Buddy, Bukowski and Big Intentions

Monday 1st December 2014

Think next year I should just publish my work-log online and try to do something a bit different with the journal. Ordered a Blood Brothers (aka The Mission) ticket online today. They play Gorilla in Manchester next year and it doesn’t clash with Jibba Jabba so I’m going. I want to see Toyah with her full electric set-up at Holmfirth Picturedrome next October. Whilst completing some missed lesson plans I listened to a couple of Jarboe (ex-Swans) albums and would love to see her in London next February. Had the heating on quite a lot today. Keep forgetting I don’t have to be out the house tomorrow. Think I’m going to have a cheeseburger for supper. 11.04 pm.

Tuesday 2nd December 2014

Been good to be away from the computer for most of the day. Made up copies of ‘Milking a Joe Brainard Riff’ and ‘So Much for the Sunshine’ standard edition for Friday night. The only two poems in my set I’m not sure about are ‘Oblivion’ and ‘Brainard’. The rest I’m pretty comfortable with. Comfortable, but not complacent. I’ll be rehearsing at Waddy tomorrow in between paperwork and anthology editing. I made a 120 page paperback notebook this evening that Jane Burn might like. And a lined 72-pager for myself. Already pasted a load of exercises in for Thursday. No music today. No going outside. Just folding and stapling and stitching and gluing and trimming. I’m looking forward to Friday. Be great to see Buddy Wakefield in the Cumberland Arms. My final gig of the year. But before that two workshops and Poetry Jam. 11.47 pm.

Wednesday 3rd December 2014

Too much Tango, too much fondant icing on the bakewells. Teeth on edge again. Didn’t sleep much last night so I’m pleased to make it through the day. Only an evening workshop but lots of loose end tying all afternoon. Payments delayed. Worked myself to exhaustion this autumn, earned a small fortune and I’ll be lucky to see it before Christmas. Nice to know that Waddy are keen to help me out in the meantime. Great editing session tonight, good rehearsal with Chris Hill earlier. Looking forward to Poetry Jam. 10.36 pm.

Thursday 4th December 2014

Winged the Mind session coz the tape player wouldn’t work. Did gig prep this afternoon then edit session at six with Chris Harland. Thanks to all the people who came to Poetry Jam tonight. All the jammers, all the guests. Chris Hill did a solid ten minutes and got a good response. Julie was entertaining. Alistair did a half hour set. Outstanding. In the pub with him, Sheila and Jenni for a little while afterwards. Now on the 43 to Stanley. Some drunk bloke keeps sneezing down the back of my neck and I’m so close to telling him to fuck off. Haven’t given much thought to the Buddy Wakefield gig today. It will probably hit me hard tomorrow so I’ll need to rehearse a bit more. Still think I’m going to need the book just in case. Was going to go to Tesco for food tonight. Might be best to just get home. 10.37 pm.

Friday 5th December 2014

Good night’s sleep. Humorous email from poet Geoff Hattersley about his dislike of the internet. An hour’s chat with Mam and Ernie. Took about ninety minutes to get last night pix cut and uploaded. Rehearsed my set for tonight. It’s around eighteen or nineteen minutes and that’s with a bit too much waffle, so I should come in under time. Now on the X70 which is 12 minutes late. Aiming to be at The Cumberland Arms by five past seven. Looking forward to seeing Buddy Wakefield. Thanks to Apples & Snakes for the opportunity. 6.11 pm.

Saturday 6th December 2014

Sitting on the Rasta chair on the half-landing with my Tesco toffee and thin trousers, my jumper all covered in fluff, eyes full of sleep, nose full of snot. These are morning pages but only just. Today looks pleasant enough but I can see my breath. My legs are aching from curling up into a ball trying to keep warm overnight coz that well-intentioned second duvet slid off straight away. Jenni’s side – who’d have guessed?

   I’m going out today. Into town for a little look around. And some proper food again. Did I say you can see your breath in the bedroom? Well you certainly could. More layers needed for my return that’s for sure. The appeal of the bedtime winter onesie is starting to gain some appeal. I’m waffling now, but what’s new.

   Had a good gig last night. Didn’t feel great at first but warmed into it. Fucked up on the opening poem –  momentarily forgot my place – but no-one seemed to notice. Still, it made me feel the need to keep the notes close to hand. But half the set came without looking at the page at all. And people said it was a good one. Jeff Price said it was the best he’s seen me – and he’s seen me win a couple of slams. When you’re supporting Buddy Wakefield you’re in the company of greatness, so that ups the ante and puts a bit of pressure on. But I found myself in time for Death Street and felt myself coasting along quite nicely for the rest of the set.

   Buddy Wakefield was pretty awesome. He did an hour. Free-speaking into poems and out again. He asked the guitarist from Miss Danby and The What – who were also pretty fantastic – to do some gentle backing on Guitar Repair Woman, dedicated to Buddy’s mum. I’d temporarily forgotten what a mint poem that is. He got an encore as well; someone put in a request and it was CONVENIENCE STORES – fucking brilliant!

   Offstage he’s a pretty ordinary approachable bloke. He bought me a drink. Jane Burn’s ten year old son was moved to tears by Guitar Repair Woman; Buddy let Jane take anything she wanted from the merch table and said she could square up on paypal when she got home. That was a really nice thing to do. I sold a couple of things – Brainard Riff and Tightrope Walker – but didn’t expect miracles.

   Some of us – me, Jenni, AJ, Kirsten and a travelling fan – got pix with Buddy outside in the freezing cold at half eleven.

   I’m pleased last night was my final gig of the year. Can’t end on a better note than a support slot on a triple world slam champion’s show. My 2014 personal round-up should be pretty bloody good. I’ll start doing notes for it after Xmas. It’ll be going in my 2013/14 book. The review of 2013 is on my mini-site. I’m putting it in an archive book.

   Next week is for editing the Newton Aycliffe and Wednesday Writers anthologies. Definitely want the archive book done by the end of January. Preferably as a birthday present to myself. Okay, I’m up for hot lemon juice and some peanut buttered toast. 

12.07 pm.

Nervously playing with fire. Good to watch the flames and feel the heat. Bought the first Xmas present today. And lots of food. Been watching the Big Bang Theory and a crime drama called Sirens. Laughing now at Jenni getting Billy Ocean, Idol and Joel mixed up. She doesn’t recognize any of them. Checked out lots of cds and dvds today. Lots of gift ideas. I’m not bothered about any for myself. Pleased the gig went well last night. 10.53 pm.

Sunday 7th December 2014

Colder day than yesterday. Went food shopping while Jenni slept. Bought Writers’ Forum magazine. Read a few articles on publishing and writing stations. Me and Jenni ate pizza and watched Columbo. Rainy night. No buses to Moorside after twenty to eight so I walked home from Consett. Watched the conclusion of Siren’s crime then ordered a batch of Xmas presents. Heating on two hours, off an hour. Freezing again. Oh well. 11.34 pm.

Monday 8th December 2014

Back against the radiator after exchanging messages with Jenni about London musicals. Don’t want to go out much in the first few months of 2015. Want to get some book work done. Want to see Jarboe and TV Smith in February. Just ordered The Days Run Away Like Wild Horses Over the Hills by Charles Bukowski. It’s one of the few early titles that I never bought while he was alive. His earliest poems work best for me: ‘Roominghouse Madrigals’ and ‘Burning in Water, Drowning in Flame. It’ll be good to see another  volume of decent stuff. Heating will be on a lot this week. Today has been a bit throwaway. Online Xmas shopping, typing up stuff. Full on edit day required tomorrow. 11.38 pm.

Tuesday 9th December 2014

Spent a while trying to get presents sorted. Took ages to get sorted and over to Stanley for the Mind Xmas meal. Good to be around the writers and others. I love festive food. This evening I got more anthology stuff sorted for the Wednesday session. Three and a half hours. Listening to early Mission live tracks and demos whilst working. Got feedback on handmade books. I’ll be making some more very soon. Hungry again. 11.30 pm.

Wednesday 10th December 2014

Contents lists done for Wednesday Writers. Bought thread and checked out cartridge paper for new books. Made up some booklets for the evening workshop. We got a lot done, the book is coming along. So much for snow and deep freeze. Sure, it’s cold but not that bad.

   Got a few responses to the stuff I put up about bad edits on posthumous Charles Bukowski books. I always had mixed feelings about the mining of his papers after 1994 anyway. And well over a third of "The Pleasures of the Damned" – that 'best of the best' – is taken from posthumous volumes. It's the only Bukowski I've bought since his death and I think a lot of it isn't the best at all. I ordered 'The Days Run Away...' on Monday as it's one of the few early volumes I don't own, but I'll never buy any of those recent collections. I suppose some might argue that had John Martin never offered Bukowski a publishing deal he wouldn't have been able to leave the post office and achieve the level of success that he did. But another press could have picked him up. City Lights put out stories; they might have done something with his poems. 'The Roominghouse Madrigals' and 'Burning in Water, Drowning in Flame' are two of my favourite collections. Those early Black Sparrow books culled from his first chapbooks are the strongest. But many of the other titles put out in his lifetime are patchy. Pot calling kettle here describing another's poetry as chopped up prose, but much of it is. Bukowski's own words are fine, but a lot of the line-breaks are annoyingly arbitrary, making some of the work infuriating to re-read decades later. Although still better than a publisher knifing an archive in the author's absence.

   Chris Harland sent some amendments for his pamphlet. Hoping to have this to the print stage next week. Great papier mache dragon making vid on Facebook today. Tomorrow’s Mind workshop is my last of 2014. I’ll be repeating some favourite exercises and playing some audio stuff. 11.04 pm.

Thursday 11th December 2014

Thin layer of snow made the V8 ten minutes late. Morning session went well. Some freewrites and a listen to Adrian Mitchell then some collaborative compositions. Chatted for a good while afterwards then went shopping. Checked emails then went back out later this afternoon for paper stock and cheap food supplies. Made up the book block for final Home Town Slog. Tried making a hardback mini book but way too tired; spent an hour preparing paper for signatures then messed up the hole punching. At least some presents arrived. Had a lovely sweet chilli chicken pizza for supper. Oh yes! 11.13 pm.

Friday 12th December 2014

Slept in a bit longer than intended but still got out to do the final Home Town Slog. Started it at eleven this morning in Consett Library and finished around nine this evening in the Company Row (Wetherspoons) after a double burger and chips. I now have twelve hundred pages to sift through in hopes of finding some material worthy of development. Who knows, maybe there’ll be enough for a pamphlet. I was going to put a little status update on Facebook about it but don’t feel the need. It’s mainly self-indulgence as usual, but I surprised myself with a few decent bits and pieces throughout the day. Cold back home. Think it’s a quick supper then bed. 

11.03 pm.

Saturday 13th December 2014

Long lie in. Out to Post Depot to pick up a parcel. Bought the biggest pair of blue jeans I could find in a charity shop to cut up for book covers. Bound yesterday’s slog book (will do the previous seven over the festive season). Lots of laughs at Jen’s. She often puts my silly one-liners on Facebook. Might be good to do a little chapbook of them. Ok. 10.20 pm.

Sunday 14th December 2014

Read most of Rosey the Baby Killer by Bill Shields this morning. Navy SEAL or fake, his fourth book is powerful stuff and I’m pleased I borrowed it. Had a good time at Apples and Snakes SCRATCH rehearsal club Xmas bash this afternoon. Lovely company, laughs and food. Socialized a little afterwards then home to emails, indy news updates and some light online entertainment. Big week of work ahead of me. 11.24 pm.