15th May Friday 4-6pm
Vladivostok Vax
Preamble
A reading group is widely understood as “a group of people who meet regularly to discuss a book that they have all read” (Collins Dictionary). Such a group might be seen as sharing an interpretation of a text the group become familiar with beforehand. This is generally done by having a single text (book) which everyone encounters in private and forms opinions about, which are then discussed together at the public group.
We propose to extend this definition to encompass ‘reading’ in the sense it is used in another context, that of psychic development. In this wider sense, ‘reading’ can also be an act of non-rational, non-verbal expressing of information, where the information is not verbally or linguistically codified, and where the information is obtained from non-textual sources e.g. an object (psychometry) or a person (telepathy, mediumship). For example, the process might involve a ‘medium’ holding an object with closed eyes, and speaking aloud the impressions she/he has of the object (life stories associated with it, any feelings, impressions etc).
We want to work, as a group, to ‘read’ pieces of writing, extracts of pertinent books / articles sealed inside opaque envelopes. The proposed group will consist of a number of stages.
Stage 1: (pre-event)
We prepare a number of envelopes , each of which is sealed with a text inside. Texts to be decided in week immediately prior to event, and perhaps by someone otherwise unconnected with the event.
Stage 2: (event)
One envelope in turn is handed around group members. Each group member takes it in turn to speak the ‘reading’ of the text. One designated member transcribes the utterances using a laptop (or similar). (Decisions to be made about what else, apart from linguistic statements, are transcribed).
Stage 3: (event)
Once all readings are made, the texts produced at stage 2 above are made the subject of a ‘reading’ of the sort more commonly associated with a ‘reading group’.
Stage 3 produces a rational reading of the texts produced in stage 2, where private interpretations are made subject to public consensus.
Comments
We don’t need other people to take part for this to be an event but we welcome engagement from watching to ‘reading’ and discussion (at all stages) from all who attend.
n the group, we want to look at the way in which reading groups involve an interpretation and construction of meaning as a shared rather than a solitary process. We also want to open out the definition of reading and interpretation (through the ‘blind’ reading-practices of psychometry) so they aren’t primarily rational, cognitive processes based on the evidence of visible text but also irrational, emotive, invisible ones
Contact: Julia Moore
Julia@fingerpig.demon.co.uk