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| Will Eaves and Ian Pindar |
Last night, two intrepid Carcanetti took the 18:35 train from Manchester Victoria to Bolton. An array of recording equipment and several books in tow, we walked out into the cold night air, with plenty of time remaining before Will Eaves and Ian Pindar began their much-anticipated reading at the Octagon Theatre.
Maps are hard to read in the dark.
Thirty minutes later, we arrived at the theatre to a warm welcome from the two poets (pictured, above) and from Jon Glover. A Carcanet poet himself, Jon hosts the Literature Live events, and read from his latest collection, Glass is Elastic, the previous month. Jon is not only an esteemed poet, the editor of Stand magazine and Professor of Creative Writing at Bolton University, but an especially warm person, and before long we were comfortably seated with the rest of the audience in the cosy Hospitality Room of the Octagon, overlooking Bolton's stately Le Mans Crescent.
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| Constellations |
Their poetry (and their publisher) brought them together yesterday evening. Both poets read for about 15 minutes, and after a short interval they each read for another 10. Ian Pindar began by reading poems from his 2011 collection, Emporium, which was published to critical acclaim. It is true that a gifted poet does not always exist in the same person as a gifted a reader; but Pindar's sly, wry, relaxed tone suited his poems well. The poems in Emporium reward careful reading but, being sometimes quietly, sometimes less quietly funny, they also lend themselves well to live performance.
The video which is embedded here features Ian's reading the poem '20', taken from Constellations, his second book of poems, which will be published by Carcanet in May. Comprising eighty-eight poems (as many as there are constellations in the sky), his latest book takes the word 'constellation' as a starting point, in the sense of being 'a collection', 'a gathering': in this case, one of words. As he explained, the book is in seven parts, each with its focus: the first deals with the seasons, and the collection ends with a look towards the end of the universe.
John Ashbery said of Pindar's first collection that he channels 'Eliot, maybe Stevens, Laforgue, and the Metaphysicals to... clashing effect', and this deft, intellectual agility continues in his second book.
Throughout Constellations, Pindar's touch is light and witty, and his observations insightful.
Throughout Constellations, Pindar's touch is light and witty, and his observations insightful.
Ian was followed by Will Eaves, who read from Sound Houses. This collection, remarked upon for its its formal deftness, takes the reader through a series of life experiences and life moments (many of which are autobiographical), and moments which are simply funny, arresting or touching.
The video embedded here features his reading 'Silverflash', which is representative of his sensitive but engaging reading style. 'Silverflash' was in fact the Guardian's Saturday Poem on 2 December 2011; I had enjoyed the poem immensely on paper, and hearing it read aloud added another dimension. He is an excellent performer of his work, just as much in his poetry as in his fiction, which we all enjoyed.
Live readings usually come with their surprises: one was the route from the station to the venue; the second was the way in which these two poets added a new, wonderfully unexpected dimensions to their poetry.
Live readings usually come with their surprises: one was the route from the station to the venue; the second was the way in which these two poets added a new, wonderfully unexpected dimensions to their poetry.
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| Sound Houses |
Okey Nzelu