Thursday, June 29, 2023

In Delirium's Circle - An Interview with Stephen J Clark

At Udda Ting, Swedish film-maker Henrik Möller interviews Stephen J. Clark, the author of The Bestiary of Communion (2011), In Delirium’s Circle (2012), The Satyr and Other Tales (2015), and The Feathered Bough (2019), original strange and occult fiction which is in touch with the work of both Machen and Meyrink.

The author talks about his inspirations, his personal mythology, and recurrent motifs in his work, ‘seeking out unexpected and spontaneous and irrational insights’ and makes interesting observations about how his writing practice meshes with dream, trance, chance and intuition.

There’s also a fascinating section on his work with the Leeds Surrealist Group, using sites and objects in an almost spell-like way to spark new symbols and synchronicities. He cites as one of his literary watchwords the advice of J G Ballard to follow your obsessions.  

(Note: The recording begins in Swedish but continues in English. Stephen’s contribution begins at about 2 minutes 15).  

(Mark Valentine)

No comments:

Post a Comment