Page 22 Economical with the Truth Eccentric

I have become increasingly In Avignon at the height of its annual

interested in reading. Not only festival of theatre and art, people did
the text being read but where the react differently when I was reading my
reading is taking place. I'm thinking book Tar From The Madding Crowd* -
here of reading to oneself not readinga book that my wife found in a skip and
aloud to others something that as gave to me - in different places. At one
poet/artist I'm often asked to do. Thepoint I placed my hat in front of me as I
act of reading something particularly stood and quietly read to mysetf in the
books. Where and when the reading middle of the central square. A man
takes place including the difference put some money in it and once he old
between doing this personal act in that others picked up on my reading to
private or public, inside or out. myself as performance and followed suiL
Chapter 6 bought me lunch. This was
Look I Am Reading - LIAR - was firstperhaps because they were in Avignon
performed at the Avignon Festival at Festival time and were expecting
2008. 1 had been asked to read at strange performances but stiH without
the festival which meant 'read your a sign the simple act of moving my
poems out loud for people'. It got me reading from cafe table to standing in the
thinking about the act of reading to square was picked up on as different as
oneself as performance: performance.

Where is it acceptable to read to What about somewhere that wasn't

oneself in public and what messages hosting a festival? Birmingham Bullring
are we giving out when we do this? shopping centre was the next piace i tnec
out LIAR. I stood quietly in the centre
How do we change the space we are of the Bullring mall aisle and started to
in when we read to ourselves? read. Exactly 27 minutes into my reading
How do others perceive us when they I was asked by security to stop reacnc
see us in the act of reading? and leave. I didn't argue but noted that
Does what we are reading change stood not two metres away from me *BS
someone's perception of us? a man on his mobile phone who had beer
Does where we are change the way there when I arrived and was still there
people perceive us when reading? as book in hand I was escorted from the
Bullring. The act of reading somehow
In LIAR I am exploring all of the wasn't acceptable whereas the actrg of
above and perhaps more that will talking on the phone in the same space
reveal itself in the act of performing was.
LIAR in different places, spaces, and
times. I will be taking LIAR out into dgfcicat
tocafions over the coming months arc
When we read in a cafe, on a train, or would Uce to invite readers of Eccenrc
a city bench we are at once draBBBg to, rather than read EC
attention to Durse-.-e; : '. =sc places and get
perhaps giving out me rressace ~s.: _ i, read it in
we'd rather be left alone, it draws norms paces are semi photographs ir,
attention to us whilst at the same of themselves ram se..
time rendering us socially invisible. Eccentric C** a
In LIAR I move the reading process do perhaps
further and further into public spaces and other such aa
where one normally doesn't read. photographs to show
The act is the same but the space
ifs done in is perhaps not what's Suggested reading and readm^
expected. Standing in the middle, of Please email me directly at im- ,,, „«
a shopping street In an aisle inside ntlworld.com
a furniture, ck>thing or some other
non-book related shop. On a public by Paul Conned*
stairway.

EXCELLENT, SUPURB ECCENTRIC COUNTERCULTURE, EG

visited the Bristol Anarchist Book fair in Sept 2008.