Graham Lindsay

Collaborating with Graham Lindsay on ‘The Subject,’ 2004

Alex van den Broek

Working with Graham Lindsay on setting some of his poems to music was a very interesting and fun experience. My lecturer Elaine Dobson told me about Graham's poetry and that he was indeed the 2004 Ursula Bethell Writer in Residence at Canterbury University. I set about reading some of his poetry and went to him with some of the poems that had caught my eye. He told me what poems he was happy for me to work with, and I proceeded from there. I met Graham throughout my work on the music and we talked about everything from the poetry to the technicalities of the performance, art and being an artist.

Our conversations also led us to discover how important sound was in poetry (and consequently how it was performed), and I also realised how important it was for me to not hinder this in the music.

I’m also pleased Graham enjoyed the experience and the music. Graham is a very generous and thoughtful person and it was a delight to work with him, I also learnt so much about his poetry and poetry in general.

‘The Subject’ was performed 10 October 2004 at the University of Canterbury School of Music. Composer: Alex van den Broek. Performers: Peter Dykes (oboe), Alys Cordeaux (soprano), Steven Fischer (percussion) and Iain Brandram-Adams. (cello)

• Tangi
     lo-fi (rm : 1.0MB, streaming)
     hi-fi (mp3 : 5.0MB ) 
• Crisis
     lo-fi (rm : 980KB, streaming)
     hi-fi (mp3 : 4.7MB ) 
• To say nothing of
     lo-fi (rm : 400KB, streaming)
     hi-fi (mp3 : 1.9MB ) 

Text from The Subject by Graham Lindsay (Auckland UP, 1994): ‘Tangi,’ ‘Crisis,’ ‘To say nothing of.’

Tangi

Bird prints in the sand
sea tulips like drowned hands.
We need each other

in ways we recover.
The pilot boat lures

the vast shadow of a freighter
while fishing boats glide toward dawn
dogs on a far farm bark.

                                    Tide drains
from the knock-kneed harbour
the clouds turn orange

then pink then grey

Crisis

Mad disposal

of traces at the dangerous
opportunity for change clutching

notebook to abdomen, guts on the line
stories of loneliness

and appreciation, 'self-portrait'
to quote an accent
the need to be

interrupted

and free from interruption as the opportunity
for dangerous change liberates
constraint

To say nothing of

Let
go get

before words
get ahead

before you start writing
again

        why writing?

Because it gets
in the way comes

between us
and the world, aspires

to say nothing
of

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Last updated 23 December, 2003