In November 2007 I was invited to perform in front of 400 delegates at a conference called Worktech07 at The British Library in London. Co-hosted by The British Library and The Royal College of Art, the event featured, amongst others, the designer of London's iconic "Gherkin" building and the architect who designed the recent Mixtacity exhibition at Tate Modern, several other world renowned thinkers and some lanky, northern poet bloke called Walsh. http://www.writeoutloud.net//public/poetview.php?poetID=16

Broadcast live online in the parallel universe at Second Life, the conference asked where the digital revolution is taking us and what sort of spaces will need to be designed for the future. Issues of corporate responsibility and environmental sustainability were high on the agenda from the outset – which ended up chiming nicely with my piece.

I was commissioned by a company called Unwired Ventures to write a piece which explored the generation gap in relation to the use of IT. After about 60 hours of research and writing, I had completed “Zeroes and Ones”, a 20 minute piece, by far my longest and most ambitious piece to date, which takes the listener from the original Big Bang to some of the biggest challenges of our age via religion, quantum physics, digital technology, popular culture, eastern philosophy, globalisation, climate change and all points inbetween.

I was a little nervous bringing such a long and challenging piece, any piece in fact, to such a large, non-poetry, even corporate audience - but people seemed to like it.

"Very, very clever" John DeLucy, The British Library
"Tony Walsh - truly the Gods' Pollocks of the spoken word" Jeremy Myerson, The Royal College of Art
"...undoubted highlight...stunned audience...extraordinary...essential reading..." Joanna Bawa, unwired.com
"..fabulous feedback...brave and ambitious..." Philip Ross, Unwired Ventures

Judge for yourself - the text and full audio stream have recently gone online at the Worktech07 website http://www.unwired.eu.com/WT07review.html I’d recommend the audio version if you have the bandwidth and the time (20 mins).

I’m hoping that there is a bit more life in the piece for me yet – this seems to have started with a subsequent booking by The British Council to an event in Warsaw in March. I’d really love to have an animation or film made to accompany it – if you know of anyone who might be interested?

Cheers.

Tony

Tony,

This is a clever and ambitious piece of work.
A lot of effort has been put into this 20-minute evolution.
The results are there to enjoy and I wish you all the success.

Having heard your performances and knowing your delivery technique, it was easy to visualize the performance (without listening to the audio) I can hear you speaking.

The subject matter is one that commands that perpetual interest and I think it’s a clever and well-crafted piece of writing that deserves success.

In the style of the big bang:

Effort in = effort out.

this poem would be a good example!

Luck has little to do with it, and randomness whilst it may wriggle, writhe and even shout, is even calculated.

It may like to think it is not
But your success will not be connected with luck.
your efforts yield success!

Liking it.

Regards animation:

There is so much scope here, perhaps a budding filmmaker? Have you not connections with the Uni.’s? I'm sure someone out there would love to get involved with this.

I recently saw some NASA Apollo footage on a documentary called 'for all mankind’.google it tony or YOUTUBE have the footage (search: 'for all mankind') you may find the Brian ENo soundtrack working with your lyrics layered on top.

My suggestion would be to very very slightly process your voice with some reverb and echo/phase distortion but ONLY in parts of the piece.

I need to go re-read it

Its very long and a condensed version for poetry I believed I heard at the howcroft.

I particularly like the wordplay on Pollock, the spray of the stars idea, but you know even pollocks brush was weighted with the creativity.

The poem heads for ultimately, a journey into the soul.

Well done.

Super Nova roller coaster -- I see the atoms doing a Mexican Microwave in your honour: KERPOW! Jackson 'Castor and Pollux' -- or even Opposable Pollix: Ida Lovelace would have been proud. Congratulations, Tony Constellation Prize Walsh!

Hi Pete/Moxy

Thanks for taking the time to read/listen and to respond. Glad you both enjoyed it - many thanks for your kind words.

Pete - thanks for the advice and the links, which I'll look into. It's reassuring if you can "hear it in my voice/style" I can do that with your stuff these days. I'd recommend the audio link though - it was written to be performed.

You're right - you did hear the first rough 5 mins of this piece when it was work-in-progress. I tried it out at the Poetry Party at Fuel if you recall?

Moxy - sorry, didn't get the chance to say Hi at th'Octagon t'other night but I enjoyed your set. (I was sat just behind Penny from you with Dave and Linda Morgan.) You have a unique brain for sure!

Is it Ida or Ada Lovelace? She came out of google as Ada. Very interesting - I didn't know her story and more should be made of it. (Byron's daughter - wrote the world's first ever computer programme in Manchester for Babbage.) A nice link between poetry and the maths/science themes of my piece.
More at http://www.bookrags.com/biography/ada-byron-lovelace/

"Constellation Prize" - like it, that's me! I've been the bridesmaid in enough slams these days!

Cheers

Tony

Hi Tony, I spotted you (recognised you from your photo on WOL) at Bolton but had to scurry home and didn't have the chance to say 'hello!' Yes, it's 'Ada', not 'Ida' I pressed the wrong vowel when typing (I muddle names up very easily: nouns are a bit of a problem, my brain plays tiddley winks with 'em.) She's really the genius behind binary code -- and it's so very strange that she's also Byron's daughter -- her birth was, well, pretty scandalous. Yes, yours is a terrific piece -- I really like your performance, too. I don't know if it would be any use to you, but I've a copy of the Hubble Telescope's images on DVD (it was free with The New Scientist) a few years back. It's gorgeous/informative and maybe it will help with images for your film? Let me know if you'd like me to post it to you and I will.

Cheers, Moxy.

Thanks for the kind offer of the DVD. I have lots of those images in a book and they're on the Hubble website also. Beautiful, truly mind-boggling.

I fear that any film is a way off yet, but I may come back to you at some point.

I'll look into Ms Lovelace some more (that's Ada not Linda!).

Thanks again.

Tony

I am interested in organising a poetry night in Newton-Le-Willows and was wondering if any of the members who were close to that area would be interested.

Thanks
Johnny Dee

Johhny,

Ill go and help etc
what do you have in mind?


Please reply on a seperate thread though!

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Tony

this song kinda reminds me of the early part of your poem.
The sentiment of this song, for me fits the feel of parts of your poem

Its called 'Hide and seek' By Howard Jones.

I was a synth fan back in the 80s

here's a you tube link:

http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=I5GG7kKmozY

A REAlly Big Thank you for all your help "Write Out Loud"

Firstly I just wanted to see if I could get enough people interested in a open mic peom night and then look around for an aproproate venue.

I can also be contacted by TeL on 07881401526

Thank you again

Johnny Dee

Hey Tony, good to see you making the break from work to try and make a go of poetry and performance. Good luck. Brave decision - good on yer mate.

I thought 'Zeros and Ones' was a great tour de force, pulling together lots of strands from the last year or two and massively ambitious.

20 minutes: gee! As Peter Crompton modestly rants 'Even I've had enough of my poems after 6 minutes!'

If you hit the big time - whatever that is in Poetryland- make sure that you book me for support. All the best.
Nat x

Cheers Nat. Will do!

I've been thinking about a suitably preposterous set of backstage demands. Think I'll start asking for a giant bowl of mint imperials, with all the white ones taken out.