Surreal-Absurd Sampler Matthew Haigh
“The two sets of poems here are the results of experiments with the cut-up technique. Both sets centre around cult television shows with a warm, gay-icon slant (The Golden Girls and Murder, She Wrote respectively). Utilising the internet movie database (IMDB), I took a range of synopses for episodes from the shows, cut the paragraphs down to single words and spliced these with a variety of other source texts, with an emphasis on the other texts being deliberately “dark” or disturbing or graphic to provide contrast to the warm fuzzy nature of the television shows themselves. The end poems are clearly surreal in the otherworldly, disjointed versions of reality they throw up; but where the cut-up technique excels is in how it creates surprise, humour, horror and delight, while often bridging ideas or finding connections in seemingly unrelated concepts.”
Excerpts from Thank You for Being A Fiend
Episode 2: Human Grows Transparent
Burning Dorothy confronts her amputated ex-husband. When Dorothy’s mouth seals, the tadpole’s wedding to Stanley is over. Their married daughter traps her whole body in jelly. The younger woman gets gasoline into her skull and Kate must guess who’s who. His head walks out on his marriage.
Episode 9: The Chest Office
Two suspected nudes are under the house - officers catch their showers. Milky gleaming girls investigate the neighbours. Young brick thieves whose genitals are glass stake out the brass. A soapy man falls out of the copper sky.
Episode 12: Meanwhile, Who Finally
A nasty boy tries thrusting mist down Blanche’s mouth. Dirty fingers are caught in the aquarium of cake. Rose believes the condoms got away. When the only awful blob that liked her climaxes over the man, jelly woos the fly.
Episode 13: Blank Past
The telepathic tongue eats cheesecake, while the crystal insect orders black morphine. They sit, lick dates. The girls spend all day with them. He stands, looks around, calm, looks back. Honey is warm from the Valentine’s goblet.
Excerpts from This Was No Suicide
Episode 2: Plucking Deadly
Lady Swan Song briefly sweeps feathers, while Christ’s supposedly dead womb shits a hurricane. A night man from a mysterious house stops by Jessica’s cobweb. Jessica stops dripping intestines within, even before the pretzel stars melt. During a meeting he might turn up overboard.
Episode 5: Millionaire Trousers
There’s shrieking hutch galore when a dog’s squealing laughter leaves a family in-fighting. The pee pee-soaked Brain, along with backstabbing Spear Dog, snub a new bunny. It’s for nine weeks. Most of his estate running down twelve of his lives.
Episode 6: She’s Murdering Babies
Jessica has dangerous roses. In Seattle, she won’t smile whilst her pearly mother is accused. The gummy raindrops lecture the mountain. Other bone lovers slip away through hidden ridges, and soft young killers like a wealthy menu. A case involving a series of older lady men is drawn into their gilding, for her dark friend.
Episode 12: Sparrows Down Until Broadway
In a dream, Patti is bizarre. Former foetus, Rita, flung in open wet kiss malady. A daughter stars in Broadway cocaine musical. Six big Hollywood stars attempt to muzzle Patti. The black shoes flush about in Bristol and her new feet holes are gunned in a robbery.
Matthew Haigh is the author of Black Jam (Broken Sleep Books, 2019) and Death Magazine (Salt, 2019). His work has been published in The Rialto, Magma, Poetry London, Poetry Wales, and highly commended in the Forward Prizes. Death Magazine was nominated for the Polari Prize 2020.
