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We're covered! The Fringe Report reviews the Thursday night Salon
Sat 21 February 2009
Review by Brent Crude
Poetry Night at the Mumford Gallery - Thursday 19 February 2009 - 18:30 (21:30)
Every
Thursday night, in the intimate space of the Mumford Rooftop Gallery
(www.mumfordfineart.net) on D'Arblay Street in Soho, there's a small
gathering - a salon if you like. Those attending - not just invited
guests, anyone can come - have the opportunity to view the art on
display and to chat. There's entertainment too. Tonight, it's poetry
night. Susan Johnson Mumford,
who runs the Gallery, is an American. She's been running art shows in
the small space among Soho's rooftops for over three years. Despite the
recession, she's managed to make a success of selling art both from the
Gallery and at art shows. She also represents the estate of the British
sculptor Elisabeth Frink (1930-1993).
Among the audience is American post-graduate student Rebecca Pohancenik. Rebecca
is researching aspects of the history of science, particularly those
related to the development of clocks. She is also promoting an
exhibition at the German Gymnasium from 5 March 09 - The Art of Lost Words (www.dexigner.com/graphic/news-g16886.html) - which she has been organising with her husband, designer and typographer Andreas Pohancenik. Also attending are writers Laura McGowan, Sally Crawford and (Joel says) would-be rock lyricist Joel Rockman. The poets reading tonight come from a range of directions, delivering work from the cerebral to the impassioned.
Ben Gwalchmai,
a slight man with self-deprecating style, reads his slight lyrics
almost apologetically from his poems, stored on his mobile phone. Ben
is also putting together the first London School of Economics (LSE) Literature and Arts Festival at the end of February 09. There's a pause - and more wine - then Ricky Burns.
Bearded, personable, he reads with a lot of energy and verve, and his A
to Z poem shows an intense concern for words and their potential. Mary Edwards
is a sort of rock and roll romantic, but think determination, rather
than lassitude. Her poetry paints small, intimate pictures, as though
you are looking at yourself passing a shop window - and you might not
recognise what you see. Last is Si Baker, life coach and poet, who also runs the Tavistock Writers Group,
a self-help, self-critical group of published and aspiring poets,
dramatists, fiction writers and journalists. He reads quietly but
sonorously, before ending the night with a slightly scurrilous
description of physical love. That sends some in search of another
glass of wine, and others thoughtfully home through the Soho streets.
Thursday Night at the Mumford Gallery is a regular, informal, gathering. Future dates include 26 February 09, 5 March 09.
(c) Brent Crude - Thursday 19 February 09 - Mumford Fine Art, Rooftop Gallery, 12 D'Arblay Street, Soho, London, W1F 8DU - (c) www.fringereport.com
Link to Fringe Report website: Brent Crude's review of the Poetry Night at the Mumford Gallery (20 Feb 2009)
