poem, notes and poet bio

Jeu de Marseilles, Game of Marseilles, is a one-of-a-kind book that was inspired by David Annwn’s poem of the same name and a video interpretation of the poem by film-maker Howard Munson. In his notes on the poem, Annwn writes about the creation of the Surrealist’s pack of Tarot cards by Max Ernst, Andre Masson, and others who were known by the Nazi’s as “undesirables.” While waiting for a chance to leave for the US as the Nazi’s drew near, they created the now infamous Surrealist deck of Tarot cards. Annwn writes, “the images of these cards fired my imagination. The poem celebrates the creation of these works in the face of encroaching danger.” It is a timely poem....a reminder and warning, perhaps, of the rise of white nationalism in the world today.!
The poem and paintings are created on a translucent Mylar. The show-thru of images and writing is an attempt to capture the movement, over-lapping, and layering created by Munson in his video.!

David Annwn!
David Annwn (born 1953) is an Anglo-Welsh poet, critic, teacher, playwright and magic lanternist who was raised in Cheshire, England. In his undergraduate years at the University of Aberystwyth, David edited Dragon poetry magazine and helped convene the Gallery Poets series at UCW Neuadd Fawr with Rose Simpson, ex-member of the Incredible String Band. In 1973, he met Robert Duncan, a future influence on his poetry, and studied for his doctorate supervised by Jeremy Hooker. Annwn taught at Wakefield College and Leeds University from 1981 to 1995, latterly becoming Head of English. Active as an organiser and performer, Annwn collaborated with musician John Cowey and poet Roula Pollard in running poetry/drama events at Wakefield College Theatre and convened reading tours for American writers including Robert Berthof, Black Mountain artist Basil King and Bobby Louise Hawkins. Since 2004 Thomas Ingmire and David Annwn have collaborated in the creation of more than 15 unique artist books.!

JEU DE MARSEILLES / GAME OF MARSEILLES

automatic scribble tint of mind’s sepals
cascading out, shuddering pack
waterfall to volcano on a clove
explodes: ghost-doors flap simultaneous,
slam in thrall to gust, enthralled,
change suits to fire, star, lock and
wheel: sibyls and sigils aflame
deal cards and start the game
‘indesirables’ in Ludopolis
head’s back opened and black air
surges: Alice, Ubu, Ernst’s vulture-
faced Pancho Villa, Brauner’s
Hegel and Hélène Smith, her leopard flaming hair
combusting across your fingers
and Jacqueline Lamba’s Baudelaire,
contour figures mothered fathers-
crimson torque of whirled blazons
corkscrewing up, down, through
archetypes of leaving, getting to sea
away from deadlock, ark out of ici,
Pandaemonium, wolves closing round
counter-wolves encroaching war
Marseilles in zoned attachments
blood wheels of revolution churn
revs, volutes and ions
face-scapes flicker rage to change
night’s anchored submarine furniture
in café Bruleur des Loups’
masks skitter and fogging new games
this littoral riot of carnival
in our hands: Freudian necktie, moustachios
are naked ladies in after-glow
the most dream minds in nightmare europe
stars interstitial glint this
twisting the sinew
upturning purple, red kings enqueened:
escaping dangerous to usa
words migrate, warp and mutate:
‘tarot’ ‘torat’ ‘ratot’ ‘rotate’
shuffle livid, condense in plain sight
years’ experiment distillate
into this spread you’re headed out,
hand taking flame
in a blue boat.