Eric Mottram Remembered: poet, professor and cultural firebrand

by Pierre Joris · April 10, 2018

Eric Mottram by Pierre Joris, early eighties, 19 Deal Road, Tooting, London.

We are pleased to present the following conference, alongside an exhibition of manuscripts, books and digital material relating to Eric Mottram. Sponsored by the Archives Department at King’s College London.

Date: Monday 23 April 2018

Duration: 10.00 to 17.30

Location: Council Room, 2^nd floor, Strand Building, King’s College London, WC2R 2LS

Master of Ceremonies: Clive Bush

PROGRAMME:

This event will be filmed by Colin Still from Optic Nerve (www.opticnerve.co.uk). Please complete the attached consent form and present it to a member of staff.

10:00	Arrivals and refreshments
10:30	Welcome by Geoff Browell, followed by an introduction to the Mottram papers by Valerie Soar, including her recent work ‘Eric, the man and his archive’
11:15	Allen Fisher on ‘The Ethical and Marvellous: Eric Mottram and Visual Art.
12:00	Dale Carter on ‘From State to Doer: Eric Mottram and Politics’
12:45	Lunch (sandwiches and refreshments provided) with a chance to see material from the Eric Mottram archive collection.
14:15	Juha Virtanen on ‘The legacy of the British Poetry Revival and the Materiality of Archives’
14:55	Panel discussion: the legacy of Eric Mottram. Led by Ken Edwards, Peter Middleton, Gavin Selerie, Robert Hampson, Peter Barry, and Mike Hrebeniak (tbc). Chaired by Clive Bush.
15:45	Questions from the audience.
16:00	Break with refreshments
16:15	Audio recording by John Whiting on ‘Obi-Wan Kenobi meets Admiral Ackbar: Eric Mottram talks with Erik Bauersfeld at October Sound’
16:50	Pierre Joris on ‘A Transatlantic Turbine: Eric Mottram in the world today’
17:30	Close

This event will be filmed by Colin Still from Optic Nerve (www.opticnerve.co.uk). Please complete the attached consent form and present it to a member of staff.

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Tags: Eric Mottram

Dick Russell says:

April 10, 2018 at 7:09 pm

Thanks Pierre for the post. A pity that I cannot attend. Perhaps I’ll get to see the movie.

Just for the record, I published the poem below in 2015. I also referenced Eric in Raga For Tony Selina.

Best
Dick

On Reading Robert Duncan

for Eric Mottram

He spoke of you
in that time when water
was a mile down hill
across ditches through fields
from the shrine

your name’s two feet
so hard to decline now that
nouns not often decline

from a glistening slate roof
in sunlight after rain
a gutter dripped water
one drip
quickly two more
before one dripped again

repeating in sequence
one drip two more
before one dripped again
in metrical sequence
sounds of separation
twelve feet between negation
between two sounds
drip splash
no sound of separation
no sound of door being locked
nails being tapped

no white sound just starched aprons
no sight of nurses just visions in blue
sitting at a bedside
waiting to administrate

no sound to measure
distance between things
pipe and rock
twelve feet between

in that temple made
by six rows of two columns
twelve feet high twelve feet deep
enclosing five conjugations
some voices, some moods
and in the center of that shrine
sitting beside two smaller columns
First Second and Third
High, Just-As-High, Third
three gods of first person three gods of second

sound waves spoking out

&
Robert Duncan said that:
Ezra Pound said:

“the study of literature is hero-worship”

Dick Russell
copyright © 2015

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