For the final episode of the Sound Series I’m hoping to put together a showcase of work created in response to the exercises I’ve been offering throughout the series.

I’d love to receive your work by Thursday 24 September

You can send your responses to me at:

betterreadnz@gmail.com

Or if you have any questions please don’t hesitate to email me here.

If none of the exercises appeal, you could also send a recording of you reading a piece of your own work that you think is interesting in relation to sound.

Please see all the exercises below:

Sound Series 1 – James Woods and Nick Ascroft Exercise:

We talk quite a lot about rhyme in this discussion.

So, the exercise is simply this – turn on your recorder, say the line:

‘I listened to a band called Flipper’

And see how long you can go rhyming words with ‘Flipper’. Don’t forget about half-rhymes and don’t be afraid to change the end sound completely if it feels right. The idea is to try and keep composing for 2 minutes.

Sound Series 2 – Ruby Solly and Chris Tse Exercise:

This is an exercise where you compose in situ.

Take your recorder – it can be your phone – to a noisy place.

Turn your recorder on and respond to the sounds around you in spoken words.

It might take the form of a conversation with the noises in the environment you are in. Or the noises may form a backing track to your words.

Sound Series 3 – Cooki Aimee M and Eamonn Marra Exercise:

We talked a bit in this episode about sound that are ‘difficult’ or ‘uncomfortable’.

So, this exercise is about discomforting sounds and is pretty straight forward.

Find a sound that is hard to listen to.

Play it over headphones while you speak for 45 seconds into a recorder. It might work quite well if you have it loud enough so you can’t hear your voice.

The title of this work is the sound you listened to.

Sound Series 4 – Sinead Overbye and Charlotte Forrester Exercise:

What’s the most beautiful word in the world?

Maybe you’d like to take a minute or two to write down words, word combinations or sentences that you think are beautiful.

Then you might like to record these.

You may like to miss out the step of writing down and try composing beautiful sounds out loud and on the fly.

Sound Series 5 – Brannavan Gnanalingam and Tokerau Wilson Exercise:

This is a free styling exercise.

Play either Tokerau or Brannavan’s sound in headphones and record yourself composing along to it.

That simple. What happens when you have rain or ripping paper as a back beat?

Sound Series 6 – Carl Shuker and Simon Sweetman Exercise:

We talk a bit about writing about music in this episode.

So, take a song you like.

Now writer or speak for 3 minutes without using any words from the song – so, no lyrics and not the title.

Sound Series 7 – Kerry Ann Lee and Jackson Nieuwland Exercise:

I love the idea of using something wrong.

How about trying to make a poem out of noises that are not words.

Maybe you could get together several objects that make noise – placing a cup, tapping something, unscrewing a lid.

Write your poem in sound.

Ep 163: Molly Crighton and pip adam talk about The Body and the Blood – Better off Read

i loved talking to Molly Crighton over Zoom earlier this month about her new novel The Body and the Blood out with Hachette New Zealand i first met Molly's work through her poetry and short stories and was thrilled to read this amazing new work. i had the most enjoyable time reading The Body and the Blood. It's an incredible work of crime fiction. The story begins with the murder of the organist at St Paul's Cathedral being explained away by police as an accident, but is there something more sinister at play? Ivo and Halia form an unlikely team to try and get to the bottom of what actually happened at the historic and labyrinthine cathedral which is so well-known in Ōtepoti. This book delivers in so many ways, it' thrilling, compelling, beautifully written and queer as a Ripley novel. i love it and can't wait to read more crime from Molly. This podcast was recorded over Zoom. Action: Librarians and Archivists with Palestine (LAP) Molly identified Librarians and Archivists with Palestine as a group she'd like to highlight. Molly says, 'They do work keeping records of the destruction of libraries, archives, and museums in Palestine, and people can submit any evidence of censorship about Palestinian topics in their own libraries/archives.' You can read more at Librarians and Archivists with Palestine website: https://librarianswithpalestine.org/ Rachael Gloag & Marcus Fitchett Memorial Medical Education Trust Molly also mentioned this organisation, saying, 'Tony Fitchett is a friend of mine whom I credit in the acknowledgements, and he was my first real reader for the book. He and his wife Bron are incredible people who are real beacons of wisdom, generosity, and kindness. Their son Marcus Fitchett, and their son's partner Rachael Gloag, were killed in a car crash in 1996 when Marcus was only 26, and in memory of them Tony and Bron established the Rachael Gloag & Marcus Fitchett Memorial Medical Education Trust. Tony also wrote a book of poems, 'As Well as Joy', in memory of Marcus and Rachael. The trust helps "medical students who are experiencing real financial difficulties and also students who are coming to the Medical School after training in other health professions or after a prolonged period of study".' There is a little more information about it, as well as how to donate, here: https://hail.to/diocese-of-dunedin/article/OykAQWJ You can support Better off Read financially at Buy Better off Read a Coffee Music in Better off Read was made by Brent McIntyre.

1. Ep 163: Molly Crighton and pip adam talk about The Body and the Blood 01:01:14
2. Ep 162: Tīhema Baker and pip adam talk about One Day A Taniwha 55:12
3. kluge: four covers four events 07:12
4. Ep 161: Asher Emanuel and pip adam talk about The Valley 01:12:53
5. Ep 160: Joseph Trinidad and pip adam talk about Lucky Creatures 01:30:20