Poetry / Caleb Parkin
Bristol City Poet launches debut collection
Fresh from National Poetry Day, we find Caleb Parkin in buoyant mood. It’s an exciting time for the Bristol City Poet, who is marking the release of his debut collection This Fruiting Body with, appropriately enough, a floating launch party.
We catch up with the self-styled ‘day-glo queero techno eco poet’ to explore the vibrant poetic landscape of Bristol, and finding beauty in the everyday.
What is the role of poetry in reflecting on and celebrating diversity as a city, while also bringing communities together?
“Contemporary poetry in the UK – and definitely in Bristol – is a brilliant space for voices and experiences to meet, share, communicate and celebrate. There’s always more to do on this front, but I do think there’s something particular about hearing someone’s experience crafted through poetry, which can really connect people.
“Bristol has brilliant poetry and open mic nights that are now returning, including Raise the Bar, Tonic – and the poetry festival Lyra – which are vibrant spaces to share the textures of our lives and our wild imaginings. Bristol is and will continue to develop as a hub for this – and that’s something to celebrate and nurture.”
is needed now More than ever
What unique qualities does Bristol possess that have inspired you as City Poet?
“For me, it’s Bristol’s openness, playfulness and creativity which always shine through. Earlier today, someone had parked her bike next to mine and it was exactly the same one – and we had a lovely chat celebrating our bikes.
“There’s an atmosphere of friendliness and conviviality that I don’t think you get in bigger cities – or other cities the same size as this. But it’s also Bristol’s spirit of independence and action: we’re playful, but we mean business. While we’ve certainly not found all the answers, I think ours is a city of innovation and action. It was really fun to research all the inventions and innovations which emerged here for the ‘Bring Your Ideas’ commission.”
How would you characterise your debut collection?
“It’s eco-poetry, but hopefully not what people would expect. One of the endorsements on This Fruiting Body describes it as a “post-human disco lit with ecological thought”. I love this! And couldn’t have put it better myself.
“While there are certainly poems that contain the necessary rage and grief at our ecological predicament, there are also poems that celebrate and dance with the non-human in surprising ways, from Saab hermit crabs to Asda pride gnomes, via man-trees and Google T&Cs reinterpreted as mycelium. I hope readers are entertained but go away with a sense of ecology being you, your home, your clothes, your rubbish – all of it – and realise that ‘nature’ also includes all the icky stuff we try to ignore. What even is ‘nature’ anyway?”
What can people expect from the launch party on October 17?
“We’re headed out on the Flower of Bristol for a few hours along the river. There’ll be readings from Bristol writers Jack Young and Samantha Walton – both eco-writers too – then I’ll perform from the book. And then we’ll have a Silent Eco Disco!
“All the music – however tangentially – will have a ‘more-than-human’ theme; it’ll build up from lovely songs about birds, to all-out queer disco bangers. And we won’t be causing noise pollution, because: headphones. I’m hoping people wear their sparkliest clothes in a ‘biomorphic’ and creaturely way. Bring your best looks. But only if that’s fun for you – otherwise, bring yourself, you’re sparkly enough. (Also, I’m conscious the boat party isn’t accessible for everyone, BUT there’s going to be an online launch on October 31 – Halloween – with a ‘Spooky, Monstrous Nature’ theme.)”
To get your tickets to the floating launch, visit fruitingboaty.brownpapertickets.com.
You can also join Caleb on October 21 for The Stories Bristol Tells Itself, a guided walking tour of the city as part of Bristol Festival of Ideas.
Main photo courtesy of Caleb Parkin
Read more: Bristol’s new city poet revealed
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