Murmuration
Chris Jones reading the poem ‘Murmuration’ outside Bloc Projects, Sheffield, Saturday 30 March 2013. The reading was part of a poetry walk led by Matthew Clegg and Chris Jones to coincide with ‘The Song of Meeting and Parting’, a new artwork by Paul Evans. A short film of Jones and Clegg reading poems further along the route can be found here.
Skin
Prose poem by Chris Jones. Recorded in Sheffield city centre, 12 October 2012. Commissioned by Paul Evans for the Tissues and Organs collaborative project; a short film (comprising this recording and seven photographs by Karl Hurst) was developed for and screened as part of ‘Longbarrow Press: Scale’ at Bloc Projects, Sheffield, in October 2012. View the film here.
Lost
‘Lost’ (2006) was originally presented as a visual poem in collaboration with the Dutch Graphic Design studio Renascent: a film that highlighted animation, reflection and typography, and which was shown on three plasma screens in the foyer of the Millennium Galleries, Sheffield, in late 2006. The film can be viewed here. This audio version recorded for the Sideways & Familiar city walk in Sheffield city centre, September 2009.
Death and the Gallant: The Adoration of the Magi
Two men move from church to church in a remote valley looking for the remnants of Catholic wall art to destroy. Chris Jones’s sequence ‘Death and the Gallant’, which will appear in the forthcoming Longbarrow Press anthology ‘The Footing’, explores iconoclasm in seventeenth century English culture. The poems focus on the relationship between Brown and the narrator as they travel towards a final reckoning. This is the first poem in the sequence.
Death and the Gallant: A Reckoning
The second poem in Jones’ Death and the Gallant sequence.
Miniatures vii
From the 2007 pamphlet Miniatures (Longbarrow Press). Recorded in the poet’s garden, summer 2008.
Thor’s Cave
Commissioned by Paul Evans for the 7 Wonders exhibition at the Cupola Gallery, Sheffield, spring 2010. ‘Thor’s Cave (also known as Thor’s House Cavern and Thyrsis’s Cave) is a natural cavern located in the Manifold Valley of the White Peak in Staffordshire.’
Cloud Lines
Commissioned by the artist Paul Evans for the 7 Wonders exhibition at the Cupola Gallery, Sheffield, spring 2010. ‘Hen Cloud, along with The Roaches (from the French les roches – the rocks) and Ramshaw Rocks forms a prominent gritstone escarpment situated above Leek and Tittesworth Reservoir. This ridge, with its spectacular rock formations, rises steeply to 505m. In the 1930s five Australian Bennett’s wallabies were released into the wild from a private collection. A small colony is believed to continue to live there.’
‘Swifts shape a fly-by…’
Swifts shape a fly-by, / their high, riotous piercings, / and one year’s shot past.
Posted on Day 2 of Call & Response (@Callhaiku, 20-30 September 2012). Recorded in Crookes Valley Park, Sheffield, 13 July 2012.
‘Up at five, blackbirds…’
Up at five, blackbirds / chirr, shrill, chatter; tuning in / through all that crackle.
Posted on Day 5 of Call & Response (@Callhaiku, 20-30 September 2012). Recorded in Crookes Valley Park, Sheffield, 13 July 2012.
‘Jays on Winter Street…’
Jays on Winter Street / skaak and screech; pink as knuckles / in this flaying rain.
Posted on Day 8 of Call & Response (@Callhaiku, 20-30 September 2012). Recorded in Crookes Valley Park, Sheffield, 13 July 2012.
‘Whinchats flit and whirr…’
Whinchats flit and whirr, / throwing out short jags of song / to tether the air.
Posted on Day 10 of Call & Response (@Callhaiku, 20-30 September 2012). Recorded in Crookes Valley Park, Sheffield, 13 July 2012.
Wicker
Three haiku and two tanka commissioned by Off the Shelf literature festival in 2007. The poems were to be blasted into sandstone as part of a new riverside development (work on which appears to have been postponed indefinitely). Read more about the commission (and the full text of the poems) here. Recorded near Blonk Street, Sheffield, on the banks of the River Don, 28 September 2008, and included on a limited 3″ CD produced for The river, the road poetry walk led by Matthew Clegg and Chris Jones on 1 November 2008.
Moving with Thought: two poems
Two poems by Chris Jones (developed from the Moving with thought walk and workshop focused on the Kelham Island, Neepsend and Parkwood districts of Sheffield). Recorded on Garden Street, Sheffield, Saturday 23 June 2012.
The river, the road (Matthew Clegg and Chris Jones)
Recorded around and along the River Don, Sheffield, 28 September 2008. This sequence was issued as a limited 3″ CD and given away to the audience for the poetry walk led by Matthew Clegg and Chris Jones on 1 November 2008. The walk began at Blonk Street NCP and followed the River Don north (with several detours and interruptions) for an hour-and-a-half before finishing in Neepsend. Poems featured: ‘Wicker’, ‘The Factory’, ‘Kingfishers’, ‘Drift’, ‘Neepsend’, ‘Dun’, ‘Bridges’, ‘East’ and ‘Otter Cliff’ by Chris Jones’; Watchers’, ‘Sirens’, ‘Attercliffe’ and ‘Edgelands’ (extracts) by Matthew Clegg.
The river, the road: intro to walk (Matthew Clegg and Chris Jones)
Introduction to the 2008 Sheffield poetry walk led by Matthew Clegg and Chris Jones. Chris (the first speaker on this recording) and Matthew are addressing a group of 30 people outside the NCP multi-storey car park on Blonk Street at 11am. Matthew explains the rationale behind the poetry walk, while Chris makes some observations regarding the history and development of the riverside. The introduction concludes with Matthew’s reading of his poem ‘Between train and tram stop’ (from the sequence Officer, Longbarrow Press 2007). Recorded live in Sheffield, Saturday 1 November 2008.
The river, the road II (Matthew Clegg and Chris Jones)
From the 2008 Sheffield poetry walk led by Matthew Clegg and Chris Jones. Matthew (the first speaker on this recording) and Chris are addressing a group of 30 people outside the new Central Quay student flats (near the banks of the River Don) shortly after 11am. This excerpt comprises Matthew’s reading of his poem ‘Holding Back’ (from the sequence Care) and Chris’s readings of ‘The Factory’ and ‘The Workshop’ (from the sequence At The End Of The Road, A River). Recorded live in Sheffield, Saturday 1 November 2008.
Sideways & Familiar (Andrew Hirst and Chris Jones)
Recorded in several locations in and around Sheffield city centre, Sunday 13 September 2009. This sequence was issued as a limited 3″ CD and presented to the audience for the poetry walk led by Andrew Hirst and Chris Jones on 17 October 2009. The walk began at the main train station in Sheffield (with readings in the goods yard), continuing to Brown Street (via a stepped passageway) for a further reading, on to a semi-enclosed space adjacent to FirstPoint (near Norfolk Street) for the third reading, through the Winter Gardens and into Upper Chapel courtyard for the fourth reading, past Sheffield Cathedral and down a side street for the fifth reading, and through a series of narrow passageways opening into Paradise Square for the final reading (where the poets were accompanied by the musician Kerry McMullen on violin).
Sideways & Familiar (Andrew Hirst, Chris Jones, Kerry McMullen)
The final section of the ‘Sideways & Familiar’ Sheffield poetry walk led by Andrew Hirst and Chris Jones and joined in Paradise Square by the musician Kerry McMullen. The walk, which started from the central train station, was designed to illuminate some of the iconic and historic sites of the city and explore the lesser known walkways that cut through the centre. The audience was guided to Paradise Square via a narrow, winding passage, to be met by the unexpected sight and sound of McMullen’s music filling the otherwise deserted square. Poems in order of appearance: Chris Jones: ‘Beyond the City’ (excerpt); Andrew Hirst: ‘Frome XI’; Chris Jones: ‘Ones That Get Away’. Recorded in Sheffield, Saturday 17 October 2009.
Sideways & Familiar II (Andrew Hirst and Chris Jones)
The penultimate section of the ‘Sideways & Familiar’ Sheffield poetry walk led by Andrew Hirst and Chris Jones. This section was recorded in a small, busy back street off Campo Lane. Poems in order of appearance: Chris Jones: ‘Porter’, ‘Early’; Andrew Hirst: ‘Frome XIX’. Recorded in Sheffield, Saturday 17 October 2009.
Longbarrow Press 