HOOGSTRATEN, HARRY - Battling Siki

A collection of live recordings from the late seventies up to the mid-eighties by the Dutch beat poet Harry Hoogstraten. About his performances Ted Berrigan wrote His readings are sometimes almost chanting, sometimes in machine-gun bursts of lines out of which he would often break into a quiet and lyrical passage." Hoogstraten writes in Dutch, English, German, Italian etc: working with breath and sound being the most important which gives his poetry a musical quality. On these recordings his readings are accompanied by various musicians: Nico De Gruiter (electronics and synths), cello (Helen-Ann Ross), guitar (Rhid Marks) and rousing yelps (Suze Hahn). Also included is "Sora Mi Nanah", which first appeared on Baobab issue #1.\r\nHarry Hoogstraten has been a key figure in the European underground poetry scene of the last few decades. He edited the literary magazines Mandala and Abracadabra, organised the One World Poetry festivals in Amsterdam and worked with Steve Lacy, James Koller and Franco Beltrametti. The readings on this tape are in Dutch and English. 100 copies." - Sloow Tapes.