Elizabeth Torres

First communication of 2021

One thing is to kickstart the year, and another one is to let it kickstart you. I am not sure which of the two is happening yet. Little is certain these days, now that we’re approaching our one-year anniversary of being in the middle of a pandemic. I try to stay on my toes. To keep nostalgia and worry at bay, not because I’m in a competition of productivity (I find those e-newsletters and posts about staying productive in a pandemic quite dismissive of the trauma and confusion we all need to cope with, each in a different way) but more because the way my brain is wired, little else keeps me at ease than that world of creativity, where I am the ruler and shaman, and reality is not as strong nor aggressive…a place where by healing I can hope to heal, and where I slowly submerge myself until I know very little of the current reality.

I am sure I am not the only artist hiding away from the news flush through creative endeavours. Whereas a sort of paralysis first was the main subject of discussion in most of the (now fully virtual) circles I am a part of, now, slowly, as we adjust our eyes to the scenery, the documentation begins to flow naturally. Documentation, yes, because no matter how within ourselves we are, well, artists are just reflections of the world around them. Surreal, distorted versions, sure. How else would one attract the attention of an already busy brain?

What has not been happening, though, is the part of feedback and release that usually helps us feed our own machinery to make it a more democratic, reciprocal process. There’s no live shows and by default no audiences, which means no purchases of our products and no exposure to new audiences. There’s also a lack of support to independent artists and to projects that do not fill the mold of “how do you envision life after pandemic” or “art as a new covid-friendly possibility”, and for many of us who do not live off of grants and private sponsorship, the challenges have multiplied because our shops are closed during lockdown, and we’re not able to work and provide the funds for our art as we would.

All of this is to say, if you are encouraged by the work of the artists around you, please let them know this by sending words of support, or buying prints and art, or sharing / reposting their work. In my case, there are various ways in which you can show your support:
-The free alternative is, of course, share my website and the website of Red Door, so people can learn about the projects I manage.
-You can join me on Patreon from 3usd a month. From 6usd and up you will receive a thank you Red Door shirt, and depending on your interests, other tiers provide prints, magazines, and even freelance support to your project.
-You can visit the Red Door shop and acquire books, prints or original art from myself or other artists.

By doing so you can ensure that Red Door Magazine, the Poetic Phonotheque, the Red Transmissions podcast and all my other activities continue functioning seamlessly, providing free access to information and entertainment, as well as the documentation of the network all around us.

In spite of the stagnant vibe, I mentioned I’m staying busy, so let me give you an update:

The finishing touches are being added to my upcoming book “Would you like to come home?”, a bilingual poetry edition in English and German, translated by Klaudia Ruschowski, which will be released in Germany by Moloko Print this spring.

I am also working on an album! It is in connection to this book, and I have recruited the help of two amazing musicians, Brandon Davis and Jevgeneiy Turovskiy, because there ain’t no distance when it’s time for music. I will keep you updated on this process.

Red Door remains closed due to the lockdown, so I am using it as my very private atelier for the moment, until I am allowed to reopen. In the meantime, I have refilled the stock with a beautiful collection of miniature books, handmade notebooks with typewritten poems on the covers, signed prints, and original art.

The Poetic Phonotheque keeps growing and it is waiting for your poem. Add your voice by sending an MP3 to reddoorny@gmail.com or visit the phonotheque here.

I have interviewed a wonderful character in the world of translation: Michael Favala Goldman, who spoke from Massachusetts about his poetry and his experience in the world of literary translation from the Danish language to English. There is a trilogy coming out in January of the work of Tove Ditlevsen in the United States, which includes his translations of “Gift” (Dependency) and I invite you to learn all about it on this episode of the Red Transmissions:

And if you’re in need of some warming up into the year, visit Red Door Magazine for this very steamy issue #25th, the DEVIANT issue, which features photography by Alejandra Guerrero aka Corporate Vampire, and the art of Ervin Van Muriel, along with poetry from various continents on the subject of Deviance. If you’d like to acquire a collectors copy, visit the Red Door shop or send me an email.

Issue #26 is still on the works, with the theme RESILIENCE, and the due date for content submission is January 25th, so send your poems, articles, art, or other media to reddoorny@gmail.com

Yeah, that should conclude this first communication. To sum it up, I am well, I would love it if you joined me in Patreon, the music and the poetry keep on guiding me, and I hope that you remain strong and hopeful, but not naive, through these current times.

The light always gets in, somehow.

Love,

Madam Neverstop.

poetry in motion

As December arrives I tend to look back to a year full of international adventures, performances, achievements and of course, an extensive lists of goals and dreams ahead… but 2020 is our special year to be remembered for everything but. There has been uncertainty and fear and confusion in every country of our planet and by default in every circle and project all of us were/are involved in. Rather than continuing with the lists of what-didn’ts I want to share with you some of the fantastic experiences I have had the joy of witnessing this year, the year of resilience.

THE POETIC PHONOTHEQUE

When the lockdown started here in Copenhagen, I realized one thing I would miss out on would be the live performances of music and poetry I often attend. This reminded me of something I used to do as a child, in Colombia. I frequently visited the Casa de Poesía Silva to listen to their fonoteca, a collection of cassettes of the renown poets in Latin America. This led me to realizing it was time to make a long dream of mine come true. To create my own fonoteca!

Based on the idea of the internet as a linking point, I sent out an open call to an international poetry network, for poets to send me recordings of their poems in their own voices, in various languages, no subject and no specific length, simply stating their name, the title of the poem, the country they’re from and which city they reside in. The result is a collection of around 100 poems, in various languages, from New Delhi to Stockholm, from Medellín to Vienna, from Zanzibar to Rome. The collection can be listened to here: https://reddoormagazine.com/phonotheque/listen/ and I hope to continue expanding it, so please send me your poem!

THE WAYS OF THE FIREFLY

Oh my heart, that moment when I finally finished writing this book, felt like an exorcism. After a few excruciating years of limbo where I needed to regroup my understanding of everything around me – a tragedy in 2016 which happened and made me rewrite my present- I thought it would be impossible to write again. As a matter of fact I was in so much sorrow that I felt my grief was contagious and if I wrote, I would stain the days of those who read my words. But something happened inside me. A light kept blinking on and off. titillating. Asking for ink. And so late at night and early in the morning I wrote, and when I was in most pain I wrote and when I felt nothing I wrote… until the story was told, the book was completed, and somehow I understood, I had my closure. So you must understand, this book is precious to me, because it is a book of pure survival. A novel in poetry form, and a riddle for those looking for answers.
It does not surprise me that it was published on the year when the world froze and everyone had to face uncertainty and sorrow, loss and concepts of survival unknown to them before. Nop. It felt…right. It felt like this book is simply stubborn and won’t let anyone silence it. My gratitude goes to Klaudia Ruschowsky for her translations of my work to German, and to Moloko Plus for choosing to have me in their selection of authors. Get it at: https://tinyurl.com/molokofirefly

TRANSGRESSIONS FOR THE PUBLIC SERVICE:
As if this weren’t enough, I can’t forget to mention that my first solo album of music, Transgressions for the Public Service was also released this year, as a digital album, as a cassette… and then, as a limited edition through Moloko!
https://madamneverstop.bandcamp.com/

THE REOPENING OF RED DOOR

On the 7th of October of 2009, the first issue of Red Door Magazine was released, as an online quarterly publication, and without much scandal or party, a very important part of my life began to take form. Since then, 25 issues have come to life, now also as printed publications (another achievement of 2020!), which also means I’ve spent over 10 years traveling the world and meeting incredible characters and documenting their stories through Red Door.

…but ever since I moved to Denmark, Red Door has taken on a new phase, a new position which excites me and scares me incredibly. It became a gallery, a physical space for local and international creators to exhibit their work, give workshops, build good memories and network with one another. The first stunt was confusing but I guess I needed more of it. I needed to continue having the possibility of offering a location to those I meet along the way who are curious about Copenhagen… but also I wanted to be able to provide our local community of artists a place to exhibit their work. I say this is scary because we all know, art is a difficult enterprise, but here I am, on the second stunt, hopefully a permanent location for the gallery, on Møllegade, the most poetic street of this city.

I say this not because I want to sound cute, but because this street houses several bookshops (all which sell and host poetry) a Literature House, a Poetry House, and I believe TWO poetry festivals, plus several studios of artists. Honey, I’m where I need to be:

THE RED TRANSMISSIONS PODCAST
I started Red Transmissions Podcast in 2019 maybe as a predecessor idea to the phonotheque, with similar intentions. I have had the fortune of traveling and visiting such fantastic locations in the world, and meeting all these characters whose work is so important, why not begin having recorded conversations to help document this? I am now on episode #25, which interviews The Space Lady, and before that had Noah Cicero as my guest, and previous to that the Tranås crew: Magnus Grehn, Colm Kiernan, Milica Denkovic, Bengt Berg… and before that TV personalities, award-winning writers, visual artists, circus performers, book festival directors, screenwriters, rockstars, worldthreaders gallore.

You can tune in to the podcast via iTunes, Spotify, most podcast providers or simply by googling Red Transmissions Podcast. I’m certain you will enjoy what they have to say.

THE PATREON ADVENTURE BEGAN!

One of the greatest challenges of independent artists is finding ways to support themselves, finding ways to tap into their audience and develop an active communication, finding ways of giving value to these interactions. After researching Patreon for many years, I have now finally decided to join this platform, and since April have been using it as my main form of delivering interesting content and important information to my growing audience there. Of course, I still find it challenging to transition my social media followers to a subscription platform, but slowly this is growing and I find it much more productive, as not only do I get to share my creative process in detail, but once I encounter my supporters, the conversations flow easier because they know in advance what I am up to and where I am going, so they can provide feedback, advice, or simply cheer on with the satisfaction of knowing they’re giving me their active support.

If you would like to be part of this adventure, visit patreon.com/madamneverstop
I look forward to sharing so much more with you!

GETTIN’ ON WITH IT

Last, but not least, my very first “official” short film was created, during the summer/fall of this year, in collaboration with composer Jevgeniy Turovskiy, which is a poem from my book “The Ways of the Firefly” released by Moloko. The film is not yet available publicly due to participating in various competitions, but it has been announced as part of the official selection of the Athens International Video Poetry Festival, and the Helios Sun Poetry Film Festival, and was screened in London and Turku recently as part of poetry festivals. What a great experience this has been and continues to be!

Many other wonderful things have happened in spite of the restrictions, such as the TRANÅS AT THE FRINGE hybrid festival in Sweden and fellow talks, including an online talk about translation in the coming days, and the reading events at DET POETISKE BUREAUS FORLAG, my Danish publishers, as well as an upcoming anthology in Finnish, a couple books I am finishing in Spanish, and a poetry book in English, plus plenty of visual art. I stay busy, I stay hopeful, I stay lucifering, (Luciferin is a generic term for the light-emitting compound found in organisms that generate bioluminescence, such as fireflies, so whether or not it is an actual term, we stay lucifering, okay?) and I hope that you reading this, wherever you are, continue to thread your path also, with patience and kindness, with love and even more patience, and with all the resilience necessary to get us through whatever may come next.

May you have a lovely, poetic winter, and may the snow cover the ashes and bring forth a brave new world.
Love and poetry,

Madam Neverstop.

La revolución es cultural!

“The revolution is cultural!”
-Ricardo León Peña Villa.

Here we are, our path covered in golden and mars-red leaves, for another edition of Autumn, this time brought to us exclusively by the very chaotic 2020.
I have, in spite of the static and stillness, been neverstopping, as you might have expected. And by that I mean I have been busily worldthreading, through Red Door Magazine, the Red Transmissions Podcast, my very own Patreon and of course, the Phonotheque.

So first things first! Red Door Gallery returns to a physical reality in Copenhagen, in the most poetic street of the city, at a location that for the last 9 years already vibrated with poetry, so I am certain the vibes are just right. I can feel them when I arrive and begin to set up the art, books, records and plan the shows. Red Door will be in Møllegade, in Nørrebro, that area of Copenhagen making headlines lately for being so trendy and must-see, etc. A longer post about this coming soon.

The new issue of Red Door Magazine has arrived, and boy, does it look beautiful.

Issue # 24 of Red Door Magazine is now available digitally (and physically, freshly arrived from Sweden), featuring the art of the wonderful Mayuko Fujino.Our correspondent from Australia, Melaine Knight aka The Neon Rebel, chose the theme of the magazine this time should be “Visualize”, which led to a beautiful interpretation of the subject by those who submitted content.See the issue now at: www.reddoormagazine.com
Also featuring an interview with renown infographics artist Jaime Serra, whose work documents the intimate realities of the world around him. That’s visualizing in a whole new way!Additionally, an article featuring Tempo Nauta (Rafael Franco Steeves) and his interview for Red Transmissions Podcast talking about ADJUNTO, the short film directed by Felix Pineiro. This issue celebrates the arrival of At the Fringe 2020 – Stay at home edition, which will also be documented through the podcast and magazine. But that’s not all! This issue includes beautiful illustrations by Muriel Fonseca, photography by Frank Guiller, and the poetry of:RELU CAZACU ranslated by NICOLETA CRAETERomania George Mario Angel QuinteroUS / Colombia KELLY MARTINEZCuba MARIA ELENA BLANCOCuba Aleisa Ribalta GuzmánCuba / Sweden DIANA CONCHADOUS MADHUMATHI. HIndia RICHARD TEMPLEWales ALISA VELAJAlbania VIDYA SHAHKARIndia See the issue online at: www.reddoormagazine.comor order your collectible printed copy, for 100 dkk aka 14 euros aka 15 usd, (plus shipping), which I will send out from Kultivera next week. Thanks to everyone who participated in this issue!

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I have just returned from Tranås, for a wonderful time At the Fringe, an international festival (yes, we self-distanced, yes, it was virtual, only performers attended, we virtual-reality’ed our ass off! and yes, we took precautions) that for several years has been bringing together artists in various media and from all over the world to gather in Sweden and exchange ideas, projects, voices, for a most wonderful time.

One of the greater satisfactions was giving this talk (in spite of a few digital hiccups, which actually made us have to start 3 times, a very new and funny experience since the physical audience was witnessing this so I couldn’t repeat myself, but the virtual audience didn’t so I had to find ways to re-communicate what I had prepared 3 times). I called it “Poetry in Multimedia, the Neverstop way” because it is strongly based in my story and my identity as a poet, and how this has morphed and developed into the many tentacles of my always rotating, always neverstopping, always all-the-way existence. 

See the full video here: https://vimeo.com/469897729 

I also had the opportunity of giving a panel discussion moderated and shared with Jonas Elleström, Lucy Durneen and Christer Boberg, which revolved around the concept of “Meetings” and what it is that we do when we do what we do which is creating, networking, and organizing. More importantly, how to do what we do when we can’t due to new restrictions and other impossibilities. I think it was a very productive talk although I think I need to process the information a bit more, because it left me with more questions I would like to expand on in the future: https://youtu.be/OJD8fIIhHnc 

Then there was this poetry reading: https://youtu.be/SxWSYpD7IHk
where I shared the stage with the wonderful poet, cultural organizer and magazine director Aleisa Ribalta, the writer Lucy Durneen and Dr. Siham Jabbar, who read her poetry in Arabic and whose translations were read in English by Dominic Williams, host of the poetry evenings, cultural organizer, and poet, who also leads a festival in Wales.

Coming soon, a series of interviews I recorded for the podcast during my stay in Sweden, beginning with the award-winning poet Bengt Berg, which you can now listen to via iTunes, Spotify, most podcast providers, or the Red Door website.

To receive a copy of the magazine, a t-shirt, a cap, or any of the other products mentioned on this site, visit reddoormagazine.com or become a subscriber of my patreon and give your support to all these projects.

More updates coming soon. Stay tuned!
Love and poetry,

Madam Neverstop.

August finds me threading the world

Summer arrives and soon enough we are past the first six months of the year. A year which, by society’s standards, is tough when you look at it from any angle. I cannot begin to process the amount of uncertainty, sorrow, loss and trauma being experienced in every country of the world due to the pandemic, and I have spent a lot of time paralized staring out a window trying to figure out my role in all of this. I’ve also spent a decent amount of time arguing with racists online, but that’s probably my own fault for not going out for walks more often. Slowly, things begin to clear up, and soon I can share with you news of publications and performances. But to begin, I’d like to take this moment to invite you to join my patreon platform and give your support to the following projects and to my writing/art/worldthreading.

-Regarding the latest updates of RED DOOR MAGAZINE, I am delighted to share that issue #23 (the LANGUAGE issue) is now available online, and it turned out to be quite a publication, with over 70 pages of content – in various languages – discussing languages and identity, as well as the very current subjects of acknowledgement of race disparity in our society, with a focus on the Black Lives Matter movement and its urgent call for action.

The featured artist is Serena Saunders, a Philly resident whose art documents the lives and struggles of her community, through vibrant colors and messages of hope.

Two fantastic interviews I had the chance of publishing and releasing as part of the RED TRANSMISSIONS PODCAST are:
-Interview with New York artist Ethan Minsker, who is currently promoting his film “The Man in Camo”
-Interview with King Khan, creator of the Black Power Tarot in collaboration with visual artist Michael Eaton and with Alejandro Jodorowsky’s guidance.
The issue includes poetry and essays from Mexico, Australia, New Zealand, Russia, Ukraine, Japan and India among otherplaces, and a special feature of photography documenting the BLM marches in New York by photographer Oveck Reyes.
So if you haven’t done so yet, head on over and feast your eyes on this issue!

-If you are a poet, your voice is still needed at THE POETIC PHONOTHEQUE, which will soon have its first 100 audio recordings of poetry in their original languages, in the voice of their authors, as a virtual collection you can always enjoy from the comfort of your home, whether or not there is a lockdown, because poetry should always be playing.

-Now, when it comes to the podcast, my most recent guest is a madhatter. Well, she’s a nomad, entrepreneur, film & TV producer/developer, and after years of traveling the world, she’s now Aegean Dream BnB, settled in Tinos, a Greek paradise with the most exquisite mountain views in every direction, small villages and beautiful dovecotes spread through the island, fascinating history and the most peaceful environment, inducive to say, write a play or a book. Listen to the interview, from Tinos, and plan your artist retreat with her.

-Due to COVID changes in what was going to be a very packed year of performances and events all over Europe, I’ve been focusing on updating, or better said, upgrading my knowledge through classes, from Danish to Media to UX, because I want to be able to provide the best support to the projects I am involved in, but also because the more I know, the better quality of the projects I present to my community. Since I’ve been studying this, I’ve also been talking about this with my friends a lot, and realizing that entrepreneurs, small businesses and artists are often in need of support, whether it comes to digital marketing and social media, or video and audio production, launching their own podcast or updating their CVs, portfolios and websites. However, not all of them have the capability of hiring an assistant whether it’s full or part time, nor the ability or time to do this themselves.

So I have created two new tiers on my PATREON platform, one which is focused on tutoring for those more into the hands-on, do it yourself styles, to teach a few times a week remotely programs and tricks designed specifically for the individual’s needs to advance with their projects. That one is called THE NEOPHYTE.
The other one, called THE ASSOCIATE is meant for those who definitely don’t care for social media, digital marketing, scheduling nor doing the routines of posting and creating content for online promotion, but still would like to strategize and have access to the option of an online audience and portfolio. Rather than tutoring, we video chat one or twice a month, and then I take care of these tasks for a few hours a month.

The prices are low because this is a limited offering meant for very specific people wanting to launch their careers and projects forward. If you feel this offer could benefit you, please sign up here for the respective tier of interest.

-Having said this, I conclude this message with a preview of my latest art series, a collection of Elements made as illustrations with acrylic, embroidery and ink on paper.

Love and poetry,

Madam Neverstop.

Worldthreading galore!

Dear you,
There are three things I’d like to share today regarding community collaborations and the ways independent projects keep worldthreading a kinder future.

The first one is a BERLIN based community radio station called KEITH, which is a project by a gallery called SP2 and a bar called Keith, owned by dear friends and fellow artists.
Today, Thursday, at 15 (UTC+2 time) or 9am NY time, you can listen to the most recent episode of the Red Transmissions Podcast, an interview with J. Edward Keyes, Editorial Director of Bandcamp.

You can listen to it here.

This episode is an interesting conversation where I had the opportunity of asking J questions that I have many times before wondered about as a musician and as a member of a band. How to write about one’s own music properly, where to pitch it, how to promote it online and offline… and who better to ask than one of the leading online platforms of the industry? “Cutting through the Noise” will air again on Keith this 21st of June, and from now on, my podcast joins the regular programming of this station, together with many great DJs, musicians and weirdos who are working together to build an awesome station during lockdown there.

See their kickstarter project to see what I am talking about. They just matched their goal, but there’s still some hours of it if you’d also like to donate. A part of my collaboration with Keith includes having them as collaborators of Red Door Magazine from now on, starting issue #23.

The second collaboration comes from TRANÅS in Sweden, where a wonderful cultural organization called Kultivera, which organizes a Fringe Festival, Poetry Slams, publications and other cultural projects, has joined the team of contributors of Red Door Magazine, starting with issue #22 (the media issue), and will be introducing a series of articles from the art community in Sweden and the projects they host there.

You can read this first article, written by Frank Bergsten about the poet and Literature Curator Dominic Williams, along with other excellent articles, poetry and the art of Andrej Konopek in Serbia, on this issue of Red Door Magazine:

Last, but not least, is my Patreon campaign, which now enters its third month. I am close to reaching my first twenty supporters, and would like to invite you to join me in this platform as a supporter, so that projects like the Red Transmissions Podcast, Red Door Magazine and the Poetic Phonotheque can continue happening with your support. None of these projects are sponsored by any organization nor have ads, to keep the message clean from clutter, (a decision I made in 2009 which I still strongly stand by) but this requires a big economic investment from my part, which is why I am asking you to give me a hand.

In exchange, apart from sharing exclusive updates about my work, video interviews, poetry streamings, book downloads and a free copy of my new album Transgressions for the Public Service (Out on Bandcamp June 9), you also have the opportunity to receive original art, illustrated postcards, prints, stickers, pins and other goodies… As well as having the satisfaction of supporting this independent creator, cultural organizer, and neverstopping worldthreader.

Pledges start at 3usd a month, and from 6usd and up you can also be a collector of my work, and receive illustrations such as these:

I created these illustrations in Marielyst, South of Denmark, (where the picture on the top of this post was taken, actually) the past month. I made them on a thick watercolor paper, with acrylic paint, ink and embroidery (can you see the beautiful contrast of the thread on paper?), and the first round, which were the size of postcards, have already all gone to my patreons at a contributor level or higher (12usd and up).
The size of these illustrations is 20 x 14.5 cm and would look great framed, possibly with a glass to protect the thread and paper.

These are currently sitting under heavy literature to flatten the paper again (as you can see they’re a bit curvy right now due to the paint), and once that’s done, one of them could be shipped straight to your home. This is a limited offer as I only made 8, and all you have to do is join my Patreon at a contributor level or higher, to receive your own one of a kind original.

Become my patron here.

Thanks for your support, and keep on worldthreading!

Madam Neverstop.

Together, through poetry…

There’s very little I can share at the moment that you don’t already know and are experiencing in real life, just like me. Of all the fiction books and films we saw through the years, nothing would’ve prepared us for the absurd reality that our world has been turned into.
So, while a virus roams the streets of not one city, nor one country, but countless countries around the planet, we, citizens of the world, cocooned in the safety of our homes, do our best to stay safe.

So, in an attempt to give my mind some structure and not let it be devoured by the mixed messages of my FB feed (conspiracy-panic-recipe-catpic-newsflash-selfie-angryrant-repeat), I decided to launch a project I’ve been daydreaming of for a long time, called The Poetic Phonotheque.

In a few words, it is a virtual collection of poetry in the voice of the poets themselves, reciting it in any language, from anywhere in the world. I’ll only list the author’s name, country of origin/location, and the title of the poem, and it is up to you to click and listen and let it surprise you. The initiative started on the 21st of March, 2020, World Poetry Day, and already has received poems from Serbia, Germany, Colombia, the US, Ireland, Czech Republic, Sweden and Denmark.

If you’d like to join this initiative, all you have to do is record yourself reading a poem, and send me the MP3 by filling this form.

Let me take you on a small trip down memory lane:
The idea comes from my upbringing in Colombia, when as a child I had the opportunity of visiting the Casa de Poesía Silva, a cultural house in Bogotá where poets often gathered to present their poetry, attend workshops…with a beautiful garden in its center, and a room where its fonoteca houses over 2000 hours of poetry in cassettes and CDs.

Here’s where we cue the old photo, in honor of that other thing happening on FB of everybody posting a “throwback”:

And so this child that I was, who dreamt of being a poet forever, would arrive and borrow a pair of headphones and ask to hear some poetry.

This room made me feel safe, and it allowed me to travel to other dimensions through the poems I heard there. And I thought it was the greatest place on earth. Surely it unconsciously also taught me tons about developing my own style when reading poetry??? It’s so exciting to learn about the authors by hearing how they interpret their work.

I’ve been postponing this idea for who knows how long, waiting for the perfect time to get started… and I guess now is exactly that moment. How fortunate that I can host it through Red Door so that this phonotheque expands to house poetry in many languages, in many styles, by many of you. In good ol’ neverstop fashion.

I’d love to replicate that feeling of joy that poetry brought me, in each of your homes, now that we’re asked to stay put and only take spacial trips.

With love, from the poet who dreams of being a child forever…

May we all fare well on this journey.
Elizabeth.

What is community?

The way I see it, there are two key components to leading a life of satisfaction and fulfilment. (or in a less-happy-go-lucky lexicon: contentment). In the past, I’ve called the first component a “realizing what colors define us and painting our world accordingly”, but in a more to-the-point explanation I’d say that it is finding that which gives us purpose. A meaning. A role.
We can begin the search of this by asking ourselves, what is it that makes me whole / unique / happy / content / inspired?

The second component is less bulls-eye, because it requires looking around and trying to figure out how we fit into this puzzle called life. Where do we stand, what do we care for / are affected by, how can we make a difference? What can we give back to the world?

So this post is all about community. Because no matter how individualistic, introvert or antisocial, we still need one another to make it through this wondrous journey.

A Good Community recently interviewed me about this. It’s a very in-depth interview about my role in the arts & culture environment I am a part of, my writing, and beyond my background and story, what roles artists and communicators have in the current social landscape. Please click on the image below to read the entire interview.

I found A Good Company last year in my search of accountability and sustainability for my personal actions, including being a poet. Oh the amount of paper we use! So I’ve been enamoured with their stone-paper notebooks, and engaging with “A Good community” in various ways. It is inspiring to see how individuals can come together to make this world more liveable.

The article includes photographs by Zarko Ivetic and Robert Butcher. Thanks to A Good Community for sharing my story.

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Now, this second part of my post is a bit more zoomed in to my location.

As you know, Australia has been ravaged by fires and thousands of species have been affected, as well as humans and the actual landscape. Although the media reports that these fires have finally been contained, there’s still so much to recover from!

Anika Vinson from Heaps Good Cafe is organizing a fundraising event HERE IN COPENHAGEN to raise funds in support of indigenous-run organizations, emergency and long term animal protection organizations and people who are working on the ground and know what is needed in the future to protect rural communities from future climate disasters.

The event will take place this 6th of March, and local orgs and individuals have joined forces to help this event raise as much as possible.

For this reason, I’ve donated an entire set + 2 framed illustrations, a total of 8 individual pieces, all to be auctioned that night. Let’s show Australia some love, shall we?

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The illustrations are all handmade, with mixed media (thread, ink, needle work) on watercolor, part of a series titled An oracle of Entanglements. If you are in Copenhagen, I look forward to seeing you there.

If you are NOT in Copenhagen, please consider donating to the following organizations:

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it’s what we make of it

Dear all,
Here’s hoping this February finds you with recharged energies and tons of exciting projects.
I am writing you from Copenhagen, where I figured today’s wintery sunshine was an excellent reason to catch up with some of my latest adventures, so hold on tight, because poetry is about to take over:

My book Det usynlige sår was released in November and since then I’ve received very positive commentary from a newly-found Danish audience. I’ve heard it talks about narrations from the end of the world. Who woulda thought.
If you speak Spanish or Danish, you can acquire it here.
If you don’t speak either of these two tricky languages, here’s a sneak-peek of some of the illustrations I created for this book:

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So, then some news about English publications would be an appropriate way to follow the conversation, right?
I am delighted to announce that not one but TWO new books of poetry, this time in English and German (ooo, fancy), are coming out this year with the wonderful MOLOKO PLUS, with translations by Klaudia Ruschkowski. The first book will come out this spring, titled “The ways of the firefly“. (stay tuned, because this is coming very soon and I’ll make a fuzz about it!)

Now, the second book I can give you a bit more details on, because I would love it if you could join me for the release and it requires traveling:

It is titled “Would You Like to Come Home?“, a collection of poetry I wrote in a meditational/trance-like/cut-up technique series of exercises in Marielyst last summer, inspired by various Books of the Dead (and my love for the cut-up technique and Burroughs of course). Ok, I’ll say it. It’s my very own Book of the Dead. It of course comes with its own illustrations:

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This book is leading its own way and finding its own place so very naturally, that academic and professor of American literature Oliver Harris agreed to read it and has now written a beautiful introduction for it. And guess what? We’ve agreed to host a release presentation this September in Paris, when the 60th anniversary of the cut-up technique is celebrated by The European Beat Studies Network, where me and fellow Burroughs/Beat collectors & admirers, poets and worldthreaders will be celebrating the, uh, connections and collections.

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This is the way, would say the Mandalorians.
Soon I will be announcing additional publications, a couple of anthologies where I am being included and this year’s list of festivals and events. It seems it will be a European-focused year.

In the meantime, may I invite you to check out the podcast I’ve been hosting? The Red Transmissions Podcast aims to document the work, behind-the-scenes moments and creative process of the incredibly interesting characters in my (our) network, be it in Copenhagen, New York, or around the world. Today I am posting Sofi Oksanen’s interview, and previous to that you can learn of a Norwegian contortionist, Elise Bjerkelund Reine, who has started a circus festival here in town, where you can without a doubt find me later.

Thanks for your support,

Elizabeth.

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http://www.madamneverstop.com

Helsinki Book Fair recap

I’m now back in Copenhagen after an incredible time in the big celebration of literature and culture that is the Helsinki Book Fair, where I was invited by the Finnish PEN to speak of Poetry and Exile.
I took advantage of the opportunity to also document my participation through a series of interviews for my podcast, Red Transmissions, which will be airing in the coming weeks.

To those of you who haven’t had a chance to listen to the podcast, it is a series of conversations with the Worldthreaders I encounter on my path. What’s a worldthreader, you ask? precisely what it sounds like. People who through their creative or activist work connect the world around us, without thinking of borders of barriers and divisions. This can be done directly through art, literature and music, or through projects in defense of human rights, climate and equality, defending our rights to a dignified existence.

In my talk, hosted by Daniel Malpica, fellow poet and member of the board of Finnish PEN, I had the opportunity of presenting my new book Det usynlige sår / La herida invisible by Det Poetiske Bureaus Forlag, my previous book In the Jaws of Oblivion by La Impresora in Puerto Rico, and of discussing my story and my current work in Copenhagen attempting to create new spaces of exchange and collaboration amongst migrant creators residing in the nordic countries, as well as nordic creators through translations and connections so as to provide opportunities for them in the US and Latin America. My gratitude goes to Veera Tyhtilä, Chair of Finnish PEN, Daniel Malpica for being an incredible host and fantastic photographer of my adventures in Helsinki, and Leena Manninen for facilitating all the left-brain processes of this adventure.

Additionally, I had the opportunity of listening to Sofi Oksanen speak and later interviewing her for the podcast. This was an empowering reunion! Sofi is an incredible Finnish writer and playwright. She has published five novels, of which Purge has gained the widest recognition. She has received several international and domestic awards for her literary work. Her work has been translated into more than 40 languages and sold more than two million copies. Sofi shared with me that she will also be participating in the coming Colombian Book Fair in April, so if you’re going to be attending, keep your schedule open for what she has to say. Otherwise, stay tuned for her episode!

In the words of Daniel Malpica: “The work of Finnish PEN is very relevant in today’s global context. There is still a lot of places where writers face harassment, incarceration and murder for opening up and publicly expressing their views, and Elizabeth is the clear example of how poetry succeeds despite the difficulties, in a clear demand for a better world.”

I encourage you to follow the movements of your local PEN chapter, giving them a like on Facebook, and standing up in whatever ability you can from your location to support freedom of expression in these turbulent times.

Thank you, PEN Finland, Veera, Daniel, Leena, Oula, Sofi, and everyone whom I encountered in my journey.

Love and poetry,
Madam Neverstop.