9th January 2024
Report by Sarah Noon
Antosh Wojcik describes himself as a poet, drummer and sound designer. He has joined us this evening to discuss Creative Fusions: Collaborative & Multi-Disciplinary Approaches to Writing.
He begins by saying that some people are “quite nervous” about the idea of collaboration and he conducts a quick straw poll of how many of us are frequent collaborators with our writing – the vast majority are not. For some people it is simply because they are not presented with the opportunity to. Antosh points out that he is speaking to a room of writers and yet we do not collaborate with each other. He explains that for him, collaboration helps him prepare for what he describes as “brutal” rejection letters.
His talk this evening, he tells us, looks at how collaboration can enrich the writing process and its product, and explores what can be unlocked within our writing by exploring fusions with practices and approaches from other disciplines. He shows us a slide, which demonstrates his three “collaborative forces,” labelled as his “Artistic Oscillation.” His three forces are sound, text and time – something which he promises to expand upon later.
Antosh explains that he has five mediums: Writer / Facilitator / Producer / Drummer / Sound Designer. He became a writer when he studied creative writing here in Winchester, where he gained a passion for poetry. Of his drumming, he says, “… it is very physical and it takes you out of your direct space.” He goes on to say that, “I don’t think too much when I drum.” He explains that all these mediums began to interlock.
Whilst he emphasises that the collaboration of writers is not necessary, he urges those of us who do not collaborate to consider why. He then shows a slide listing the many collaborations with which he has been involved over the past 10 years. Antosh “threw himself”into any opportunity he could and as a result met many poets and musicians and other artists. He explains that he did this because he “wanted to avoid definition.” He quotes from poet Inua Ellams who asks, “What is your cage?” Antosh asks us to consider what our cage might be – for example, is it writing in a three-act structure? What is it that is preventing us from where we want to be?
He quotes from another writer, Natalie Diaz who said, ‘I think creativity is a trap. I tell my students, call it tension, not creativity’ (Antosh interjects; “I just sabotaged my own title there.”). He goes on to suggest that there is tension when we work creatively, regardless of medium – including his talk with us now, (“Tension is in everything.”). Therefore, he says, he began to realise that “I’ve just been seeking out tension for a decade.” He then shows us another slide:
“Collaboration & multi-disciplinary approaches are means to create useful tension for your practice.”
Antosh goes on to explain that collaboration is about “…play, failure … [collaboration] diminishes and empowers responsibility.” He continues that collaboration is often “initiated by curiosity.” He urges us to encourage and protect that curiosity.
However, we are warned that collaborations can be risky and they do sometimes fall apart, (“more often than they don’t, I’d say.”). Antosh cautions that collaborations can make us vulnerable and we have to trust those with whom we are collaborating. Disagreements create tension, which has to be negotiated and “you need to know you can handle that interaction.” This includes people such as editors and agents. We have to be able to develop “resilience.”
Antosh exemplifies his definition of tension, by reading us one of his poems (to rapturous applause) and then asking us where we think the tension was (answer: when he came out of the performance momentarily to ask the audience a question, thereby creating a moment of improvisation – and an unpredictable response from audience members).
We are introduced to the concept of a “game-poem” (a game that is equal part poem / a poem that is equal part game). The result being A Lake in America which Antosh created in collaboration with Joel Auterson. The player selects a poem and then rewrites it according to the limitations of its form, using collaborator codes and sound design. The player then tests and releases it. Antosh reiterates the importance of trust and vulnerability when working collaboratively and how these elements are an important part of a successful partnership. He also explains how there is a limit to how much control one has when collaborating and all parties have to be able to accept that. However, working on A Lake in America in turn led to other collaborations.
When asked about the use of AI with his work, Antosh explains that he would rather work without it as he likes the possibility of things going wrong – the human element to it. Although, he expresses that AI does have its place.
He presents us with a slide containing images of soundwaves – sounds that he has created and then turned the waves into visualisations using software. On looking at the images, which he describes as “beautiful,” he explains how he began to play with the images – for example, turning one onto its side. He was inspired to use these new shapes as a form or structure for a poem. Because sound is “physical”, the waves can be used to give different shapes and meanings. “These shapes can inspire … ideas in themselves.”
Antosh moves on to talk about his drumming. He begins this section of the talk by explaining a narrative he created about his Dziadek (his Polish grandfather) who had dementia which affected the way he spoke. He explains that the dementia manifested itself in a very physical way, which he found very interesting. Antosh tells us that he wrote about this at the time “in order to process it.” To highlight and explore the physical side of his grandfather’s condition, Antosh used his skills as a drummer – as drumming is a very physical process. He explains, “…drumming is a way that I could basically, instinctually reflect Dziadek’s experience.” This taught him, he says, not only about dementia, but also how art forms can express a variety of things.
This work led to a project entitled Seder – a Jewish ritual held at the start of Passover. This demonstrates, he concludes, that working with one art form can often take you down avenues that lead to another art form.
Antosh’s most recent art form and collaboration is film. He is in partnership with Xenia Glen – a Filipino film director with British heritage. Xenia has an invisible disability, symptoms of which are brain seizures. She wrote a narrative exploring what would happen to an undocumented person who has a seizure and was sharing a house with other undocumented people – a story based on Xenia’s own experiences. Antosh highlights the contrast between Xenia’s story and his own, describing his background as being very “protected.”
“If you can ever get into a duo … I highly recommend it because you can have opportunities to try and draw stories from each other.”
Antosh finishes his talk by discussing the idea of tension with time (“I’m in tension with time right now,” he says as he rushes to finish,). However, he reminds us that time away from a project “allows us to incubate it.” He adds, “Collaborations with other people allows us to accelerate it [time].” He also reminds us that when we put effort into something that has not worked, “It is not wasted time.”
His final point is that we are already in collaboration – with texts, with experiences, with each other. He ends with a quote that sums up the subject of his talk this evening:
‘So here, you see the ironies of history; history mocks us. It shows us that the things we thought people suffered in the past –they’re still in front of you. It says, you think you are writing about the past; you’re really writing about your future. In a way, though, history helps you see that everything and everyone is connected…’ Najwan Darwish
Leave a Reply