REVEALED : the strange conversations in the "art" community.,

Claire Askew to Samantha, SA, Ryan, rosie, Neil, Gerald, Billectric, Nessa, Timothy, Jared, brad, BRETT, Chris, Hanna, Christina, James, Matthew, Naomi, danmussett, Sofia, Robyn, Chang, ed_ballard, Elizabeth, ella, Fox show details Jan 26 Reply
Dear All,
Just a quick note to say --
I have been nominated for New Scottish Writer of the Year 2009 for my work with Read This, One Night Stanzas and my own writing. The awards are decided by public vote and since by nomination came in late, I am trailing quite a bit! Can I ask you all a huge favour and get you to go to the following website and give me your vote? I am the only young writer on the list, the only Edinburgh writer, and one of only two poets. It would be a huge boost to Read This, too. Please do just take a couple of seconds and respond to the poll (right hand side of the site!).
http://www.realradio-scotland.co.uk/events/nomination-criteria-for-our-svas-2009-fedc/best-new-scottish-writer-2009/dut4esd1/
Thanks to all of you! Read This will now stop clogging your inboxes!
All best wishes,
Claire Askew
Poetry Co-Ordinator'this collection'poetry@thiscollection.com
Editor in ChiefRead This Magazinewww.readthismagazine.co.uk
Editor in ChiefOne Night Stanzaswww.onenightstanzas.com

gonzo media to Claire, Samantha, SA, Ryan, rosie, Neil, Gerald, Billectric, Nessa, Timothy, Jared, brad, BRETT, Chris, Hanna, Christina, James, Matthew, Naomi, danmussett, Sofia, Robyn, Chang, ed_ballard, Elizabeth, ella show details Jan 27 Reply

claire.,
you write me asking for my vote in the upcoming "new poet of the year awards 2009..." . what is this you are trying for, the X factor. the poet is not some canvassing electable candidate. a good poem as bukowski would have said is like a "good hot beer shit, it's just done, there it is, nothing to analyse..." to be a good poet - a poet of the year as you might say - is not to get the most votes (! i feel a fool for even saying this!)... there is no scale on which to judge... you know this in your heart? i guess you do.. but perhaps you're a poet like obama, breaking rules and boundaries without saying a single honest heart felt word and standing unashamed for all to see..? when the beautiful art of poetry is corrupted through the canvassing of votes i humbly put the point that it is time to make your own path, to rise above your own vanity and forge a way that is the truth that is honest and not be subdued and personally degraded as an artist by the ugly art of P.R. and canvassing votes. ee cummings (a poet - if you know, i'm sure you do) once said "seeker of truth follow no paths for all paths lead where truth is here..." he was right. the poet was never meant to chase votes or follow opinion polls, no, the poet ought to forge the way following their own great mysterious light and by following that light with all their heart and life make it known through the beauty and magic of their art, not through calculations of votes and swaying a silent listening majority, the poet ought instead to give to their loved ones, those strange collections of audiences, a part of themselves for ever to keep, to give without generousity their whole being and not ask for anything in return, not barter for their votes but give them surprising beauty through the truthfulness of their words. i also want to ask you, "how long have you been a poet"? one year, two years, or in 2009 or 2487 have you come of maturity, come of age? no, you have been a poet and an artist, a secret traveller of the heart since you were born.. no vote can change that. no election can decide whether or not it's true... so i ask you to abandon this display of vanity and once more take up the path of the poet. a poet is not a piece of paper, a poet is not an election result, a poet seeks not to sway opinion through barter but through truth and beauty, a poet is not made in a year or a century but reflects the wild currents of their times in ways that surpass the meaning of their words (and here is the lyric, the magic, the song of their words.. you know this claire i'm sure you do,..) i have taken the liberty of copying this footnote in the evolution of culture to those whom you sent this message to. i'm sure you wouldn't mind. before i sign off, i want you to listen to it from another of our brethren say it better than i ever could... http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=NIoXV-HXobo yours sincerley, a trouble-worried loving heart,. hesq.,

REPLY FROM CLAIRE ASKEW :
Thanks for sending this round 1/3 of the RT mailing list, Gonzo. This morning I woke up to 99 emails in my inbox (I shit you not) -- mostly messages of support telling me what a pretentious dick you were, and to ignore you.
Since you ask -- I was nominated based on my writing, and also for my work with RT, One Night Stanzas and various other projects around Edinburgh. Were I not a deserving candidate, I wouldn't have been nominated (but if you don't believe me, Google "Claire Askew" + poet and see what comes up). As for the public vote thing -- yes, it's open to abuse, and I wish there was a little profile or something on there so people could see my writing, but really, I was asking people on the RT mailing list to vote for me based on their opinion of Read This. If you don't think RT deserves an award, just don't vote. It's fairly simple.
I'll take you off the mailing list so you don't get anything else that flings you into laughable diatribe (I dread to think how long you spent writing this garbage -- some of the people who emailed me back had obviously read it all... I'm afraid I got pretty bored pretty quick). And you don't really need to contact us again -- every time we've had a submission from you, we've had a good laugh at how terrible it is, but we can live without that little distraction in future I think.
Best of luck on your, er, righteous path...!
Claire...