‘Good afternoon. As writer in residence, I have been reading through the publications distributed – also, sometimes, performed, published, written, and conceived – at X Marks the Bökship, the bookshop and project space in Bethnal Green, London.
One dominant form amongst these publications is the script, by which I mean a piece of writing that uses the conventions of the traditional theatre playscript, including stage directions, characters, scripted dialogue, scenes and acts. I want to explore some examples of these scripts and suggest why it might be such a prevalent form within this recent convergence of experimental writing and arts practice.’
MAN AARG! Poetry, Essay, Art Practice is a 96 page book on books written by David Berridge in response to his residency at X Marks the Bökship. MAN AARG! is a jumbled exercise in reading about writing and writing about reading. A detour along the shelves of the past and the present tuning in to ‘a choral cacophony of diverse practitioners, testimony to a time and scene.’ MAN AARG is the first in a new artists’ writing series imprint, N0 Demand published by X Marks the Bökship, and the 100th book launched since the space opened in 2008.
‘A celebration of self-publishing as a constant throughout histories of art and literature, not an embittered last resort.’