Peer and Shoreditch Library presented Swirl of Words / Swirl of Worlds, an exhibition, programme of events and workshops, and a poetry publication which intersects visual arts with the spoken and printed word through the lens of poetry. This ambitious project considered the relationship – both expansively, yet intimately – between language and cultural identity. Some of the ways that this was explored was through hidden mother tongues within communities, notions of endangered or suppressed languages, English as a second or other language, meaning slippage and humour in sound or non-verbal communication, and some artistic approaches to the fluidity between word and image.
Swirl of Words / Swirl of Worlds was a multi-platform and multi-media arts programme that both expansively and intimately explored how language shapes and informs cultural and individual identities. It was the final part of Peer in the Library, an ambitious three-part programme in partnership with Shoreditch Library, for which artists and artist collectives created and presented work focusing on the power and potential of the spoken and written word.
The project takes as its starting point A Bibliography of Modern Poetry In English Translation, an ambitious research and publishing project by poet and translator Stephen Watts. Since the early 1990s, he has developed a database (un-digitised) of poetry from more than 250 languages that is available in book form in English translation. At its core, this rich resource pays tribute to those countless singular voices from across the globe whose knowledge and experience of their cultures and societies make vital contributions to an understanding our ourselves and the universal impulse to communicate with others.
Watts is a poet, editor and translator, with family roots in the Italian Alps. He has lived in Whitechapel since the mid 1970s. He twice won second prize in the National Poetry Competition (1983 and 1992). He has worked extensively as a poet in schools, hospitals and community groups in East and North London, often with a focus on social issues. He has read his own work internationally, including in Sibiu, Bucharest, Milan, Ravenna and Syria. His poetry has also been translated into Arabic, Persian, Czech, Bengali, Finnish, Slovenian, and other languages.
The Swirl of Words / Swirl of Worlds project had three major strands:
Free poetry book for Hackney:
At the last census, Hackney recorded a total of 88 languages spoken across the borough. This number – probably an underestimate – is amongst the highest of any borough in the country. Stephen Watts has taken this as his starting point to select one poem in its original language and in English translation, to create a kind of poetry map of Hackney. He has adopted the idea of a kind of anti-anthology, which favours an organic approach for his selection. The choice of one poem may suggest the next, where voices from different languages create new and unexpected associations. The collection includes writing by well-established names as well as lesser-known and local voices.
The paperback book was printed in an edition of 3,000 copies, and was given away for free to Hackney Library members. Anyone can sign up to become a Hackney Library member by visiting one of the borough’s libraries, you don’t need to be a Hackney resident.
You can also support the project by purchasing a limited edition hardback copy of the book from our website, here.
Exhibition:
The group exhibition at Peer and Shoreditch Library included three key film installations by Madiha Aijaz, Susan Hiller, and Zineb Sedira. In addition, there was also work by Juan Cruz, Paul Davies, Sally O’Reilly, Effie Paleologou, Fabian Peake, Kurt Schwitters, Andro Semeiko, John Smith, Pete Smith, The Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence, Danh Vō, and Stephen Watts.
You can download the exhibition guide below to find out more.
Talks, events and workshops:
A varied calendar of events across the ten weeks of the project was programmed to inspire and welcome a range of local and London-wide audiences to attend or participate in different activities. Events took place at Peer, Shoreditch Library and other nearby Hoxton venues. A programme of digital events and content was also made available for those who could not attend in person, and live events were recorded and made available online to provide wider access to audiences locally, nationally and internationally.
Supporters:
Swirl of Words / Swirl of Worlds was supported by Hackney Council’s Shoreditch and Hoxton Arts Fund, created from a levy on developers to support arts and culture programmes that bring different communities together.
Press:
East London Lines
FAD Magazine
Hackney Citizen
Hackney Social Radio (starts at 47 minutes in)
The Independent
