Favorite Quote Collection

Inspiring  Amusing  Quirky

… Found in an old note book, I wanted to breathe life back into words which touch my soul and spark the imagination… 

Basically collected from Movies and Music, with perhaps a single Political Quote among the ridiculous and the fantastic. From single lines, to whole speeches.

Words are magic without the rituals. They can inspire, destroy, cast seeds of infesting doubt, lift spirits, mend broken hearts and instigate infectious laughter.

Whether they emerge from films, lyrics or great minds, inspiration can emerge from anywhere, even a public toilet in London! Where I once read an interesting snippet of graffiti… ‘Happiness does rely on the absence of problems’ …

~*~

The Viking Prayer

“Lo, there do I see my father.
Lo, there do I see my mother,
and my sisters, and my brothers.
Lo, there do I see the line of my people,
Back to the beginning!

Lo, they do call to me.
They bid me take my place among them,
In the halls of Valhalla!
Where the brave may live forever!”

~*~

~*~

~*~

“So it’s Rorschach and Prozac and everything is groovy”

~*~

“Voilà!

In view, a humble vaudevillian veteran cast vicariously as both victim and villain by the vicissitudes of Fate. This visage, no mere veneer of vanity, is a vestige of the vox populi, now vacant, vanished. However, this valourous visitation of a bygone vexation stands vivified and has vowed to vanquish these venal and virulent vermin vanguarding vice and vouchsafing the violently vicious and voracious violation of volition! The only verdict is vengeance; a vendetta held as a votive, not in vain, for the value and veracity of such shall one day vindicate the vigilant and the virtuous. Verily, this vichyssoise of verbiage veers most verbose, so let me simply add that it’s my very good honour to meet you and you may call me V.”

~*~

“Just paint your face” the shadows smile

~*~

If the people we love are stolen from us, the way to have them live on is to never stop loving them. Buildings burn, people die, but real love is forever.

~*~

~*~

Who is this great burdensome slavering dog-thing that mediocres my every thought?
I feel like a vacuum cleaner, a complete sucker, it’s fucked up and he is a fucker
But what an enormous and encyclopaedic brain
I call upon the author to explain

~*~

~*~

~*~

~*~

~*~

I thought I would save the best (and the longest) till last… 

 

 

I’m sorry, but I don’t want to be an emperor. That’s not my business. I don’t want to rule or conquer anyone. I should like to help everyone – if possible – Jew, Gentile – black man – white. We all want to help one another. Human beings are like that. We want to live by each other’s happiness – not by each other’s misery. We don’t want to hate and despise one another. In this world there is room for everyone. And the good earth is rich and can provide for everyone. The way of life can be free and beautiful, but we have lost the way.

Greed has poisoned men’s souls, has barricaded the world with hate, has goose-stepped us into misery and bloodshed. We have developed speed, but we have shut ourselves in. Machinery that gives abundance has left us in want. Our knowledge has made us cynical. Our cleverness, hard and unkind. We think too much and feel too little. More than machinery we need humanity. More than cleverness we need kindness and gentleness. Without these qualities, life will be violent and all will be lost….

The aeroplane and the radio have brought us closer together. The very nature of these inventions cries out for the goodness in men – cries out for universal brotherhood – for the unity of us all. Even now my voice is reaching millions throughout the world – millions of despairing men, women, and little children – victims of a system that makes men torture and imprison innocent people.

To those who can hear me, I say – do not despair. The misery that is now upon us is but the passing of greed – the bitterness of men who fear the way of human progress. The hate of men will pass, and dictators die, and the power they took from the people will return to the people. And so long as men die, liberty will never perish. …..

Soldiers! don’t give yourselves to brutes – men who despise you – enslave you – who regiment your lives – tell you what to do – what to think and what to feel! Who drill you – diet you – treat you like cattle, use you as cannon fodder. Don’t give yourselves to these unnatural men – machine men with machine minds and machine hearts! You are not machines! You are not cattle! You are men! You have the love of humanity in your hearts! You don’t hate! Only the unloved hate – the unloved and the unnatural! Soldiers! Don’t fight for slavery! Fight for liberty!

In the 17th Chapter of St Luke it is written: “the Kingdom of God is within man” – not one man nor a group of men, but in all men! In you! You, the people have the power – the power to create machines. The power to create happiness! You, the people, have the power to make this life free and beautiful, to make this life a wonderful adventure.

Then – in the name of democracy – let us use that power – let us all unite. Let us fight for a new world – a decent world that will give men a chance to work – that will give youth a future and old age a security. By the promise of these things, brutes have risen to power. But they lie! They do not fulfil that promise. They never will!

Dictators free themselves but they enslave the people! Now let us fight to fulfil that promise! Let us fight to free the world – to do away with national barriers – to do away with greed, with hate and intolerance. Let us fight for a world of reason, a world where science and progress will lead to all men’s happiness. Soldiers! in the name of democracy, let us all unite!

Final speech from The Great Dictator Copyright © Roy Export S.A.S. All rights reserved

~*~

 

 

Anne Harrison 20.07.17

…and now for something completely different! (again)

The Guardian of the Glasses – A musical adventure… 

Vol. 2. – The 80’s

The Beat

“Mirror in the Bathroom”

1980

Duran Duran

Wild Boys

1984

Anthrax

Madhouse

1985

Hawkwind

Needle Gun

1985

Huey Lewis and the News

“The Power of Love”

1985

Mike + The Mechanics

Silent Running

1985

Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds

Tupelo

1985

Paul Hardcastle

19

1985

The Cult

“She Sells Sanctuary”

1985

PiL

Rise

1986

MARRS

Pump Up The Volume

1987

Sisters of Mercy

“This Corrosion”

1987

Ministry

“Stigmata”

1988

Alannah Myles

Black Velvet

1989

 

Enjoy!

 

 

Anne Harrison 06.07.17

A Critical Reflective Essay on Poetic Expression

A Critical Reflective Essay on Poetic Expression

Introduction:

A personal exploration into the realms of poetry through the use of expressive imagery, dating back to the dawn of time and creeping up to date with modern computer graphics. Focusing on the appearance of each piece as well as the story told within and embracing a wide source of inspiration, discovering an ever increasing range of writers and artists who have produced some elaborate and stunning work.

Personal Statement:

Poetry is a theme which had been absolutely alien to me prior to enrolling upon the Creative Writing Course. My knowledge was limited to The Raven, Samuel Taylor Coleridge and Vogon Poetry, and these examples I was only exposed to through other interests. (Namely movies, music and comedy) I was unsure what to expect as Lydia Towsey (Chair/Compere WORD! www.wordpoetry.eu)¹ took our class during the first year. During these evenings I was thrown into a confusing yet beautiful world of poetry. With its strict rules of rhymes and stances, counting consonants or lines, style structure, form and prose all of which can be thrown out of the window and disregarded. It would appear that in poetry rules are sometimes made to be broken.

Getting it wrong:

I embraced this new found path with enthusiasm, yet my subject matter was too metaphysical, I took inspiration from my Pagan background and my writing explored subjects relating to the supernatural, esoteric and theoretical. They did not tell a story they posed questions and were just not specific. A concept, at the time, I just failed to understand. My ideas were shelved, but not totally dismissed.

A journey of rediscovery:

Wednesday 1st October 2014, upon this evening I attended ‘A Different World – Poetry Workshop’ held at The Curve and hosted by Anita Sivakumaran.²

An insightful and inspirational event, which once again threw open the realm of poetry for me to gaze upon with delight and wonder. Introducing an unusual twist, these came in the form of ‘Technicians of the Sacred: A range of poetries from Africa, America, Europe & Asia, an anthology by Jerome Rothenberg³ and Octavio Paz.⁴ Both of which have remained strong influences throughout the creation of my portfolio and changed the direction of my poetry. I was inspired by the use of illustrations and design to create a story, with images and words, words forming images and pictorial portrayal of poetic works.

Introducing ‘Concrete & Abstract (or Abstract & Concrete)’

‘Open to Interpretation’ was written / drawn during the ‘A Different World – Poetry Workshop’ held at The Curve and hosted by Anita Sivakumaran. Exploring poetry from around the world and throughout time as portrayed by various cultures, introducing me to ‘Technicians of the Sacred’ for the second time in as many weeks.

Firstly in Nick Cave’s ‘20,000 Days on Earth’ in an interview, Nick Cave remarks on Technicians of the Sacred: “I read an enormous amount of poetry, and “Technicians of the Sacred” has been hugely influential. The primitive poetry in general and the way it’s presented in that book is pretty extraordinary. After I’ve gotten sick of reading modern poetry, I just open that up, and there’s just something immediate about it and visceral and shockingly erotic that gives a license and a context to go to other places. I think that songwriting is much more conservative than poetry. Themes dealt with in poetry seem to be much more audacious, so I get a lot of inspiration from that.” ⁵

I found this synchronicity hard to ignore and when this book entered my life I was intrigued to learn more discovering a whole new style of poetry and a major source of inspiration. ‘Open to Interpretation’ was hand drawn remains unchanged, scanned directly from the notebook, it is a very significant poem for two reasons, firstly it marks my re-introduction into the realm of poetry and secondly the message itself relates to my own personal spiritual journey. Therefore I have deliberately not included the translation in this essay, leaving the poem quite literally open to interpretation for the reader to explore the symbols and translate these as they desire.

These symbols illustrate the rebus principle⁶, where words and syllables are represented by pictures of objects and by images whose names are similar to the word or syllable to be expressed. A simple explanation of this rebus principle can be forming words from pictures:

BEE + LEAF = BELIEF

SEA + SUN = SEASON

This is un-doubtfully one of the oldest forms of communication used to tell a story and can be seen in ‘Song of the dead, relating the origin of bitterness’ (from Asia) explored in ‘Technicians of the Sacred’.

‘The Dream’ and ‘The Secret’ are two poems I have chosen to include from the classes in the first year ran by Lydia Towsey, the latter with some recent modifications. ‘The Dream’ was created through a series of exercises given in class, from first making a list of ten abstract concepts, choosing one to focus on then applying the five physical senses to the chosen conception, therefore applying a concrete notion to an abstract concept, which also gave me the working title for my portfolio.

‘The Secret’ was recently altered, after the discovery of an interesting online article on ‘Rewriting Books Through Redacted Text’ (By Kathleen Massara)⁷ This article looked at the work of the artist known as ‘someguy’⁸ and Jonathan Safran Foer’s cut-out, remixed novel, ‘Tree of Codes’⁹. Both of which took existing work and heavily edited it to create new pieces work from the remaining words.  Considering the theme of ‘The Secret’ I choose to blank out words to invite the reader to participate in my work by interjecting their own words into the space provided. There is no right or wrong way to read this, the idea is to develop a relationship with my reader by allowing them their own creative input into this piece.

As Stephen King once said: “Description begins in the writer’s imagination, but should finish in the reader’s.” ― Stephen King, On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft ¹⁰

‘Crow Haiku’ A Haiku¹¹ is a Japanese poem, which dates from around the 9^th century. They consist of three lines, the first and last line contains 5 moras and the middle line has 7 moras (In English syllables are used as moras). From the development of my earlier piece ‘The Dream’ I felt inspired to look into various forms of communication which related to the physical senses and for the ‘Crow Haiku’ I reinterpreted it into sight sound and touch, recreating the Haiku from Words (sight) to Morse code¹² (sound) and Braille (touch)¹³. The visual effect of just casually glancing at a series of dots or dashes and trusting that these patterns also say what is written, almost leads the reader to overlook these translations. We skim over the dots, because we cannot visually translate them into words, as I developed this concept, I became aware just how much we take words for granted and how beautiful they may appear in a different form of communication.

‘SSDD’ another form of communication, the modern abbreviation and most commonly used in text / email / social networks, such as LOL, LMAO, BRB, GTG, IMO and so forth.¹⁴ Phrases have become reduced to a series of letters and SSDD simply stands for ‘Same Shit Different Day’. This abbreviation also features in the Stephen King novel / film ‘Dream-catcher’¹⁵. My poem takes the reader on a bus journey with me, just a mundane daily routine, with a sparkle of adventure added to it. The nonsense of the surreal day dream realm plunges the reader into my vivid imagination. Inspired by the works of Dr Seuss¹⁶ and the tremendous Jabberwocky by Lewis Carroll¹⁷ for the use of invented words to create bizarre illusions of a make believe world. All presented in the appearance of a newspaper clipping to keep with the theme of the poem, adopting modern use of graphic design to illustrate my work in such a way that it’s presentation becomes part of the written work. SSDD also drew inspiration from a stunning painting by the artist Chiara Bautista¹⁸

As I became more fascinated with the works of Octavio Paz I developed an interest in the astounding ‘House of Leaves’ By Mark Z. Danielewski.¹⁹ Both Octavio Paz and Mark Z. Danielewski have used layout of text in various different ways to express their work.

With this in mind, I developed a series of different styles to present my poems ‘Mirrored Verse’, ‘Crossing Paths’ and ‘Music & Dance’ to merge poems and create a visual design with the words.

 

‘Mirrored Verse’ itself is a Handfasting²⁰ (Pagan Wedding) blessing I wrote, inverted, reversed, flipped and mirrored. Words change when you look at them differently, live becomes evil when backwards. The appearance looks alien as we are so used to reading letters in a certain format, though other cultures may read back to front or up and down the page. However English letters appear to loose meaning when presented in another direction, In a Handfasting, the four elements/directions are traditionally honoured, which inspired me to present the blessing in the same way, in four different directions and although they may look bizarre the words and therefore the meaning still remain the same. I was personally impressed by a poem entitled ‘Lost Generation’ by Jonathan Reed²¹, a palindrome, read normally this poem gave a very bleak view of the world, yet when read in reverse, it gives the reader hope and changes the whole meaning of the work.

‘Crossing Paths’ Consists of two poems (Feathered Family and Seasonal Connection) written and inspired by my home, reflecting my thoughts and feelings surrounding where I live and the community around me. I have taken the poems apart, twisted them around and rearranged their format, which echoes how I felt by changing my life in such a way. The merged poems influence the reader to participate in the work, they need to physically turn the page, to mentally piece together the puzzle and see the story hidden within. By turning the text to the side, I saw a pattern forming and the idea to change the background black, the text green transformed the work into an image which resembled the falling, or raining text code used in the film ‘The Matrix’²² (sample on Page 29) an ironic twist considering the theme of the work is connected to living with nature, yet the layout and style embraces technology.

‘Music & Dance’ Two poems, based on two very different styles of genre, exploring ballet and jazz, presented in such a way that each poem may be read individually, flowing down the page, or across, connecting the two pieces of work into one and creating a whole new tale from both themes. The layout on the page creates a beautiful twisting path between the poems, inviting the reader to cross over this path. Using a performance of Swan Lake²³ and the recent 2014 film Whiplash²⁴ as inspiration, this piece crosses time as well as genre.

Whilst researching performance poetry and listening to John Hegley, John Cooper Clarke, Rob Gee, Ministry of the Mundane by Project Adorno on YouTube, I came to the conclusion that my work cannot be performed, that it is more visual, creating art from words. I also stumbled across performance artist Marina Abramović, my latest piece of work ‘6 Hours’ is based on her 1974 performance piece entitled ‘Rhythm 0’²⁵ Art may be performed and poetry may be artistic, inspiration comes in various disguises, from bus routes to ducks, they have all found a place in my work. I realise that my first attempts at poetry were wrong and I began this essay by admitting this error, shared with you my change of direction and progression, how I developed each piece and where I found my muse. Yet this couldn’t have happened without first making mistakes, this brings me to the final piece. ‘Content’ (the accidental poem) put simply this is the Content page from my first failed attempt, however it tells a story in itself, so remains here to remind me, and the reader, that there really are no mistakes, just a journey of transformation.

In some way the content remind me of the artist Richard Serra²⁶, who created a list of verbs to explore in his artwork, for it resembled a list and when read down the page suggests a list of events.   

What about the Caps?

            You may have noticed a distinct lack of capital letters, punctuation, question marks, full stops etc… this is a deliberate theme in my work and a trait prompted by  – No Edits by Alex Elle²⁷ (via alexandraelle) a beautiful yet simple poem which adheres to no rules.

Social media has transformed the way we communicate in recent years, creating a new platform for anyone to share and display their work with ease. Because of Tumblr, I discovered ‘Wreck this Journal’²⁸ and on Twitter, poems or even whole stories maybe told within 140 characters, developing a new style of work contained in Tweets.The Journey Continues:

Using my poems, my ‘Wreck this Journal’ and my love for both photography and graphic design, I can see this collection I have presented morphing further into an artistic display. (Sample of this progression on Page 30) However, this is still work in progress and a separate project continuing from this portfolio, so my journey continues by putting the ‘Creative’ into Creative Writing.

A.M. Harrison.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

References

 

1. Lydia Towsey

Poetry. Art. Performance. Change.

www.secretagentartist.wordpress.com

www.3thehardwaypoets.wordpress.com

Chair/Compere WORD! www.wordpoetry.eu

 

2. Anita Sivakumaran http://www.transculturalwriting.com/Grassroutes/content/Anita_Sivakumaran.htm

 

3.     Technicians of the Sacred: A Range of Poetries from Africa, America, Asia, Europe and Oceania by Jerome Rothenberg (editor) since its first publication in 1968, Jerome Rothenberg’s Technicians of the Sacred has educated a generation of poets, artists, and readers to the multiple faces and possibilities of poetry throughout the world. Hailed by Robert Creeley as “both a deeply useful work book and an unequivocal delight,” and by the Los Angeles Times Book Review as one of the hundred most recommended American books of the last thirty-five years, it appears here in a revised and expanded version several years in the making. http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/405082.Technicians_of_the_Sacred

Image included in Influences and Inspiration, Reference – 3

 

Paperback: 672 pages

Publisher: University of California Press; 2nd Revised edition (1 July 1992)

Language: English

ISBN-10: 0520049128

ISBN-13: 978-0520049123

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Technicians-Sacred-Poetries-America-Oceania/dp/0520049128/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1424851962&sr=1-1&keywords=technicians+of+the+sacred

 

4. Octavio Paz Lozano March 31, 1914 – April 19, 1998) was a Mexican poet-diplomat and writer. For his body of work, he was awarded the 1981 Miguel de Cervantes Prize, the 1982 Neustadt International Prize for Literature, and the 1990 Nobel Prize in Literature. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Octavio_Paz

 

Conjunctions & Disjunctions Paperback – 25 Apr 1991

by Octavio Paz  (Author), Helen Lane (Translator)

Product details

Paperback: 160 pages

Publisher: Import; New edition edition (25 April 1991)

Language: English

ISBN-10: 1559701374

ISBN-13: 978-1559701372

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Conjunctions-Disjunctions-Octavio-Paz/dp/1559701374

 

Collected Poems, 1957-87 Hardcover – 22 Sep 1988

by Octavio Paz  (Author), Eliot Weinberger (Editor)

Product details

Hardcover: 686 pages

Publisher: Carcanet Press Ltd (22 Sept. 1988)

Language: English

ISBN-10: 0856357871

ISBN-13: 978-0856357879

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Collected-Poems-1957-87-Octavio-Paz/dp/0856357871/ref=asap_bc?ie=UTF8

 

 

5. Wall Street Journal article ‘Nick Cave, Star of ‘20,000 Days on Earth,’ on Poets, Bandmates and Loneliness’ by By Barbara Chai http://www.wsj.com/articles/nick-cave-star-of-20-000-days-on-earth-on-poets-bandmates-and-loneliness-1410828058

 

20,000 Days on Earth http://www.20000daysonearth.com/

 

20,000 Days on Earth (2014)

97 min  –  Documentary | Drama | Music  –  18 November 2014 (USA)

Writer and musician Nick Cave marks his 20,000th day on the planet Earth.

Directors: Iain Forsyth, Jane Pollard

Writers: Nick Cave, Iain Forsyth

Stars: Nick Cave, Susie Bick, Warren Ellis

 

 

6. Rebus principle representation of a word or syllable by a picture of an object the name of which resembles in sound the represented word or syllable. Several rebuses may be combined-in a single device or successively-to make a phrase or sentence. Literary rebuses use letters, numbers, musical notes, or specially placed words to make sentences. Complex rebuses combine pictures and letters. Rebuses may convey direct meanings, especially to inform or instruct illiterate people; or they may deliberately conceal meanings, to inform only the initiated or to puzzle and amuse. http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/rebus+principle

 

7. http://flavorwire.com/178487/rewriting-books-through-redacted-text/view-all

 

8. http://www.iamsomeguy.com/The-Meaning-of-Words

 

Image included in Influences and Inspiration, Reference-8

 

9. Tree of Codes by Jonathan Safran Foer, Tree of Codes is a haunting new story by best-selling American writer, Jonathan Safran Foer. With a different die-cut on every page, Tree of Codes explores previously unchartered literary territory. Initially deemed impossible to make, the book is a first — as much a sculptural object as it is a work of masterful storytelling. Tree of Codes is the story of an enormous last day of life — as one character’s life is chased to extinction, Foer multi-layers the story with immense, anxious, at times disorientating imagery, crossing both a sense of time and place, making the story of one person’s last day everyone’s story. Inspired to exhume a new story from an existing text, Jonathan Safran Foer has taken his “favorite” book, The Street of Crocodiles by Polish-Jewish writer Bruno Schulz, and used it as a canvas, cutting into and out of the pages, to arrive at an original new story told in Jonathan Safran Foer’s own acclaimed voice. http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/9583799-tree-of-codes

 

Image included in Influences and Inspiration, Reference – 9

Paperback: 140 pages

Publisher: Visual Editions Ltd; First Edition (13 Nov. 2010)

Language: English

ISBN-10: 0956569218

ISBN-13: 978-0956569219

http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/0956569218/ref=x_gr_w_bb?ie=UTF8&tag=x_gr_w_bb_uk-21&linkCode=as2&camp=1634&creative=6738

 

10. On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft by Stephen King

Part memoir, part master class by one of the bestselling authors of all time, this superb volume is a revealing and practical view of the writer’s craft, comprising the basic tools of the trade every writer must have. King’s advice is grounded in his vivid memories from childhood through his emergence as a writer, from his struggling early career to his widely reported near-fatal accident in 1999 — and how the inextricable link between writing and living spurred his recovery.

Brilliantly structured, friendly and inspiring, “On Writing” will empower and entertain everyone who reads it — fans, writers, and anyone who loves a great story well told. http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/10569.On_Writing

 

Mass Market Paperback: 320 pages

Publisher: Pocket Books (June 25, 2002)

Language: English

ISBN-10: 0743455967

ISBN-13: 978-0743455961

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0743455967/ref=x_gr_w_bb?ie=UTF8&tag=httpwwwgoodco-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=0743455967&SubscriptionId=1MGPYB6YW3HWK55XCGG2

 

11. http://britishhaikusociety.org.uk/

 

12. Morse code is a method of transmitting text information as a series of on-off tones, lights, or clicks that can be directly understood by a skilled listener or observer without special equipment. The International Morse Code http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Morse_code

 

Image included in Influences and Inspiration, Reference – 12

 

13. The raised dot system now known as ‘braille’ was pioneered by a young Frenchman called Louis Braille. http://www.rnib.org.uk/braille-and-other-tactile-codes-portal-braille-past-present-and-future/invention-braille

 

Image included in Influences and Inspiration, Reference – 13

 

14. http://www.abbreviations.com/

 

15. Dreamcatcher (2001) is a science fiction novel written by Stephen King. It was adapted into a 2003 movie of the same name. The book, written in cursive, helped the author recuperate from a 1999 car accident, and was completed in half a year. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dreamcatcher_%28novel%29

 

Mass Market Paperback: 896 pages

Publisher: Pocket Books (December 1, 2001)

Language: English

ISBN-10: 074343627X

ISBN-13: 978-0743436274

http://www.amazon.com/Dreamcatcher-Stephen-King/dp/074343627X/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1425630200&sr=1-1&keywords=dreamcatcher

 

Dreamcatcher (2003)

134 min  –  Drama | Horror | Sci-Fi  –  21 March 2003 (USA)

Friends on a camping trip discover that the town they’re vacationing in is being plagued in an unusual fashion by parasitic aliens from outer space.

Director: Lawrence Kasdan

Writers: Stephen King (novel), William Goldman (screenplay)

Stars: Morgan Freeman, Thomas Jane, Jason Lee

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0285531/?ref_=nv_sr_1

 

16. http://www.seussville.com/

 

17. JABBERWOCKY Lewis Carroll

(from Through the Looking-Glass and What Alice Found There, 1872)

http://www.jabberwocky.com/carroll/jabber/jabberwocky.html

 

 

Hardcover: 112 pages

Publisher: Merrell Publishers Ltd; 1st Thus edition (20 Mar. 2006)

Language: English

ISBN-10: 1858943299

ISBN-13: 978-1858943299

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Alice-Through-Looking-Glass-Found-There/dp/1858943299

 

 

18. https://www.facebook.com/chiarabautistaartwork

Image included in Influences and Inspiration, Reference – 18

 

19. House of Leaves by Mark Z. Danielewski Years ago, when House of Leaves was first being passed around, it was nothing more than a badly bundled heap of paper, parts of which would occasionally surface on the Internet. No one could have anticipated the small but devoted following this terrifying story would soon command.

http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/24800.House_of_Leaves

Image included in Influences and Inspiration, Reference – 19

 

House Of Leaves Paperback – 6 Jul 2000

by Mark Z Danielewski  (Author)

Product details

Paperback: 736 pages

Publisher: Doubleday (6 July 2000)

Language: English

ISBN-10: 038560310X

ISBN-13: 978-0385603102

http://www.amazon.co.uk/House-Leaves-Mark-Z-Danielewski/dp/038560310X/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1424851360&sr=1-1&keywords=house+of+leaves+by+mark+z+danielewski

 

 

20. http://handfasting.org/

 

21. http://thisismy-generation.tumblr.com/post/2682565691/a-poem-lost-generation-by-jonathon-reed

 

Full Poem included in Influences and Inspiration – Reference – 21

 

 

22. The Matrix https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8ZdpA3p9ZMY

 

The Matrix (1999)

136 min  –  Action | Sci-Fi  –  31 March 1999 (USA)

A computer hacker learns from mysterious rebels about the true nature of his reality and his role in the war against its controllers.

 

Directors: Andy Wachowski (as The Wachowski Brothers) ,

Lana Wachowski (as The Wachowski Brothers)

Writers: Andy Wachowski (as The Wachowski Brothers) ,

Lana Wachowski (as The Wachowski Brothers)

Stars: Keanu Reeves, Laurence Fishburne, Carrie-Anne Moss

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0133093/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1

 

 

23. Swan Lake is a ballet composed by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky in 1875–76. The scenario, initially in two acts, was fashioned from Russian folk tales and tells the story of Odette, a princess turned into a swan by an evil sorcerer. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swan_Lake

 

 

24. Whiplash (2014) A promising young drummer enrolls at a cut-throat music conservatory where his dreams of greatness are mentored by an instructor who will stop at nothing to realize a student’s potential.

Whiplash (2014)

107 min  –  Drama | Music  –  16 January 2015 (UK)

Director: Damien Chazelle

Writer: Damien Chazelle

Stars: Miles Teller, J.K. Simmons, Melissa Benoist

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2582802/

 

25. Marina Abramovic on Rhythm 0 (1974) https://vimeo.com/71952791

 

26. Serra wrote his now famous “Verb List,” which comprises more than one hundred different processes that could be done to or with a given material. “Verb List” was published in 1972 in the book The New Avant-Garde: Issues for the Art of the Seventies. https://seaberg.wikispaces.com/Richard+Serra+Verb+List

 

27. http://alexelle.com/

 

Full Poem included in Influences and Inspiration – Reference – 27

 

28. http://wreckthisjournal-ideas.tumblr.com/

 

Image included in Influences and Inspiration, Reference – 28

 

 

 

 

 

Beyond Writing

Personal Blog, art musings …

I’ve actually found a little time today and earlier on in the week to dust off my old paint brushes and pick up where I left off earlier this year with a series of abstract paintings. The joy of waiting so long between building up the stages of the paintings is that I can drastically change the whole appearance of the work.

By that I mean I’ve been cutting up a lot of what I’ve done and rearranging by weaving the designs together, creating checkboard patterns of various colours and textures… in theory… because in reality I really haven’t got a clue what I’m doing most of time, actually, all of the time. You see, I’m no artist, I don’t even pretend to be,  I can’t draw and I simply mess around with paint, acrylics and watercolours.

I’m in love with texture and colours, patterns and shades.  I adore various mediums and despite not having a clue what I’m supposed to be doing. I tend to make a glorious mess.

Among  my passions I delight in visiting art galleries… just as music/novels/movies… I do not hold a singular genre in favour. Preferring to explore many known (and unknown) artists alike. Travelling to London and Liverpool to explore exhibitions. I’m inspired,  though I lack any skill or talent. I paint, like I write  (or sing) not because I’m any good, but because I simply love too…

Having no burning desire to be something I’m not really gives me the freedom to enjoy what I do for my own pleasure… if nothing else I’ve made a glorious mess and had fun doing so…

Anne Harrison  29.05.17

Forgotten Poetry

 

Anne Harrison

Posted – 26.05.17

Written – Date Unknown…

This Weeks Inspiration

Well Then… That’s all rather dark…

…Wonder what route Act 2 will take now that I have placed my foot on the first run of the ladder…

 

Anne Harrison 26.05.17

Wednesday Wonderings

 

This is me Today

Compliments are a pleasant surprise, I am humbled when I get a lovely message from someone saying how much they have enjoyed reading my work. It doesn’t happen very often and I don’t fish for comments. I just write because I love to write. I already know that it is far from perfect and it’s not destined to be anything more than scribbles on a blog. Because I write for fun, not for fortune, not for fame.

I have a little following here, which is very comfortable, these are my invisible audience, my friends, those I address freely without fear of judgement, for this is my safe haven, my corner of the internet where I can discuss personal thoughts along side fiction and if you’re really unlucky, my dreadful poetry.

Thankfully I have had some lovely comments from friends and strangers alike, which encourage my words, I’m inspired to write and my silly little story flows freely from my mind to the screen, my fingers carefully finding the right letters on the keyboard to create the words I’m thinking… It’s all a weird kinda magic if you think about it…

I wonder how far my words travel, I wonder what inspired people to follow my blog, I wonder a lot… I know that there are countless other writers out there in cyberspace, all seeking an audience, most far superior to my own humble attempts. I read plenty of other blogs with sincere admiration this casts doubt upon my own wild hieroglyphics. I badly need to edit, yet because I write straight from my thoughts, the whole editing process kinda gets sorely neglected. I am wordy, overly wordy, but inspired by Lovecraft (among others) I adore collecting beautiful rolling words and long expressive sentences. The words are there to be used after all..

My Self Doubt is born from a fear of judgement, it follows me throughout various aspects of my life (a significant example is my weight) my self doubt craves approval and security, pacified self doubt is transformed into peace of mind and all this can be turned around by a few kind words… there is so much power in words, they can destroy or they can elate.

I think it’s important to be kind with words to others, for you never know what is hidden under the surface and how the right words might just clear their own clouds of self doubt and ignite smiles…

Maybe one day I’ll face the dreaded editing? There again, maybe that’s not my ultimate goal and I shouldn’t worry so much over what I wonder?

A few ponderings over my lunch-break today to share with you.

 

Love Anne 17.05.17

This Weeks Inspiration

*Shiny*

Looking ahead to the next act in my ‘notsoshortshortstory’ means looking into different areas of inspiration. I find various forms of inspiration throughout my life, some aspects are engulfed into the story as raw elements. Other more vague concepts are merely random musings which encourage me to write, with no apparent connection. There doesn’t need to be a connection. I find appreciation in all forms of art, literature, music… An advert, A song… Memories, stories, poetry anything beautiful, ugly, passionate and mundane.  Existing characters, famous tales or simply a sunset at dusk.  I adore discovering inspiration in the most surprising places and sharing my collection, may or may not provide any hints towards forthcoming events…

 

“Farewell, friend. I was a thousand times more evil than thou!”
― Michael Moorcock, Stormbringer

Anne Harrison 15.05.17

Adventure

*Musings*

 

I have so many ideas brimming around the corners of my mind, haunting my dreams, characters knocking at the door of creation demanding life. Yet my time at the keyboard has been limited by real life adventures around the country and beyond off to foreign wilderness, ever inspiring my frantic mind, fueling my desire to write despite my inability to do so.

I have notebook and pen packed with me, I have freedom to scribble notes and pour forth my dreams onto paper. The next six scenes have already been played out, yet by the time I get to kill my darlings, I know the plot could change. That is why I love the freedom of writing without thought, to allow my hands to direct the course of action.

I have visited some incredible places and the list of locations before me is even more impressive, I am nervous, I am excited, I hold anticipation barely in check and I know that inspiration will follow me like a bouncy puppy, jumping up always needing attention.

I see inspiration in art, in buildings, in scenery, in the people I meet, the people I pass, in my dreams, in literature, in starring out the window absently watching the world pass me by. Words flow into my brain, cram my thoughts with ideas… I might need a bigger notebook.

I should like to write about my travels too, if my characters ever let me, and I can try if I find WiFi… For now, I must return to work… Even that I can find inspiring!

I will try to write Part 70 at lunchtime, it’s a lovely number to leave you on until I return full of words and slim of wallet…

 

Love Anne x

19.04.17

 

 

 

This Weeks Inspiration

All the wonderful thingies which inspire me to write and while writing… 

 

 

 

 

Having a Coke with You

is even more fun than going to San Sebastian, Irún, Hendaye, Biarritz, Bayonne
or being sick to my stomach on the Travesera de Gracia in Barcelona
partly because in your orange shirt you look like a better happier St. Sebastian
partly because of my love for you, partly because of your love for yoghurt
partly because of the fluorescent orange tulips around the birches
partly because of the secrecy our smiles take on before people and statuary
it is hard to believe when I’m with you that there can be anything as still
as solemn as unpleasantly definitive as statuary when right in front of it
in the warm New York 4 o’clock light we are drifting back and forth
between each other like a tree breathing through its spectacles

and the portrait show seems to have no faces in it at all, just paint
you suddenly wonder why in the world anyone ever did them

I look
at you and I would rather look at you than all the portraits in the world
except possibly for the Polish Rider occasionally and anyway it’s in the Frick
which thank heavens you haven’t gone to yet so we can go together the first time
and the fact that you move so beautifully more or less takes care of Futurism
just as at home I never think of the Nude Descending a Staircase or
at a rehearsal a single drawing of Leonardo or Michelangelo that used to wow me
and what good does all the research of the Impressionists do them
when they never got the right person to stand near the tree when the sun sank
or for that matter Marino Marini when he didn’t pick the rider as carefully
as the horse

it seems they were all cheated of some marvelous experience
which is not going to go wasted on me which is why I am telling you about it

by Frank O’Hara

 

 

“Red Right Hand”

Take a little walk to the edge of town
and go across the tracks
Where the viaduct looms,
like a bird of doom
As it shifts and cracks
Where secrets lie in the border fires,
in the humming wires
Hey man, you know
you’re never coming back
Past the square, past the bridge,
past the mills, past the stacks
On a gathering storm comes
a tall handsome man
in a dusty black coat with
a red right handHe’ll wrap you in his arms,
tell you that you’ve been a good boy
He’ll rekindle all the dreams
it took you a lifetime to destroy
He’ll reach deep into the hole,
heal your shrinking soul,
but there won’t be a single thing
that you can do
He’s a god, he’s a man,
he’s a ghost, he’s a guru
They’re whispering his name
through this disappearing land
But hidden in his coat
is a red right hand

You don’t have no money?
He’ll get you some
You don’t have no car?
He’ll get you one
You don’t have no self-respect,
you feel like an insect
Well don’t you worry buddy,
’cause here he comes
Through the ghettos and the barrio
and the bowery and the slum
A shadow is cast wherever he stands
Stacks of green paper in his
red right hand

You’ll see him in your nightmares,
you’ll see him in your dreams
He’ll appear out of nowhere but
he ain’t what he seems
You’ll see him in your head,
on the TV screen
And hey buddy, I’m warning
you to turn it off
He’s a ghost, he’s a god,
he’s a man, he’s a guru
You’re one microscopic cog
in his catastrophic plan
Designed and directed by
his red right hand

Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds

 

 

So, basically, more music, vampires (again) music lyrics, poetry and art…  What a delicious cocktail of inspiration… I’ve also kinda delighted in re-discovering Marina Abramovic again…

So, as something different from killing characters, I’m including a little of my work that I dedicated to her performance piece ‘rhythm 0’

I really should add vampires (maybe) I keep finding vampires inspiring me…

 

***

‘6 hours’ By A. Harrison

to remain passive for 6 hours

     at your command

manipulate control with their hands

random strangers members of public

which items will you use

will you be tender or abuse

       a gun a knife

tears stain your face

they explore with delight

naked flesh drawing a mess

whips and chains

         a soft caress

velvet touch of a crimson rose

steel thorns pierce your veins

cutting skin

sticky plasters

        baptise you from sin

a loaded gun

would you shoot me in the head

would you want me dead

when I stand will you run

      pleasure pain

my art your actions photos remain        

***

 

Anne Harrison 07.04.17