating us to his imagistic narrative with Kafkaesque humour and blend of Irish and Eastern European traditions, while Mary Noonan brings French literature into the mix, and fellow Irishman Maurice Scully writes in the modernist tradition with rhythmic, dance-like language play. His most recent books are Humming (Shearman 2009) and Work (Oystercatcher Press).
Also with an Oystercatcher Press pamphlet to his credit (At The Emptying Of Dustbins 2009), Alistair Noon is a “writer to keep an eye on over the next few years”. He founded Poetry Hearings in 2005, so it’s appropriate that he should kick things off this year with his lively readings of poems involving, among other things, Soviet battle tanks. Donna Stonecipher lives in Berlin, too, and brings a deceptive sense of fragility to the fine filigree of her poems. Andrew Shields lives and teaches in Basel in Switzerland and is a translator of German poetry and a musician with his band The Human Shields when not writing poetry. Tom Chivers lives in London where he organises the poetry project Penned in the Margins. His debut collection, How To Build A City (Salt, 2009) recently won the Crashaw Prize.
Once again, Poetry Hearings captures the diversity of English-language poetry, bringing together performance, mainstream and experimental poets, a rare feat in the often territorial world of Anglophone poets. The festival’s reputation now extends well beyond Berlin. Two nights of what might well be the most interesting and entertaining English-language poetry you’ll hear all year.
Fri 20 November 2009, 7 p.m.
Alistair Noon (UK/Berlin), Maurice Scully (Ireland), Mary Noonan (Ireland), Matthew Sweeney (Ireland)
Sat 21 November 2009, 7 p.m.
Tom Chivers (UK/London), Donna Stonecipher (US/Berlin), Andrew Shields (US/Basel), Hannah Silva (UK/Exeter), Tim Turnbull (Scotland)
Kaffee Burger
Torstr. 58-60
10119 Berlin-Mitte
Curated by Catherine Hales
MCs Michael Haeflinger and MC Jabber
Entrance: 6 Euros/night
Two-night Festival Ticket: 10 Euros
Contact
berlinpoems2009@googlemail.com
www.myspace.com/poetryhearings
Thanks to Poetry Hearing sponsors: Culture Ireland, Berlin Metropolitan School, Exberliner, Stanzas Poetry Series at English Theatre Berlin, NPR 104,1 Berlin, and East of Eden International Books.
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