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Spittoon Turns Four

Ever since the Spittoon Collective held its first event at Mado Bar on Baochao Hutong in Beijing back in April 2015, the collective had grown at an almost unimaginable rate — from weekly community events to Spittunes, Spittoon Connect, the Spittoon Literary Magazine, and a growing international presence. After four years, the core tenets of community, inclusiveness, and support had never been more at the forefront.

Spittoon at the Bookworm Literary Festival

Spittoon conceived and organised three events for the 2019 Bookworm Literary Festival in Beijing. Writing in Contemporary China explored the Chinese poetry and fiction in translation featured in Issue 4 of the Spittoon Literary Magazine. Spittunes brought together musicians and poets across multiple genres for unique collaborative performances. And The Art of Creating a Collective — conceived and facilitated by Spittoon — brought together representatives from Beijing arts collectives including Hole In The Wall, Beijing Writers Network, and Loreli to discuss the creation and management of their activities in the city.

Panel for The Art of Creating a Collective

Spittoon Connect: The Shimmering Wall

Spittoon Connect is an initiative connecting Spittoon’s different collectives across cities and countries. The Shimmering Wall was its first major project — a live broadcast between two stages in Beijing and Gothenburg, Sweden, simultaneously sharing poetry, music, and performance across continents. Poets and musicians from both cities performed to each other’s audiences in real time. Thanks to Matias Ruiz-Tagle and the Gothenburg collective for making it happen.

VPN — Visual Poetry Network

VPN — Visual Poetry Network was a collaborative event held at Aotu Space gallery in Beijing, searching for new angles on the consumption of poetry in a live environment — from photography to music to installations. A great success with a fantastic audience and a beautiful venue.

Spittunes: Art is a Poem is a Song

Another Art Gallery in Shunyi hosted a new Spittunes project in which poets chose and wrote poems inspired by works in the gallery’s current exhibition — The Common of Difference. Each poet then worked with a paired musician to create a song inspired by both the poem and the artwork. A fascinating event, and a way of announcing Spittoon’s new presence in Shunyi.

Spittoon Literary Magazine Issue 5 Launch

Ballhouse Pub off Guloudongdajie in Beijing hosted the launch of Issue 5 of the Spittoon Literary Magazine. From its beginnings as an outlet for the poetry, fiction, and writing in translation of Spittoon event attendees, the magazine had become a dedicated document of contemporary Chinese writers in translation. Congratulations to Editor-in-Chief Simon Shieh, Managing Editor Xiao Yue Shan, and the full magazine team.

Spittoon Raises Money for Dewdrops Charity

Following the beginning of Spittoon’s relationship with Dewdrops in February 2019, the collective raised 3,750 RMB for the charity — which supports disadvantaged children in China. Spittoon continued to work with Dewdrops to find new ways to generate donations through events and activities.

Spittoon Shunyi Launches

Following the Spittunes event at Another Art Gallery, Spittoon committed to providing a regular literary community in the Shunyi area — a monthly writing workshop and open mic event, organised by writer Amanda Fiore.

Andy Killeen at Spittoon Book Club

Author Andy Killeen — founder of the Beijing Writers Network — visited Spittoon Book Club to discuss his novel Father of Locks. Book Club organiser Deva Eveland hosted the conversation at Camera Stylo. Killeen also ran one of his writing workshops with Spittoon attendees.

Spittoon Poetry Workshop

Spittoon Events Coordinator Sara F. Costa developed a bi-weekly poetry workshop that had already attracted poets ranging from seasoned veterans to writers new to the art. All were welcome — from established voices to first-timers.

pittunes Collaborators Release First Album

Anthony Tao and Liane Halton were originally paired through Spittunes. They went on to create an album called The Last Tribe on Earth under the name PoetryXmusic — a sincere and profound achievement. It launched officially at the Bookworm Literary Festival in March. Listen at poetryxmusic on Bandcamp, Facebook, or Instagram.

Spittoon Chengdu: First Poetry Slam

Spittoon Chengdu held its first ever Poetry Slam — quite possibly the first of its kind in the city. Chengdu leader Annie Leonard hosted the event, with Chinese poet Wenwen taking the top prize. Wenwen subsequently ran his own slam poetry workshop for Spittoon Chengdu, passing on the secrets of his success.

Originally published August 2019 on the Spittoon WeChat channel.