2 posts tagged “dominic windram”

Review Writers Café 4th August 2007

REVIEW OF THE WRITERS CAFE BY IAN

HEADLINED BY SURIANNE AND SUPPORTED BY KARL ELAND AND THE STEVE MARRON PROJECT AND BECKY CHERRIMAN.

The August Writers Café was part of the Stockton International Riverside Fringe Festival and was held on a Saturday afternoon for a change. Fringe policy is to subsidise these events and have free entrance. This resulted in a different audience to usual and a different atmosphere. It was nice also to see children watching and enjoying the show.

The Steve Marron Project (AKA God's Own Prototypes) started proceedings and although there was not a large

audience at the start (the Carnival was still on!) their enthusiasm and dedication was undimmed. Their melodic and haunting tunes made an inspiring start to the afternoon’s entertainment. They played their song “Lost” which inspired by the TV series of the same name seems to explore similar but wider areas.

Trev Teasdel (His My Space) (Here for his Songs and poems on Vox)  took up compere duty again but also performed some of his own poetry. These included “Down Our Street” and “Hey Up! What’s the Crack?” and a brand new one called "Nightfall in Sorrento". As usual Trevor’s performance poured life and rhythm into his work proving that performance poetry need not be dull.

Indeed this could have been a theme for the afternoon as performers with

Paul Wilde - Poet

different styles showed what large variation can be covered by the classification of poetry. A case in point is Paul Wild whose more reflective delivery reflected his style of writing. But still no less poignant or powerful. He performed a poem about cartoon empire Disney and one called “If We Lived in New York” which includes one of my favourite lines “The Fall is a band from Manchester, not a season”. As someone once said we and America are “two nations divided by a common language”. I think it was Oscar Wilde but if anyone cares to enlighten me answers on a postcard please e-mailed to my Ian's My Space site.

Dominic Windram - Poet

Paul was followed by Dominic Wyndram whose poems tackled more political and global subject matter. Some poets perform such material exhibiting their passion but Dominic’s calm deliver adds a chilling intensity to the anger he conveys at these atrocities and events.

Karl Eland followed making his debut at the Writers' Café. Having travelled from Preston he epitomized another two of the attributes of Trevor’s programming. His nurturing of new talent and his ability to bring in class acts from outside Teesside. Karl sang and played some excellent self penned tunes which while thoughtful were entertaining. One notable song was “Dust in the Wind” about a man who could best be described by the title.

Then another change of poetry style. Denise Moss not

Denise Moss - writer

only repeated her usual trick of performing works different to the other poets but on this occasion performed works that were also different to her usual macabre style. She delighted the audience with some Milliganesque nonsense verse that related to each other in a delightful way telling a weird yet wonderful tale.

Becky Cherriman - Flash Fiction Poems

Becky Cherriman (M/S Writer on My Space) from Leeds performed some of her Flash Fiction next. This is basically very short stories and she writes and performs works that make this art form look easy. However with an economical yet extremely effective use of words she tells descriptive, interesting and amusing stories. “Park Girls” is one favourite making even this old reviewer aware of the trauma’s and confused feelings of teenage years. “Pam’s House” told the ultimately horrifying story of a woman’s obsession with her home. And an amusing tale of a wedding party where the guests dressed in animal costumes and behaved accordingly.

Steve Marron Project

The Steve Marron Project played a second set and were rewarded with a larger audience. This set was more upbeat than the first and the songs where both play guitar allow the lead guitar to enhance the tunes with intricate melodies. Subject matter included being dumped and a road trip across America. But one favourite was a harmlessly innuendo laden tribute to 80’s heavy rock that was written with tongues firmly in cheek.

Then Karl Eland played a second set, with more of his songs. Including

Karl Eland - Great Set

“Taking on the World” and “The Other Side”. He repeated “Dust in Wind” (about a restless heart) because it is a favourite of his Mother and Sister. It was a song worthy of hearing a second time as indeed is Karl Eland and I am sure he will be invited back to the Café soon.

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Then Becky Cherriman from Leeds performed some of her poetry. This was written and performed with the same economical yet descriptive skill as her flash fiction and was equally as entertaining. “Shadow Never Sleeps” and “Hair” were entertaining but for me the highlight was a poem called “My Paisley Quilt” about abuse within a marriage which included the chilling line “There are worse rapes than this”

Stuart Watson performed next; although he was from Canterbury he had

Stuart Watson - Protest songs

roots in the Teesside and Durham area. Another guitarist and singer he sang songs in a more traditional folk tradition. They were anti war and revolved around his grandfather’s experiences in the mines and First World War. Together they formed a damning indictment of the effects of that war in particular, and war in general, on those called to fight.

Surianne stunning the audience

The Café was headlined by Surianne and her band who headed the bill (Surianne on Vox). Another performer brought in from out of the area to entertain us. Born in Gibraltar and based in London Surianne performed songs in a unique style mixing conventional pop and flamenco with her beautiful voice that soared and filled the theatre without overpowering the ears of the audience. The band played acoustic instruments including percussion

Surianne and band

that was basically just a box. Her first song was “The

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Impossible” one Trevor had announced as one of his favorites in his introduction. Surianne was called out for a well deserved encore which she performed with just the guitarist enchanting further a delighted audience. A great act to close the show with.

As a showcase of the wide range of poetic and musical styles on display a

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t a typical Café this afternoon was a great success. As an example of entertainment it was a triumph. It often amazes me at how month after month Trevor puts together such a bill of mixed yet excellent talent, giving performance space to experienced artists and nurturing new talent. Yet the success of the Café lies not only in the list of those who performed in August but also in the list of people who regularly entertain at

Surianne - Latin Rhythms

the Café but were not performing this month.

Posted by Trevor -

I met Dominic Windram at the ARC (Stockton's Arts Centre) in 2004 when we started the Writers's Cafe (now based

at the Georgian Theatre). Dominic was a creative writing student in Carmen Thompson's class (one of our original organisers), a home tutor and poet. He began performing his work at the Writers cafe and got involved with our performance group with Sarah and June and Dionne. Dominic is a serious poet with a deep intellectual strain to his work that bites at hyprocisy and exploitations, is often radical or spirtiually inclined but in an unsual way. I helped publish and design some of his books under Glass Orange imprint. They sell for about £2 each. If anybody wants copies send a message to the Writers Cafe and I will pass it on to Dominic.

Two Poems from Artificial Eden by Dominic Windram (Here is the cover of Dom's 2nd Book The Season Cycle as well - Covers designed by Trev Teasdel)

A Counterfeit kind of love

 

Quick fix culture:

Terrified to face itself;

Terrified to discover

An empty shell.

 

Ashes to ashes, dust to dust

Love is reduced to animal lust.

Love is now just an exchange of fluids;

Love is now just a fashion accessory.

It's about what's compatible, (seriously)

Between well matched sets of personality packages

 

Where is the love that is real in space and time?

And yet which transcends space and time.

Which is fully conscious of itself,

And longs to embrace the divine.

 

We can only regret our failure to achieve.

That which the mystics claim is both real and transcendent;

That which is within our reach; within our grasp.

Some cannot regret as they know no other;

They eat, and sleep and go to work and fall in love or lust;

And engage in a range of leisure pursuits.

And live their lives within a narrow frame of reference

Because they know no other.

 

Quick fix culture;

 Cold and numb,

Born of frustration,

Built for fun.

The Pleasure Principle -(Addiction Theme)

 

Quick fix culture - born of sensation.

We're perched headlong on the fast lane

To burn out leading to boredom.

The desolate spaces within each of us,

Will not be filled, refreshed or healed by

The relentless pursuit of one night stands.

 

Prozac prescribed to millions of persons;

To numb the pain of existence,

But it never heals the inner kingdom.

Just scratches the outer surface

Of the ravaged ego's deadly

Hydra like symptoms.

 

All our lives we seem to move.

Back and forth from dark to light;

From light to darkness;

From the cradle to the grave,

We are the eternal seekers;

Expectant and self serving,

But the search for new sensation

Leads to the threshold of despair

 

Invasion of the pure, pools of silence

By the endless noise of desire.

Addictions that sidetrack and eclipse

The hallowed energy of our higher selves.

Addictions that deaden our truest desires:

From tranquilisers to 'angel dust' and heroin.

 

If its ecstasy that you crave

Desire creates more desire

If its escape that you crave

Desire feeds off desire