Life Into Shape

 The burnt out trees will leave you cold…

 – Beth Orton

At that moment, when I thought I was about to die, I saw my entire life unravel. It was an indistinct vision, a split second in time. Can I describe the shape of my life as I saw it then, at that moment?

The starting point, the point of departure, as it were, was a Point – I saw a microscopic, metallic point lost in a black void.

Is it possible to call a point a shape?

Should I think of this point as a complex entity, like a trefoil icosahedron or a Medusa-like tangle of helical forms unwinding through time? Undoubtedly the split-second itself was The Point, the horizon of infinity enclosed in time by perception.

Within the temporality of that second, as it split asunder, the point unfolded, unfurling with agonising slowness. It would be very tempting to describe this monadic point as a tessellated surface of Celtic spirals. Perhaps it was a multifaceted crystal, its flat walls conforming to the laws of low energy directions, or even a gold crystal with a pitted surface like that of Saturn’s moon Iapetus. Yet, in close up, this entity (my life) appeared more like a donut of magnetic fluid.

However, I knew that this was an illusion and, being the extrapolation of mathematical co-ordinates derived from my imagination, it would mutate into a web-like form, a network, each node a scintilla generated by the primal departure point itself. The majority of these secondary points represented co-ordinates outside the narrow parameters of the linear time-line of my ‘life’ as understood on a mundane, day-to-day basis. This web extended beyond the antechamber of memory, encompassing ancestral events and unconscious experiences, producing patterns very different from the past-present-future trajectory of the arrow of time.

If the synchronic shape of my life is a light-cone of consciousness, then the diachronic shape of my life is the broad-leafed arrow of time, emerging from womb-darkness, vanishing into darkness beyond the grave. But the multidimensional shape of my life is this network of co-ordinates.

Looking more closely at the filamentous matrix, it was clear that some scintilla had a reddish hue while others were ice-blue. The red points signified moments of pain or negative emotion such as – for example – crises during critical illnesses, times of bereavement, early nightmares and several road accidents (including this one). The few ice-blue points represented instances of clarity. The vast majority of nodes were of neutral, indeterminate, off-white complexion.

I looked in vain for lights indicating moments of passion, for the centre of desire is a Black Hole from which, as we all know, light cannot escape.

At this moment my perception of the multiform shape of my ‘life’ registered another change and the fascinating web mutated yet again.

The resolution of the image degraded. Black turned to white and the interlaced network changed into a vision of bare branches: burnt out trees, stark against a greying sky.

First published in Headstorms Short Fiction Magazine Vol 1, Inclement Publishing, 2004

Arcanum Paradoxa

Ostensibly the forerunner of modern chemistry and usually considered a ‘pseudo-science’ Alchemy first emerged in Egypt during the Hellenistic period. At roughly the same time, a form of Alchemy associated with medicinal aspects of Taoism emerged in China.
The general objective of Alchemy was the creation, through transmutation, of some type of marvellous, quintessential substance, often considered a miraculous elixir, a panacea, for curing all ills, bestowing immortality or spiritual enlightenment.
Known as the art of Khemeia, Alchemy had its theoretical basis in metallurgy, Zoroastrianism, Stoic pantheism and Aristotle’s Four Element theory of matter. The first significant exponent of Alchemy was Bolos ‘Democritus’ of Mendes (circa 200BC) whose treatise, Physika et Mystica, dealt with dyeing and colouring, the creation of gems, silver, and the transmutation of metals, specifically the transmutation of lead or iron, into gold. One tenet of alchemical doctrine was that the prime matter (prima materia) or raw material of transmutation comprised the least valued, most disregarded, of all the elements. Common or ‘despised’ material, both ‘contemptible and precious’, formed the basis of The Work, the opus alchymicum.

There is a secret stone, hidden in a deep well, worthless and rejected, concealed in dung and filth... (Johann Daniel Mylius: Philosophia Reformata, 1622)

Khemeia did not flourish during the Roman era, as various Emperors, notably Diocletian, feared that the transmutation of base metals into gold would undermine economic stability. A notable exponent of the Work in later times was the mystic Zosimos of Panopolis (Akhmim) whose Hermetic Encyclopaedia (a 28 volume compilation of existing and original texts) is dated 300CE. However, as Khemeia was considered ‘pagan learning’, much ancient knowledge of the art was lost during the Christian riots in Alexandria in 400CE.
The Arabs revived interest in Khemeia in the seventh century, as part of a general fascination for Greek science and thought. In the Arabic language the word ‘Khemeia’ became ‘al-kimiya’ and it was this form of the word that became the European term ‘alchemy’.
To define Alchemy as a pseudo-scientific forerunner of modern, scientific chemistry is an oversimplification. From the earliest times Khemeia comprised a resonant, symbolic framework for imaginative speculation. This speculative aspect of the art soon overshadowed its ‘practical’ metallurgical objectives, leading to a well-deserved aura of obscurantism and uncertain interpretation.
In the period between Bolos and Zosimos, Holmyard observes, ‘alchemical speculation ran riot’ as diverse practitioners created a complex body of doctrine, ascribing symbolic meanings to the sequence of metallic colour changes, incorporating all contemporary strands of speculative thought into alchemical theory, including Egyptian magic, Greek philosophy, Gnosticism, Neo-Platonism, Babylonian astrology, Christian theology and pagan mythology.
Works of Khemeia were invariably couched in an ‘enigmatical and allusive language’ and often ascribed to semi-legendary or mythical authors such as Hermes Trismegistus, Plato, Moses, Miriam (the legendary sister of Moses), Agathodaimon, Theophrastus, Ostanes, Cleopatra and the goddess Isis. Thus, almost any contemporary, metaphysical speculation was assimilated into eclectic alchemical thinking: many sayings, stories and myths were endowed with alchemical interpretation, or incorporated into the Hermetic worldview.
By the Byzantine era Stephanos of Alexandria, a philosopher, mathematician and astronomer who flourished during the reign of the Emperor Herakleios I (610-641), had come to view Khemeia as primarily a ‘mental process’. Following F. Sherwood Taylor, E. J. Holmyard quotes Stephanos’ denigration of practical alchemy as a "burden of weariness", observing that by this time (the seventh century) alchemy had ‘very largely become a theme for rhetorical, poetical and religious compositions, and the mere physical transmutation of base metals into gold was used as symbol for man’s regeneration and transformation to a nobler and more spiritual state’.
So, well before the rise of medieval European alchemy, the tendency to regard The Work as an internalised, psychic process or phenomenon was established. Khemeia could easily be dissociated from physical chemistry and metallurgy and defined as some kind of ‘spiritual’ discipline. Now, the objective was not the transmutation of external phenomena, but the transmutation of the adept himself, and this transformative process was expressed in an obscure, introspective, mythic vocabulary of symbols and complex terminology.
In modern times a fascination with alchemy as an internalised, mental process has been continued by the Surrealists and the psychologist Carl Gustav Jung (1875-1961). During the inter-war years and roughly around the same time both Jung and the Surrealists claimed Alchemy as significant in their respective investigations:

…let us not lose sight of the fact that the idea of Surrealism aims quite simply at the total recovery of our psychic force by a means which is nothing other than the dizzying descent into ourselves, the systematic illumination of hidden places and the progressive darkening of other places, the perpetual excursion into the midst of forbidden territory… (Second Manifesto of Surrealism, 1930)

Jung and the Surrealists (particularly Andre Breton and Max Ernst) were operating against the backdrop of a revival of interest in alchemical symbolism in France and Germany. The works of Zosimos had been translated into French and published by Berthelot and Ruelle in 1887-1888. Herbert Silberer, who proposed a connection between alchemical thought and modern psychology, had anticipated Jung’s researches.
In France the Surrealists were influenced the alchemical novels of Francois Jolivet-Castelot and the esoteric writings of Fulcanelli and Grillot de Givry. De Givry drew attention to the hermetic influences at work in the art of painters like Bosch, Bruegel, Cranach and Baldung. Initially Andre Breton saw alchemical thought as a way of re-investing poetic language with a sense of mystery: this soon evolved into a more ambitious proposition, the deployment of an ‘alchemy of language’ to transform consciousness, and by transforming consciousness, change life.
On the other hand Jung’s interest in alchemy was triggered by an ancient Taoist text called The Secret of the Golden Flower translated by Richard Wilhelm and for which he wrote a commentary in 1929. As a result of this work he was motivated to research Western Alchemy, which he subsequently defined as ‘the historical counterpart to my psychology of the unconscious’, and a bridge between Gnosticism and the modern world.
The culmination of these explorations was Jung’s attempt to correlate the ‘transpersonal’ element of his psychological paradigm with modern physics. The ultimate acausal reality or, to use the medieval term, unus mundus, forming the underlying transformative matrix of alchemical processes, can be understood, he argued, as simultaneously both psychic and material. This underlying unus mundus is both the indeterminate universe of psychic symbols and the pre-geometric, ‘implicate order’ of high-energy physics.
At the heart of Jung’s Analytical Psychology is the process of Individuation or self-becoming. Individuation is a non-linear, centralizing developmental process culminating in an enhanced synthesis of the conscious and the unconscious spheres. This synthesis also incorporates a paradoxical harmonisation of contradictory elements, a union of opposites – including, for example, the masculine and feminine principles, the animus and anima – correlating with the alchemical coniunctio as symbolised by the hermaphrodite or androgyny.
Jung felt that elucidation of the opus alchymicum would shed light on the symbolic structure of the Individuation process, because the alchemist’s hope of creating philosophical gold was only a partial illusion: ‘for the rest it corresponded to certain psychic facts that are of great importance in the psychology of the unconscious.’
If the alchemists projected the process of Individuation into the phenomena of chemical change, then the same is true for the poet who, likewise, by a synthesis of automatism and active imagination, projects the same process into the phenomena of poetic (artistic) creation. He or she initiates a transmutation of the ‘prime matter’ of language into the aesthetic ‘gold’ of poetry.
Part of this process is a sustained regression into the sphere of the unconscious (the ‘dizzying descent into ourselves’ mentioned in the Second Manifesto) during which imprints of the individual’s psychological and biological development are uncovered in symbolic form. Thus, the alchemical process, by engaging with the Individuation process, establishes a psychobiological frame of reference for both psychological development and imaginative, poetic creativity (‘inspiration’).
Alchemy, viewed from the Jungian perspective, can be seen as a quest for inner psychic unity and wholeness (actualisation) achieved through a non-rational mode of self-knowledge. However identification of poetry (or perhaps the poem itself) with the alchemical arcanum paradoxa and defining poetic inspiration in the context of a psychobiological, existential substrate, highlights a conflict with conventional ideas tending to categorise writing and/or poetry, as ‘literature’.
Academic and other definitions of poetry as ‘literature’ displace the poetic act of imaginative creation from the interior psychobiological universe to the external world of cultural-linguistic structures where the preferred paradigm is communicative. Furthermore, the current ‘postmodernist’ cultural-linguistic aesthetic model presupposes that everything depends upon language and linguistics to the extent that ‘being’ itself becomes literally indefinable in non-semiotic, extra-linguistic terms. This inevitably inhibits understanding of artistic creativity as in innate psychoactive phenomenon effectively blocking access to sources of inspiration in the indeterminate quantum vacuum of the unus mundus.
The raison d’etre of the ‘literary’ paradigm is communication. In contradistinction, the raison d’etre of the ‘alchemical-surreal’ paradigm is transformation: transformation energised by inspiration, where ‘inspiration’ is defined in terms of psychic energy. In this paradigm of transformation the Jungian valuation of symbols (distinguished from ‘signs’) as ambiguous emanations of non-linguistic or extra-linguistic or even pre-linguistic being is a key factor.
For Jung the psychic presence of symbols (including ‘archetypal’ symbols) is always experienced as ‘numinous’, a categorical term he borrowed from the Kantian-Friesian religious thinker Rudolf Otto (1869-1937). Otto was seeking to extend or deepen the epistemological scheme of his predecessor Jakob Friedrich Fries. This scheme included the notion of Ahndung, a German term which can be translated as ‘aesthetic sense’. Otto expanded the meaning of Ahndung ‘beyond the merely aesthetic’ by introducing the category of ‘numinosity’, the alleged quality of the sacred.
Otto argued that numinosity is the prime characteristic of the collective experience underlying all religions. This experience can involve a sense of overwhelming power, the mysterium tremendum. The mysterium stands as the first cause of all ‘religious awe’, and, in certain respects, if one follows Jung in the matter, accounts for the sense of power and autonomy apparently exhibited by unconscious contents and symbols.
The association of archetypal symbolism with cross-cultural mythic imagery on the one hand, and Otto’s numinosity concept on the other, was one way that Jung, through his writings and researches, endowed psychological processes such as Individuation with ‘spiritual’ qualities. Part of the attraction of Jungian psychology is his overt identification of self-becoming, or personality formation, with the model of the spiritual quest, articulated through an all-pervasive symbolism shared with the alchemical magnum opus, other mystical belief systems or even mainstream theological precepts. As Anthony Storr explains, Jung was able to do this because he identified the integrated Self with an archetypal symbol of totality identical with the underlying reality of Judaeo-Christian monotheism, the imago Dei.
If the raw material of poetry is language, the essence of poetic practice is active imagination or artistic creativity. It is inevitable that imaginative creativity, in pursuit of inspiration, will engage with that innate process of psychological integration Jung called Individuation. From this perspective the poem may appear as a by-product of the process. For the poet, as for the alchemist, the psycho-activity of inspiration arising from the process of self-becoming is the prime factor. It is this psycho-active effect which dissolves the barriers between the conscious and the unconscious, exposing the subject to the autonomous ‘power’ of symbolic otherness, enhancing creative capability.
For many this dissolution is most satisfactorily defined as an ‘archetypal’, visionary, even mystical, experience. Indeed, for some, even the most wilfully mundane or blatantly secular poems can still radiate, however feebly, an aura of the ‘numinous’, investing the text with all the fascination of an alien artefact.
Grounding poetic practice in a fundamental, psychobiological, ontological matrix de-emphasises, even dissociates, ‘pure poetry’ from the cultural-linguistic epiphenomenal ‘foreground’ superstructure of modern ‘literary’ discourse. It is also the case that, contrary to Jung’s position, pro-active engagement with the principium individuationis from an aesthetic perspective may not accord with traditional ‘religious’ paradigms of human perfectibility or divine purpose.
Thus, the alchemical process of inner purification may well amount to a Promethean affront to doctrines of redemption and predestination. Then, the poet, like the alchemist of old, may stand accused of Faustian occultism – or even the heresy of the Free Spirit, interestingly defined by Vaneigem as ‘an alchemy of individual fulfilment’. The declaration of intent in the Second Manifesto of Surrealism to attain the ‘total recovery of our psychic force’ through a ‘systematic illumination of hidden places’ and excursions into ‘forbidden territory’ must be understood in the context of Romantic metaphysical revolt in the tradition of Miltonic Satanism, Byron and Sade. It is not an affirmation of the ‘spiritual quest’, or the unio mystica described as the supreme desideratum by Jung and other exponents of perennial, pan-religious syncretism.
Furthermore Jung’s identification of the integrated Self with any ‘divine’ reality or purpose is open to question in the post-religious context that is the present evolutionary situation of society. Primordial being may exert or radiate a ‘numinous’ attraction of otherness, or the subject may experience such an inspirational effect. It does not follow that experience of this effect is experience of the ‘sacred’. This is true, even if the effect or experience can be shown to be the result of a quasi-objective incursion of, or from, the unus mundus. Only those predisposed, perhaps by cultural conditioning, to a totalising ‘religious’ reading of fundamental experiences can promote such an interpretation without fear of contradiction. Again, if the raw matter of the procedure comprises the least valued, most disregarded, of all the elements, such common or ‘despised’ material. Stuff ‘of no price or value’ (Dyas Chemica Tripartita) will also form the basis of the poet’s Work. Such poetic work is unlikely to meet with approval from the custodians of cultural probity, the proponents of canonical, high-minded artistic or literary greatness.
Is the true poet an exceptional individual?
If the answer is yes, then poetry will reflect the compulsion of such individuals to seek their own path and forge their own identity through an oracular, alchemical poetry, which, like the ancient works of Khemeia, may well appear enigmatical and allusive to the uninitiated.
Digital art: Inner Alchemy III, 2001
Arcanum Paradoxa was published by Atlantean Publishing in The Monomyth Supplement 44, January 2009
Hermetic Art Gnostic Alchemy Of The Imagination (1985) on The Alchemy WebsiteOstensibly the forerunner of modern chemistry and usually considered a ‘pseudo-science’ Alchemy first emerged in Egypt during the Hellenistic period. At roughly the same time, a form of Alchemy associated with medicinal aspects of Taoism emerged in China.
The general objective of Alchemy was the creation, through transmutation, of some type of marvellous, quintessential substance, often considered a miraculous elixir, a panacea, for curing all ills, bestowing immortality or spiritual enlightenment.
Known as the art of Khemeia, Alchemy had its theoretical basis in metallurgy, Zoroastrianism, Stoic pantheism and Aristotle’s Four Element theory of matter. The first significant exponent of Alchemy was Bolos ‘Democritus’ of Mendes (circa 200BC) whose treatise, Physika et Mystica, dealt with dyeing and colouring, the creation of gems, silver, and the transmutation of metals, specifically the transmutation of lead or iron, into gold. One tenet of alchemical doctrine was that the prime matter (prima materia) or raw material of transmutation comprised the least valued, most disregarded, of all the elements. Common or ‘despised’ material, both ‘contemptible and precious’, formed the basis of The Work, the opus alchymicum.

There is a secret stone, hidden in a deep well, worthless and rejected, concealed in dung and filth... (Johann Daniel Mylius: Philosophia Reformata, 1622)

Khemeia did not flourish during the Roman era, as various Emperors, notably Diocletian, feared that the transmutation of base metals into gold would undermine economic stability. A notable exponent of the Work in later times was the mystic Zosimos of Panopolis (Akhmim) whose Hermetic Encyclopaedia (a 28 volume compilation of existing and original texts) is dated 300CE. However, as Khemeia was considered ‘pagan learning’, much ancient knowledge of the art was lost during the Christian riots in Alexandria in 400CE.
The Arabs revived interest in Khemeia in the seventh century, as part of a general fascination for Greek science and thought. In the Arabic language the word ‘Khemeia’ became ‘al-kimiya’ and it was this form of the word that became the European term ‘alchemy’.
To define Alchemy as a pseudo-scientific forerunner of modern, scientific chemistry is an oversimplification. From the earliest times Khemeia comprised a resonant, symbolic framework for imaginative speculation. This speculative aspect of the art soon overshadowed its ‘practical’ metallurgical objectives, leading to a well-deserved aura of obscurantism and uncertain interpretation.
In the period between Bolos and Zosimos, Holmyard observes, ‘alchemical speculation ran riot’ as diverse practitioners created a complex body of doctrine, ascribing symbolic meanings to the sequence of metallic colour changes, incorporating all contemporary strands of speculative thought into alchemical theory, including Egyptian magic, Greek philosophy, Gnosticism, Neo-Platonism, Babylonian astrology, Christian theology and pagan mythology.
Works of Khemeia were invariably couched in an ‘enigmatical and allusive language’ and often ascribed to semi-legendary or mythical authors such as Hermes Trismegistus, Plato, Moses, Miriam (the legendary sister of Moses), Agathodaimon, Theophrastus, Ostanes, Cleopatra and the goddess Isis. Thus, almost any contemporary, metaphysical speculation was assimilated into eclectic alchemical thinking: many sayings, stories and myths were endowed with alchemical interpretation, or incorporated into the Hermetic worldview.
By the Byzantine era Stephanos of Alexandria, a philosopher, mathematician and astronomer who flourished during the reign of the Emperor Herakleios I (610-641), had come to view Khemeia as primarily a ‘mental process’. Following F. Sherwood Taylor, E. J. Holmyard quotes Stephanos’ denigration of practical alchemy as a "burden of weariness", observing that by this time (the seventh century) alchemy had ‘very largely become a theme for rhetorical, poetical and religious compositions, and the mere physical transmutation of base metals into gold was used as symbol for man’s regeneration and transformation to a nobler and more spiritual state’.
So, well before the rise of medieval European alchemy, the tendency to regard The Work as an internalised, psychic process or phenomenon was established. Khemeia could easily be dissociated from physical chemistry and metallurgy and defined as some kind of ‘spiritual’ discipline. Now, the objective was not the transmutation of external phenomena, but the transmutation of the adept himself, and this transformative process was expressed in an obscure, introspective, mythic vocabulary of symbols and complex terminology.
In modern times a fascination with alchemy as an internalised, mental process has been continued by the Surrealists and the psychologist Carl Gustav Jung (1875-1961). During the inter-war years and roughly around the same time both Jung and the Surrealists claimed Alchemy as significant in their respective investigations:

…let us not lose sight of the fact that the idea of Surrealism aims quite simply at the total recovery of our psychic force by a means which is nothing other than the dizzying descent into ourselves, the systematic illumination of hidden places and the progressive darkening of other places, the perpetual excursion into the midst of forbidden territory… (Second Manifesto of Surrealism, 1930)

Jung and the Surrealists (particularly Andre Breton and Max Ernst) were operating against the backdrop of a revival of interest in alchemical symbolism in France and Germany. The works of Zosimos had been translated into French and published by Berthelot and Ruelle in 1887-1888. Herbert Silberer, who proposed a connection between alchemical thought and modern psychology, had anticipated Jung’s researches.
In France the Surrealists were influenced the alchemical novels of Francois Jolivet-Castelot and the esoteric writings of Fulcanelli and Grillot de Givry. De Givry drew attention to the hermetic influences at work in the art of painters like Bosch, Bruegel, Cranach and Baldung. Initially Andre Breton saw alchemical thought as a way of re-investing poetic language with a sense of mystery: this soon evolved into a more ambitious proposition, the deployment of an ‘alchemy of language’ to transform consciousness, and by transforming consciousness, change life.
On the other hand Jung’s interest in alchemy was triggered by an ancient Taoist text called The Secret of the Golden Flower translated by Richard Wilhelm and for which he wrote a commentary in 1929. As a result of this work he was motivated to research Western Alchemy, which he subsequently defined as ‘the historical counterpart to my psychology of the unconscious’, and a bridge between Gnosticism and the modern world.
The culmination of these explorations was Jung’s attempt to correlate the ‘transpersonal’ element of his psychological paradigm with modern physics. The ultimate acausal reality or, to use the medieval term, unus mundus, forming the underlying transformative matrix of alchemical processes, can be understood, he argued, as simultaneously both psychic and material. This underlying unus mundus is both the indeterminate universe of psychic symbols and the pre-geometric, ‘implicate order’ of high-energy physics.
At the heart of Jung’s Analytical Psychology is the process of Individuation or self-becoming. Individuation is a non-linear, centralizing developmental process culminating in an enhanced synthesis of the conscious and the unconscious spheres. This synthesis also incorporates a paradoxical harmonisation of contradictory elements, a union of opposites – including, for example, the masculine and feminine principles, the animus and anima – correlating with the alchemical coniunctio as symbolised by the hermaphrodite or androgyny.
Jung felt that elucidation of the opus alchymicum would shed light on the symbolic structure of the Individuation process, because the alchemist’s hope of creating philosophical gold was only a partial illusion: ‘for the rest it corresponded to certain psychic facts that are of great importance in the psychology of the unconscious.’
If the alchemists projected the process of Individuation into the phenomena of chemical change, then the same is true for the poet who, likewise, by a synthesis of automatism and active imagination, projects the same process into the phenomena of poetic (artistic) creation. He or she initiates a transmutation of the ‘prime matter’ of language into the aesthetic ‘gold’ of poetry.
Part of this process is a sustained regression into the sphere of the unconscious (the ‘dizzying descent into ourselves’ mentioned in the Second Manifesto) during which imprints of the individual’s psychological and biological development are uncovered in symbolic form. Thus, the alchemical process, by engaging with the Individuation process, establishes a psychobiological frame of reference for both psychological development and imaginative, poetic creativity (‘inspiration’).
Alchemy, viewed from the Jungian perspective, can be seen as a quest for inner psychic unity and wholeness (actualisation) achieved through a non-rational mode of self-knowledge. However identification of poetry (or perhaps the poem itself) with the alchemical arcanum paradoxa and defining poetic inspiration in the context of a psychobiological, existential substrate, highlights a conflict with conventional ideas tending to categorise writing and/or poetry, as ‘literature’.
Academic and other definitions of poetry as ‘literature’ displace the poetic act of imaginative creation from the interior psychobiological universe to the external world of cultural-linguistic structures where the preferred paradigm is communicative. Furthermore, the current ‘postmodernist’ cultural-linguistic aesthetic model presupposes that everything depends upon language and linguistics to the extent that ‘being’ itself becomes literally indefinable in non-semiotic, extra-linguistic terms. This inevitably inhibits understanding of artistic creativity as in innate psychoactive phenomenon effectively blocking access to sources of inspiration in the indeterminate quantum vacuum of the unus mundus.
The raison d’etre of the ‘literary’ paradigm is communication. In contradistinction, the raison d’etre of the ‘alchemical-surreal’ paradigm is transformation: transformation energised by inspiration, where ‘inspiration’ is defined in terms of psychic energy. In this paradigm of transformation the Jungian valuation of symbols (distinguished from ‘signs’) as ambiguous emanations of non-linguistic or extra-linguistic or even pre-linguistic being is a key factor.
For Jung the psychic presence of symbols (including ‘archetypal’ symbols) is always experienced as ‘numinous’, a categorical term he borrowed from the Kantian-Friesian religious thinker Rudolf Otto (1869-1937). Otto was seeking to extend or deepen the epistemological scheme of his predecessor Jakob Friedrich Fries. This scheme included the notion of Ahndung, a German term which can be translated as ‘aesthetic sense’. Otto expanded the meaning of Ahndung ‘beyond the merely aesthetic’ by introducing the category of ‘numinosity’, the alleged quality of the sacred.
Otto argued that numinosity is the prime characteristic of the collective experience underlying all religions. This experience can involve a sense of overwhelming power, the mysterium tremendum. The mysterium stands as the first cause of all ‘religious awe’, and, in certain respects, if one follows Jung in the matter, accounts for the sense of power and autonomy apparently exhibited by unconscious contents and symbols.
The association of archetypal symbolism with cross-cultural mythic imagery on the one hand, and Otto’s numinosity concept on the other, was one way that Jung, through his writings and researches, endowed psychological processes such as Individuation with ‘spiritual’ qualities. Part of the attraction of Jungian psychology is his overt identification of self-becoming, or personality formation, with the model of the spiritual quest, articulated through an all-pervasive symbolism shared with the alchemical magnum opus, other mystical belief systems or even mainstream theological precepts. As Anthony Storr explains, Jung was able to do this because he identified the integrated Self with an archetypal symbol of totality identical with the underlying reality of Judaeo-Christian monotheism, the imago Dei.
If the raw material of poetry is language, the essence of poetic practice is active imagination or artistic creativity. It is inevitable that imaginative creativity, in pursuit of inspiration, will engage with that innate process of psychological integration Jung called Individuation. From this perspective the poem may appear as a by-product of the process. For the poet, as for the alchemist, the psycho-activity of inspiration arising from the process of self-becoming is the prime factor. It is this psycho-active effect which dissolves the barriers between the conscious and the unconscious, exposing the subject to the autonomous ‘power’ of symbolic otherness, enhancing creative capability.
For many this dissolution is most satisfactorily defined as an ‘archetypal’, visionary, even mystical, experience. Indeed, for some, even the most wilfully mundane or blatantly secular poems can still radiate, however feebly, an aura of the ‘numinous’, investing the text with all the fascination of an alien artefact.
Grounding poetic practice in a fundamental, psychobiological, ontological matrix de-emphasises, even dissociates, ‘pure poetry’ from the cultural-linguistic epiphenomenal ‘foreground’ superstructure of modern ‘literary’ discourse. It is also the case that, contrary to Jung’s position, pro-active engagement with the principium individuationis from an aesthetic perspective may not accord with traditional ‘religious’ paradigms of human perfectibility or divine purpose.
Thus, the alchemical process of inner purification may well amount to a Promethean affront to doctrines of redemption and predestination. Then, the poet, like the alchemist of old, may stand accused of Faustian occultism – or even the heresy of the Free Spirit, interestingly defined by Vaneigem as ‘an alchemy of individual fulfilment’. The declaration of intent in the Second Manifesto of Surrealism to attain the ‘total recovery of our psychic force’ through a ‘systematic illumination of hidden places’ and excursions into ‘forbidden territory’ must be understood in the context of Romantic metaphysical revolt in the tradition of Miltonic Satanism, Byron and Sade. It is not an affirmation of the ‘spiritual quest’, or the unio mystica described as the supreme desideratum by Jung and other exponents of perennial, pan-religious syncretism.
Furthermore Jung’s identification of the integrated Self with any ‘divine’ reality or purpose is open to question in the post-religious context that is the present evolutionary situation of society. Primordial being may exert or radiate a ‘numinous’ attraction of otherness, or the subject may experience such an inspirational effect. It does not follow that experience of this effect is experience of the ‘sacred’. This is true, even if the effect or experience can be shown to be the result of a quasi-objective incursion of, or from, the unus mundus. Only those predisposed, perhaps by cultural conditioning, to a totalising ‘religious’ reading of fundamental experiences can promote such an interpretation without fear of contradiction. Again, if the raw matter of the procedure comprises the least valued, most disregarded, of all the elements, such common or ‘despised’ material. Stuff ‘of no price or value’ (Dyas Chemica Tripartita) will also form the basis of the poet’s Work. Such poetic work is unlikely to meet with approval from the custodians of cultural probity, the proponents of canonical, high-minded artistic or literary greatness.
Is the true poet an exceptional individual?
If the answer is yes, then poetry will reflect the compulsion of such individuals to seek their own path and forge their own identity through an oracular, alchemical poetry, which, like the ancient works of Khemeia, may well appear enigmatical and allusive to the uninitiated.

Arcanum Paradoxa was published by Atlantean Publishing in The Monomyth Supplement 44, January 2009
Hermetic Art Gnostic Alchemy Of The Imagination (1985) on The Alchemy Website
 

Digital art: Inner Alchemy III, 2001

Hermes Bird

 

The poet, through aloofness or detachment, fleetingly attained in reaction to the disgust provoked by the nigredo, the unregenerate night-world state, perceives how, divorced from everyday functions or associations, ordinary situations, objects, even people, may take on a magical perspective. They acquire an ephemeral, but nevertheless quintessential, glamour, or enchantment of absolute beauty. But, it will be seen that this ‘absolute’ beauty, this ‘threshold aestheticism’, is a coniunctio oppositorum, a union of opposites in the Hermetic sense. It contains not only the essential ‘gold’ of supernal beauty, but also a fearful purity of supernal horror – it is not only Naturalistic, but anti-Naturalistic – it is a force which consumes with a unique intensity. It is not only sublime, it is also of The Abyss. (from The Aesthetic Transformation of Perception, 1993)

Illustration: Dawn Voices/Hermes Bird, 1968

Tortured Souls

 

If Decadence is an art of aesthetic nihilism, then Expressionism is an art of tortured souls.
One should not underestimate the influence of Lotte H Eisner’s comprehensive exposition of the cinematic dramaturgy of Expressionist film in her book The Haunted Screen: Expressionism in the German Cinema and the Influence of Max Reinhardt. Originally published in French as L'Ecran Demoniaque in 1952, Eisner’s seminal work was revised for its first English publication in 1969, a translation by Roger Greaves. Not only did Eisner explain the historical origins of a ‘predisposition towards Expressionism’ she also identified all of the main features of the movement, defining key ideas including Stimmung, the brooding, speculative reflection of Grubelei and the visual effects of shadowy chiaroscuro, effects that evoke the ‘twilight’ of the soul.
These, and other features were characteristics of an aesthetic tendency which, emerging in the paintings of Kirchner, Marc, Kubin, Klee and others around the period 1908-1910, formed a bridge between the final phases of nineteenth century Symbolism and the emergent avant-garde of the twentieth century. The Expressionist sensibility – all art is a matter of sensibility – is a sensibility that favours violent contrast, it cultivates a mode of ultra-dynamism finding its most extreme resolution in a climactic paroxysm.
Yet, another dimension of the same sensibility, or ‘interior vision’, can be understood as a type of super-stylisation where objects are not so much represented, but rather apprehended through a process requiring the accentuation of ‘latent physiognomy, a term used by the theorist Bela Balazs.
Expressionist intensity generates a paroxysmal vision close to a crystallisation of form, disclosing a hitherto unnoticed, mysterious realm of experience differentiated from other forms of experience by a telltale ambiguity, ‘both attractive and repugnant at the same time’. This ambiguous uncanny realm, positioned at the cultural confluence of the Gothic, the Baroque and the Romantic is the disquieting locality of those tortured souls whose psychic disposition may best be understood by combining the viewpoint of Freud with that of Hoffmann.
It was the basic proposition of The Haunted Screen that cinema – a medium at once concrete and visual – and the inter-war German cinema in particular, found ‘its true nature’ and its ‘ideal artistic outlet’ in the ethos of Expressionism as explained here. The most outstanding example of this distinctive film-dramaturgie (Balazs) is, of course, Das Cabinet des Dr Caligari based on the book by Carl Meyer and Hans Janowitz and directed by Robert Weine in 1919. Here the Expressionist treatment is at its most extreme, and the style of acting is conditioned, not by psychological naturalism, but by the studio set design intended to evoke the ‘latent physiognomy’ of a small medieval town. The two lead actors, Werner Krauss in the role of the malign Dr Caligari himself, and Conrad Veidt playing Cesare ‘the sinister somnambulist’, managed to convey the desired mode of ‘bizarre exaltation’ and febrile energy that soon became known as Caligarism. It is known that Artaud admired Veidt’s portrayal of the somnambulistic agency of shadow, a performance that even today incarnates the very essence of catatonic horror – Cesare is an alien being ‘detached from his everyday ambience, deprived of all individuality, an abstract creature…’ who kills without motive or logic.
Moving with a particular and studiously executed gestural language through the artificial filmic environment of this paranoid scenario, and in jarring contradiction to the platitudinous realism of the rest of the cast (excluding Krauss), Veidt-Cesare embodies through his screen presence a new language of ‘reduced gesture’. His performance explores an almost linear theatrical formalism, echoing, to quote Eisner, ‘the broken angles of the sets’.
If Caligari himself is a nightmare incursion of malign, manipulative authoritarian power, it is Cesare, the agent of fate who exemplifies the notion of life as a kind of Gothic ecstasy of style. It is a style that, like the existential basis of Expressionism itself, ‘breaks the bounds of petty logic and causality’ and incarnates the immediate presence of the tortured soul.

Illustration: Cesare the Somnambulist (1994)

Poetry & Prose Publications 2020-2024

 

Poetry & Prose Publications 2020-2024
Includes Prose Poems and Short Fiction from The Other Side of Town to Diverted Traffic 

And all the rest is literature - Verlaine

The Inner Crucible (That Last Evening), International Times Aug 2020
Voices Other and Voices Over, International Times Dec 2020
And Yet… Subtopian Materialism, International Times Feb 2020
Beyond Off Limits, International Times Feb 2020
Nowhere Junction, International Times Jan 2020
Deathmasques I The Poet, International Times Jul 2020
In the Soft State Zone (Debris), International Times Jul 2020
The Agent Of Destruction, International Times Jun 2020
Unknown Zone II, International Times Jun 2020
The Other Side of Town, International Times Mar 2020
Somewhere Off Limits, International Times May 2020
We Vampires, International Times May 2020
Deathmasques VI Silence, International Times Nov 2020
Mute Witness, International Times Nov 2020
Deathmasques IV Dream of Stone, International Times Oct 2020
Deathmasques V The Renegade (Into The Abyss), International Times Oct 2020
Other Voices Call Us, International Times Oct 2020
Ultima, International Times Oct 2020
Deathmasques II No More Beauty, International Times Sept 2020
Deathmasques III In the Palace of the Sphinx (The Supplicant), International Times Sept 2020
Next Transit, Stride Magazine Jun 2020
Next Transit (Remix), Stride Magazine Jun 2020
Echoes Of Desire, Stride Magazine Oct 2020
One False Move, Stride Magazine Oct 2020
This New Zero, Stride Magazine Oct 2020
Echoes Of Desire, Awen Issue 114 Nov 2021, Atlantean Publishing
The Uncertainty Of Parks, International Times Apr 2021
Havengore V The Masque, International Times Aug 2021
Quit This Dying Forest of Pylons, International Times Aug 2021
Another Quiet Night In The Metropolis, International Times Dec 2021
Uncanny Valley, International Times Dec 2021
Alien Abductions, International Times Feb 2021
Black Light, International Times Feb 2021
Disconnected Tangents, International Times Feb 2021
Fragment The Coffee Bar, International Times Jan 2021
The Vision Of Morgan Le Fay, International Times Jan 2021
Against The World, International Times Jul 2021
Back Into The Night, International Times Jun 2021
Dodgy Electrics, International Times Jun 2021
Evidence of Drift (Strange Reflections I), International Times Jun 2021
Alien Autopsy, International Times Mar 2021
The Window Of Fear (The Intervening Years), International Times Mar 2021
Dream Fractals I, International Times May 2021
Dream Fractals II (The Wave Function Of All Dreams), International Times May 2021
Sing Back The Symbols, International Times May 2021
The Atom Smasher Of Dreams, International Times May 2021
Alchemy Of The Mirage, International Times Nov 2021
Other Distractions (Strange Reflections II), International Times Nov 2021
Neon Aeon, International Times Oct 2021
Omega Lightning, International Times Oct 2021
The Black Rooms, International Times Sep 2021
The Poet Destroyed By Fire, International Times Sep 2021
The Agent Of Destruction, Monomyth Vol 21.3 Issue 75 Dec 2021, Atlantean Publishing
Dark Tower Horizon, The Dark Tower Volume 8 Doomfall, Atlantean Publishing, 2021
Get Unreal (This Means You), Argotist Online Poetry May 2022
Somewhere Off Limits, Argotist Online Poetry May 2022
Too Much Like Real Life, Argotist Online Poetry May 2022
Life Into Shape, Monomyth 22.2 Issue 77 Dec 2022
Dream Of Aldebaran, International Times Aug 2022
Angel Pictures, International Times Feb 2022
Unholy Communion, International Times Feb 2022
Filigree Paintings Explode, International Times Jan 2022
No Man's Land (Burn The Movie I Used To Know), International Times Jan 2022
Dream Vortex, International Times May 2022
Borderlands Of The World, International Times Oct 2022
Goofy Movie, International Times Oct 2022
Subtopia Anything, International Times Sep 2022
Chance of Thunder, Stride Magazine 16 Jan 2023
Chance of Thunder, Poetfreak Apr 2023
Diverted Traffic, International Times Feb 2023
Diverted Traffic, Poetfreak Apr 2023
Dream It Now, Poetfreak Apr 2023
Dream Story or Whatever, International Times Apr 2023
Dream Story or Whatever, Poetfreak Apr 2023
Go For It, Podetfreak Apr 2023
Goofy Movie, Poetfreak Apr 2023
Here and Now, Poetfreak Apr 2023
Our Darkest Secret, Poetfreak Apr 2023
Spectral Lines, Poetfreak Apr 2023
There Are Many Roads To Space, International Times Apr 2023
Watch Your Step, Poetfreak Apr 2023
Dream It Now I This Perfect Storm, International Times May 2023
Our Darkest Secret, International Times May 2023
Dream It Now II From Nowhere Junction, International Times Jun 2023
Go For It, International Times Jul 2023
The Here And Now, International Times Sept 2023
Freak Doubt (Watch Your Step), International Times Sept 2023
Boo Galaxy, International Times Dec 2023
Spectral Lines, International Times Dec 2023
The Rogue Astronomer, International Times Jan 2024
Echo The Clouds, International Times Feb 2024
Underground Movie, International Times Feb 2024
In The Naked City, International Times Mar 2024
The Quantum Signature, International Times Mar 2024
The Secret Agent, International Times Mar 2024
A Futuristic Beauty, International Times Apr 2024
That Night of Nights, International Times Apr 2024
Where We Are Now, International Times Apr 2024
Chance of Thunder, International Times May 2024
Naked Distraction, International Times May 2024
Dream It Now, International Times Jun 2024
The Obscure Nature of Turbulence, International Times Jul 2024
Destination Gorgeous, International Times Aug 2024
Undisclosed Moment, International Times Sept 2024

Illus: The Other Side of Town, International Times, Mar 2020

Poetry & Prose Publications 2010-2018

 

Poetry Publications 2010-2018
Includes Prose Poems and Short Fiction - From Outside and Fractured Moods


The Black Rooms, Awen Issue 63 April 2010, Atlantean Publishing
Nothing Exists, Bard Issue 086 2010, Atlantean Publishing
Last Minute Fantasy, Bard Issue 087 2010, Atlantean Publishing
Credibility Street, Carillon Issue 27 July 2010
Now Interior, Decanto Issue 49 Oct 2010, Masque Publishing
That Utopian Moment, Decanto Issue 50 Dec 2010, Masque Publishing
Damned Poet, Garbaj Issue 39 April 2010, Atlantean Publishing
As Always, Inclement Vol 10 Issue 3 Autumn 2010
Between Alien Images, Inclement Vol 10 Issue 3 Autumn 2010
Presence, Inclement Vol 10 Issue 4 Winter 2010
Distorting Mirrors Of Time, 4th Dimension No 23 Feb 2011
Edge Of Nightmare, 4th Dimension No 23 Feb 2011
Leap Of Doubt, 4th Dimension No 24 May 2011
As Always, 4th Dimension No 25 Sept 2011
Psychedelic Ballroom, 4th Dimension No 25 Sept 2011
Too Much Like Real Life, Awen Issue 69 April 2011, Atlantean Publishing
Life Ulterior, Awen Issue 70 June 2011, Atlantean Publishing
Get It Together, Bard Issue 091 2011, Atlantean Publishing
Lust For A Vampire (Mircalla), Bard Issue 103 2011, Atlantean Publishing
From Outside, Carillon Issue 30 July 2011
Not Another Poem, Carillon Issue 30 July 2011
Stray Sunlight, Decanto Issue 53 Jun 2011, Masque Publishing,
Then Interior, Decanto Issue 54 Aug 2011, Masque Publishing,
The Atom Smasher Of Dreams, Handshake No 82 Sept 2011, Dunnock Press
A Walk On The Beach, Inclement Vol 11 Issue 1 Spring 2011
Leap Of Doubt, Inclement Vol 11 Issue 1 Spring 2011
On Some Far Away Planet, Inclement Vol 11 Issue 1 Spring 2011
Scrowle's Papers, Monomyth Vol 11.2 Issue 50 2011, Atlantean Publishing
Vikki Verso, Monomyth Vol 11.2 Issue 50 2011, Atlantean Publishing
Fan Dance, Neon Highway Issue 20 Spring 2011
Such As This, Neon Highway Issue 20 Spring 2011
The Secret Mountain, Neon Highway Issue 20 Spring 2011
Rotating Pendulum, The Journal No 34 2011
Super Girly Lashes, The Journal No 34 2011
The All Seasons Foot Muff, The Journal No 34 2011
Then Interior, The Journal No 34 2011
Closed Turtle Dust Trapper, Under The Radar Issue 7 Jan 2011, Nine Arches Press
Moments Of Distraction, 4th Dimension No 27 Jul 2012
No Gesture, 4th Dimension No 27 Jul 2012
Out Of The Velvet Womb, Awen Issue 78 Oct 2012 Atlantean Publishing
Crepuscular, Bard Issue 108 2012, Atlantean Publishing
Stray Sunlight, Bard Issue 112 2012, Atlantean Publishing
Alchemy Of The Mirage, Bard Issue 114 2012, Atlantean Publishing
Life Ulterior, Decanto Issue 59 Jun 2012, Masque Publishing,
This Is Less Than I Must Say, Decanto Issue 60 Aug 2012, Masque Publishing,
(Another), Fractured Moods Vol 1 Haunted Astral, Atlantean Publishing 2012
Advice To A Young Poet, Fractured Moods Vol 1 Haunted Astral, Atlantean Publishing 2012
Always, Fractured Moods Vol 1 Haunted Astral, Atlantean Publishing 2012
Angels Bring Us, Fractured Moods Vol 1 Haunted Astral, Atlantean Publishing 2012
Are You Not, Fractured Moods Vol 1 Haunted Astral, Atlantean Publishing 2012
Could Be Anywhere, Fractured Moods Vol 1 Haunted Astral, Atlantean Publishing 2012
Darkness Of Secrets, Fractured Moods Vol 1 Haunted Astral, Atlantean Publishing 2012
Flashback Phantoms, Fractured Moods Vol 1 Haunted Astral, Atlantean Publishing 2012
Geste Surrealiste, Fractured Moods Vol 1 Haunted Astral, Atlantean Publishing 2012
Haunted Astral, Fractured Moods Vol 1 Haunted Astral, Atlantean Publishing 2012
Insomnia, Fractured Moods Vol 1 Haunted Astral, Atlantean Publishing 2012
Invisible Razors, Fractured Moods Vol 1 Haunted Astral, Atlantean Publishing 2012
Kiss The Peach, Fractured Moods Vol 1 Haunted Astral, Atlantean Publishing 2012
Magical Flight, Fractured Moods Vol 1 Haunted Astral, Atlantean Publishing 2012
Meet The Folks (Who Live In Hell), Fractured Moods Vol 1 Haunted Astral, Atlantean Publishing 2012
Moment, Fractured Moods Vol 1 Haunted Astral, Atlantean Publishing 2012
Muse In Darkness, Fractured Moods Vol 1 Haunted Astral, Atlantean Publishing 2012
Music Fades, Fractured Moods Vol 1 Haunted Astral, Atlantean Publishing 2012
No Sensation, Fractured Moods Vol 1 Haunted Astral, Atlantean Publishing 2012
Out Of The Velvet Womb, Fractured Moods Vol 1 Haunted Astral, Atlantean Publishing 2012
Slump, Fractured Moods Vol 1 Haunted Astral, Atlantean Publishing 2012
Still Unruffled, Fractured Moods Vol 1 Haunted Astral, Atlantean Publishing 2012
Storm Vision, Fractured Moods Vol 1 Haunted Astral, Atlantean Publishing 2012
The Dark Macabre Totentanz, Fractured Moods Vol 1 Haunted Astral, Atlantean Publishing 2012
The Lost Book, Fractured Moods Vol 1 Haunted Astral, Atlantean Publishing 2012
The Night Alone, Fractured Moods Vol 1 Haunted Astral, Atlantean Publishing 2012
This Carpet’s On Fire , Fractured Moods Vol 1 Haunted Astral, Atlantean Publishing 2012
Underworld, Fractured Moods Vol 1 Haunted Astral, Atlantean Publishing 2012
Unspoken Poetry, Fractured Moods Vol 1 Haunted Astral, Atlantean Publishing 2012
When The Lights Go Out, Fractured Moods Vol 1 Haunted Astral, Atlantean Publishing 2012
When You See My Grave, Fractured Moods Vol 1 Haunted Astral, Atlantean Publishing 2012
A Friend In Southend, Fractured Moods Vol 2 Beautiful Chaos, Atlantean Publishing 2012
A Poke In The Rye, Fractured Moods Vol 2 Beautiful Chaos, Atlantean Publishing 2012
A Scandal In Crewe, Fractured Moods Vol 2 Beautiful Chaos, Atlantean Publishing 2012
Beautiful Chaos, Fractured Moods Vol 2 Beautiful Chaos, Atlantean Publishing 2012
Could Be Anywhere, Fractured Moods Vol 2 Beautiful Chaos, Atlantean Publishing 2012
Credibility Street, Fractured Moods Vol 2 Beautiful Chaos, Atlantean Publishing 2012
Daft!, Fractured Moods Vol 2 Beautiful Chaos, Atlantean Publishing 2012
Damned Poet, Fractured Moods Vol 2 Beautiful Chaos, Atlantean Publishing 2012
Dream Of Aldebaran, Fractured Moods Vol 2 Beautiful Chaos, Atlantean Publishing 2012
Eclogue, Fractured Moods Vol 2 Beautiful Chaos, Atlantean Publishing 2012
Edge Of Zone, Fractured Moods Vol 2 Beautiful Chaos, Atlantean Publishing 2012
Flesh Creep The World The Flesh And The Devil, Fractured Moods Vol 2 Beautiful Chaos, Atlantean Publishing 2012
Forget Latex Love (LUV 2288), Fractured Moods Vol 2 Beautiful Chaos, Atlantean Publishing 2012
Free Speech Today (Oxford Union), Fractured Moods Vol 2 Beautiful Chaos, Atlantean Publishing 2012
Get It Together, Fractured Moods Vol 2 Beautiful Chaos, Atlantean Publishing 2012
Last Minute Fantasy, Fractured Moods Vol 2 Beautiful Chaos, Atlantean Publishing 2012
Life Ulterior, Fractured Moods Vol 2 Beautiful Chaos, Atlantean Publishing 2012
Misericordia, Fractured Moods Vol 2 Beautiful Chaos, Atlantean Publishing 2012
Mutt, Fractured Moods Vol 2 Beautiful Chaos, Atlantean Publishing 2012
Nothing Exists, Fractured Moods Vol 2 Beautiful Chaos, Atlantean Publishing 2012
Poetry Is A Dangerous Place, Fractured Moods Vol 2 Beautiful Chaos, Atlantean Publishing 2012
Slave Mask, Fractured Moods Vol 2 Beautiful Chaos, Atlantean Publishing 2012
So Not Funny (Radio Edit), Fractured Moods Vol 2 Beautiful Chaos, Atlantean Publishing 2012
Some News Just In (Smile Please), Fractured Moods Vol 2 Beautiful Chaos, Atlantean Publishing 2012
Stubbylee Park, Fractured Moods Vol 2 Beautiful Chaos, Atlantean Publishing 2012
The Black Rooms, Fractured Moods Vol 2 Beautiful Chaos, Atlantean Publishing 2012
The Vision Of Morgan Le Fay, Fractured Moods Vol 2 Beautiful Chaos, Atlantean Publishing 2012
Too Much Like Real Life, Fractured Moods Vol 2 Beautiful Chaos, Atlantean Publishing 2012
Trendy!, Fractured Moods Vol 2 Beautiful Chaos, Atlantean Publishing 2012
Weird Stuff, Fractured Moods Vol 2 Beautiful Chaos, Atlantean Publishing 2012
A New Reality, From Outside, Argotist Ebooks, 2012
At The Crossroads, From Outside, Argotist Ebooks, 2012
Between Alien Images, From Outside, Argotist Ebooks, 2012
Boo Galaxy, From Outside, Argotist Ebooks, 2012
Bye Bye Kitty Hell Bunny, From Outside, Argotist Ebooks, 2012
Cepuscular, From Outside, Argotist Ebooks, 2012
Cinematic Moments, From Outside, Argotist Ebooks, 2012
Close To Dreaming, From Outside, Argotist Ebooks, 2012
Dream Of Aldeberan, From Outside, Argotist Ebooks, 2012
Edge Of Nightmare, From Outside, Argotist Ebooks, 2012
Erroneus Zones, From Outside, Argotist Ebooks, 2012
Fan Dance, From Outside, Argotist Ebooks, 2012
Flashback Phantoms, From Outside, Argotist Ebooks, 2012
From Outside, From Outside, Argotist Ebooks, 2012
Heaven Or Hell, From Outside, Argotist Ebooks, 2012
Hot Is The New Cool, From Outside, Argotist Ebooks, 2012
Last Minute Fantasy, From Outside, Argotist Ebooks, 2012
Listen To The Voice, From Outside, Argotist Ebooks, 2012
Memory In The Making, From Outside, Argotist Ebooks, 2012
Misfit Stars, From Outside, Argotist Ebooks, 2012
Neutrino Subway, From Outside, Argotist Ebooks, 2012
Nexus Of Obscurity, From Outside, Argotist Ebooks, 2012
Nothing Else, From Outside, Argotist Ebooks, 2012
Now Eternal, From Outside, Argotist Ebooks, 2012
Object Unknown, From Outside, Argotist Ebooks, 2012
On Some Far Away Planet, From Outside, Argotist Ebooks, 2012
Perfect Storm, From Outside, Argotist Ebooks, 2012
Presence, From Outside, Argotist Ebooks, 2012
Reach For The Skyline, From Outside, Argotist Ebooks, 2012
Remembrance, From Outside, Argotist Ebooks, 2012
Shades In Darkness, From Outside, Argotist Ebooks, 2012
Still She Stands, From Outside, Argotist Ebooks, 2012
Stray Sunlight, From Outside, Argotist Ebooks, 2012
Subterranean Mutants, From Outside, Argotist Ebooks, 2012
That Utopian Moment, From Outside, Argotist Ebooks, 2012
The Face Is Yours, From Outside, Argotist Ebooks, 2012
The Only Way Is Up, From Outside, Argotist Ebooks, 2012
The Secret Mountain, From Outside, Argotist Ebooks, 2012
The Silver Ghost, From Outside, Argotist Ebooks, 2012
Too Much Like Real Life, From Outside, Argotist Ebooks, 2012
Blue Eyes, Such As This, Smallminded Books, 2012
Fragile, Such As This, Smallminded Books, 2012
Moments Of Distraction, Such As This, Smallminded Books, 2012
No Gesture, Such As This, Smallminded Books, 2012
Now Interior, Such As This, Smallminded Books, 2012
Skies In Her Eyes, Such As This, Smallminded Books, 2012
Such As This, Such As This, Smallminded Books, 2012
Crazy Angels, Awen Issue 80 May 2013, Atlantean Publishing
Snap Pictures, Bard Issue 123 2013, Atlantean Publishing
Unknown Zone, Bard Issue 127 2013, Atlantean Publishing
South Of Suburbia, Garbaj Issue 50 Feb 2013, Atlantean Publishing
Facing The Light, Bard Issue 136 2014, Atlantean Publishing
The Secret Mountain, The Dark Tower Volume 4 A Skull of Doom, Atlantean Publishing 2014
On Some Far Away Planet, Handshake No 90 Feb 2015, Dunnock Press 2015
Psychedelic Ballroom, International Times Aug 2015
Dangerous Swing, International Times Dec 2015
You've Got To Feel It To Believe It, International Times Dec 2015
Envision And Unthink, International Times Feb 2015
A Walk On The Beach, International Times Jul 2015
Invisible Anarchy, International Times May 2015 1/2
Invisible Anarchy, International Times May 2015 2/2
Nostalgia Ghost Train, International Times Nov 2015
Rogue Metal, International Times Nov 2015
Antique Coffee Bar, International Times Oct 2015
Distorting Mirrors Of Time, Poetry and Paint Future, Masoliver, 2015
Neutrino Subway, Poetry and Paint Future, Masoliver, 2015
Uncanny Valley, X-Peri 27 Sept 2015
Summer of Scandal (Midweek Mayhem), X-Peri 3 Nov 2015
Get This, X-Peri 30 Dec 2015
This Night, Bard Issue 161 2016, Atlantean Publishing
Show Time, International Times Apr 2016
Nimbus Emporium, International Times Aug 2016
Another Day At The Office, International Times Dec 2016
Disreputable Diptych I Lucy Lovebird, International Times Dec 2016
Disreputable Diptych II Lulu Topknot, International Times Dec 2016
Agony Traces, International Times Feb 2016
Cool Divas Never Die, International Times Feb 2016
Beyond Surreal, International Times Jul 2016
Open Moment, International Times Jul 2016
Undisclosed Moment, International Times Jun 2016
Fear of Mirrors, International Times Mar 2016
Panty Booby Trap, International Times May 2016
Incident Upriver, International Times Oct 2016
Disconnected Tangents, International Times Sep 2016
The Luminous Poet, Nerve Damage, Analogue Flashback, 2016
Couture And Anarchy, Poetfreak 12 March 2016
Poetry Reading, Poetfreak 12 March 2016
Stunning Sunbirds, Poetfreak 12 March 2016
Agony Traces, Poetfreak 14 Feb 2016
Beyond Surreal, Poetfreak 14 Feb 2016
Get This, Poetfreak 14 Feb 2016
Nimbus Emporium, Poetfreak 14 Feb 2016
Open Moment, Poetfreak 14 Feb 2016
Summer of Scandal (Midweek Mayhem), Poetfreak 14 Feb 2016
Fear of Mirrors, Poetfreak 19 Feb 2016
South Of Suburbia, Poetfreak 19 Mar 2016
Weird Stuff, Poetfreak 19 Mar 2016
Cool Divas Never Die, Poetfreak 2 Feb 2016
For Sappho, Poetfreak 2 Feb 2016
Strange Evil Flowers, Poetfreak 2 Feb 2016
Vespula Vanishes, Poetfreak 2 Feb 2016
When You See My Grave, Poetfreak 2 Feb 2016
Destination Gorgeous, Poetfreak 21 Feb 2016
Alchemy Of The Mirage, Poetfreak 3 Feb 2016
Blue Eyes, Poetfreak 3 Feb 2016
The Estranged Attractor, Poetfreak 3 Feb 2016
The Secret Mountain, Poetfreak 3 Feb 2016
Twentieth Century Girl, Poetfreak 3 Feb 2016
Between Alien Images, Poetfreak 6 Feb 2016
Edge Of Nightmare, Poetfreak 6 Feb 2016
Misfit Stars, Poetfreak 6 Feb 2016
On Some Far Away Planet, Poetfreak 6 Feb 2016
One False Move, Poetfreak 8 Apr 2016
Show Time, Poetfreak 8 Apr 2016
The Luminous Poet, Poetfreak 8 Apr 2016
This Night, Stride Magazine Dec 2016
Cyborg Apocalypse, Stride Magazine June 2016
Dream Fractal Affair, X-Peri 16 Jan 2016
Growing Up In Tiger Bay, X-Peri 16 Jan 2016
Speed At First Sight, X-Peri 16 Jan 2016
The Ceremony, X-Peri 16 Jan 2016
The Estranged Attractor, X-Peri 16 Jan 2016
The Obscure Nature Of Turbulence, X-Peri 16 Jan 2016
Those Junkyard Hymns, X-Peri 16 Jan 2016
Twenieth Century Girl, X-Peri 16 Jan 2016
Couture And Anarchy, X-Peri 17 Mar 2016
One False Move, X-Peri 18 Apr 2016
Speed Dating In Vienna, X-Peri 18 Jun 2016
Inside The Silent City, X-Peri 20 Aug 2016
And You Know What, X-Peri 20 Nov 2016
Busy Evening, X-Peri 20 Oct 2016
Echoes Of Desire, X-Peri 22 Sep 2016
Destination Gorgeous, X-Peri 23 Feb 2016
Nimbus Emporium, Awen Issue 95 Feb 2017Atlantean Publishing
Open Moment, Awen Issue 95 Feb 2017 Atlantean Publishing
Undisclosed Moment, Awen Issue 95 Feb 2017Atlantean Publishing
Beyond Surreal, Awen Issue 98 Nov 2017 Atlantean Publishing
Echoes Of Desire, Awen Issue 98 Nov 2017 Atlantean Publishing
The Same Plane Crash, Bard Isue 165 2017 Atlantean Publishing
Sing Back The Symbols, International Times Apr 2017
Darkness Or Nothing, International Times Feb 2017
Life Into Shape, International Times Jun 2017
Creeping Darkness Part One, Monomyth Vol 17.1 Issue 61 2017Atlantean Publishing
Creeping Darkness Part Two, Monomyth Vol 17.2 Issue 62 2017Atlantean Publishing
Creeping Darkness Part Three, Monomyth Vol 17.3 Issue 63 2017Atlantean Publishing
As Always, Open Moments, Argotist Ebooks, 2017
Beauty From Within, Open Moments, Argotist Ebooks, 2017
Beyond Surreal, Open Moments, Argotist Ebooks, 2017
Crazy Angels, Open Moments, Argotist Ebooks, 2017
Dangerous Swing, Open Moments, Argotist Ebooks, 2017
Electric Forum Orbital Hoops, Open Moments, Argotist Ebooks, 2017
Facing The Light, Open Moments, Argotist Ebooks, 2017
Fragile, Open Moments, Argotist Ebooks, 2017
Going The Distance, Open Moments, Argotist Ebooks, 2017
Happening People, Open Moments, Argotist Ebooks, 2017
In This Moment, Open Moments, Argotist Ebooks, 2017
Last Minute Fantasy, Open Moments, Argotist Ebooks, 2017
Leap Of Doubt, Open Moments, Argotist Ebooks, 2017
Life Ulterior, Open Moments, Argotist Ebooks, 2017
Loose Connections, Open Moments, Argotist Ebooks, 2017
Moments Of Distraction, Open Moments, Argotist Ebooks, 2017
Nimbus Emporium, Open Moments, Argotist Ebooks, 2017
No Gesture, Open Moments, Argotist Ebooks, 2017
Not Another Poem, Open Moments, Argotist Ebooks, 2017
Nothing Exists, Open Moments, Argotist Ebooks, 2017
Now Interior, Open Moments, Argotist Ebooks, 2017
Open Moment, Open Moments, Argotist Ebooks, 2017
Psychedelic Ballroom, Open Moments, Argotist Ebooks, 2017
Skies In Her Eyes, Open Moments, Argotist Ebooks, 2017
Snap Pictures, Open Moments, Argotist Ebooks, 2017
South Of Suburbia, Open Moments, Argotist Ebooks, 2017
Strange Evil Flowers, Open Moments, Argotist Ebooks, 2017
Strolling Down The Street, Open Moments, Argotist Ebooks, 2017
Take Another Look, Open Moments, Argotist Ebooks, 2017
Then Interior, Open Moments, Argotist Ebooks, 2017
Touch The Wall, Open Moments, Argotist Ebooks, 2017
Tower of Babel, Open Moments, Argotist Ebooks, 2017
Undisclosed Moment, Open Moments, Argotist Ebooks, 2017
Unknown Zone, Open Moments, Argotist Ebooks, 2017
Warped Infinity, Open Moments, Argotist Ebooks, 2017
Reflections In A Mirror, Stride Magazine Jan 2017
Invisible Glory, Stride Magazine June 2017
Anthelion, Stride Magazine Oct 2017
The Submerged Forest, X-Peri 18 May 2017
The Enigmatic Smile, X-Peri 19 Nov 2017
The Devil Wears Dada, X-Peri 22 Oct 2017
Vespula Vanishes, X-Peri 23 Apr 2017
Get Your Groove On, X-Peri 23 Jan 2017
Exploring The Text, X-Peri 23 Mar 2017
Kick Start Mondo Bonkers, X-Peri 23 Sep 2017
The Smoothie Operator, X-Peri 24 Feb 2017
Not Like You, International Times Aug 2018
Get Unreal (This Means You), International Times Jan 2018
Dream Ticket (Get Your Dream Ticket), International Times Mar 2018
Taboo Fantasy, International Times May 2018
White Marginal, Stride Magazine Apr 2018

 
illus From Outside Argotist Ebooks 2012

Poetry & Prose Publications 2000-2009

 

Poetry Publications 2000-2009

Includes Prose Poems and Short Fiction - A Fractured Muse and Vespula Vanishes

  

Unspoken Poetry, Awen Issue 6 Oct 2000, Atlantean Publishing
Angels Bring Us, Awen Issue 7 Dec 2000, Atlantean Publishing
Haunted Astral, Awen Issue 7 Dec 2000, Atlantean Publishing
Dog Star Days, Colonies May 2000
Reflections Extend Worlds, Colonies May 2000
Black Hole Binary, Colonies Scifi , zyworld, 2000
Dog Star Days, Colonies Scifi, zyworld, 2000
In Sympathy With Horror, Druscilla’s Garden 12 Oct 2000
The Shadow Of The Marvelous, Fire No 11 May 2000
Point Of Departure, Handshake No 39 Mar 2000, Dunnock Press
Reliquary, Handshake No 40 May 2000, Dunnock Press
Underworld, Handshake No 42 Sept 2000, Dunnock Press
Moment, Handshake No 43 Dec 2000, Dunnock Press,
Haze Of Pain, International Mag Jan 2000
This/Where, International Mag Jan 2000
Meridian Of The Sun, Legend Issue 2 Winter 2000, Immediate Direction,
Where Flowers, Monas Hieroglyphica Issue 10 Spring 2000, The Monas Press,
Wings Conjoined In Lure, Not Dead But Dreaming XI Apr 2000,
Empty Rooms, Not Dead But Dreaming XII Dec 2000
Unspoken Poetry, Not Dead But Dreaming XII Dec 2000
The Vision Of Morgan Le Fay, Penny Dreadful Issue XIII Midsummer 2000, Pendragonian Publications,
Snowballs In Hell (Don’t Give A…), Planet Prozak Issue 10 Spring 2000, Literally Literary,
Mondo Bizarre (Eyes Insane), Planet Prozak Issue 12 Winter 2000-2001, Literally Literary,
Poetry Reading, Planet Prozak Nov 2000, Literally Literary
Stunning Sunbirds, Planet Prozak Nov 2000, Literally Literary
In The Strange House, Pulsar Edition 1/00 21 Feb 2000, Ligden Publishers
Still Unruffled, Pulsar Edition 1/00 21 Feb 2000, Ligden Publishers
Playing Chopin Op 96 No 1 (L’Adieu), Pulsar Edition 3/00 23 Aug 2000, Ligden Publishers
By The Crimson Sea, Pulsar Edition 4/00 24 Nov 2000, Ligden Publishers
Spiral In The Dust, Silver Wheel No 56 Samhain/Yule 2000
The Black Mask, Silver Wheel No 56 Samhain/Yule 2000
The Uncanny Dance, Silver Wheel No 56 Samhain/Yule 2000
A Long Kiss On Bitch Island, Slope 3 Mar 2000
Neon Aeon I Got Moved On, Stride Magazine, 2000
Neon Aeon II Is There Anybody There? (Freundschaftkarte), Stride Magazine, 2000
Neon Aeon III Heide Woz Ere 93, Stride Magazine, 2000
Neon Aeon IV Just Like You, Stride Magazine, 2000
Neon Aeon V Bomb The Chapel, Stride Magazine, 2000
Before Art, Stride Magazine Oct 2000
Dada Radar, Stride Magazine Oct 2000
Dissolve This Explosion, Stride Magazine Oct 2000
You Are A Star Ascending, Stride Magazine Oct 2000
Some Dreams, The Brobdingnagian Times Broadsheet 17 Nov 2000,
Angel Pictures, This Sepulchre, Springbeach Press, 2000
Beyond The Black Isles, This Sepulchre, Springbeach Press, 2000
Cold Looks White Mask, This Sepulchre, Springbeach Press, 2000
Daughter Of Darkness, This Sepulchre, Springbeach Press, 2000
Flicker Of A Thousand Lights, This Sepulchre, Springbeach Press, 2000
Haze Of Pain, This Sepulchre, Springbeach Press, 2000
In Sympathy With Horror, This Sepulchre, Springbeach Press, 2000
In The Strange House, This Sepulchre, Springbeach Press, 2000
Let There Be Night, This Sepulchre, Springbeach Press, 2000
Sarcastic Angel, This Sepulchre, Springbeach Press, 2000
Skeleton Girls, This Sepulchre, Springbeach Press, 2000
Storm Vision, This Sepulchre, Springbeach Press, 2000
The Black Mask, This Sepulchre, Springbeach Press, 2000
The Craft Of Vision, This Sepulchre, Springbeach Press, 2000
The Monolith, This Sepulchre, Springbeach Press, 2000
The Sarcastic Smile, This Sepulchre, Springbeach Press, 2000
The Shadow Of The Marvellous, This Sepulchre, Springbeach Press, 2000
This Sepulchre, This Sepulchre, Springbeach Press, 2000
Timelight, This Sepulchre, Springbeach Press, 2000
Tonight My Soul, This Sepulchre, Springbeach Press, 2000
Towards Daybreak, This Sepulchre, Springbeach Press, 2000
Towards Sunset, This Sepulchre, Springbeach Press, 2000
Undead Elegy, This Sepulchre, Springbeach Press, 2000
Unspeakable Elegy, This Sepulchre, Springbeach Press, 2000
Vampire Bondage, This Sepulchre, Springbeach Press, 2000
Where The Vanished City Stood, This Sepulchre, Springbeach Press, 2000
Deathmasques IV Dream of Stone, Unhinged 6 Sex & Death Issue Sept 2000, PJL Press
Burning Man VII Celebrity Crucifixion Photos, Backdrop 2 Apr 2001
Against The World, Cold Print Aug 2001
Convulsive Inspiration (Occult Inspiration), Cold Print Feb 2001
And Now The Rain, Druscilla’s Garden 13 Jan 2001
The Agent Of Destruction, Druscilla's Garden 13 Jan 2001
Babe Rainbow, Fire 11 May 2001
Depths, Fire No 14 May 2001
Empty Rooms, Fire No 14 May 2001
The Obscure Nature Of Turbulence, Fire No 14 May 2001
The Stone Door, Fire No 14 May 2001
Undercover Soundtrack, Fire No 14 May 2001
Meet The Folks (Who Live In Hell), Garbaj Issue 4 Feb 2001, Atlantean Publishing
Slump, Garbaj Issue 6 Aug 2001, Atlantean Publishing
This Carpet’s On Fire , Garbaj Issue 6 Aug 2001, Atlantean Publishing
Could Be Anywhere, Garbaj Issue 7 Nov 2001, Atlantean Publishing
Implosion, Handshake No 44 Mar 2001, Dunnock Press
Closed Moment, Harlequin II Oct 2001
Magnetic Poetry, Harlequin II Sept 2001
Skeleton Girls, Legend Issue 3 Summer 2001, Immediate Direction
The Uncanny Dance, Legend Issue 4 Autumn/Winter 2001, Immediate Direction
Out Of The Velvet Womb, Monomyth Yearbook 1998 [Jul 2001], Atlantean Publishing
Always, Moonstone 82 Beltane May 2001
Eidolon, Moonstone 84 Halloween Nov 2001
Snowfall At Dusk, Moonstone 84 Halloween Nov 2001,
Darkness Of Secrets, Penny Dreadful Issue XIV 2001, Pendragonian Publications
Muse In Darkness, Penny Dreadful Issue XIV 2001, Pendragonian Publications
Unholy Communion, Penny Dreadful Issue XIV 2001, Pendragonian Publications
And The Earth Dies Away, Pulsar Edition 1/02 25 Mar 2001, Ligden Publishers
The Collogruis, Pulsar Edition 2/02 26 June 2001, Ligden Publishers
Art Deco Endgame, Pulsar Edition 4/01 28 Dec 2001, Ligden Publishers
Closed Moment, Songs Of Innocence IV 2001/2002, Pendragonian Publications
Skeleton Girls, Stagger Feral Equinox Issue Mar 2001, Stagger Press
This Carpet’s On Fire , Stagger Feral Equinox Issue Mar 2001, Stagger Press
Vanishing Point, The Black Rose 8 Jun 2001,
Alien Hand Syndrome , The Void Gallery, 2001
Chorale Figurata , The Void Gallery, 2001
Darkness Or Nothing , The Void Gallery, 2001
Distraction , The Void Gallery, 2001
Dream Fractals , The Void Gallery, 2001
Footsteps In The Snow , The Void Gallery, 2001
Image To Dream , The Void Gallery, 2001
Insomnia, The Void Gallery, 2001
Invisible Glory , The Void Gallery, 2001
Kiss The Peach , The Void Gallery, 2001
Lost Words , The Void Gallery, 2001
Meridian Of The Sun , The Void Gallery, 2001
Misplaced Poem , The Void Gallery, 2001
No Muse Of My Cold Heart, The Void Gallery, 2001
Only Shadows , The Void Gallery, 2001
Open Harmony , The Void Gallery, 2001
Self Ritualisation , The Void Gallery, 2001
Sometimes Audible , The Void Gallery, 2001
Street , The Void Gallery, 2001
Swan Of Yuggoth , The Void Gallery, 2001
The Submerged Forest , The Void Gallery, 2001
Tree of Light , The Void Gallery, 2001
The Estranged Attractor, Voyage Issue 11 July 2001, Regent Publications
Storm Vision, Bard Issue 002 2002, Atlantean Publishing
Dream Fractals I, Cold Print Feb 2002
Dream Fractals II (The Wave Function Of All Dreams), Cold Print Feb 2002
Maybe This Is Why, Fire No 18 Sept 2002
No Living, Fire No 18 Sept 2002
Thunder These Trees (Externity Now), Fire No 18 Sept 2002
Unspoken Poetry, Fire No 18 Sept 2002
Edge Of Zone, Harlequin III Feb 2002
Figure, Harlequin V Oct 2002
Angels Bring Us, Inclement Vol 2 Issue 4 Winter 2002
Lost Words, Inclement Vol 2 Issue 4 Winter 2002
Only Shadows, Inclement Vol 2 Issue 4 Winter 2002
Reflections In A Mirror, Inclement Vol 2 Issue 4 Winter 2002
By The Crimson Sea, Legend Issue 5 Spring/Summer 2002 Immediate Direction
Image To Dream, Legend Issue 5 Spring/Summer 2002 Immediate Direction
No Muse Of My Cold Heart, Moonstone 85 Candlemas Jan 2002
Votive, Moonstone 88 Samhain Nov 2002
Dark Anima, Moonstone 88 Samhain Nov 2002
In Extremis, Neon Highway Issue 2 Oct 2002
Loop Decay, Neon Highway Issue 2 Oct 2002
Waiting Here, Neon Highway Issue 2 Oct 2002
A Sleeping Form, Poetry Exchange , 2002
My Thoughts My Mirror, Pulsar Edition 2/02 30 June 2002 Ligden Publishers
Anthelion, Pulsar Edition 3/02 31 Sept 2002 Ligden Publishers
The Spiral Staircase, Pulsar Edition 3/02 31 Sept 2002 Ligden Publishers
To An Aesthete Dying Young, Pulsar Edition 4/02 32 Dec 2002 Ligden Publishers
There Are Many Roads To Space, Text Book Writing Through Literature, Bradford/St Martin's, 2002
Darkness Or Nothing, The Seventh Seal 5 Apr 2002
Don’t Ask Why, The Seventh Seal 5 Apr 2002
Lost Words, The Seventh Seal 5 Apr 2002
Only Shadows, The Seventh Seal 5 Apr 2002
Borderlands Of The World , The Void Gallery, 2002
Boredom (The Cage) , The Void Gallery, 2002
Clockwork Universe , The Void Gallery, 2002
Dark Anima , The Void Gallery, 2002
Externity Now , The Void Gallery, 2002
In These Solitudes , The Void Gallery, 2002
Infinite , The Void Gallery, 2002
Interference Phenomena , The Void Gallery, 2002
More Modern Still, The Void Gallery, 2002
No Philosophy , The Void Gallery, 2002
Poetry Moon Mirror , The Void Gallery, 2002
The Night Alone, Awen Issue 20 Feb 2003, Atlantean Publishing
Dialogue, Candelabrum Vol XI No 4, Red Candle Press, 2003
Depraved, Eclipse Issue 32 Oct 2003, Everyman Press,
Poetry Reading, Eclipse Issue 33 Dec 2003, Everyman Press,
A Sleeping Form, Fractured Muse, Atlantean Publishing, 2003
Angst, Fractured Muse, Atlantean Publishing, 2003
Chronotope, Fractured Muse, Atlantean Publishing, 2003
Depths, Fractured Muse, Atlantean Publishing, 2003
Dynasty Of Venus, Fractured Muse, Atlantean Publishing, 2003
Even The Fading Light, Fractured Muse, Atlantean Publishing, 2003
Fractured Muse, Fractured Muse, Atlantean Publishing, 2003
Implosion, Fractured Muse, Atlantean Publishing, 2003
No Philosophy, Fractured Muse, Atlantean Publishing, 2003
Pictures Of Distant Objects, Fractured Muse, Atlantean Publishing, 2003
Swan Of Yuggoth, Fractured Muse, Atlantean Publishing, 2003
The Ceremony, Fractured Muse, Atlantean Publishing, 2003
To An Aesthete Dying Young, Fractured Muse, Atlantean Publishing, 2003
Tower Of Silence, Fractured Muse, Atlantean Publishing, 2003
Twentieth Century Girl, Fractured Muse, Atlantean Publishing, 2003
We Are The Forgotten Ones, Fractured Muse, Atlantean Publishing, 2003
Chronotope, Fragments No 19 Other People Other Places Apr 2003
Moment, Fragments No 19 Other People Other Places Apr 2003
No Living, Fragments No 19 Other People Other Places Apr 2003
See, Fragments No 19 Other People Other Places Apr 2003
Tower Of Silence, Fragments No 20 That's Life! Jul 2003
Kiss The Peach, Fragments No 21 Improvisation Dec 2003
Only Shadows, Harlequin VI Feb 2003
Swan Of Yuggoth, Harlequin VII Jun 2003
Misplaced Poem, Inclement Vol 3 Issue 3 Autumn 2003
To The Temple, Inclement Vol 3 Issue 3 Autumn 2003
Always, Monomyth Vol 3.4 No 25 Issue 27 2003, Atlantean Publishing,
Are You Not, Monomyth Vol 3.4 No 25 Issue 27 2003 , Atlantean Publishing,
Darkness Of Secrets, Monomyth Vol 3.4 No 25 Issue 27 2003,Atlantean Publishing,
Insomnia, Monomyth Vol 3.4 No 25 Issue 27 2003,Atlantean Publishing,
Invisible Razors, Monomyth Vol 3.4 No 25 Issue 27 2003,Atlantean Publishing,
Kiss The Peach, Monomyth Vol 3.4 No 25 Issue 27 2003,Atlantean Publishing,
Moment, Monomyth Vol 3.4 No 25 Issue 27 2003,Atlantean Publishing,
Muse In Darkness, Monomyth Vol 3.4 No 25 Issue 27 2003,Atlantean Publishing,
Music Fades, Monomyth Vol 3.4 No 25 Issue 27 2003,Atlantean Publishing,
No Sensation, Monomyth Vol 3.4 No 25 Issue 27 2003,Atlantean Publishing,
Still Unruffled, Monomyth Vol 3.4 No 25 Issue 27 2003,Atlantean Publishing,
Underworld, Monomyth Vol 3.4 No 25 Issue 27 2003,Atlantean Publishing,
Most Adored, Moonstone 89 Imbolc Feb 2003
(Another), Outlaw 2 Spring 2003
Angst, Outlaw 2 Spring 2003
Even The Fading Light, Outlaw 2 Spring 2003
Fractured Muse, Outlaw 2 Spring 2003
Vision Impossible, Outlaw 2 Spring 2003
More Modern Still, Outlaw 3 Summer 2003
Dynasty Of Venus, Outlaw 5 Winter 2003
Hermetic Space, Outlaw 5 Winter 2003
Infinite, Outlaw 5 Winter 2003
Invisible Razors, Outlaw 5 Winter 2003
Moonlight Heaven, Outlaw 5 Winter 2003
Something Like This, Pulsar Edition 2/03 34 June 2003 Ligden Publishers
The Monolith, Pulsar Edition 4/03 36 Dec 2003 Ligden Publishers
New Fusion, The Brobdingnagian Times Broadsheet 26 Winter 2003
Out Of The Velvet Womb, The Void Gallery, 2003
Playing Chopin , The Void Gallery, 2003
Misplaced Poem, Anthology 1, Inclement Publishing, 2003
To The Temple, Anthology 1, Inclement Publishing, 2003
Exploring The Text, Avocado Autumn 2004, The Heaventree Press,
The Lost Book, Awen Issue 27 Apr 2004, Atlantean Publishing,
Even The Fading Light, Candelabrum Vol XI No 6, Red Candle Press,
You Looked The Other Way, Eclipse Issue 34 Feb 2004, Everyman Press,
Indigo Zenobia, Eclipse Issue 35 Apr 2004, Everyman Press,
Angels In A Heavenly Landscape, Fire No 22 Jan 2004,
A Secret Language (Trip Up Again), Fire No 24 Oct 2004,
Trip Up Poem, Fire No 24 Oct 2004,
Growing Up In Tiger Bay, Fragments No 22 Pictures & Poems Mar 2004,
Music Fades, Fragments No 23 Artists & Poets Jul 2004,
This Poem, Fragments No 23 Artists & Poets Jul 2004,
Image To Dream, Fragments No 24 Amazing & Wonderful Nov 2004
Spiral In The Dust, Harlequin VIII Apr 2004
But I Can See, Headstorms Vol 1 2004, Inclement Publishing,
Deathmasques I The Poet, Headstorms Vol 1 2004, Inclement Publishing
Life Into Shape, Headstorms Vol 1 2004, Inclement Publishing,
Deathmasques VI Silence, Midnight Street 2, Immediate Direction, 2004
Deathmasques I The Poet, Monomyth Supplement Issue 12 2004, Atlantean Publishing,
Deathmasques V The Renegade, Monomyth Supplement Issue 13 2004, Atlantean Publishing,
Nothing Is, Moonstone 94 Beltane May2004
Believe This, Moonstone 95 Lammas Aug 2004
Unknown, Neon Highway Issue 8 Aug 2004
Aspherical Test Control (Omega Lightning), Outlaw 8 Autumn 2004
Maybe This Is Why, Outlaw 8 Autumn 2004
Lost Masterpiece, Pulsar Edition 1/04 37 Mar 2004, Ligden Publishers
Relatively Cool, Pulsar Edition 2/04 38 June 2004, Ligden Publishers
This Poem, Pulsar Edition 3/04 39 Sept 2004, Ligden Publishers
Even Anarchists, Pulsar Edition 4/04 40 Dec 2004, Ligden Publishers
Entranced, The Bard Issue 1 A C Evans, Atlantean Publishing, 2004
Fragment, The Bard Issue 1 A C Evans, Atlantean Publishing, 2004
Images Of Others, The Bard Issue 1 A C Evans, Atlantean Publishing, 2004
Into Thin Air, The Bard Issue 1 A C Evans, Atlantean Publishing, 2004
Lost In Mist, The Bard Issue 1 A C Evans, Atlantean Publishing, 2004
No View, The Bard Issue 1 A C Evans, Atlantean Publishing, 2004
Relatively Cool, The Bard Issue 1 A C Evans , Atlantean Publishing, 2004
Shattered Some Dreams, The Bard Issue 1 A C Evans, Atlantean Publishing, 2004
The Eye Caught In A Mirror, The Bard Issue 1 A C Evans, Atlantean Publishing, 2004
Automatic Door , The Void Gallery, 2004
Exploring The Text , The Void Gallery, 2004
Magical Flight, The Void Gallery, 2004
Negation And Prelude , The Void Gallery, 2004
The Dark Macabre Totentanz, The Void Gallery, 2004
Third Eye Amusement Arcade Meltdown, The Void Gallery, 2004
Undercover Nightmare , The Void Gallery, 2004
Magical Flight, Awen Issue 36 Oct 2005, Atlantean Publishing,
Relatively Cool, Fragments No 25 Brief Encounter 2005
Beautiful Chaos, Fragments No 26 One More Time Sept 2005
Not The Cloudy Sky, Harlequin IX Feb 2005
Negation And Prelude, Harlequin X Oct 2005
The Necromancer's Wife, Harlequin X Oct 2005
Vespula Vanishes, Inclement Vol 5 Issue 3 Autumn 2005
Only Shadows, Moonstone 95 Lammas Aug 2005
Be Careful On The Stairs, Pulsar Edition 1/05 41 Mar 2005, Ligden Publishers
Lost In Mist, Pulsar Edition 1/05 41 Mar 2005, Ligden Publishers
Danger (Midnight Street), Pulsar Edition 4/05 44 Dec 2005, Ligden Publishers
Advice To A Young Poet, The Supplement Issue 22 2005, Atlantean Publishing,
When You See My Grave, The Supplement Issue 24 2005, Atlantean Publishing,
(Another), The Supplement Issue 25 2005, Atlantean Publishing,
The Dark Macabre Totentanz, Awen Issue 42 Oct 2006 Atlantean Publishing,
Flashback Phantoms, Bard Issue 049 2006 Atlantean Publishing,
Dada Radar, Fragments No 27 The Last One Feb 2006
Waiting Here, Fragments No 27 The Last One Feb 2006
Depths, Inclement Vol 6 Issue 1 Spring 2006
Lost In Mist, Inclement Vol 6 Issue 1 Spring 2006
The Spiral Staircase, Inclement Vol 6 Issue 1 Spring 2006
You Looked The Other Way, Inclement Vol 6 Issue 1 Spring 2006
Flashback Phantoms, Inclement Vol 6 Issue 2 Summer 2006
Ice Sun Moon, Inclement Vol 6 Issue 2 Summer 2006
Reach For The Skyline, Inclement Vol 6 Issue 2 Summer 2006
Skies In Her Eyes, Inclement Vol 6 Issue 2 Summer 2006
A New Reality, Inclement Vol 6 Issue 3 Autumn 2006
Bye Bye Kitty Hell Bunny, Inclement Vol 6 Issue 3 Autumn 2006
Lust For A Vampire (Mircalla), Inclement Vol 6 Issue 3 Autumn 2006
Memories Mid-Distance, Inclement Vol 6 Issue 3 Autumn 2006
Can You Explain, Inclement Vol 6 Issue 4 Winter 2006
Hot Is The New Cool, Inclement Vol 6 Issue 4 Winter 2006
Slave Mask, Inclement Vol 6 Issue 4 Winter 2006
Vikki Verso, Monomyth Vol 6.3 Issue 39 2006 Atlantean Publishing,
Memory In The Making, Pulsar Edition 2/06 46 Sept 2006 Ligden Publishers
Darkness Or Nothing, The Argotist, 2006
Exploring The Text, The Argotist, 2006
Flesh Creep The World The Flesh And The Devil, The Argotist, 2006
Indigo Zenobia, The Argotist, 2006
Relatively Cool, The Argotist, 2006
Third Eye Amusement Arcade Meltdown, The Argotist, 2006
Beautiful Chaos, Awen Issue 44 Feb 2007, Atlantean Publishing,
Flesh Creep The World The Flesh And The Devil, Awen Issue 45 Apr 2007, Atlantean Publishing
Automatic Door, Fire No 28 Jun 2007,
Poetry Is A Dangerous Place, Garbaj Issue 31 Nov 2007, Atlantean Publishing
Dead End I, Inclement Vol 7 Issue 2 Summer 2007
Dead End II, Inclement Vol 7 Issue 2 Summer 2007
Masquerade, Inclement Vol 7 Issue 2 Summer 2007
Slave Mask, The Dark Tower Volume 3 The Black Throne, Atlantean Publishing, 2007
A New Reality, Vespula Vanishes & Other Poems, Inclement Publishing, 2007
Angels Bring Us, Vespula Vanishes & Other Poems, Inclement Publishing, 2007
Bye Bye Kitty Hell Bunny, Vespula Vanishes & Other Poems, Inclement Publishing, 2007
Can You Explain, Vespula Vanishes & Other Poems, Inclement Publishing, 2007
Dead End I, Vespula Vanishes & Other Poems, Inclement Publishing, 2007
Dead End II, Vespula Vanishes & Other Poems, Inclement Publishing, 2007
Depths, Vespula Vanishes & Other Poems, Inclement Publishing, 2007
Flashback Phantoms, Vespula Vanishes & Other Poems, Inclement Publishing, 2007
Hot Is The New Cool, Vespula Vanishes & Other Poems, Inclement Publishing, 2007
Ice Sun Moon, Vespula Vanishes & Other Poems, Inclement Publishing, 2007
Lost In Mist, Vespula Vanishes & Other Poems, Inclement Publishing, 2007
Lost Words, Vespula Vanishes & Other Poems, Inclement Publishing, 2007
Lust For A Vampire (Mircalla), Vespula Vanishes & Other Poems, Inclement Publishing, 2007
Masquerade, Vespula Vanishes & Other Poems, Inclement Publishing, 2007
Memories Mid-Distance, Vespula Vanishes & Other Poems, Inclement Publishing, 2007
Misplaced Poem, Vespula Vanishes & Other Poems, Inclement Publishing, 2007
Only Shadows, Vespula Vanishes & Other Poems, Inclement Publishing, 2007
Reach For The Skyline, Vespula Vanishes & Other Poems, Inclement Publishing, 2007
Reflections In A Mirror, Vespula Vanishes & Other Poems, Inclement Publishing, 2007
Skies In Her Eyes, Vespula Vanishes & Other Poems, Inclement Publishing, 2007
Slave Mask, Vespula Vanishes & Other Poems, Inclement Publishing, 2007
The Spiral Staircase, Vespula Vanishes & Other Poems, Inclement Publishing, 2007
To The Temple, Vespula Vanishes & Other Poems, Inclement Publishing, 2007
Vespula Vanishes, Vespula Vanishes & Other Poems, Inclement Publishing, 2007
You Looked The Other Way, Vespula Vanishes & Other Poems, Inclement Publishing, 2007
The Vision Of Morgan Le Fay, Awen Issue 55 Dec 2008, Atlantean Publishing
Weird Stuff, Bard Issue 068 2008, Atlantean Publishing,
So Not Funny (Radio Edit), Garbaj Issue 32 Feb 2008, Atlantean Publishing
A Poke In The Rye, Garbaj Issue 34 Aug 2008, Atlantean Publishing
Mutt, Garbaj Issue 34 Aug 2008, Atlantean Publishing
Some News Just In (Smile Please), Garbaj Issue 34 Aug 2008, Atlantean Publishing
Stubbylee Park, Garbaj Issue 34 Aug 2008, Atlantean Publishing
A Scandal In Crewe, Garbaj Issue 35 Dec 2008, Atlantean Publishing
Daft!, Garbaj Issue 35 Dec 2008, Atlantean Publishing
Trendy!, Garbaj Issue 35 Dec 2008, Atlantean Publishing
Boo Galaxy, Handshake No 75 Oct 2008, Dunnock Press,
Dream Scanner, Handshake No 75 Oct 2008, Dunnock Press
Tonight The Clouds, Handshake No 75 Oct 2008, Dunnock Press
Dark Anima, Harlequin XIII Columbine Sept 2008
We Vampires, Haunting Tales, Atlantean Publishing, 2008
Automatic Door, Inclement Poetry Magazine, 2008
Bye Bye Kitty Hell Bunny, Inclement Poetry Magazine, 2008
Flashback Phantoms, Inclement Poetry Magazine, 2008
Hot Is The New Cool, Inclement Poetry Magazine, 2008
South Of Suburbia, Inclement Poetry Magazine, 2008
Thunder These Trees (Externity Now), Inclement Poetry Magazine, 2008
Miles Above, Inclement Vol 8 Issue 2 Summer 2008
Nothing Else, Inclement Vol 8 Issue 2 Summer 2008,
South Of Suburbia, Inclement Vol 8 Issue 2 Summer 2008,
Mute Witness, Monomyth Vol 8.2 Issue 44 2008 , Atlantean Publishing
No Hope Now, Neon Highway Issue 13 Aug 2008
Forget Latex Love (LUV 2288), Old Rossum's Book Of Practical Robots, Atlantean Publishing, 2008
Beauty Is Freedom, Stride Magazine Apr 2008
Lucky Stars, Stride Magazine Apr 2008
Sexy Solitaire (I Want To Be Alone), Stride Magazine Apr 2008
Stone Heart Sleepwalker, Stride Magazine Apr 2008
The Scavenger's Daughter, Stride Magazine Apr 2008
Thinking About Surfacing, Stride Magazine Apr 2008
Too Much Like Real Life, The Penniless Press 29, 2008
Free Speech Today (Oxford Union), The Supplement Issue 38 January 2008Atlantean Publishing
Could Be Anywhere, Awen Issue 61 Dec 2009, Atlantean Publishing,
Edge Of Zone, Awen Issue 61 Dec 2009, Atlantean Publishing,
Dream Of Aldeberan, Bard Issue 074 2009, Atlantean Publishing,
Misericordia, Bard Issue 075 2009, Atlantean Publishing,
Eclogue, Bard Issue 077 2009, Atlantean Publishing,
A Sleeping Form, Carillon Issue 24 Jun 2009
Dream Scanner, Carillon Issue 24 Jun 2009
Shattered Some Dreams, Carillon Issue 24 Jun 2009
A Poem Like This, Curlew Issue 65 Dec 2009
Couture And Anarchy, Curlew Issue 65 Dec 2009
Perfect Storm, Curlew Issue 65 Dec 2009
Remembrance, Curlew Issue 65 Dec 2009
Stone Heart Sleepwalker, Curlew Issue 65 Dec 2009
As The Footsteps Fade Away, Fire No 31 Apr 2009
Fragile, Fire No 31 Apr 2009
Listen To The Voice, Fire No 31 Apr 2009
Credibility Street, Garbaj Issue 36 Feb 2009 Atlantean Publishing,
A Friend In Southend, Garbaj Issue 37 May 2009 Atlantean Publishing,
Being Posthuman, Handshake No 77 Jun 2009 Dunnock Press

Listen To The Voice, Inclement Vol 9 Issue 1 Spring 2009
Still She Stands, Inclement Vol 9 Issue 1 Spring 2009
The Silver Ghost, Inclement Vol 9 Issue 1 Spring 2009
From Yesterday, Pulsar Edition 1/09 51 Mar 2009 Ligden Publishers

illus: Fractured Muse, Atlantean Publishing 2003