“Stories of Dust” by David Cave…. As seen after my reading and interviewing the author - Hara Dafna
Hello again after a long time my little bookworms and travelers of the magic corridors! My coming-back is of great significance as I’m about to introduce to you a great collection of poems, titled “Stories of Dust-A collection of Stygian Poetry” by David Cave! I’m proud to say that I got the chance to interview my friend David on this work and I’m mostly grateful to have read this collection of his poems. It’s not everyday you get to read a piece of work that does not fit into our daily routine and minds. A piece of work that does not conform! Well… see for yourselves, the work speaks for itself!
Sometimes it rhymes, sometimes it flows… sometimes it goes deeper than yourself and sometimes to the Dark it falls…
This is a fascinating collection of poetry! And fascinating, is such a small word, when it compares itself to the Chaos that would spread before you, underneath you… or perhaps, if you are clever enough and manage to read these poems properly… it could easily spread inside you!!! Progressing my reading – if reading could be applied to a poem – I feel a spooky chill around me, yet so welcoming!
Through this chaos, David Cave introduces us to a whole new level of self and collective awareness, the only aspect to be free of today’s prison… our ‘modern society’!
In a unique way he can underline all the faults, mischiefs, ill-doings and false dogmas we experience as souls – even if some of us don’t realize it… yet- in our communities.
The language is so well-used, I believe it would surprise even those who are well-trained to its magnitude! It makes me feel kind of … nostalgic, for eras long gone, periods of history I could never recall in my present existence. David’s use of English, brings forth the glorious eras of literature. Through these words, perfectly placed one after the other, you can feel the hard crust of yourself cracking, page by page… only to realize that before the last poem… it smashed itself into millions of dark pieces, to reveal the forever-luminous beings we never thought to be! As you continue to pay attention to each page, each poem takes form, revealing the vast and formless possibilities of our universe, its’ dimensions and all chances in time, taking a different form for each of us, word by word, it builds itself.
Alright, I know that an article can ruin the magic! But carrying the magic while reading this book, I don’t believe that is the case here. Only a short introduction…
At this point I would like to tell you a few words about Stygian poetry. The term is used to describe works that are gloomy, dark, spooky, melancholic, usually with a huge tone of gothic. In today’s music it follows the label ‘dark academia’ as well as a general style of artistic preferences and sometimes fashion type. This Collection of Stygian Poetry, is an excellent specimen of what the term encloses!
Revolutionary thoughts mixed with the polluted spirit of our times, bringing down the system through the darkness, until finally, the darkness collapses under itself, making way for the Light eternal… Only if we allow ourselves to see, grab and smash…
David Cave has weaved in an unprecedented way, the dark poetry from within subconscious, the classic dark poetry of his predecessors and the honest writing and thoughts of masterminds of the antiquity, especially those who were not widely known to the majority of the public. E.A. Poe would be in his best, reading this collection, as well as numerous ancient writers from Greece and Rome and I’m bold enough to say, it’s written in the best contemporary way, still engulfing all of the above, plus so much more, you yourselves will uncover! Ariadne’s thread will reveal a different end to each of you.
Poetry written in a fashion long-forgotten, showing every detail of the primitive and true emotions and thoughts of a being before and after civilization and beyond time. This ‘collection of Stygian poetry’ is a journey through time, space and all possible dimensions the human mind can create. It reflects a personal view of the world and self-understanding, so deep, I believe it applies to everyone who ever tried to seek inner truth, light or darkness. Archetypical forms, give the feeling that by reading each poem… we look into a mirror and face ourselves. Nothing can prepare you for what comes in the next page…
Well, it carried me way too deep indeed! You’ll see!
I must make a commend though, to the amazing artwork that holds each poem by the hand! Mar Garcia created another universe to accompany that of David Cave’s work! Magnificent illustrations, that would awaken your thoughts and an insight to one’s self… as it did to me!
Enough said… Let’s see what the author himself has to say about his work…
- Who is David Cave??
- I am a kaleidoscope of fears, irrationality and anxiety but yet also a dreamer, one who looks for the best in people and the world around us. Needless to say, I am often disappointed!
I am a hopeless loner but also an actor - as we all are to a certain extent – able to smoothly mask myself for each challenge I face. We are all chameleons!
I love to sleep and be lost in that other reality, a world where anything can happen and often does. The strange, the perverse, the impossibility, all of it is life and all is there to experience. I often wonder which is more valid, the life here, now, while typing this statement, or that other life, somewhere under the rainbow. No rules, no control, the ultimate freedom maybe? So, there you go, me, everything yet nothing, just another ghost waiting for my time to pass.
- What was the beginning, the introduction of Stygian Poetry into your life and mind?
- The beginning? I know no beginning or ending to this tale. I write when the mood suits and often the mood also dictates. There was no conscious decision to walk this path, it just happened. Like many things in this experience, we call living, it was meant, and who am I to ignore my fate? I apologize if this answer feels muddled or pompous but I just go with it when it calls and that seems to work for me.
- When did you start to write poetry and specifically, when did this collection started to form?
- I can’t really remember exactly when I started writing what one may describe as poetry. In my misspent youth I guess, but back then I didn’t lay much importance on it. It was just a way to let out and communicate my feelings to others when I was unable or too shy to admit these emotions face-to-face. I remember leaving a rambling declaration of love, along with a single flower, at 5am, on the doorstep of a girl who’d just broken up with me. It was an impulsive thing to do I admit, but I don’t regret it.
Regarding Stories of Dust, again, there was no real conscious decision or desperation to bring this collection together initially, it was a spur of the moment thing. I’d been jotting down words, emotions, images, thoughts, and everything this contemporary world pushed at me through various forms, for many years. Some were lyrics for songs I’d started but abandoned, others just a title for something I would later return to when I had the inspiration and the energy. As I said earlier, it just happened. Being from an essentially visual arts background and having made short films since the turn of the century, I came to realize how much more fulfilling writing can be when compared to the frustration of trying to get a film made. The reasons are obvious but looking in from a far more insular perspective, let’s just say writing - or poetry, if that’s what it must be – and certainly in the case of Stories of Dust, found me.
- Are there more poems or collections following?
- Yes! I’m currently compiling the second volume in the Stories collection, entitled ‘Stories of Earth.’ This was a conscious decision, simply because I was so happy how the first one turned out. I’m hoping for it to be a trilogy but who knows what tomorrow will bring. I was lucky enough to work with an amazing artist, Mar Garcia, who illustrated the first book and did all the hard work behind the scenes in terms of self-publishing the book – for which I am forever in her debt - but I will be taking on the task of publishing myself for Stories of Earth, as well as working with a new illustrator, the talented English artist, Steven Wilson, whom I’ve been lucky enough to work with numerous times in the past. It’s exciting and I’m looking forward to pushing on with it and, all being well, hopefully we’ll have a 2024 release.
- Do you write in general and what genres are you currently working on?
- I don’t write nowhere near as much as I used to, due to lack of time, energy, and space in my head. I need to be in isolation when I write, and since moving down to Cornwall last year to be near my children, I unfortunately just don’t have as much time as I used to, due to work, etc. I’ve always liked the idea of writing a novel but my attention span is short and I get bored easily, often flitting from idea to idea, starting something and moving on. As I say, it’s not that important to me in terms of success or reward. I don’t do it for that, never have and never will. It is and always has been way more personal for me and to be honest I can take or leave critiques also. All art is subjective in my mind and I see it in its most simple form as a means to communicate what I am unable to communicate through the usual channels, if you know what I mean?
Where genre is concerned, for me at least, I see it as a form of commercial censoring. I mean why does this have to be this and that, that? Some of the greatest artists in the world often ride rough-shot over these boundaries and in my (subjective!) opinion produce much more interesting, challenging and thought-provoking pieces of work.
I do what I do, labelled or not.
- Each of these poems have a whole story behind them. Have you ever considered to write a novel for each one, unfolding their stories?
- As I mentioned above, not really, although I could certainly see how certain poems could be expanded into something longer form. I think when you analyze much of my work, and again this is subjective, you can see a kind of pattern emerging in theme and mood. A lot of the passages are intentionally confrontational and reactive in terms of forcing a reader to think what the words are saying, if anything. That’s not to say that they are saying anything specific but more so, experimenting with meaning, form and substance in order to try and allow the audience to become a part of the work itself.
- What does ‘darkness’ and ‘light’ mean to you? How would you define them?
- Darkness and light – mmm, an eternal question? Where personal creative expression is concerned, both these definitions and that of the many shades in-between relate, once again, to emotion and mood. I prefer to associate both of these terms equally because sometimes darkness can be as fulfilling on an emotional and psychological level as its counterpart. I mean that by using both in a positive sense I find it possible to manipulate either to my advantage, certainly where writing is concerned. I feel that some of my best work has been completed during times of, especially, emotional darkness. Everybody experiences moods, some more intense than others, of both elation and desperation – to highlight just two emotions within the complex and multi-faceted human make-up – and they can also be influenced, as we know, by many external as well as internal factors.
I’m not ashamed to admit that the poem, ‘The Chaos of Cupboard Coma’ (pg. 39, Stories of Dust), was based on a horrifically bad, but very visual, experience, whilst experimenting with a certain ‘magic’ fungus.
So, darkness and light, for me, give meaning to a concept of ideas reflected both within interior and exterior experiences, defined as both positive and negative, or good and bad, but never necessarily floored or pointless. We are a deeply elaborate race, capable of much more than what we often we give ourselves credit for, and taking this into consideration, I believe that every element of human experience, both physically and psychologically, should be embraced and employed in whatever positive way we feel fits within a given situation.
- Where can we find and buy your book?
- Stories of Dust is available to purchase on kindle or paperback at either Amazon.co.uk or Amazon.com. A personalised signed copy is also available to purchase directly from myself - for information and sales please contact darcyDRC@outlook.com.
- Are you, yourself a reader? Of what level... what do you love to read. Name favorite authors and book titles and describe the reasons why.
- Once again, I should read more often, but at the risk of repeating myself, I honestly don’t have the time. I might have an hour or so before sleeping or some small periods of time when I’m not working, but overall, my time is filled up with living life.
I’m currently reading a book on the films of American filmmaker, Abel Ferrara, and do in general read a lot of similar types of books like this, because, as mentioned above, filmmaking and the visual arts was my first real passion.
I also enjoy biographies and autobiographies, specifically of people related to the arts. One of my favorites is ‘Touching from a Distance’ by Deborah Curtis (Faber & Faber, 1995), the only in-depth biographical account of the lead singer of Joy Division, written by his widow. I know that biographies can often be dramatized to a certain extent, but one would like to believe that this one is as near to the truth as anyone could possibly get, hence why I find it a fascinating read.
I also read a lot of fiction, particular favorite authors being J.G. Ballard, Iain Banks, Clive Barker, Bret Easton Ellis and Irvine Welsh. Poetry-wise, I am a huge admirer of the work of Sylvia Plath and the bleak romanticism which surrounds her life, and have in-fact written a poem dedicated to her memory, entitled ‘Lazarus Falling,’ that I hope to include in Stories of Earth.
The writing I prefer to read, whenever possible, is mostly of a thought-provoking, challenging, experimental, dark, fantastic and/or boundary-pushing nature. I love writing that dares to steer away from the norm, and explore subject matter that may be seen initially as alternative or non-mainstream, and often many of these books, ironically, turn out to have a much wider popular market than first imagined.
Below is a short list of some of my favorite books, novels and collections;
Lunar Park – Bret Easton Ellis (Picador, 2005)
Cronenberg on Cronenberg – Ed. Chris Rodley (Faber & Faber, 1992)
The Unlimited Dream Company – JG Ballard (Jonathan Cape Ltd, 1979)
The Wasp Factory – Iain Banks (Macmillan London Ltd, 1984)
Sylvia Plath – The Colossus (William Heinemann Ltd, 1960)
Imajica – Clive Barker (HarperCollins Publishers, 1991)
Rotten – No Irish, No Blacks, No Dogs – John Lydon with Keith and Kent Zimmerman (Plexus Publishing Ltd, 1994)
Skagboys – Irvine Welsh (Jonathan Cape, 2012)
Thank you so much David, it has been a real pleasure!!!
We’re eagerly waiting for the second collection!
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