retrace: exhale

poetry readings by Mark Abbott - Adam Horovitz - Kate Dent

Sunday 15 March 11am at SVA

The retrace; exhale poetry event is part of the 2008 Darbyshire Award exhibition retrace;scripting memory by Emily Smith. Retrace; exhale will bring together three local poets Mark Abbott, Kate Dent and Adam Horovitz to read their work in the space. what they present may not be obviously linked to the work in the exhibition but will have stemmed from discussion with the artist and interaction with the work. Rather than simply present work made in response to the exhibition, retrace;exhale will be an investigation into subjective response and association.

The exhibition retrace;scripting memory explores the subjectivity of memory and examines visual trace, written trace and oral trace. for a short time the three will exist in the space together, influencing and affecting their reading and interpretation.

Mark Abbott: Many years ago when i had long hair i was lucky enough to study english literature for my degree. through writing and performing short stories i followed a wriggly path that has lead me to be a proffessional performer and juggler for 25 years. on moving to stroud seven years ago i found that my old writing tutor from london livred here as well. owing to his mixture of encouragement and badgering i am writing again.

Adam Horovitz has been writing poetry since he was a child, but taking writing seriously since he was 21. He has been supporting his poetry habit with work in bars, silver service waiting, sheep dipping, secondhand book selling and much more besides. Lately, he has worked as a journalist, editor and ghostwriter. He has performed his poetry at Glastonbury Festival and Cheltenham Festival of Literature, in Slovenia and Los Angeles and in bars, clubs and arts centres across Britain. His first pamphlet of poems, Next Year in Jerusalem, came out in 2004 and he is currently completing a full collection to be released later this year.

“Tactful and tactile, [Horovitz] has his own true voice, speaking his occasionally disturbing material with a light yet firm touch.” Anthony Rudolph, The Jewish Quarterly.

Kate Dent uses words in her visual art as well as poetry, having written short, mainly unedited poems since doing a Fine Art/Art History degree in the early 1990’s. This has continued throughout a career in arts administration (mainly based in London), working for various arts organisations and galleries including the V&A. Since completing an MA in Art Theory she has also enjoyed writing a number of essays for exhibition catalogues. She moved to Stroud four years ago and now works at Stroud Valleys Artspace.