Cherry Potts's Blog, page 26
June 24, 2013
Inspirations – Marvell and computers
The short story Mosaic of Air, (title story of my first collection and republished this coming September) began life in a computer literacy class in the late 1980′s. I was bored, the class was going slowly, and I’d been given some BASIC code to play with. I started to imagine what would happen if the computer really talked back. Cal appeared at my elbow and started footling about with her highly illegal sonic knife, and within a few minutes I knew everything about her – her schooling in sabotage, her stammer and her obsessions. Rhani and the McCarthys came later, and have (inevitably) somewhat taken over from Cal in later stories, but it was a big moment, that dull afternoon in Catford.
The title is from an Andrew Marvell poem and it should really be That Mosaic of the Air – a reference to music, which inspired Computer’s idea of appropriate ceremony. I gave Computer a personality but let her binary logic run riot. Consequently, inevitably, things do not turn out well.
You can pre-order a copy of the new paperback version of Mosaic of Air at a special £1 off pre-publication price here.
© Copyright Cherry Potts 2013
Interview at Cocktail Hour’s Bar Rag
Here’s the link to my conversation with the very friendly Andy & Rev at Cocktail Hour. (Cocktail half-hour in this instance, but who’s counting?) A wide-ranging discussion encompassing spiders, cat fonts, learning to be funny, and setting up Arachne Press, as well as – you know – my actual writing, books and so on; together with me reading a snippet of Arachnë’s Daughters, which is in Mosaic of Air.
June 23, 2013
Interview today
I am being interviewed by The Cocktail Hour later today, an online chat show about books by lesbian authors. You can listen to a podcast at some point in the very near future. I’ve lined up a couple of shorter stories to read, and am considering which cocktail to have ready – to drink when I’ve finished.
June 18, 2013
The Queen’s Safety
My story The Queen’s Safety was read at Liars’ League last week.
For those of you not in the audience, you can read, listen or watch the story (performed by Greg Page) on the Liars’ League site soon, but in the meantime, the video is on YouTube.
June 17, 2013
.Cent Magazine
copyright Cherry Potts 2013
I’ve just heard! .Cent Magazine are going to publish my flash fiction, Is Nothing, in their Cornucopia edition under the Harvest theme. I’ll post a link when it’s live.
June 15, 2013
Performing Live – update
Brixton BookJam has moved to 8th July due to a double booking at the venue. Everything else is as previously mentioned.
I will be reading and running workshops at Towersey Festival (Near Thame, Oxfordshire) over August Bank Holiday weekend with Spread the Word, no more details yet but will know more in a week or so.
Pictures from last week’s Misty Moon event (all pictures courtesy of White Windmill Photography.)
Promoting Lovers’ Lies:
Signing Stations
Reading from Mosaic of Air
June 4, 2013
Performing live at a venue near you??
Opportunities to hear my work live!
I’ll be reading from The Bone Box from Mosaic of Air at the Arachne Press Weird Lies Preview this Sunday 9th June 6-9 at Misty Moon Gallery,
and then next Tuesday, 11th June 7pm, my story The Queen’s Safety is being read at Liars’ League as part of their Kings & Queens theme night.
And then I’m reading at Brixton Book Jam on Monday 1st July, some time after 7.30 not sure what yet, possibly Leaving.
May 24, 2013
Keats Festival 2013 opens
Today is the first full day of the Keats Festival, which is held at Keats House, Keats Grove, Hampstead. I spent yesterday evening at the launch event, listening to the poetry of Jay Bernard (Demon’s in Hell go on strike, in the most visceral meaty bit of poetry I’ve heard in a long time, very striking.) John Hegley (last year’s poet in residence – Keats fencing with sticks of celery, acrostics on the word LEAF from local school children – with audience participation; and a c&w song for Keats’ brother George) and Jo Shapcott (this year’s poet in residence – glorious bees inhabiting a life in extraordinary ways, and an incidental treatise on the use of the word Darkling).
Music of the Camden Young Singers led by Ros Savournin (very young, very together in all senses, brilliantly focused and bright sound. Great songs, particularly the song in praise of earthworms with bassoon accompaniment, from a poem by Harry Martinson. The only false note (for me) was Keith Waithe a Guianan flute player, who had a backing track instead of the rest of his band (Macusi). I’m not a fan of backing tracks, although he made some interesting noises when I could hear him.
The nibbles were excellent, the wine good and the company charming. A grand night out, well done all at Keats House.
Until Sunday week, Keats House will be full of writing, poetry, prose and performance, and talks and calligraphy and a bit of silliness here and there. You can join me for a writing workshop on Saturday morning, 10.30-1.30 and Arachne Press authors and , together with actors Will Everett (reading for me) and Kim Scopes (reading for ) at 3pm the same day for readings of stories from Lovers’ Lies and our forthcoming anthology Weird Lies.
© Cherry Potts 2013
May 11, 2013
Old notebooks
On the shelf above my desk, and in the bottom left-hand drawer are old notebooks, some have a few pages left to use, others are full: with the detritus of writing. Several friends and I have this ongoing thing of buying each other notebooks – writers can never have too many notebooks, although I do sometimes wonder – I am still looking for the one that has the start of what I think of as the ‘Alhambra story’.
Some notebooks have had pages ripped out – train times, phone numbers, dead ends – some are too precious to tear, and have pages scored through – tasks completed, stories transferred to the computer…
Sometimes the writing is from the back of the notebook, sometimes it is scrawled across a page diagonally. There is pencil, and felt tip and biro and proper ink, in black-blue-green-purple.
An example: Spiral bound, pink hardboard covers decorated with cartoon pigs (shh, it;s what’s inside that counts), lots of pages missing.
From the front: email addresses for publishers, a note to call the doctor, some ancient notes from work.
Some angry comments about kettle drums while I waited for someone who was late for a meeting, a doodled eye and design for a kelim, and the ambiguous now forgotten meaning of: collaboration/ child solider/ gangs/ invisibility. – must write that at some point, whatever it was.
A to do list, all crossed through.
More crossings out.
A different version of a story now complete.
Notes from workshops and seminars (multiple colours, more doodles).
Some calculations – something to do with computers because there are gigabytes mentioned, phone numbers for bookshops in Bristol and Bath.
Embryonic notes for converting a story to an opera, still to do.
From the back and consequently upside-down, in pencil, the start of a story about a string trio hired for a corporate party. If I’d had any sense I wouldn’t have taken up the cello…
The keywords for a writing exercise: fat woman, dainty eating, heartbreak, secret, far to go.
Notes for a newsletter not yet done, thick black lines around in a futile attempt to attract my attention – sometimes it feels like the notebook is yelling at me, you’ve not done this yet!
and a plaintive question – where is the Alhambra story?
© Cherry Potts 2013
May 6, 2013
Chorus Festival – South Bank
Here are is a video clip and a photo of Vocal Chords doing their thing at the festival,- we were by the Mandela statue on Sunday at 1.
We also sang in the opening event.
A and I went to two workshops – Sea Shanties on Saturday , and on Sunday Rounds & Catches with the magnificent Mary King.
The festival continues today with a last chance to catch Ms King as this is the last event she is involved in at the South Bank. Mary will be much missed!
