What do you do?
The things that (don’t) need doing: poetry, philosophy, music, etc.
When did you get into it?
I remember studying Coleridge in Year 7 and hearing something click.
Who or what influences you as an artist?
I don’t know, but these are some of the people I’ve been reading recently: Prynne, Marx, Guest, O’Hara, Ammons, Sebald, Hegel, Creeley, Santner, Nancy, Dickinson, Hopkins, Bernstein, Adorno, Hejinian, Palmer and Duncan. This week my brain has been rewired repeatedly by a book called Better than Language (Ganzfeld Press).
What’s your biggest achievement/proudest moment so far?
I taught my dog a trick where she falls from a run and does a flip/barrel roll.
What are your plans for the future?
I like to think John Forbes was right:
if you take care of the art
your sister, Life
takes care of the human part.
If there’s a plan, that’s it.
What makes you laugh?
My wife Emilie. Mark Carmody. Kafka.
What pisses you off?
Cynical reason. The art/life distinction. Hard work considered as a virtue.
What’s your opinion of the local scene?
The poetry world is small, so I’ll take local to mean “Australian” and say that I have a high opinion of it: poetry here is stronger now than ever. If you don’t believe me, read Robert Adamson, Peter Minter, LK Holt, Jaya Savige, MTC Cronin, Jordie Albiston, John Kinsella, Paul Magee, Lionel Fogarty and Ania Walwicz (though you really need to see her perform!).
What are your upcoming performances/exhibitions?
My first book – wild inaudible – will be published soon by Australian Poetry.
My band Life and Limb has shows coming up: Saturday October 29 at Black Wire in Sydney and Saturday November 5 at The Phoenix in Canberra. We’ll be putting out a new record soon. We play punkish music.
Contact info:
mathewabbott@gmail.com
beetleinabox.tumblr.com
www.australianpoetry.org
lifeandlimbmusic.tumblr.com
