HEY SIRI, PLAY PARTY IN THE USA BY MILEY CYRUS

pulling together a poetry symposium and a fully nude, Renaissance-themed dinner in the CITY OF ANGELS ~ all in a WEEK

qotd:

You become what you admire. The images become symbols and references for those who need them.

~ Carlota Guerrero

I don’t know where to START. It’s been such a hectic few weeks - I’m essentially playing catch up here - but I have to at least TRY to share how special my time in LA was ❤️‍🔥 My whole week felt like a sun-soaked dream, each day brimming with creativity, meaning, and time spent with the most loving, supportive community. This is going to be such a gushy newsletter I feel SICK already.

The whole visit / hare-brained scheme started taking shape a few months ago after I first worked with Charlie Ann Max ~ we both joke that we bring out the best/most unhinged parts of each other. When she was leaving London she just said, “Come to LA!” Just like when she asked me to come to Berlin with her to host Fude: Muse/Museums, I hesitated for about 0.3 of a second and said, “yeah, go on then.” After haranguing Charlie over whatsapp, confirming that, for whatever reason, she’d be down to work together again, I started thinking about what else might be possible when I was in LA. I know next to no one so didn’t really know where to start. About two days later I was on BeReal, the app where you upload a pic/accompanying selfie every day at random times. BeReal ALSO shares the location where the photo was taken ~ so there I was mindlessly scrolling when I saw that KYLA (who I literally met once in June) had uploaded her BeReal from LA. I DMd her immediately, almost certainly in all caps, asking whether or not she was, in fact, based in LA. The sweetheart/powerhouse/half of the community space/publishing house Pure Nowhere replied, confirming that she DOES live in LA and WOULD be down to work together. Fast forwarding through a whole bunch of FaceTime dates (me getting timezones wrong 70% of the time), we concocted the first ever Poetry Symposium, which we hosted two Fridays ago! Kyla worked like an absolute fiend pulling this whole thing together, roping in another wonderful/ridiculously talented individual Ash. (Thank god for the both of them, there was really only so much I could do from across the pond). Both Ash and Kyla plumbed the depths of their communities, reaching out to artists, musicians, poets, friends, friends of friends, anyone and everyone they could think of that might like to be involved. The final result was nothing short of magic.

Now the POETRY SYMPOSIUM 🥹🥹🥹🥹🥹

I feel like I could write 12 pages and I still wouldn’t cover everything ~ for the sake of everyone involved I’m gonna keep it TOIGHT and just hit you with the headlines.

Firstly the venue was just wild ~ it was MASSIVE, with exposed brick, gorgeous columns, wooden benches and a separate little room which we turned into a dreamy reflection zone for anyone that wanted to tap out for a moment. Also the place had the most lush multi-coloured lighting that we could control ~ Ash’s masterful handling of that MADE the evening.

There was a team of around 8 of us that got to the venue hours before ~ the set-up was somehow quite calm yet wildly frantic at the same time?? Don’t ask me how it was both but it seriously was both. There was so much to get done - flinging silks every which way, figuring out how best to display all the art, prepping all the food - but it was incredible, we worked like a team of bumblebees just buzzing around magically slapping it all together. The final result was just stunning.

The magic of this event very much came from the sum of its parts ~ there were so many pieces to the puzzle and when put together they all sang. The work of a dozen artists wrapped around the walls of the space, we had a table full of poetry books to inspire those attending, and a cosy room dedicated to reflection/taking a beat with comfy cushions and a film screening projected on the wall. There was also ambient live music and live painting (which I’ve never seen at an event before but it’s been a dream of mine for years to host an event that features it). And of course a ridiculous amount of food and wine because that is always KEY.

The event itself flowed beautifully 🌷🌷🌷 there was a lovely, generous amount of time at the beginning for everyone to explore the work and settle in to the space. Kyla, Ash and myself all said a few words to kick off the poetry readings, sharing how we got involved in the project and what our intention was.

What inspired me to put on a modern symposium was the idea that we could provide a sort of intellectual, artistic feast where people could just come and graze, engaging with whatever spoke to them and soaking up a wide variety of work.

Kyla was the perfect emcee, hitting that perfect balance of involvement, offering thoughtful comments, whilst also fading gently into the background when required, really giving people their time and space when sharing. A lot of people read their own work (I read Euripides which is not technically poetry but that is a hill I will gladly die on). Those that shared covered an incredibly wide range of topics, exploring everything from family, romance, and mental health, to feminism and race. Some even performed live music as a part of it which was very special. There was a break in the middle for people to graze on the feast and explore some of the installations they may have missed when they first arrived. By the time we got to the second part of the readings we had so many more people sign up that we couldn’t get around to everyone - this was of course a little heartbreaking but at the same time what a wonderful testament to how emboldened people became throughout the night. It was such a supportive space many that weren’t planning on sharing were eager to by the end <3

It was all so moving and uplifting and I continue to just overflow with gratitude for everyone that was involved, particularly Kyla and Ash, who worked so hard to create such magic. A special shoutout to Eleanore, the poet who I met the week before in Athens at the Jennifer Saint Writing Retreat, who FLEW from Montana just for the event!

It went so well I’ve started seriously thinking about making them a regular thing with different themes each month (this year is wildly busy already and I’m starting my masters in October but I’ll keep you posted).

Now I want to get in to the Fude Experience Renaissance & Rebirth but I am currently writing this newsletter from the Zambian bush and I think I’ve already pushed the jungle-wifi to the absolute limit so let’s put a pin in that and we will circle BACK. This is also why there are no pics, the wifi is crying real tears so head to my Instagram @cosisodyssey for all the dreamy visuals. In the meantime, Charlie got featured in the NEW YORK TIMES !!!!!!!!! So you can read all about it here:

Private Dinner Party: Clothing Not Allowed The Füde Dinner Experience gathers those who want to meet, eat and drink — only after leaving their clothes at the door.

Also check out this article about one of my favourite artists (the gal who is quoted at the top of this newsletter) and her latest exhibition:

Carlota Guerrero wants to make you feel uncomfortable