The Stool Pigeon music newspaper

London’s tiny Fortune Teller Press are among The Stool Pigeon’s favourite book publishing companies, not least because the good people (person?) there once forwarded on two wonderful poems by a mysterious writer named Jake Stevens, one entitled ‘If Cherie Blair’s Cunt Could Talk’, the other ‘What Does Nigella Lawson Feed Her Cunt in the Evening?’. They were duly reproduced on the letters’ page of issues 007 and 008. Graham Bendel from the imprint actually emailed in after we printed the first one and said, “Thanks for printing that poem. Shows some spine that other papers are lacking right now.” Really? Hard to imagine anyone would refuse such pearls.

As it happened, Graham first hit our radar because he made a documentary on Billy Childish, whose poems we also publish in the paper. Entitled, at Billy’s request, Billy Childish is Dead, it remains the only film worth seeing (possibly the only film at all) on the musician, writer and artist, and it’s having something of a rebirth later in the year. Available for ages on DVD, it’s at last getting a showing on the big screen. Date: Wednesday November 21. Place: London’s Barbican. Well worth the effort, southeasterners. Word is that there’ll be a special live performance from Scroobius Pip too.

In other Fortune Teller news, Graham has a book of 15 poems out on recycled paper in very limited numbers (100 copies only) via Blackheath Books, and we all await the arrival of his debut novel in November.

Onwards. In 2005, Graham compiled an exceptional book of short poems, lyrics, letters, and fragments of prose called Poems for the Retired Nihilist. Featured was a mish mash of writers ranging from musicians (GG Allin, Richard Hell), beats (Lawrence Ferlinghetti), lunatics (Sylvia Plath, Baudelaire), actors (Steven Berkoff), fopps (Lord Alfred Douglas) and playwrights (Bertholt Brecht). It was, as many commented, “quality bog reading” - accessible, amusing and tough stuff that considered life from outside the box looking in, just as visitors were releasing their loads from the inside, out.

It was also, at 47 contributions across 96 pages, a slim volume - no bad thing, but it was certainly a pleasure of learn of the publication of a new collection this autumn. Poems for the Retired Nihilist, Volume 2 continues in the same vein as its predecessor - that of featuring writers with a pop cultural edge - but digs deeper. Alongside the many musicians (Guided by Voices’ Robert Pollard, David Berman of the Silver Jews, The Mekons, Leonard Cohen…) and hipsters (Ken Kesey, Arthur Neresian) are some odder choices, notably Sir Walter Raleigh, whose poem ‘The Lie’ is among the very best contributions in the book. There’s satire too in the form on an anonymous news report entitled ‘How the KLF killed Pete Doherty’, and plenty of pieces from people you’re likely to have never heard of…

All in all, a great deal to enjoy again. Pitched somewhere between a poetry fanzine and a serious literary tome, both volumes come across like a mix-tape made of words. They’ve been compiled with love, passion and a dark sense of humour. And through them, you get a reassuring sense that plenty of other people refuse to swallow what they’re fed.