Audio, Video & More
Make it a habit each night
by Gary Barwin and Dani Spinosa
make it a habit each night is a collaborative collection of visual poetry — accompanied by a suite of multimedia Special Features — derived primarily from the Adler J2/J4 Typewriter Manual (1966). Gary Barwin and Dani Spinosa’s remix of the instruction manual format playfully intervenes in conventional notions of gendered labour, mechanization, and capitalism. The Blasted Tree has produced a limited edition of fifty 5.25” x 4” chapbooks printed full-colour on newsprint paper and staple-bound into cardstock covers. View make it a habit each night along with its video and audio Special Features on The Blasted Tree’s website.
View make it a habit each night
crystal and clay
"crystal and clay" is a selection of durational ecopoems from the series Interview with a River by multidisciplinary poet and geographer sophie anne edwards. The Blasted Tree presents two parts of her Interview series, each 'co-authored' by the river's natural processes, in a video poem and photo booklet. A numbered edition of one hundred, 5” x 8” hand-bound photo booklets are out of print, but you can watch the video poem version of “crystal and clay” following the link below.
view crystal and clay
The Sims in Real Life
by Ben Robinson
Robinson’s The Sims in Real Life makes use of YouTube’s auto-captioning function to put words to clips of otherwise nonsensical gibberish. The poem is made from captions generated for a video wherein a prankster acts like a character from The Sims video game series, jabbering unintelligibly at strangers. The Blasted Tree has produced an edition of multimedia chapbooks featuring a booklet of this poem plus a bonus CD loaded up with digital content, including an introduction by the author, production images, and more. Copies from the limited edition of 40 chapbooks, each tucked with its disk in a slim jewel case, are now out of print from our online Store.
Read The sims in real life
Verbal Vol. 1
Spoken word Anthology
by Cockett, Smart, Martonfi, San Agustin, PCA, Gavin, Pineo, and Smilovitch
Verbal Vol. 1 is a digital anthology of spoken word poetry bringing together eight unique voices recorded on stages, in studios, or living rooms across Canada. Each track showcases a different sound, style, tone, fidelity (there are even a couple set to music!), and is accompanied by its written lyrics. Verbal Vol. 1 was released one track per week beginning March 25, 2018.
listen to verbal vol. 1
You can download the anthology as is becomes available on our Bandcamp.
Adrien Smart - Interview & Exclusive Video
by Adrien Smart
Adrien Smart may be new to the Canadian poetry scene, but his honest verse and well-crafted short films are already making waves. The Blasted Tree picked his brain about life, loss, and the production of video poetry, and Adrien has put together an exclusive film for us, the marvelous WHITE KNUCKLES/RED TABLECLOTH. Watch it using the link below, then read our interview with the talented Mr. Smart!
Watch White knuckles/red tablecloth
MARMULADE PHOTOGRAPHY
A gallery by photographer and musician Foster Marshall-Medeiros. These images embrace the vintage aesthetic, exploring terrains of urban decay, nature, and nostalgia. Foster works with a variety of cameras and films to produce pictures in a range of styles, lending his portfolio the aspect of flipping through a box of old postcards.
VIEW GALLERY
You can find more of Foster's work on his official page at Marmulade Photography.
The Blasted Tree is now accepting the submission of digital poetry of any kind created from unique and provocative perspectives. We like the strange and surreal, the out-of-the-box type art that tests our sensibilities. Surprise us! The Blasted Tree is looking to take digital literature into previously unexplored directions. Are you in need a digital distribution platform for your experimental artwork? Do you employ digital tools in some new and exciting direction? Send your work to The Blasted Tree for consideration - we need material from all walks of life to make into unique digital media.
PLEASE NOTE: The Blasted Tree is not accepting book-length manuscripts for consideration at this time.
Please query theblastedtree@gmail.com with a description and/or sample of your work.
Digital MEDIA
While we are admittedly print fetishists, there is much to be excited about in the world of digital media. The Blasted Tree curates audio recordings, photography, motion picture, and more from within a Canadian context. This archive of intriguing and provocative work provides an outlet for the multifaceted contributors to The Blasted Tree, many of which cross the boundaries between styles and mediums. Much of our boundary-pushing content can be found in The Blasted Tree Store.