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A Change at the Helm

As the winds of time sweep through Beijing, uprooting beloved venues and gathering places, another change came to Spittoon’s oldest collective in September 2020. Daniel Vuillerman — who created the first Spittoon Non-Fiction events, restored the Rock Against Horror series, and led with both strength and humility — stepped down as Beijing Coordinator. Daniel stayed on as host of Spittoon Non-Fiction. Taking the reins: Anthony Tao.

Introducing Anthony Tao

Interview with incoming Coordinator Anthony Tao

On what he’d been up to: “For the last eight months I’ve hosted Spittoon Poetry Night, having taken over this flagship event from the one and only Matthew Byrne. My big personal project remains Poetry x Music — now a band — which was originally a Spittunes collaboration with Liane Halton. Before all this, I was the literary festival coordinator for two years at The Bookworm, a place I miss dearly.”

On his favourite Spittoon memories: “One of the best things about Spittoon is it keeps raising the bar — for itself and for the people who take part. Spittoon has given me reason to write more and try to improve as a writer and performer. I also really appreciate the community aspect: being able to have a reliably good time at any event because you know you’ll be around great people.”

On his creative influences: “I will always tell people to read Stephen Dunn and Sharon Olds. Virginia Hamilton Adair and Billy Collins were the first two poets I read recreationally. For fiction, Jim Shepard is the greatest short fiction writer working today — with Steven Millhauser and Etgar Keret as runners-up for their unparalleled imagination.”

On his plans as Coordinator: “Really, I just want to keep the wheels spinning. Two specific projects I’m eyeing: taking Spittunes to more stages with more frequency, and coordinating a Beijing Tour — taking Beijing creatives and Spittooners to perform in other cities.”

On where he sees Spittoon in five years: “Everywhere. It’s amazing that Spittoon has already spread to so many cities around the world, all from our little literary community in Beijing. There are so many more places it can go.”

Originally published September 2020 on the Spittoon WeChat channel.