[published on House of Dodge, 20/06/2021]
Despite COVID-related restrictions being prolonged by the government until late July, competitive dodgeball is still coming back this summer! British Dodgeball has confirmed that this latest development does not affect their competition calendar, which is chock-filled with opens and leagues to make up for the missing 2020-21 season.
What can you expect from the short but intense mini-season of dodgeball this summer?
[published in Dwelling, 22/06/2021]
It was 3am when I closed my laptop and realised that I hadn’t eaten since that morning.
It wasn’t that I felt the hunger – there was no dull ache, no physical reminder – but rather it occurred to me that I hadn’t spoken to anyone since Phil that morning, when he’d asked me how I’d slept, and I’d slept fine, and he’d slept fine, and he had to go to work now so have a good day and I’d gone back to my room and booted up my laptop and somehow then it was dark and then 3am and that was that.
[published on House of Dodge, 07/06/2021]
It’s official: indoor dodgeball is back! And it’s only been just over 400 days since the first lockdown – not that we’re counting or anything.
(published on Bandit Fiction, 31/05/2021)
Mark Wilson is an author and visual artist based in Chicago. His first poetry pamphlet, PowerPoint Eulogy, was published by Fly on the Wall Press in 2021. It is a darkly comic collection of narrative poems that follow the life and death of the enigmatic Bill Motluck, and the PowerPoint presentation that eulogises him in a three-hour meeting for his coworkers. A review for PowerPoint Eulogy can be found here.
(published 24/05/2021 on Bandit Fiction)
With offices opening up and the end of the Work-From-Home year in sight, there might never have been a more relevant book to read than PowerPoint Eulogy, one of Fly on the Wall Press’s latest publications in its “Shorts” series, and artist Mark Wilson’s first poetry pamphlet. Then again, there might never have been a worse time to read it. It is a perfect reminder of everything we left behind in the four walls of the office: the strange darkness and banal evil that’s been stewing, waiting for our return.
(published on House of Dodge, 09/05/2021)
It’s been years in the making but, finally, we’re here.
Almost as long as there’s been dodgeball at British universities, there’s been talk of “going BUCS”: joining the British Universities and Colleges Sports (BUCS) system, the governing body of university level sports within the UK.
(published on House of Dodge, 25/04/2021)
When the World Dodgeball Federation (WDBF) announced in March that Patrick Nally was joining the organisation as an advisor, the news was met with great excitement. Words like FIFA, Coca-Cola, and the International Olympic Committee (IOC) colour his biography. For many, the fact that someone with such credit to his name would be willing to help dodgeball was a sign of something we’ve been waiting for. Dodgeball is being recognised as a serious sport; a sport worth backing; a sport that has the potential to be something truly great, with just a little guidance from the right person.
Could Patrick Nally be that person?
(published 21/04/2021)
The central problem at the core of all pamphlets is space. There’s so little time to build up to anything of substance that many err on the side of caution, opting to tackle a tiny concept in great depth. In Pat Edwards’ Only Blood, however, the subject is the greatest and longest: life, complete and whole. This is a bold decision, one that easily could have floundered. But instead of feeling lacking, the experience of reading the pamphlet is akin to watching a train go by from the platform: you can see individual snippets in each window, each frame showing a complete, succinct image, and then in a flash it’s gone; but the next carriage is still part of the same train, the whole thing connecting seamlessly. Life is short, but deep, made up of tiny moments that define us.
(published 20/04/2021 on House of Dodge)
You’ve seen the sweat and post-workout squints on Instagram. You’ve witnessed his jammy catches and powerful throws in that iconic purple jersey. Now meet Simon Tapping – Phantoms coach, captain, founder; England hopeful; lockdown hero and all round great guy – as he sits down with us for an interview.
