Admissions: Voices within Mental Health

I have not updated my website for quite a while now, and not much since the pandemic. Firstly, the Pandemic really slowed me down, I was still writing and working but my circle of contacts really closed. Alongside that so did my reaching out, but I was still writing, performing, and working and so still getting things done artistically. Secondly, someone bought my original web address and tried to sell it to me. Once I got the site back up and running and logged in, I found a draft post underway for a publication and saw so much that I need to update. But I am back here to post about the recent publication of Admissions: Voices within Mental Health.

Admissions: Voices within Mental Health was published in October 2022 by Upswell Publishing. The anthology contains an amazing breadth of voices. I am still working my way through it. Like another anthology, Solid Air, dipping into it at random has been my approach and in doing that I have so far loved the essay, IF I SMELL GAS AND THERE IS NO GAS or AM I A PSYCHOANALYST IF I DON’T HAVE A COUCH by Pascalle Burton, and the poems Suicide Dogs by David Stavanger and Hard Pressed by Grace Tame, and Learning from Shastra Deo.

Make sure you grab a copy from Upswell Publishing, and like me, recommend it to any mental health professionals you see.

The 2020 Australian Poetry Journal Anthology Vol 8

I have a poem in the latest edition of Australian Poetry. Thanks to the editors Sara Saleh and Melinda Smith for including my poem, for whom the red ticks. And thanks to Rabbit Poetry Journal and editors David Stavanger and Pascalle Burton for originally publishing the work. Thanks too to my mum for R2-D2. You can grab a copy here from Australian Poetry. 

RABBIT 27 – Tense (Within Australia)

I have a poem in the ‘TENSE’ issue of Rabbit Journal. Lately I have been writing a lot about work, and this poem covers some aspect of what I have been focused on in that context. The journal was guest edited by Pascalle Burton and David Stavanger, thanks to both for including my poem.

You can purchase the journal at Rabbitpoetry.com or subscribe for several issues. Thank you to Rabbit Poetry Journal.

Can Serrat, El Bruc, Catalonia, 23 May 2019

The two weeks have been busy, Can Serrat Residency hosted a day of experimentation at the El Bruc town hall, ran a day trip to Barcelona for a gallery opening at one residency space and an open mic at another. A book club was also organized, as well as multiple paella (paellas?) cooked.

I’ve also managed to make progress on three chapters of the book, Tomas Brown, past Canberran and another of the residents here, translated six of my poems into Spanish and I’ve managed to get feedback on my work as well as provide input into Tomas’s writing project.

The experimentation day on my first weekend here involved a past resident’s work, and building three concurrent narratives from images they supplied while using simple scripts, then turning those into a film. The process took up the entire day for selecting different images, then arranging them. It was a bit hard to follow for me so I am probably missing a bit, I’d only just arrived and was adjusting to the different languages being spoken.* But it was a fun process to watch and I found a way to engage with it alongside some of the other residents who were similarly on the fringe of the event. It was one of those days that will percolate and maybe something creative will come out of it, but even if it doesn’t it was useful to see all the visuals of past Can Serrat residents.

During last week all the residents of Can Serrat travelled to Barcelona for a day and night of engaging with other residencies, we first went to a gallery space and residency called La Place for a Q&A regarding the installation there. Three hexagon tubes were suspended from the ceiling, you could stand up into each of them and a sound would play while (it was explained to us) a smell was released - I completely missed the smells. There was also an abundance of rock salt all over the ground that made a very satisfying crunching sound as people walked on it. The gallery doubles as the work-space while upstairs is were the resident lives. They are looking for people to apply to undertake residencies and exhibitions, and sound installations are one of the things they are about.

The next stop in Barcelona was an open mic at the now closed Jiwar Barcelona Residency. The open mic was a chance for all the current Can Serrat residents to present some of their work, and we heard poetry from one of the past Jiwar residents. My favourite part of the experience was hearing poetry in Catalan, I’ve heard poetry in Spanish before, and in French, but to hear a Catalan poet perform work he’d written about locations in Barcelona was a first for me; the space was excellent too, we were in the back garden of the Jiwar Residency surrounded by apartment buildings, so we had to finish by 8pm out of consideration for the neighbours.

We had a book club this Tuesday gone too; all the residents were asked to read a passage from what they were currently reading or present something that had influenced them. I can’t check the book out of the library here as I don’t have membership (I walk up to the library each day to read), so instead I read Ron Padgett’s The Fortune Cookie Factory, it was the first poem by someone else that I performed and it has stayed with me since I first read it in the Bible of American Outlaw Poetry. We each provided context for our reading and the group then discussed it. This discussion was pretty wandering and interesting as we explored some of the concepts behind the different residents’ work, my favourite discussion centred on the positives and negatives of deconstructing people’s beliefs (to way over summarize).

I will write a about where my project is at in part two of this post, as well as how I’ve interacted with the work of some of the other residents. Until then, here is a photograph of one of the permanent residents, he was sick when I arrived, and so pretty stand-offish, but after a dose of antibiotics he has become really talkative and keen to hang with us temporary residents.

* When I was here in 2014 the majority of residents were from English speaking countries, so it was pretty comfortable. This time while everyone speaks English, the majority of people are from Spanish and French speaking countries and it has taken a couple of days to adjust to hearing those two languages so frequently.

Can Serrat, El Bruc, Catalonia, 10 May 2019

For this residency at Can Serrat I am focused on turning around 60-70 poems into two chapbooks and writing new work for both collections.

I attempted one poetry book from this collection of poems, written between 2008 and 2019, but have decided there are two different books.

Joan Miró Foundation

The difference is not due to changes during the extended period of writing that these poems are drawn from, though I think my writing has changed, and initially I had hoped to reflect the developments within the single collection, but for thematic reasons two separate manuscripts is now my approach.

When I go through the manuscripts a substantial portion of one book is made up of much older material while the other contains a large amount of newer work. But each has a selection of recent or older poems respectively that fit thematically; so, there are themes and concepts I keep returning to. The working titles are: Fighting Poetry and For Whom the Red Ticks, both titles will likely change as I work my way through the poems in each.

In preparation for the residency, I have been taking notes and collecting material to write new work for both collections.

Montserrat from El Bruc

This has included writing in the Woden food courts- thanks to taking a contract with a Commonwealth Department -I had never been to any of the Woden food courts previously. This nine-month contract is also part of the reason I can afford this trip, so thanks to the people who employed me.

I also re-visited the Joan Miro Foundation during my jetlag recovery in Barcelona over the last two nights, I found new perspectives since my last visit in 2014 and am hoping I can work these into new poems.

The Tundish Review

I have a poem in the latest edition of the Tundish Review, apparently it is sold out.

But you can make sure you get a copy of the next edition by submitting, they are currently accepting work for issues 9 and 10. They can be found on Facebook or go directly to their submission page here.

Support small poetry publishers. 

Australian Poetry Journal 8.2 - Spoken

This month Issue 8.2 of Australian Poetry Journal was launched in Sydney, Brisbane, Canberra, and online. Featuring commissioned work from Pascalle Burton, Steven Oliver, Steve Smart, Emilie Zoey Baker, PiO, Lorna Munro, Ahmad Al Rady, Quinn Eades, Emily Crocker, Tim Evans, Omar Musa, Adam Hadley Eunice Andrada, Eleanor Jackson Laurie May and Candy Royalle, the issue is the first collection of Australian Spoken Word artists in print from a mainstream Australian Poetry Journal. You can also listen to their work on Soundcloud.

The edition was co-edited by David Stavanger and me. We put a lot of thought into who to commission and were grateful for the excitement amongst both the invited artists and those who submitted to the journal. Submissions included excellent work from many poets such as Bela Farkas, Sandra Renew, Maurice McNamara, Scott-Patrick Mitchell and Matt Hetherington, as well as new voices such as Jerzy Beaumont.

You can grab a copy electronically or in print from Australian Poetry and please consider subscribing to support Australian Poetry. And after you’ve grabbed a copy of APJ 8.2 – Spoken please check out some of the other work from all the poets printed in this edition, most have books and other publications.

APJ 8.2 Spoken, open for submissions

Submissions for APJ 8.2 – 'spoken' are now open! We are delighted to announce the guest editors of this issue are Andrew Galan and David Stavanger, submissions close 1 October. https://t.co/LNSfsQtH4A pic.twitter.com/ZWmS8zLbUZ

— Australian Poetry (@AusPoetry) August 15, 2018

POETRY SLAM! SMITHS ALTERNATIVE!

BAD!SLAM!NO!BISCUIT!

BAD!SLAM!NO!BISCUIT! COMES FOR YOU FROM THE SMITHS ALTERNATIVE!

Which means Poetry Slam!

Which means 2 minutes, no props, no music and your original material! All for 1^st Prizes!

Which means Victory! Defeat! Random Capitalisations! Your choice of Commas and Apostrophes! Yelling, cheering, lights, sounds, THE BAD!SLAM!NO!BISCUIT! CANBERRA NATIONAL PIANO MAN, Beer! Toast! Cider! THE BAD!SLAM!NO!BISUIT! CANBERRA NATIONAL ANTHEM! Poetry and Judges and Heckling and Tears of Joyness/Love/Animals/Terror and of More First Prizes!

Because this is Poetry Slam we have feature acts!

AND WHO ARE THEY!?

We Have The Careerists, the Careerists are the band that puts the punk into petre out’s solo music! That’s The Careerists!

And we have Elliot York Cameron, Elliot is a spoken word poet and educator from Western Sydney. He co-organises Enough Said Poetry Slam in Wollongong. He was a finalist at the 2016 NSW Poetry Slam, 2017 Sydney Slam and 2017 Bankstown Grand Slam. That’s Elliot York Cameron!

And in the Hadley (RIP) Memorial Spots we have Seb Ashley! That’s Seb Ashley!

So! Sign-up from 7:30pm! poetry slam from 8pm! glory, infamy, drinking and yelling ‘til 1st Prizes and it’s all over before 11:30pm!

ENTRY COSTS A POEM FROM THE STAGE OR $5 OR IF YOU EARN ALL THE CASH MONEYS THEN $10!

And remember, 2 minutes, no props, no music unless you are a rebel rule breaker!

POETRY SLAM!

Poetry Slam @ Smiths Alternative 20 June

BAD!SLAM!NO!BISCUIT! 7:30PM 18 APRIL @ SMITHS ALTERNATIVE

BAD!SLAM!NO!BISCUIT!

Poetry Slam @ the Phoenix Pub

BAD!SLAM!NO!BISCUIT!

BAD!SLAM!NO!BISCUIT! @ THE PHOENIX PUB

BAD!SLAM!NO!BISCUIT!

2017 ACT Writing and Publishing Awards

My book, For All The Veronicas (The Dog Who Staid), was shortlisted in the poetry category for the 2017 ACT Writing and Publishing Awards.

This is my second book and it was developed with an ArtsACT Project Grant during 2015, and the work also benefited from residencies in El Bruc, Catalonia, and at the Ainslie and Gorman Arts Centres, both during 2014. I haven’t had poetry nominated for a prize previously so I was stoked to have the book make the shortlist in this ACT award and excited to have it receive a prize.

This is what the judges had to say about it:

‘Andrew Galan's collection is distinct, varied, and engaging. His poems challenge the reader, and do not allow for an easy interpretation. Some require re-readings to fathom both the narrative and metaphorical thrust. It’s a rich collection, with a clear influence drawn from performance poetry, and Galan utilizes conversational, disrupted rhythms to achieve something unique. The imagery is vivid, always inventive, and some individual lines are highly memorable, “You can look in strange places for fathers and you don't always grow out of it.” ’

Congrats to the other two shortlisted award winners, Chris Palmer with Afterlives, and Carmel Summers who edited The Last Day Before Snow, you can see the full list of awards given on the night at the ACT Writers Centre website.

The Tundish Review Issue 4, Brisbane

The Tundish Review

The Tundish Review Issue 4 was launched on Wednesday night at Betty's Espresso & Bar in Brisbane. The zine includes poetry by Jarad Bruinstroop, Juanita Simmonds, Ankita Bellary, Sean West, Sam Bolte, Shastra Deo and two pieces from me. I was also interviewed for this edition, I don’t usually talk or write much about my process but I really enjoyed the questions from the editors, as well as some of the discussion we had about why they wanted to interview me. The launch was packed with people and was such a fun night of poetry and drinks.

The artwork by Link Raptor is really interesting and fits well with this edition of the zine, the piece he drew for my poem, Axolotl Limbo, gave me a new perspective on the work. One of the ideas I like in the zine is the use of a fictional editor, this creates space for experiments, as well as character for the publication. The two real life editors, Katelyn Goyen and Nick van Buuren, have put a lot of love into this zine, they’ve promised that there will be a call out for issues 5 & 6 shortly, so make sure you have the latest copy, submit your work, and like the zine on Facebook. 

You can probably grab a copy by contacting them through their website or facebook, and you can definitely get editions at Junky Comics.

Here are some photographs of the launch (taken by Anton van Buuren), you can find more here.

Otoliths Issue 47

I have two poems in issue 47 of Otoliths.

The works are based on writing to a series of images, primarily from Simon Stålenhag’s forthcoming book, the Electric State, and hiromi suzuki’s works, Black Sun and an untitled series centred on envelopes.

I did also include a range of other favourite famous and less well known images in the process. You can see most of them above.

The Tundish Review Issue 4 Launch

I am part of the 22 November launch of Brisbane zine, The Tundish Review. The editors were not only kind enough to accept two of my poems, but they also interviewed me for the edition.

Putting together any publication takes commitment and effort, and putting one together full of other writers, artists and performers deserves support. So get to Betty’s Espresso & Bar at 7:30pm on Wednesday 22 November to hear poetry from Ankita Bellary, Sean West, Shastra Deo, Jarad Bruinstroop, Juanita Simmonds, Sam Bolte and me. Then grab a copy of the zine. Thanks to the editors Katelyn & Nick.

Poems with Nuovi Argomenti

Three of my poems have been translated into Italian and published by Nuovi Argomenti. The poems are Art, Industry, Architecture and Pets, Spaceship Twang Dog and The Periphery, the first two where first published in English respectively by Today, the voice you speak with may not be your own and The Delinquent, all three appear in my book For All The Veronicas (The Dog Who Staid), Bareknuckle Books.

Thank you to Massimiliano Mandorlo for his time and effort in translating these three poems, and thank you to Nuovi Argomenti for publishing the work. You can find the poems on the Nuovi Argomenti website, and you can find Massimiliano Mandorlo at his website.

BAD!SLAM!NO!BISCUIT! - THE PHOENIX PUB

BAD!SLAM!NO!BISCUIT!

The Salt Room interviews – Joshua Bell

For the September 2017 edition of the Salt Room at the Gorman Arts Centre I interviewed each of our three performers, Joshua Bell, Sarah Rice and Tahi Atea. The interviews were to provide insight into their practice and themselves.

The questions were taken from A Conversation with Allen Ginsberg, by Harvey Kubernik. My second interview is with Joshua Bell.

An interview with Joshua Bell

(Interview by Andrew Galan)

Q: Didn’t you see The Beatles play, and there’s some poem you wrote about the event?

A: I saw the Beatles play once when I was little. I used to watch Ants follow each other too. It always struck me - this mess of a thing, this absolute chaos. But it was so calm and ordered as they went about their lives. The fact that they have lives. I used to try and imagine what it would be like to be a Beatle, or an Ant, or for that matter a Caterpillar. Really all of my poems are trying to capture that again. Like flying over a city. I don't think I've succeeded, or maybe ever will?

Q: You still read from text on stage, from a book or typewritten.  Do you ever read from memory?

A: There are only two poems of mine which I've memorised. But I find being with the physical poem comforting. I'm holding it in my hands, and I can trust it. My memory is faulty, and like a sieve. The words though? They are unchanging and loyal.

Q: Subject specific answer required:  You write something on a piece of paper.  Other people, musicians, come invited to participate and collaborate.  Does the original intention become a different trip once there is music and other elements involved?

A:

Firstly, I've never written anything down on a piece of paper - so how dare you?

Secondly, musicians are what poets wish they could be. It's less obtuse, and more abstract. You can really hit people in the feelings with music. Get to the stuff which can't be said with words. Words that are always just an approximation of meaning. You know that the reading will be different from the writing. And I suppose that's the magic of words. They're just full of so much potential.

Joshua Bell

Joshua Bell is a poet, nerd, and long-time performer in the Canberra theatre scene. His particular interest is experimental and improvised theatre. His most recent efforts are being one of the creative minds between pub theatre show, Roll For Intelligence, a live and improvised performance based on everyone’s favourite tabletop RPGs, and contributing his poetry to Canberra Youth Theatre’s production, poem every day.

You can find Joshua Bell as part of pub theatre show Roll For Intelligence as well as the Lightbulb Improv troupe.

The Salt Room

The Salt Room presents poetry in its many forms. Featuring national, international and Territory poets alongside performers from varied disciplines. Organised by BAD!SLAM!NO!BISCUIT! and curated by Andrew Galan, the event is supported by the Ainslie and Gorman Arts Centres and runs from March to November.