Dream Diary

The four poems show a timeline of four states between going to bed and waking up.

INSOMNIA: My work INSOMNIA is a conceptual photoseries produced as my final project during my undergraduate studies. The photos are an expression of the pain one experiences when suffering from insomnia.

Xuerui Li (Raye) is from China. She is currently studying MA Photography: The image and Electronic Arts in MCCS. She writes poetry and takes photos to express her feelings or talk about life. Poetry is one of her inspirations for photography; she will write it then visualize it with photos. In her spare time, she likes to watch films and listen to experimental music.

not everyone is sick of you despite your best efforts

the buck can be passed with adolescent slights

unless like a honey bee to build

the tower of babel (or — a dagwood sandwich)

conditioned recordings in the field

the travel brochure has not yet been swapped

for an article on ubasute

or a regular feature by the husband of a friend

on the therapeutic benefits of crochet

impetigo says more than a holiday album

and less than a cummings print on the wall

by Elijah Young

Indifferent and Malignant

I’m indifferent

I’m malignant
I’m arrogant
I’m ignorant
I’m angry and bitter,
touch me and I’ll hit ya.

I hate your views
I hate the news
I hate feeling amused,
I don’t want to smile and neither you too.

Stop laughing and dancing, it puts me in a mood
I feel rotten and trodden on, even a bit used
but I’ll stay this way, never going to change
head down, heart heavy for another bloody day
seeing no other way, so I shall continue,
all the way to me grave.

by Valerie Statham-Sprod

This poem was written when I was living and working at a contemporary dance and performance center on the borders of Germany and Poland. Having been set-up by a group of squatters who formerly lived in Berlin, the center formed part of a community lying in the quiet countryside of East Germany. Surrounded by some of the most liberated, artistic, and progressive people I have ever met I suddenly began to feel incredibly square and conservative, it was a shock, I’d never felt that way before. I wrote this poem there and also performed it at their 4-hour ‘performance marathon’. Mine was the only spoken word performance and they were incredibly supportive.

Amateur and enthusiast for most things, a wide-reaching skill set which has been acquired in many peculiar ways. Currently studying Anthropology & Media at Goldsmiths. Hailing from Bristol ways, yet somehow I have avoided acquiring the much-beloved Bristolian accent. Poetical forces who inspire me - Gil Scot Heron, Jim Morrison, Raymond Queneau, Tony Walsh, and many others.

Instagram- @val.is.clumsy