Round 10: Poetry

Speaking with Reindeer

Speech:/ the antler of the mind

(Robert Bringhurst – ‘A Quadratic Equation’)

I admired his cap of antlers –

ideas forking from his scalp,

yet struggled with his voice,

which bellowed like a stag.

They studied his awkward gait,

his upright stance, his lack

of language. And like a preacher,

he didn’t know how to listen.

                               

I wanted to hear what they knew

about the quality of tundra

the taste of cloudburst berries;

what deer feel about snow.

I saw a herd, splodgy brown,

reverse freckles. Unafraid.

They scented me, trotted off –

a force of winter forest –

ideas intact, their knowledge

still out of my grasp. Yet,

like meeting someone famous,

what would I have said?

Katrina Naomi

Round 9: Art

Round 8: Poetry

What the Crocodile Taught Me

I swooned at the large god of him, sunning,

a tooth for every day of my life.

He performed his run along the bank,

as males do. I brought my boat closer,

he took to following, at a distance.

I wasn’t taken in, knew his four-chambered heart

could pump love out and in, in and out,

knew his tongue had few good uses,

knew all about his grin. Whoever said he was cold-

blooded has never truly known this beast.

He brought out the prehistoric in me. I dived.

We swam, belly to belly, swam to where the Niles meet,

tussled as we thrashed among the weeds. After, I lay

the length of him, a limestone lilo, studs patterning

my skin. He smiled at me, often. Taught me all he knew.

Years later, when a man tried to drag me under,

I practised the force my lover had held back –

levered my small jaws open to their fullest extent,

splashed them down on the human’s arm.

My attacker still carries the mark of my smile.

Katrina Naomi

Round 7: Art

Crocodile, pencil on paper, 21.5 cm by 30 cm June 2012

Round 6: Poetry

Bearskin

I like noughts and crosses      hangman

played a lot of that with the kids

makes me a bit nostalgic      You don’t mind?

Only I don’t see them anymore

haven’t done for years      I still think of them

as kids      still      they’re grown up now

probably got kids of their own

I get a card from my eldest at xmas

it cracks me up      seeing her

handwriting      I blame the wife      don’t remember

hitting her      I joined that fathers’ group

clambered about on rooftops      a bit undignified

for a soldier      I’ve calmed down now      Needed to

I used to travel      a lot      Too much

Got up to some things I shouldn’t of

specially for a soldier      Word got around

In ’98 or maybe ’97      I passed out on parade    

dropped my gun      Everyone was kind     

For a while      I really tried      You believe me?

And then      there was the drink      Still is    

I’m not boring you?      Only I miss my mates     

in the guard      miss my kids      miss Janey

Did I tell you I had to go away for a bit?

I used to love that bearskin

Katrina Naomi

Round 5: Art

Soldiers and contour drawing

This was a difficult couple of weeks for me. Music and particular punk are very important to me, they pulled me into art and adulthood. Critical distance is important, but Katrina's poem was a challenge which I wanted to take on. Since Peter Saville designed the Unknown pleasures album cover and Jamie Reid made cut ups Punks means of communication I was never going to look at the world in the same way. Punk and its consequent waves of influence, and our early relationship are forever entwined.

Round 4: Poetry

Jubilee

Punk’s gobby charm largely passed me by,

lost in a chasm between disco and metal.

I’ll admit to a headbanger award at Dreamland,

(a 50’s frock in a sea of denim), split ends thrashing

to Mötorhead’s Overkill; yet, still too shy

to compete as a disco champ, unlike Emin.  

And while I flitted between the pages of Sounds,

you were NME. I shouldn’t sneer; we got together

to Smash It Up, never to be DLT’s kind of couple.

And while I loved the women’s spikes and chains,

who could afford ‘Sex’ on the Kings Road?

And I saw Rotten once with PIL (so much better

than the Pistols) he walked off after 20 minutes.

I disliked him then and now. This is heresy to you,

with your three pairs of bondage trousers,

your home-stencilled Combat shirts –

I knew no one like you in Margate. And now,

Reid’s pins hold a number to a marathon vest,

punters paying to advertise two companies

for 3 hours, 39 minutes. Today, you’ll thread

a safety pin through your lapel. And while I dance

to Sister Sledge, I’ll loosen my hair for the Sabbath.

Katrina Naomi 11 May 2012

Round 3: Art

Round 2: Poetry

Fledgling

A corner of your room’s lined with the stuffing of pillows,

pieces of speckled shell. I’ve seen you perch on the ledge,

half out, half in, not knowing whether you’ll jump or soar.

I think of those men who strapped on heavy plumage,

stood on cliffs and faced the breeze; those scientists

who studied the dinosaur of feathers. You’re still waiting

for your tiny wings to sprout, for your fall to earth

to be spectacular, your legs greeting the ground, travelling

up through your pelvis and into your guts. And I think

of Amelia Earhart, knowing just how much to believe

in herself. You sit in the cold air, a boy and the moon,

calling to your new friends, safe in their branches,

as you test your language, fashioning yourself on a finch.

Your eyes glitter; a dish of worms writhe at your side.

In the morning, I’ll unravel the strings of my kite.

Katrina Naomi 20 April 2012

Round 1: Art

Birdman

The Argument: Art V Poetry

Process

Katrina Naomi and Tim Ridley are collaborating to spar with each other to produce poetry and art. Tim will post a piece of visual art within the next two weeks, which Katrina will respond to with a poem, again within two weeks. They will continue this process until ten pieces of work are produced: five art works, five poems.

About

Tim is a visual artist whose concerns are division and opposition in contemporary society. He graduated from Chelsea in 2011, where he won the Ovalhouse prize. http://www.timridley.co.uk 
Follow @tim_ridley 


Katrina's first full poetry collection The Girl with the Cactus Handshake was shortlisted for the London New Poetry Award. She is a PhD student in Creative Writing at Goldsmiths, with a focus on violence in poetry. http://www.katrinanaomi.co.uk

Follow @KatrinaNaomi
 
Tim and Katrina are long-term partners. This is their first artistic collaboration.