I don’t know the origins or accuracy of the following map, but came across this on Facebook claiming to represent the most influential/popular/highest-earning-achievement-of music artists/bands from each state making up the USA.

In continuing my Nebraska themed posts (after some absence), I have reserached the background to Mannheim Sreamroller a little who did began their musical career in Omaha, the place of my birth.

According to Wikipedia,

‘Mannheim Steamroller is an American neoclassical new-age music ensemble founded and directed by percussionist/composer Chip Davis in 1974. The group is known primarily for its Fresh Aire series of albums, which blend classical music with elements of new age and rock, and for its modern recordings of Christmas music. The group has sold 28 million albums in the U.S. alone.’

Their musical origins and background are also summarised via Wikipedia,

‘ Mannheim Steamroller began as an alias for record producer and composer Chip Davis. The name “Mannheim Steamroller” comes from an 18th-century German musical technique, Mannheim roller (German: Mannheimer Walze), a crescendo passage having a rising melodic line over an ostinato bass line, popularized by the Mannheim school of composition.’

In other words, or TextArt:

My thanks to Rupert and Nick – you can read the poem here: https://internationaltimes.it/fix-or-repair-daily/

If reading this today in the UK, Bert is likely with you. It is here in East Devon: the twisted willow dancing; the huge Robinia looming and brooding.

The Met Office now names storms for a year – ready and waiting to star – and those for the ‘season’ 24/25 are above.

My thanks to editor Alan Baker for posting in Litter Magazine, and to Steve Spence for his thoughtful review. You can read here: https://www.littermagazine.com/2024/11/review-aran-aphorisms-by-mike-ferguson.html

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My thanks to Rupert and Nick for posting at IT today. To read, go here: https://internationaltimes.it/at-breakfast/

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When I wrote my found poems (cut-ups) based on the notional English literary canon in 2016, the process was not to necessarily link with their original texts but find new meranings/ideas/expressions, and this was similar to my most recent erasures based on The Aran Islands.

I mention because with my Red Ceilings Press publication of the aran aphorisms this month, I make the observation that those poems ‘were creative tangents from their textual prompts, but some reflected intrusions by external events’ and the same often occured with the novel canon ‘finds’ as in these Gulliver’s Travels poems which were obviously infiltrated by current political events – shenanigans – of the day:

Most pleased to have my TextArt as the cover of Magma Poetry 90. With thanks to editors Lisa Kelly and Patrizia Longhitano.

Celebrating 30 years of Magma Poetry, the magazine’s launch is on the 6th November at Farsight Collective just off Denmark Street in London. I am unable to attend but wish everyone going a great time.

Wonderful to have a new collection of my concrete and TextArt poems with paper view books. As an eclectic writer I am fortunate to have a range of my work reflected by others’ interest and support: my thanks to sal

For further details go here: https://paperviewbooks.pt/books/connectstangents/