the body wants what the body wants

Ideally, if you are very very good at everything you do, when you did a show – say, for the Brisbane Fringe Festival – then everything would go completely fine and work perfectly the way you wanted it to. Your work would be polished and professional and you would achieve something that was artistically impressive. The reviewers would come along, and say nice things, and you’d feel free of any (ma)lingering doubts that you could have/should have done better. Your friends would pat you on the back and you’d get back to being wonderful in every other aspect of your existence. Like filing your tax return for this year.*

Because I am not Cirque du Soleil, however, I believe that most everything I do as a poet needs thinking on, reflecting upon and consideration of what could have/should have been done better.

Hopefully, someone more neutral will let us know what that is in due course.

For some of you, the ones who attended Un-Required Reading last week, I mean, I hope that there was something of merit to consider in the show/evening. There was a great deal that I was honoured to be able to share with (you) the audience, and with my fellow performers. Thank you for being a part of it.

If you have time, please take a moment to explore Liv (the) Infinite and Patch Sinclair’s work. I am particularly drawn to the idea of collaborative practice at the moment, fixated by the ways that we impact upon each other, the ways we are disconnected and interconnected. Liv and Patch and Thomas and I were all, in our various ways, sharing moment of collaboration at Un-Required Reading. It is hard to capture the word/storm/eye/storm/storm/vision/story/storm that was Liv and Patch’s piece, Unwoven, but suffice to say, I have been thinking on it since Thursday and Friday and I’ve been looking at everyone’s hands with a keenness and sharpness.

Thank you – as always, to Queensland Poetry Festival for enabling the work to come together at all, to Brisbane Fringe Festival for letting it have some more air, to Liv and Patch for collaborating, and for Doubting Thomas for sometimes overcoming them.