{"id":4332,"date":"2025-01-06T16:26:33","date_gmt":"2025-01-06T16:26:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sites.dundee.ac.uk\/cooper-gallery-inbetween\/?page_id=4332"},"modified":"2025-02-11T10:51:36","modified_gmt":"2025-02-11T10:51:36","slug":"elaine-mitchener-january-2025","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/sites.dundee.ac.uk\/cooper-gallery-inbetween\/elaine-mitchener-january-2025\/","title":{"rendered":"Elaine Mitchener, January 2025"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t
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What I am Reading Now\u2026<\/strong>
Elaine Mitchener<\/strong>
January 2025<\/p><\/div>

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I love books, I love buying books, I love seeing them stacked on my desk, or bulging from my bookshelf, or creating mini towers on the floor, so I\u2019m clearly not suffering from bibliophobia. I gaze at books, flick through them, dipping in and out, seeking and creating a rhythm that has the power to change my mood. \u201cOh yes, I\u2019ve been meaning to \/ I really should read \/ why don\u2019t I know etc\u2026\u201d The circularity of these internal conversations with myself, obviously yield very little. This, plus listening to scholarly friends and colleagues talk about books\/writers that I guess I either:\u00a0<\/p>

a)\u202f\u202f\u202fthink I ought to know about\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>

b)\u202f\u202f\u202fthink I ought to have known about\u00a0<\/p>

So many unread books\u2026\u00a0<\/p>

I read in fits and starts, requiring an \u2018empty head\u2019 to absorb the written word and written world that is presented to me.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>

I never read with music in the background because both demand my full attention and music wins every time. I read music scores and understand each composer\u2019s distinctive musical language and through their unique notational style, am drawn into their musical worlds \u2018hearing\u2019 what I\u2019m reading. In this way reading a book and reading a musical score have the same capacity to draw the reader into other worlds. These are intimate experiences that for me just don\u2019t feel the same scrolling on my iPad, phone or looking at the computer.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>

I realise this is also how I read. Music is central to what I do and surrounding sounds, so I listen for these within the text I am focused on and hear them.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>

Much of my reading is for research which then (sometimes) is reflected in the performance work that I do. So here I am sharing some books I\u2019ve recently combed through, some remain uncompleted, some unread but will be.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>

BOOKS:\u00a0<\/b><\/p>

Freedom Time: The Poetics and Politics of Black<\/i><\/b> Experimental Writing.\u00a0<\/i><\/b>\u00a0<\/p>

Anthony Reed<\/b>\u2019s book was recommended to me after I completed recording my album SOLO THROAT<\/i>. He writes ‘Black experimental writing worries that line, engaging readers at the threshold between speech and noise\u2026’ For me this is akin to what I try to do with my own work as vocalist\/composer working with text \u2018worrying the line\u2019.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>

Gay Guerilla: Julius Eastman and His Music<\/i><\/b>\u00a0<\/p>

Edited by Rene\u00e9 Levine Packer<\/b> and Mary Jane Leech<\/b> this well researched biography contains insightful chapters of musical analysis and personal reflections. I remember when it first came out and the importance of it to the those of us who had performed the work of Julius Eastman<\/b> or had begun to engage with his music. I revisited it again as part of my R&D and preparation for a movement piece Moving Eastman<\/i> that was made for me by choreographer Dam Van Huynh<\/b> and commissioned by Fruitmarket Gallery\u2019s DEEP TIME<\/i> festival in Nov 2024. Re-reading Gay Guerilla<\/i><\/b> has enabled me to rediscover and develop a deeper understanding of and respect for the work of a highly distinctive creative artist who refused to be boxed in, pigeon-holed or to know \u2018his place\u2019. Julius Eastman<\/b> was a man ahead of his time.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>

On my read list:\u00a0<\/b><\/p>

Freedom Seekers: Escaping from Slavery in Restoration London\u00a0<\/i><\/b><\/a><\/p>

This book by historian Simon P. Newman<\/b> was recommended to me and I\u2019m waiting for some headspace to get into it. At school (a very long time ago) we studied Congreve\u2019s The Way of The World and although we were taught about slavery in the colonies, we were never told about enslaved people who attempted to escape England\u2019s capital during the 17th century and the involvement of White Londoners in the \u2018construction of the system of racial slavery\u2019. \u202f\u00a0<\/p>

Caliban and the Witch: Women, the Body and Primitive Accumulation<\/i><\/b>\u00a0<\/p>

Admittedly, I am late to engage with this cult classic by Silvia Federici<\/b>. However, I do feel that this is the right time for me to do so.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p><\/div>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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Elaine Mitchener<\/b> is a British Afro-Caribbean vocalist, movement artist and composer working between contemporary\/experimental new music, free improvisation and visual art. She is currently a Wigmore Hall Associate Artist, and in 2025 an Artist Associate with Dutch new music group ENSEMBLE KLANG and also a Fellowship with the international performance group NEEDCompany. Elaine was a DAAD Artist-in-Berlin Fellow (2022) and an exhibiting artist in the British Art Show 9 (2021-22).\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>

In February 2022 Mitchener was awarded an MBE for Services to Music. Her debut album SOLO THROAT<\/i> was released in May 2024 under Caf\u00e9 Oto\u2019s OTORUKO label.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>

Elaine guest curated Basquiat&Cage 8424<\/i> for Fruitmarket Gallery\u2019s Deep Time Festival<\/i> (Nov 2024) which included commissioning work from choreographer Dam Van Huynh, Anton Lukoszevieze and NikNak.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>

Composers and artists she has worked and collaborated with include: George E Lewis, Jennifer Walshe, Tansy Davies, Rolf Hind, Laure M Hiendl, Matana Roberts; visual artists Sonia Boyce, Christian Marclay and The Otolith Group; chamber ensembles Apartment House, London Sinfonietta, Ensemble MAM, Ensemble Klang, Ekmeles Vocal Ensemble and Klangforum Wien; choreographer Dam van Huynh and experimental musicians such as Moor Mother, Joelle Leandre, Saul Williams, Pat Thomas and David Toop. Elaine is founder of the collective electroacoustic unit The Rolling Calf.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>

elainemitchener.com<\/a>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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Reading<\/p>

Freedom Time: The Poetics and Politics of Black Experimental Writing<\/i>, Anthony Reed (Johns Hopkins University Press, 2014)\u00a0<\/p>

Gay Guerilla: Julius Eastman and His Music<\/i>, eds Rene\u00e9 Levine Packer & Mary Jane Leach (University of Rochester Press, 2015)\u00a0<\/p>

Freedom Seekers: Escaping from Slavery in Restoration London<\/i>, Simon P. Newman (University of London Press, 2022)<\/a>\u00a0<\/p>

Caliban and the Witch: Women, the Body and Primitive Accumulation<\/i>, Silvia Federici (Penguin Modern Classics, 2021)\u00a0<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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Please note the views published in\u00a0What I am Reading Now…<\/i>\u00a0are personal reflections of the contributors.
These may not necessarily represent the views of the University of Dundee.<\/span><\/p>

Readers who wish to make a donation to support\u00a0Medical Aid for Palestinians can do so\u00a0here<\/a>.
<\/span>\u2014\u2014\u2014<\/span><\/p>

Home<\/a><\/p>

Previous<\/b>\u00a0Issue: Sutapa Biswas, December 2024<\/strong><\/a>
Next Issue: Sarah Shin, February 2025<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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about projects What I am Reading Now\u2026Elaine MitchenerJanuary 2025 \u00a0 I love books, I love buying books, I love seeing them stacked on my desk, or bulging from my bookshelf, or creating mini towers on the floor, so I\u2019m clearly not suffering from bibliophobia. I gaze at books, flick through them, dipping in and out, …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":525,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"template-builder.php","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-4332","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.dundee.ac.uk\/cooper-gallery-inbetween\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/4332","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.dundee.ac.uk\/cooper-gallery-inbetween\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.dundee.ac.uk\/cooper-gallery-inbetween\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.dundee.ac.uk\/cooper-gallery-inbetween\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/525"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.dundee.ac.uk\/cooper-gallery-inbetween\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4332"}],"version-history":[{"count":12,"href":"https:\/\/sites.dundee.ac.uk\/cooper-gallery-inbetween\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/4332\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4380,"href":"https:\/\/sites.dundee.ac.uk\/cooper-gallery-inbetween\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/4332\/revisions\/4380"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.dundee.ac.uk\/cooper-gallery-inbetween\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4332"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}