Free. Not free. Free. Not free. Free.
‘Anxiety is the dizziness of freedom’ said Søren Kierkegaard.
‘‘I'm sure I'll take you with pleasure!’ the Queen said. ‘Twopence a week, and jam every other day.’ Alice couldn't help laughing, as she said, ‘I don't want you to hire me - and I don't care for jam.’ ‘It's very good jam,’ said the Queen.’ said Lewis Carroll.
Both self-published you know. That aside, my point is sometimes we pay, sometimes we’re paid, and sometimes things are free.
As the sunniness of May instigates a little meta-programming of the human biocomputer encased in your soft machine, I offer you the following free, not free, free, not free, free things I’m doing.
Free.
My new book, Very Special Knowledge, is out in a week or so. There will be 80 copies. It is 64 pages long with a hardback black cloth cover sporting a black foil DNA/Ophanim graphic. I’ve got a bit obsessed with ophanims recently. I think it might be a hot ophanim summer.
Very Special Knowledge is a long poem about DNA and HGAs in a series of voices and compiled documents. It features a CIA man having a breakdown in an English West Mid Lands pub, two young anarchists creeping into a suddenly abandoned research base in a forest, and a podcast exposé of Britain’s richest man. It includes some redacted papers, a code, and a punk song. It’s influenced by John Keel, John Berryman, Coleridge, William Blake, Blake’s 7, Cannock Chase and the song ‘Together In Electric Dreams’. Each copy contains a unique polaroid of The Court – a 1980s sci-fi TV show I’ve invented that a man in the poem obsessively watches as he dies.
It’s fun!*
I call the design and writing style RedactionGoth. As ever, email me back if you want a free copy. I’ll post anywhere in the world. If free things make you anxious, then you can buy it from here Søren.
*Fun in the way doom jazz is fun.
Not free.
On Saturday June 29th in London’s legendary and radical Conway Hall, me and Rosey and Marc will be talking about planting the world’s largest faery ring around the City of London, the ‘Square Mile’ on Leap Day 2020 and Leap Day 2024 and on all the other Leap Days until *something bloody well changes*.
We’re part of a fantastic line up of people talking about art, magic and lore. It’s a Fortean London event and you can see all the details here as well as buy tickets.
I’m planning to make a new and special faery ring edition of my pamphlet The Weeping Cufflinks to give away to attendees. The Weeping Cufflinks is the recipient of my only review on Goodreads which includes quite specific reading instructions.
Free.
Another event. July 24th. St Bride Foundation off Fleet Street.
The Idyllegy – An unravelling.
You can reserve one of 100 spaces here. I’m not telling you anything about what will happen, don’t be such a baby, just turn up. It won’t be like anything else, but then nothing is.
It’s a collaboration with some quite fantastic people, who I’ll talk about in a future email. It’s based on my book The Idyllegy. Below is a picture by the brilliant Will of Margaret created for the Happening. Yes, I did just capitalise that word.
Image cropped slightly to keep your inbox unsmutted. See the full version here.
Not free.
An evening with my dear friend (met him once) Sir Simon Russell Beale at St Martin-in-the-Fields next to Trafalgar Square on Friday June 14th. Details and tickets here.
He’s been called ‘the greatest stage actor of his generation’ and now, in conversation with Classic FM’s Zeb Soanes, will be selecting his favourite musical pieces which will then be played and sung by chamber ensemble and choir.
He’ll also be performing a piece of mine commissioned especially for him by St Martin’s. You can read that here.
I think it will be a beautiful evening. Hope to see you there.
Free.
It arrives again. Will you join us at 4:43am on June 21st on Hackney Marshes to watch the sun rise over Hackney Henge (some flats on the horizon)?
It’s the freest of free things you could do. There’s a Whatsapp group so email me if you fancy it and I’ll send you the link.
Here’s a Prince song which doesn’t get played enough.
I invent worlds, commercial campaigns and artistic moments with language at their heart. I’ve spent my life thinking about what writing can do. If you favour my ideas and style then please consider sharing my commercial website with the ambitious brand owners in your life and my artistic website with the sensitive artistic patrons in your life. I’m an independent practitioner and I do what I do through building partnerships. Here is a list of some people I’ve worked with so far.