I’m writing this because you are expecting a story from me,
but I have to tell you it’s stuck

A new project initiated by My Bookcase and hosted by Project Café, Ten Books invites artists, writers and readers to share ten books that have influenced their work. These ten books will be housed inside the Café for a month at a time, where visitors are invited to browse them, and will be animated through a public event specially curated by each contributor.

For the first of these events artist and writer Joanna Peace was joined by readers in the audience to perform both her own work – including the short stories Broken Waters / Honey Steps – and to read from writing by Etel Adnan, Caroline Bergvall and Deborah Levy, amongst others. Take a look at Joanna Peace’s book selection at My Bookcase Platform.

Joanna will be inviting the next Ten Books guest, activating a chain reaction that will open up a wide selection of bookcases from amongst the community of Glasgow. Join our newsletter to learn more about Ten Books #2.

 

I’m writing this because you are expecting a story from me, but I have to tell you it’s stuck, I mean, I’m not stuck – my brain is ticking away nicely – but the story itself, well it’s a sticky story and the stickiness has trapped the words in my throat so that I’m having trouble even speaking them let alone writing them down. – from Honey Steps by Joanna Peace

Joanna Peace (b. 1982, UK) is an artist and writer based in Glasgow. Recent projects include the performative talk At least some sentiments were expressed, if not all, with Serra Tansel, CCA, Glasgow, 2015; the exhibition GLYKIA MOU, Snehta, Athens, 2015; The Writing Group, a mobile support group, ongoing; and HOUSE VISIT, a residency in The Hague funded by the a-n New Collaborations Bursary, 2014.

Published writing includes UNLIMITED, commissioned for the upcoming exhibition Sera Tansel Unlimited at noshowspace, London, 2015; the short stories Broken Waters / Honey Steps, published Athens, 2015; Universe of Women, commissioned for the exhibition Concrete Ribs, Govanhill Baths, Glasgow, 2015; and Lover of Rock published by MAP, 2015.

Joanna is a Visiting Lecturer at the Glasgow School of Art and works with organisations including My Bookcase and Project Ability. https://joanna-peace.squarespace.com/

This event took place during Book Week Scotland: 26 November 2015
Photography by Pablo Llopis.