HEAVEN IS A PHOTOGRAPH BY CHRISTINE SLOAN STODDARD – REVIEW

Posted on September 29, 2020 by Norwich Radical in Arts and tagged art, autofiction, book, christine sloan stoddard, collection, featured, photo, photography, poem, poet, poetry, read women, review, visual arts, women writing, writing.

by Ananya Wilson –Bhattacharya

‘I do not take photos/I give them/as I always give/in love’, the protagonist of Christine Sloan Stoddard’s poetry/photography collection Heaven is a Photograph declares, a characteristically bold admission of vulnerability. These lines, taken from the poem ‘Unrequited Pixels’, evoke an overarching theme of the collection: the emotional intensity of the protagonist’s relationship with photography. Charting the protagonist’s journey, from a childhood as the daughter of a photographer to becoming a photographer herself, Stoddard’s brief and beautiful collection explores the power of both photography and photographer – through a deft and deeply meta combination of verse and photography itself.

REVISITED: JACOB SAM-LA ROSE – BREAKING SILENCE

Posted on January 7, 2018 by Norwich Radical in Arts and tagged Bloodaxe, Bloodaxe Books, book, Breaking Silence, Burn After Reading, featured, gender, Jacob Sam-La Rose, literature, masculinity, poem, poet, poetry, race, Sam-La Rose.

by Carmina Masoliver

Inspired by my experience of Being a Man Festival, I attended an evening in appreciation of poet and educator, Jacob Sam-La Rose. The night consisted of speeches and moving poetry in tribute to his teachings. The energy was reminiscent of the Burn After Reading nights, and despite this occasion being a one-off, it captured what I love about live literature events. Often, it can seem that poetry is such a niche medium, that outsiders can struggle to find their place. However, these spaces provide a place where people can share both pain and joy, and connect with others through words. Sam-La Rose is mostly known for the incredible work he does with young people. He has tremendous influence on poetry today, and on the opportunities that many young people have to be exposed to, and enveloped by, this art form. It comes as no surprise then to read on the back cover of Breaking Silence, that his work ‘is grounded in a belief that poetry can be a powerful force within a community’.

It felt right to return to the well-thumbed pages of my copy of Sam-La Rose’s debut book-length collection from Bloodaxe, one of the most reputable poetry publishers in the UK. Breaking Silence was shortlisted for the Forward Prize for Best First Collection and the Aldeburgh First Collection Prize, but many feel it has not had the recognition it deserves. Linking with themes from Being a Man Festival, the collection explores issues of manhood and masculinity, and how these intersect with race and dual heritage, as well as broader issues of identity.

FEMINIST TOP PICKS – EDINBURGH FRINGE 2017

Posted on August 14, 2017 by Norwich Radical in Arts and tagged Anxiety & Animal GIFS, art, Athena Kugblenu, brutal cessation, capitalism, domestic violence, drama, edfringe17, Edinburgh, Edinburgh Fringe, edinburgh fringe festival, Elsa, evil, feminism, feminist top picks, festival, Galpals, glass ceiling, Gracefool Collective, Hannah Chutzpah, heterosexual, Hostel, How to be Good at Everything, Isobel Rogers, Jane Doe, Katherine Ferns In Stitches, KMT, Melanie Branton, milly thomas, money, My Cloth-Eared Heart, Next Best Thing, Pamela DeMenthe, paula varjack, performance art, physical, play, poet, poetry, power, Rachelle Elie, relationships, review, robot, role reversal, salarys, She Grrrowls, Shit! I'm in Love with You Again, show me the money, socialism, Sticky Digits, storytelling, struggling artist, theatre, this really is too much, violence.

by Carmina Masoliver Continue Reading

REVIEW: BETTER WATCH YOUR MOUTH, BY JENN HART

Posted on May 24, 2017 by Norwich Radical in Arts and tagged artivism, better watch your mouth, book, Burning Eye Books, chapbook, collection, family, feminism, gender, growing up, imagery, Jenn Hart, language, performance, poems, poet, poetry, politics, reading, review, spoken word, ugh men, women, women writers, writing.

by Carmina Masoliver

The cover of Better Watch Your Mouth displays a set of lips and teeth pulling the kind of expression you would make after being told such a thing. It suggests an unapologetic rejection of censorship, which is later reflected in the poem ‘Ugh, Men’ with the statement ‘we will not censor ourselves (x3)’.

This is a collection that mixes everyday language with profound metaphor, and beautiful imagery with emotive stories. It begins with the telling of others’ stories and gradually becomes more personal, yet in a way that is also relatable, as time skips back and forth like the mind floating back to memories, some singed with pain and others with nostalgia.

REVIEW: SPAIN’S GREAT UNTRANSLATED, EDITED BY J. APARICIO, A. MAJOR & M. MONMANY

Posted on April 12, 2017 by Norwich Radical in Arts and tagged Allen Ginsberg, anthology, Antonio Gamoneda, arts, bombing, book, Bret Easton Ellis, Carmina Masoliver, Catherine Hammond, English, Fernando Aramburu, Forrest Gander, Holden Caulfield, Howl, JD Salinger, Juan Antonio Masoliver Ródenas, machismo, Madrid, Martha Tennet, Miquel de Palol, Olvido García Valdés, personal, poem, poet, poetry, political, prose, religion, review, short story, spain, Spanish, tradition, translation, translator, Valerie Miles, Words Without Borders, writers, writing.

by Carmina Masoliver

I was given this book shortly after its publication in 2013 by mi abuelito, Juan Antonio Masoliver Ródenas, whose work is featured in the anthology of short stories, memoirs and poems. Currently living in Spain, it felt like a good time to read the whole book. The collection showcases twelve contemporary writers, in both Spanish and English translation, and definitely has a modern, experimental feel to it. The use of first person throughout blends the line between truth and fiction, and despite often feeling personal, there is always a sense of the political throughout. Continue Reading

FLASHMOB DANCERS DEMAND AN END TO VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN

Posted on April 4, 2017 by Norwich Radical in Arts, Community and tagged abuse, BSL, catton grove primary school, chapelfield gardens, creativity, dance, dandifest festival, direct action, east anglia, edwina blush, eloise o'hare, emma jarvis, Equality Party, flash mob, hayley burwood, Norwich and District Trade council, Norwich Dandies, norwich rising, One Billion Rising, Opening Doors, poet, poppy rose, resistance, ruby flipper, stephen little, violence against women, women, Women Supporting Women.

by Norwich Rising

Content warning: mentions sexual assault and violence against women

The United Nations estimate that one in three women will be raped or beaten in her lifetime. That’s one billion women. On Sunday 30th April 2017 there will be a flashmob-style dance at 1pm in Chapelfield Gardens to demand an end to violence against women. This is the 5th Norwich Rising, part of the global One Billion Rising campaign. Dancers will be dancing to the “Break the Chain” dance, choreographed by Debbie Allen from Fame. There are a series of free rehearsals where people can learn the dance.Continue Reading

THE SUMMER OF STARS LESS STRIKING

Posted on March 2, 2017 by Norwich Radical in Arts and tagged astrophiles, Biancamaria Frabotta, bright, climate, creative writing, darkness, discover, humanity, in translation, italian, italian women in translation, L’estate delle stelle, lens, locals, NASA, night, poem, poet, poetry, shadow, space, space poetry, stars, strangers, summer, translation, unearthed.

by Alex Valente

Original Italian by Biancamaria Frabotta (1946 – ), ‘L’estate delle stelle…’

The summer of stars less striking
encouraged locals and strangers
to hope in a return of ancient climates.
On the yellow grass unstable in the sparse
humours drinks remained half-full
another fuel to have sleepless nights.Continue Reading

SHIVA WRITING IN HEBREW & GREEK

Posted on February 23, 2017 by Norwich Radical in Arts and tagged contribution, creative writing, external, Greek, hebrew, manhattan, non-binary, poem, poet, poetry, rose knapp, shiva, submission, writing.

by Rose Knapp

Ur
Obz
Both
Insane zeitgeists
Or post-modern
Odd Jung Freudian
Profitable Prophets
Salem salām kalam
Still the same Paul?Continue Reading

A CREATIVE DISTANCE

Posted on January 22, 2017 by Norwich Radical in Arts, Perspectives and tagged arts, identity, names, nomenclature, Perspectives, plays, poet, poetry, Romeo and Juliet, Shakespeare, writing.

by Candice Nembhard

For the past few weeks I have been mulling over the phrase ‘What’s in a name?’

Famously posed in Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet, the question itself addresses a complex struggle between society’s influence and personal principles. For Juliet, Montague is a cursed history and a treasured ill fate. By virtue of being Capulet, her query is a forceful defiance to alter the course of her history, thus changing the alliance to her name, her lover’s name, and the relation between the two families.

REVIEW: THE GIRL IN THE DOG-TOOTH COAT, BY ZELDA CHAPPEL

Posted on November 23, 2016 by Norwich Radical in Arts and tagged #readwomen, Bare Fiction, book, closure, collection, elbowroom, grief, hope, human, literature, love, metaphor, personal, poem, poet, poetry, reading, relationship, review, sexism, teen, water, women writers, writing, zelda chappel.

by Carmina Masoliver

A book filled with moths, whiskey and full moons; reading Zelda Chappel’s debut collection The Girl in the Dog-Tooth Coat, published with Bare Fiction (2015), forces you to be in the moment with each and every piece. With each turn of the page comes a fresh clarity and precision, yet still connected like water – at times a stream, and at others, a rushing waterfall. It explores grief, and through its dark and sombre tones, there is a glimmer of hope: that this is a tale of survival.

poet

HEAVEN IS A PHOTOGRAPH BY CHRISTINE SLOAN STODDARD – REVIEW

by Ananya Wilson –Bhattacharya

REVISITED: JACOB SAM-LA ROSE – BREAKING SILENCE

FEMINIST TOP PICKS – EDINBURGH FRINGE 2017

REVIEW: BETTER WATCH YOUR MOUTH, BY JENN HART

REVIEW: SPAIN’S GREAT UNTRANSLATED, EDITED BY J. APARICIO, A. MAJOR & M. MONMANY

FLASHMOB DANCERS DEMAND AN END TO VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN

THE SUMMER OF STARS LESS STRIKING

SHIVA WRITING IN HEBREW & GREEK

A CREATIVE DISTANCE

REVIEW: THE GIRL IN THE DOG-TOOTH COAT, BY ZELDA CHAPPEL

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by Ananya Wilson –Bhattacharya