Felipe Cussen is a writer and musician from Santiago, Chile. He has published several books, visual poems and sound poems. Felipe holds a PhD in Humanities at Universitat Pompeu Fabra (Barcelona, Spain), and teaches at Instituto de Estudios Avanzados, Universidad de Santiago de Chile. He is also a part of the experimental poetry group “Foro de Escritores” and collaborates regularly with the electronic musician Ricardo Luna. On Krakatoa – talk club, Felipe will talk about his current academic research between sound poetry and mysticism, and then refer to his own sound poetry EP “Quick faith.”
Felipe, you create sound poetry. Could you please describe what does it mean? What are the differences between creating songs and sound poetry?
All poetry, all language, in fact, has an aural dimension. But sound poetry, as Dick Higgins proposes, is a kind of poetry “in which the sound is the focus, more than any other aspect of the work”. Some poets achieve this by experimenting only with the voice (fragmenting or inventing new words, producing other non linguistic sounds with the mouth, or incorporating the whole body and the stage, like in a performance) and others draw on analog or digital technologies to record and modify the voice and mix it with other voices or sounds.
The difference with the conventional songs is that sound poems usually don’t have such a closed structure and there’s no clear difference between the lyrics and the music, but sometimes sound poems seem similar to experimental music or sound art.
How was your journey towards experimental & sound poetry?
When I came to study my PhD. in Barcelona I was very lucky to attend to Proposta, a great experimental poetry festival directed by Eduard Escoffet, in which I learned a lot. Back in Chile, I became a member of Foro de Escritores, a group inspired in London’s Writer’s Forum, and since then it has become a wonderful place to exchange ideas and projects.
Before that, when I was in school, I started studying the recorder and kept on in the University and played in a lot of early music ensembles for more than twenty years. I also learned to play other instruments and 5 years ago I started taking lessons of electronic music production with Ricardo Luna. I think this is very related with my interested in different kinds of literature that are related or mixed with music, visual arts, digital technologies.
In the last years, I’ve been working in a combination of elements from sound poetry with electronic music, and I use some strict rhythms and sequences to produce some effects that might sound somewhat similar to dance music.
In your opinion, which countries are leaders in sound poetry? How is the situation in Chile and how does audience respond to it?
The circuit of experimental poetry works very differently from the national or official literature systems. There are very few practitioners in the world and almost all of them are connected in some way; paradoxically, the language is not a barrier because we’re all making equally indecipherable sounds or writings! Of course there are some countries with stronger traditions, like France, England, Sweden, Canada, but I like to pay more attention on the international exchanges that emerge in magazines like Huellkurven or in “ô” festival organized by Zuzana Husárová, who invited me to Bratislava.
In Chile there’s not too much tradition in sound poetry, but a lot of members of Writers Forum, like Martin Bakero, Martín Gubbins and Gregorio Fontén have been performing and releasing works for more than ten years. The first reactions, especially from other poets, weren’t good (“this is not poetry”, they said), but there was a warm reception from artists and musicians. Curiosly, since last year there’s been a sudden and more general interest in sound poetry and the fusion of music and poetry (such as Orquesta de Poetas). In any case, I hope that one day all these kinds of experimentations may be seen not as something strange but only as one of the multiple possibilities of literature.
Your academic research focuses on sound poetry and mysticism. Could you tell us briefly something about it?
Besides my interest in experimental literature and more recently sound poetry, I’ve also been studying about different mystical traditions since I studied with Victoria Cirlot and Amador Vega at Universitat Pompeu Fabra, in Barcelona. My approach is neither religious, nor philosophical: I’m interested in the aesthetic qualities of the text written by the mystics and I try to relate them with the work of some contemporary poets, artists and musicians. I propose that mystical texts can be read as experimental poetry.
What are your nearest future plans & projects?
In a few days I’m about to release my first sound poetry record, “quick faith”, and I’ll perform in London and Bratislava. I’m also preparing a new research project about nothing, which is one of my favorite subjects, specifically when it comes to some contemporary poets and conceptual artists.
Do you read more poetry or prose in your free time?
I try to read very different kinds of literature, not only experimental but other kinds of poetry, and I do read a lot of novels. When you teach and research, it’s difficult to read books apart from what you’re investigating, but it’s very important to read a book just for the pleasure it gives (it’s a regret that most literature teachers seem to have lost that pleasure). But what I like more than anything else is to hear music, specially disco, house or pop music. My favorite musician is a chilean singer and producer, Javiera Mena, which I recommend very much!
Can poetry survive in 21st century?
I’m sure it will survive, as it has always survived along history: in new procedures, in new forms, in new mixtures.
This event is supported by Goethe-Institut Bratislava.
