David Mark Williams – Papaya Fantasia

My good friend, the poet David Mark Williams, has a new book – Papaya Fantasia - which he is launching in Castle Douglas this Saturday (December 1st).

Regular readers of this blog with long memories might recall I created a few short videos of him performing his poetry, which I put up back in November 2015 (follow this link if you missed it https://kimayres.blogspot.com/2015/11/), to tie in with the launch of his first book, The Lost Sock Exchange

An idea we had but didn't have time to pursue back then was one of playing with the perception of time, so we decided we'd give it a shot to coincide with the release of Papaya Fantasia.

Using Mark's poem "Death Numbers" we recorded him speaking it, then slowed it to ¼ speed and downloaded it onto his phone.

We then went out onto the streets of Castle Douglas and, using headphones attached to his phone, Mark spoke the poem in time with the slowed down version of the poem while I filmed him.

We did this in several locations around the town and got a few strange looks, but no one stopped to ask what we were up to.

Back at my computer I then sped up the footage I had by 4 times and edited it together, overlaying the original recording and background noises from the street.

The result is an unsettling performance where everything around him is moving much faster while he delivers the poem.

It was a challenging and fun wee project. It's less than a minute long so take a look and feel free to scribble any thoughts or reactions in the comments.



Meanwhile, if you can make it along to the Papaya Fantasia book launch, it's at the Gordon Memorial Hall, St Ninians, Whitepark Road Castle Douglas, DG7 1EX (Doors open 1.45pm)

Alternatively he has another launch down in London on December 17th at the Poetry Society’s poetry Cafe in Covent Garden at 7.30pm

Both events are free and drinks and nibbles are available.