The Illuminations series

Bringing to light the work of poets and artists from generations present or past that seem to be fundamentally overlooked, out of sync with their talent or influence, or in order to reinvent their legacy in the present moment, the Illuminations series brings together contemporaries to celebrate the work of single individuals or movements.

The series emanated from the Reilluminations articles written by SJ Fowler for nthposition magazine, which celebrated figures from the 20th European avant garde and has so far held events or instigated projects celebrating Bill Griffiths, Allen Ginsberg, Tim Atkins, Anselm Hollo and will in 2015 for Tom Raworth and Tomaz Salamun.

Celebrating Tom Raworth - June 2015

Petrarch: a celebration of Tim Atkins

A magical evening, one of the best Ive been a part of, ever. It could not have been more joyous, funny, brilliant. It felt like a family, let alone a real community. All because of the human being Tim is, the way he has taught a generation of poets and peers to cut through the misanthropy to the warmth that permeates through his poetry and his persona. So proud to have been part of this evening, all 19 poets read so wonderfully, all worth watching. 

Celebrating Bill Griffiths 

Without doubt, Bill Griffiths is one of the most powerful, impactful and deeply underappreciated poets of the post war era in England. It was an honour to put together the reading that celebrated the second volume of his collected poems, edited by Alan Halsey and published by Reality street. The turnout was lovely, and the readings excellent, some coming from living legends of the avant garde, the friends and peers of Bill, like Alan, Geraldine Monk, Allen Fisher and Harry Gilonis. It's extremely important to me to try and connect the lineage of my writing, and the culture of 21st century British vanguard poetry, to those figures of the recent past and present who have already walked that path that I am somehow, often accidentally, blindly stumbling down. Clearly the prolific and dynamic use of language, and the subject led, innately innovative poetry that Bill Griffiths produced is something I am often aping, and hoping to come close to achieving. He died just before I came onto the scene, in fact the launch of the 1st volume of his collected poems was the first reading i attended in London. Read more 

Howl 
British poets read and respond to the work and life of Allen Ginsberg

A unique evening of poetry celebrated the release of the motion picture “Howl” at the Poetry Café. A indelible influence on poets across the globe, this evening was a chance to see how the poetry of Ginsberg has permeated into the consciousness of generations of poets coming to prominence after his death. The night will saw readings directly from the text of Ginsberg as well as original works written for the occasion.

Saturday March 5th 2011 6.30pm for a 7pm start. The Poetry Café 
22 Betterton Street Covent Garden London WC2 Free entry, places limited.

Darran Anderson - Tim Atkins - Sean Bonney
Patrick Coyle - Emily Critchley - Stephen Emmerson
Nathan Hamilton - Jeff Hilson - Sarah Kelly
Rufo Quintavalle - Sam Riviere - Marcus Slease
Linus Slug - Jack Underwood - James Wilkes

In association with Soda pictures and the Poetry Society.