At Newcastle Writers Festival

Posted in FLASHING THE SQUARE, NEWS & INFORMATION on April 2, 2016 by Richard Holt

It was fantastic to see a selection of the  microlit videos I’ve produced with Spineless Wonders playing to a full house at the beautiful Civic Theatre prior to the Festival launch last night. Thanks to all who assisted. This afternoon we present a session on microlit and announce the winner and finalists of the Newcastle microlit competition (which have been made into videos and included in the program screening at the Festival Hub and between sessions at the theatre).

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(photo Bronwyn Mehan / Spineless Wonders)

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Seeking bilingual writers

Posted in NEWS & INFORMATION, OPPORTUNITIES on March 24, 2016 by Richard Holt

An important component of the Text Me project (ArtSpace, Ringwood: April 1 -22) is a work called Lost in Translation. This will take the form of a simple piece of microfiction, written specifically for the project, retold and reproduced in non-English languages. The original English text will only be made available to the re-tellers of the story. This project will place the native English-speaking audience at a disadvantage, inverting the dominant language hierarchy. In order to access the story English readers will need to find a non-English speaker to re-interpret the story for them. My own role as the original creator of the story will also be circumvented, priviledging narrative over prose, story over ‘writing’. The displayed texts will also emphasise writing as a form of drawing, and allow the audience, regardless of their ability to access a linguistic ‘meaning’, to enjoy the graphic quality of script.

I’m calling for writers or other bilingual people to assist by contributing a retelling of the story. If you’re the first person to ‘put your hand up’ from your native language group (I’m after just one version in each language, but as many languages as possible) I’ll forward you the story, which is only about 300 words long, and some very simple instructions. You’ll be credited (in your native language) and will be part of what I’m sure will be a fascinating exploration of writing, language and the cultural nuance of storytelling.

Following is the list of the languages that are already covered:

  • Russian (added April 24)
  • German (TBC) (added April 26)
  • Italian (TBC) (added April 26)
  • French (added April 26)
  • Greek (added April 26)
  • Indonesian

To get involved drop me a line using the link below.

 

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Text Me

Posted in Uncategorized on March 24, 2016 by Richard Holt

text me brochure detail

Text Me is 3 weeks of interactive installations, workshops, performance and projections I’ve produced for ArtSpace in the new Realm facility in Ringwood. It will run from April 1 until April 22. Presented by Maroondah City Council, Text Me is the first in a series of arts incubators that will allow resident artists to explore a variety of creative genres. As the name suggests, this one is all about words. For more information download the TextMe brochure.

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Microfiction readings on RRR’s Multistoried

Posted in NEWS & INFORMATION on March 24, 2016 by Richard Holt

Something of a jewel in Melbourne’s literary landscape, Multistoried, hosted by Louise Irving and Elizabeth McCarthy, is two hours of intelligent and engaging literary commentary that airs each Wednesday on 3RRR. I was invited as guest spoken word artist to read a number of pieces, yesterday. In spite of a decidedly croaky voice I read three new, unpublished pieces: The Exquisite Leaf; Light (adapted from a novella I’ve been working on) and Red Line. There’s also an interview with me about the forthcoming Text Me arts incubator at ArtSpace, Ringwood. The audio for the show is available from the station’s audio on demand service at http://ondemand.rrr.org.au/player/32/201603231200 .

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Gearing up for Newcastle Writers Festival

Posted in NEWS & INFORMATION on March 7, 2016 by Richard Holt

Over the weekend I completed the first two videos from a project that will debut at this year’s Newcastle Writers Festival. On day two of the festival I’ll be joining colleagues, Bronwyn Mehan (Spineless Wonders) and Joanna Atherfold Finn (writer and educator), to present Short and Sweet: The Art of Microlit. It’s great whenever festivals and literary events support microfiction, and Newcastle are to be congratulated. I’m looking forward to heading up that way and enjoying a fantastic  regional writers festival.

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‘Text Me’ Writing Incubator

Posted in NEWS & INFORMATION with tags , on October 22, 2015 by Richard Holt

I’ve just started working on a project for April next year that has me quite excited. The Realm creative incubators provide an opportunity for artists to work on site for a month at the Realm ArtSpace in Ringwood. Ill be first cab of the rank, with a whole gallery at my dosposal to create text based work – I’m imagining video and wall pieces as well as work created with the local community. I’ll post more about this project as it develops.

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5 Minute Story Slam at MWF

Posted in Uncategorized on August 30, 2015 by Richard Holt

A prominent theme at this year’s Melbourne Writers Festival has been storytelling. I signed up for one of the open mic spots at yesterday’s 5 minute story slam hosted by Story Peddlers in their fantastic story tent. The event, which raised funds for the 100 Story Building project, was a huge success, showcasing storytelling in its many guises, from joyous and irreverent to heart felt, with an emphasis on personal reflection. I reworked a couple of decidedly non-autobiographical pieces, and was happy with the results. Ultimately the star of the night was the was the beautiful Story Peddlers tent and the warmth, on a cold Melbourne evening, of shared stories.

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The Swimmer, read by Eleni Schumacher

Posted in Uncategorized on August 5, 2015 by Richard Holt

During July, Spineless Wonders celebrated Microlit Month by releasing readings of selected micro stories. My story, The Swimmer, taken from the collection Stoned Crows and other Australian Icons, is read admirably by Eleni Schumacher and is taken from a live reading as part of the Little Fictions series.

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Out of Place launch

Posted in NEWS & INFORMATION with tags , , on August 5, 2015 by Richard Holt

A fantastic launch of Spineless Wonders latest collection, Out of Place, also saw the debut screening of the latest Flashing the Square microfction videos, all taken from the collection and enhanced greatly by the soundtracks provided by composition students at the Sydney Conservatorium of Music. The lively event at the Knox Street Bar in Chippendale was a fitting way to celebrate another excellent microlit anthology. As well as being included in the collection and producing the videos I was pleased to have the opportunity to design the cover, and was more than pleased with the result. Visit Spineless Wonders for more details or to order your copy.

Out of Place microlit anthology

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National Flash Fiction Day

Posted in Uncategorized on June 28, 2015 by Richard Holt

Last year I was privileged to read a selection of stories at the National Flash Fiction day event in Bristol, and to have one of my pieces, The Working Man’s Struggle, selected for the annual anthology. NFFD has just passed again (how time flies!) and though I wasn’t able to travel to the UK to enjoy it I am thrilled to be represented in this year’s collection, Landmarks, by my story, The Gambler (a reworking of the Kenny Rogers song of the same name). I’m eagerly awaiting the arrival of my copies as the annual NFFD publication is invariably one of the best collections of microfiction published in any given year.

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