Scott-Patrick Mitchell’s new chap book the tricking post was recently released through the innovative
publisher Black Rider Press. The work first appeared as The Trickster’s Bible, a street art installation, developed for the
National Young Writers’ Festival Newcastle, and later Perth, in 2008.
One night accompanied by his partner in crime, Tomas Ford, Mitchell pasted AO sized copies of his poems on walls all across the 'violent cesspit of post-BHP-closure working class anger that was Newcastle.' The collection consists of twenty 'tricky' letter poems written from different narrative perspectives, many of which are difficult to unravel. It is impossible to imagine a casual passerby engaging, for example, in the meta-fictional letter poem, ironically titled 'letter that falls on death ears'. Rather than expose in a public space one's inner secrets through the intimacy of the letter form as Mitchell intended, this street art alienates the general reader by obfuscating meaning through the complexity of its language. These poems certainly deserve closer scrutiny in another venue- perhaps as part of a post-graduate dissertation on the Art of Vandalism.
In the preface, I was impressed by Ford's encouragement to buyers of this book to embrace the spirit of the original presentation: 'Tear out the pages. Douce them in clag and water and stick these pages all over your suburbs...I'm serious. Tear this fucking thing apart.'
One night accompanied by his partner in crime, Tomas Ford, Mitchell pasted AO sized copies of his poems on walls all across the 'violent cesspit of post-BHP-closure working class anger that was Newcastle.' The collection consists of twenty 'tricky' letter poems written from different narrative perspectives, many of which are difficult to unravel. It is impossible to imagine a casual passerby engaging, for example, in the meta-fictional letter poem, ironically titled 'letter that falls on death ears'. Rather than expose in a public space one's inner secrets through the intimacy of the letter form as Mitchell intended, this street art alienates the general reader by obfuscating meaning through the complexity of its language. These poems certainly deserve closer scrutiny in another venue- perhaps as part of a post-graduate dissertation on the Art of Vandalism.
In the preface, I was impressed by Ford's encouragement to buyers of this book to embrace the spirit of the original presentation: 'Tear out the pages. Douce them in clag and water and stick these pages all over your suburbs...I'm serious. Tear this fucking thing apart.'
Have a careful read of Mitchell's explanations of his craft to Brisbane poet Graham
Nunn on his blog ‘another lost shark’interviews. I'd be interested to know what you think of Mitchell's commentary:
I have previously
reviewed and interviewed Mitchell about his work on BOLD MONKEY:
Mitchell is a highly innovative and assertive artist.
Discover his latest literary adventures here on his new blog: http://scott-patrickmitchell.com/
Further reviews and a hardcopy/ download of the book can be
purchased here:
