ThE LOWRY LOUNGE
Malcolm Lowry reclining in
a deck chair at Dollarton, 1945 (University of British Columbia Library,
Rare Books and Special
Collections, Malcolm Lowry Collection, BC 1614/07)
The 2012
Lowry Lounge at the Bluecoat
Saturday 27 October
11am-6pm
The Bluecoat’s annual celebration of Wirral-born writer Malcolm Lowry (author
of Under the Volcano) comprises a psychogeographical walking tour of
Liverpool with artist Colin Dilnot and an afternoon at the Bluecoat including
the launch of The Firminist No 3, an occasional journal of all things
Lowry, performances, talks and music.
THE
PROGRAMME
Part
One: 11am-1pm. The Walk: Lowry's Many-voiced Mersey
A walk around Liverpool with Lowry
fanatic Colin Dilnot that will explore the streets in Lowry's 'terrible city',
heading to the Mersey, the writer's ‘risk-laden escape route from lunacy into
uncertainty’. Assemble at the Bluecoat and finish there. Come prepared for
inclement weather. Limited capacity so book early.
1-2pm
break – refreshments available from the
Bluecoat’s Espresso or Bistro
Part
Two at the Bluecoat: 2-6pm. The Lounge:
Launch of The Firminist No 3
This occasional journal dedicated to
Lowry has a music focus this time and is introduced by its editor Mark Goodall.
Bryan Biggs and Cathy Butterworth: From Allerton to Dollarton
Audio visual presentation inspired
by their recent trip to Vancouver in search of Lowry.
Robert Sheppard: David Markson & Lowry
David Markson (1927-2010) got
to know Lowry while writing a thesis on Under The Volcano and went on to develop his own
distinctive style. His Wittgenstein's Mistress has been described
as ‘pretty much the high point of experimental fiction in this country (USA)’. Robert Sheppard
has been searching David Markson's late novels for hints of Lowry. He found
some, will read some of them, and will attempt to say why he has become so
captivated by these anti-novels.
Mark Goodall: The Sinister Quarter: Malcolm Lowry and Ivan
Chtcheglov
Film and discussion of how Lowry’s writing influenced the radical
post-war Paris scene that spawned Situationism, focusing on Ivan Chtcheglov, whose
tragic life echoed Lowry’s own.
Annick
Drösdal-Levillain: Lowry and the Norse
Resonance
Exploration by French Lowry expert of Lowry’s Nordic connection,
based on bio-bibliographical miscellanea.
Helen
Tookey and Cathy Butterworth: “Darling, why did I leave?
Why did you let me?”
Spoken word performance drawing on
Lowry’s ‘lost correspondence’ in Under
the Volcano, using postcards, written from the heart, left over a few weeks
by visitors to the Bluecoat.
Toast
to Lowry
Film: Dziga Vertov’s Man
With A Movie Camera (1929) (68
mins)
An extraordinary piece of filmmaking,
a montage of urban Russian life showing people at work and at play, and the
machines that keep the city going. Vertov's first full-length film, it uses a
variety of cinematic techniques - dissolves, split screen, slow motion and
freeze-frames - to create an exhilarating montage. It was included in the 1929-30
Cambridge Film Guild season attended by Lowry, who later imbued his writing
with a literary version of montage taken from films like Man With A Movie
Camera.
Throughout:
musical interludes from Bryan Biggs on the decks
–––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––
Tickets: The Walk £5 (places limited)/Lowry
Lounge £3/combined ticket £6: available from the Bluecoat Tickets & Information, 0151
702 5324
