Gavin Selerie will perform at the next Other Room on Wednesday, 5th February. 7 PM start, free entry. The other readers are Frances Presley and Chris Stephenson, with preview of both to follow in the next few weeks. For a flavour of Gavin’s work, watch this clip of his reading at Xing the Line in July 2012, browse his page at Archive of the Now, or his author page at Shearsman.
Bio.
Gavin Selerie was born in London, where he still lives. He taught at Birkbeck, University of London for many years. His books include Azimuth (1984), Roxy (1996) and Le Fanu’s Ghost (2006)—all long sequences with linked units. Music’s Duel: New and Selected Poems 1972-2008 was published by Shearsman in 2009. This includes a good deal of fugitive material, besides more widely available work. Selerie has collaborated with the writer and artist Alan Halsey, notably in the book Days of ’49 (1999). His work has appeared in anthologies such as The New British Poetry (1988), Other: British & Irish Poetry since 1970 (1999) and The Reality Street Book of Sonnets (2008). His poems generally involve a layering of voices through history and landscape. He has written extensively about London, reflecting his roots (an Italian family in Soho and an English family of wood-carvers). He has been a core member of the London poetry scene since the 1970s. There is frequently a concrete dimension to his work and he was featured in the recent Visual Poetics exhibition at the Poetry Library, London. Selerie is currently working on a large project, Hariot Double, which juxtaposes renaissance and modern elements. He sometimes performs with musicians, and this work-in-progress deals partly with the British jazz scene.
