Psychogeography and Folk

Subject: RE: Psychogeography and Folk
From: Matthew Edwards
Date: 23 Nov 10 - 05:21 AM

Ian Sinclair pretty much invented the practice of psychogeography; one of his books 'The Edge of the Orison' traces the route walked by the poet John Clare in 1841 when he fled his asylum in Epping to seek out a former lover back home in Northampton who had died three years earlier. John Clare probably has the best claim to be England's folk poet; there is a very good book by George Deacon on 'John Clare and the Folk Tradition'.

Matthew

Subject: RE: Psychogeography and Folk
From: theleveller
Date: 23 Nov 10 - 04:43 AM

This my previous thread:

thread.cfm?threadid=132636#3002319

Subject: RE: Psychogeography and Folk
From: theleveller
Date: 23 Nov 10 - 04:39 AM

It's what many of Peter Ackroyd's books are about - both fiction and non-fiction. 'Hawksmoor' is particularly atmospheric.

Subject: RE: Psychogeography and Folk
From: glueman
Date: 23 Nov 10 - 03:59 AM

Speaking personally, as someone born 30ft from an ingot forge (the workers asked whether it was a boy or a girl through the open bedroom window when the screaming stopped), a crawl away from an ancient wet marsh, an elastic factory and a sandstone wall cut away by hunter gatherers and Romans, it's difficult not to fall under the spell of hidden landscape.

Subject: RE: Psychogeography and Folk
From: GUEST,cs
Date: 23 Nov 10 - 03:38 AM

Janie: "Catchy misnomer, is psychogeography."

Perhaps so. As prefixes modify the rest of the word I was wondering if geopsychology (or 'geography affecting mind') rather than the reverse, might be more appropriate.

anyway that's an aside, I thought our man and his 'deep library' were great!

Subject: RE: Psychogeography and Folk
From: glueman
Date: 23 Nov 10 - 03:37 AM

In so far as psychogeography can be said to be an appreciation of the hidden corners of our landscape, the liminal bits, topographical atmospheres and as theleveller suggests, an acute sense of place, PG fits the folk agenda.


ian sinclair's thing

Subject: RE: Psychogeography and Folk
From: Spleen Cringe
Date: 23 Nov 10 - 03:29 AM

Heuristic England

Subject: RE: Psychogeography and Folk
From: theleveller
Date: 23 Nov 10 - 03:12 AM

It all about 'sense of place' or genius loci which I started a thread about a while ago. For me, it's an important aspect of folk music and informs much of what I write.

Subject: RE: Psychogeography and Folk
From: Janie
Date: 22 Nov 10 - 09:08 PM

Catchy misnomer, is psychogeography.

Subject: RE: Psychogeography and Folk
From: Jack Campin
Date: 22 Nov 10 - 08:17 PM

The only people I know locally who've actually organized a dérive were into ordinary Scottish trad with no great pretensions to psychedelicity. Rootedness is more relevant.

Subject: RE: Psychogeography and Folk
From: GUEST,Wallace
Date: 22 Nov 10 - 07:13 PM

Not sure if we are on the same wavelength here, but if you are speaking of psychedelicfolkrock music, then you must be informed that the much-used "genre" acid-folk is a great misnomer.

In the 70s UK there were actually almost nil lps that could be honestly called psychfolk throughout and only a handful of lps which contained a true psychfolk track or two.

Subject: Psychogeography and Folk
From: glueman
Date: 22 Nov 10 - 06:58 PM

Is there a connection? Beating the bounds, Whitsun walks, crypto topography, place memory - folk central surely?


a psychogeographer's lair