William Lewis (born 1 August 1953) is an English artist, story-teller, poet and mythographer.Milner, Frank, ed. ''The Stuckists Punk Victorian'', p. 86, National Museums Liverpool 2004, . Pages 6–30, Charles Thomson's essay, "A Stuckist on Stuckism", can be found online a
stuckism.com
He was a founder-member of The Medway Poets and of the

Stuckists Stuckism () is an international art movement An art movement is a tendency or style in art with a specific common philosophy or goal, followed by a group of artists during a specific period of time, (usually a few months, years or decades) o ...

art group.

Life and career

Early life

Bill Lewis was born in Maidstone, Kent, England. He attended Westborough Secondary Modern School and left in 1968 with no qualifications. In 1975, with his friend, Rob Earl, he started a series of poetry readings called ''Outcrowd'' at the Lamb pub, later renamed Drakes' Crab and Oyster House, by the

River Medway The River Medway is a river in South East England. It rises in the High Weald AONB, High Weald, East Sussex and flows through Tonbridge, Maidstone and the Medway conurbation in Kent, before emptying into the Thames Estuary near Sheerness, a to ...

in Maidstone.Milner, p. 8 Both Charles Thomson and

Billy Childish Billy Childish (born Steven John Hamper, 1 December 1959) is an English painter, author, poet, photographer, film maker, singer and guitarist. Since the late 1970s, Childish has been prolific in creating music, writing and visual art. He has le ...

, the later co-founders of the

group, read at these events.Evans, Katherine, ed. ''The Stuckists'', p. 6, Victoria Press 2000,

1970s

He spent a year unloading trucks in Chiesmans department store in Maidstone, then in 1976 he had a nervous breakdown, attempted suicide and spent three months in Crossfield psychiatric ward, West Malling. 1977–1978, he studied Foundation Art at Medway College of Art and Design, at the same time as Childish and

Thomas von Üricht Thomas may refer to: People * List of people with given name Thomas * Thomas (name) * Thomas (surname) * Saint Thomas (disambiguation) * Thomas Aquinas (1225–1274) Italian Dominican friar, philosopher, and Doctor of the Church * Thomas the Ap ...

, another future Stuckist. In 1979, his interest in Berlin Cabaret, combined with the current punk culture, led him to joining up with Childish, Charles Thomson, Sexton Ming, Rob Earl and

Miriam Carney The Medway Poets were founded in Medway, Kent, in 1979. They were an English punk based poetry performance group and later formed the core of the first Stuckists Art Group. The members were Miriam Carney, Billy Childish, Robert Earl, Bill Lewis, ...

to found the anarchic poetry performance group, The Medway Poets, which he named. The group performed in colleges, pubs and festivals, including the international

Cambridge Poetry Festival The Cambridge Poetry Festival, founded by Richard Berengarten (also known as Richard Burns), was an international biennale for poetry held in Cambridge, England, between 1975–1985. The festival was founded in an attempt to combine as many aspec ...

in 1981. It was the subject of a TV South documentary the following year.Milner, p. 9 In Lewis's performances, he "jumped on a chair, threw his arms wide (at least once hitting his head on the ceiling)."

1980s

In 1980, he had a show of paintings at Peter Waite's Rochester Pottery Gallery, as did Thomson, Childish, Sanchia Lewis (no relation) and Sexton Ming, the last two also founder members of the Stuckist group. 1978–82 he was the CSSD Porter at West Kent General Hospital, which provided subject matter for many of his poems at the time. He knew Tracey Emin and helped edit her short stories for her first book, ''Six Turkish Tales'' (

Hangman books Billy Childish (born Steven John Hamper, 1 December 1959) is an English painter, author, poet, photographer, film maker, singer and guitarist. Since the late 1970s, Childish has been prolific in creating music, writing and visual art. He has le ...

1987). Since 1982, he has been a full-time artist (though he gave up visual art at this time) with "occasional forays into tomato picking".Buckman, David, ''Dictionary of Artists in Britain since 1945'', p. 954, Art Dictionaries, Bristol, 2006, In 1985, he was appointed as the first writer-in-residence at the Brighton Festival."Lewis, William Edward", ''International Who’s Who in Poetry 2005'', 13th Edition. Retrieve
online
from

BookRags Ambassadors Group, Inc. is a defunct publicly traded educational travel company based in Spokane, Washington. It was originally an operating division of Ambassadors International, Inc., but was divested into a separate corporation in 2002 to form ...

, 17 September 2009. During this time he performed at the Kent Literature Festival in

Folkestone Folkestone ( ) is a port town on the English Channel, in Kent, south-east England. The town lies on the southern edge of the North Downs at a valley between two cliffs. It was an important harbour and shipping port for most of the 19th and 20t ...

. His first major collection of poems ''Rage without Anger'' was published during this period. He read and published work on the theme of Human Rights. His poem "Red Guitar" dedicated to the murdered Chilean songwriter

Victor Jara The name Victor or Viktor may refer to: * Victor (name), including a list of people with the given name, mononym, or surname Arts and entertainment Film * ''Victor'' (1951 film), a French drama film * ''Victor'' (1993 film), a French shor ...

, was published in Chilean journals in England and translated into Spanish and published in an underground magazine in Chile. In 1989 the Nicaraguan poet and storyteller

Carlos Rigby Carlos Rigby (June 19, 1945 – May 23, 2017) was a Black West Indian poet from Laguna de Perlas on the Atlantic coast of Nicaragua. Poetry Known as "the poet Rigby" (''el poeta Rigby''), Rigby is often cited with David McField as the most i ...

invited Lewis to Nicaragua, suggesting he would find the revolution receptive to his poetry. Lewis, with his wife Ann, embarked on a three-month stay in that country. Lewis carried out a series of poetry readings there. Much of his experiences from this journey were later explored in his book ''The Book of Misplaced but Imperishable Names''.

1990s

During this period that Bill Lewis performed three times with '60s star

Julie Felix Julie Ann Felix (June 14, 1938 – March 22, 2020) was an American-British folk singer and recording artist who achieved success, particularly on British television, in the late 1960s and early 1970s. She later performed and released albums on h ...

. In 1999 he was one of the founding members of the

Stuckist Stuckism () is an international art movement founded in 1999 by Billy Childish and Charles Thomson to promote figurative painting as opposed to conceptual art.The Stuckists Punk Victorian ''The Stuckists Punk Victorian'' was the first national gallery exhibition of Stuckist art.Moss, Richard"Stuckist's Punk Victorian gatecrashes Walker's Biennial Culture24, 17 September 2004. Retrieved 3 December 2009. It was held at the Walker A ...

'' held at the Walker Art Gallery for the Liverpool Biennial. In the 1990s Lewis experimented with singing some of his poems often using a frame drum made for him by an American Indian drum maker and also a Native American horn rattle. His sung poems have influences from shamanic, Latin American and middle Eastern tunes and rhythms. Throughout the 1990s he carried out many poetry reading tours, six on the East Coast of the United States, he also performed (in English) in Paris, France. Many of Lewis' American readings were organized by Professor Robert Parker Sorlien of the University of Rhode Island. Other readings were funded and organized by The Curbstone Press of Connecticut. The last of these readings was at a festival in Willimantic, Connecticut, where Lewis appeared on stage with

Claribel Alegría Clara Isabel Alegría Vides (May 12, 1924 – January 25, 2018), also known by her pseudonym Claribel Alegría, was a Nicaraguan-Salvadoran poet, essayist, novelist, and journalist who was a major voice in the literature of contemporary Central Am ...

, Naomi Ayala and

Luis J. Rodriguez Luis Javier Rodriguez (born 1954) is an American poet, novelist, journalist, critic, and columnist. He was the 2014 Los Angeles Poet Laureate. Rodriguez is recognized as a major figure in contemporary Chicano literature, identifying himself as ...

. During this period several of his short stories were translated and published in German newspapers and magazines. A few of his poems were also translated into Spanish.

2000s and beyond

After co-founding, with Dave Wise, The Urban Fox Press, Lewis went on to found The Medway Delta Press in 2005. The first project was a limited edition set of 3 CDs entitled ''Voices From The Medway Delta'', featuring work by

, Sexton Ming, Chris Broderick, Bill Lewis, and other names in the Medway scene. The Medway Delta Press has also published a DVD documentary by Carol Lynn on Stuckism.Sherwin, Brian
"Art Space Talk: Bill Lewis"
myartspace.com, 29 December 2006. Retrieved 6 April 2008. He was one of the thirteen "leading Stuckists" in the Go West exhibition at Spectrum London gallery in October 2006. As the 1990s ended and 2000 started Lewis taught courses in mythology for the Kent Children's University (a Kent County Council initiative). The students were aged between 10 and 11 years old. At the same time he was teaching courses in Myth and Culture and also Creative Writing for Adult Education in Maidstone and on the Isle of Sheppey. It was during one of these sessions on the Isle of Sheppey that future Stuckist painter

Joe Machine Joe Machine (born Joseph Stokes,Buckman, David (2006), ''Dictionary of Artists in Britain since 1945'', p. 1018, Art Dictionaries, Bristol, 2006, 6 April 1973) is an England, English artist, poet and writer. He is a founding member of the Stuck ...

joined the course as a student. Lewis recognized Joe's talent and later introduced him to Billy Childish and Charles Thomson. He has had a solo show at the Rochester International Photography Festival."Bill Lewis"
, Walker Art Gallery, National Museums Liverpool. Retrieved 6 April 2008. In 2011 he had his first major solo exhibition at the Deaf Cat Café and Gallery in Rochester, Kent. This was a very successful show with Lewis selling 17 of the 27 pictures. In the same year Lewis gave a series of lectures on Myth, Culture and the New Paradigm at the University of Creative Arts in Medway Pop-up Gallery. He also exhibited some of his latest paintings in their shows. In 2012 he was presented with the Literature Award at the Culture and Design Awards for Medway. This was in recognition, not only of his writing, but also his work in the community mentoring younger artists and promoting art and culture in the Medway area. In 2017 Lewis become a member of COLONY: A Community of Artists. This group of artists work in a variety of mediums and all have a reputation outside of the group. Their aim is not only to exhibit together but also to support and encourage each other. The group was officially launched in October 2018 at the Halpern Gallery, Chatham, Kent. In 2020 Bill had some of his poems translated into Italian by Silvia Pio and they were published in the online magazine 'Margutte' Read it here:

Art

His position in art in many ways stands for the Stuckist ethic.Moss, Richard
"Stuckist's Punk Victorian Gatecrashes Walker's Biennial"

Culture24 Culture24, originally the 24 Hour Museum, is a British charity which publishes websites, ''Culture24'', ''Museum Crush'' and ''Show Me'', about visual culture and heritage in the United Kingdom, as well as supplying data and support services to ...

, 17 September 2004. Retrieved 24 November 2009. He has said "I do this because I can’t do anything else and I’ve spent 20 years doing it." He says the importance of his work is not in the technique, but "what's underneath it"; he redraws or repaints an image as many as eighty times, until he is satisfied with it. He names as influences

Marc Chagall Marc Chagall; russian: link=no, Марк Заха́рович Шага́л ; be, Марк Захаравіч Шагал . (born Moishe Shagal; 28 March 1985) was a Russian-French artist. An early modernism, modernist, he was associated with se ...

, Paula Rego, Ana Maria Pacheco, films and comic books. He has been quoted as saying "People are never sure if we are being ironic or not. We are not. We are coming from the heart." He often uses symbols in his work, frequently imagery from Jewish, Christian and Pagan traditions. A white dog that appears in paintings is a trickster figure that indicates the human shadow; a blindfold woman, applying make-up, is linked to the Shekinah. These symbols are mostly "unconsciously generated" to create " magical realist" paintings. He said of his painting, ''God Is an Atheist: She Doesn't Believe in Me'':

"I had this move through Christianity and Judaism towards something else—I'm not quite sure what yet. The woman represents both my idea of holiness and the feminine part of myself, which is my link to the Great Mystery—that otherness that you sense behind things but you don't know what it is. I used to call it God, but now that seems a very lame word. In old paintings the dog would have represented fidelity, but it could also be an anagram of God or a trickster figure who illuminates the human shadow (the buried part of us). None of these things are separate: they only appear separate. My paintings are like a magic mirror in fairy stories. I hold it up to try to see my true likeness. Sometimes it takes me years to work out what the symbols mean. That's why I do them—to try and find out something."

Books

Lewis has published seven books of poetry and three of short stories; he has made five reading tours in the United States and one in Nicaragua. and has read in Europe. His writing is included in ''The Green Man'' (Viking Press), World Fantasy Award winner, as well as ''The Year's Best Fantasy and Horror'', 1997 and 1998. In 2011 Lewis was published by Greenheart Press and his first book with them 'In The House of Ladders' is a book of poems which also contains six black and white prints by the author. Lewis' second book for Greenheart Press, "In the Long Ago and Eternal Now", was published in January 2017. This also contains black and white pictures by the author and it features several long sequences. Mare Nostrum is a nine part suite of poems that uses the Mediterranean as a metaphor for both the collective and personal unconscious. This sequence has elements of mythology as well as the poet's own personal memories. Another longer piece in the book is called "The Other" and celebrates ''Otherness'' in all of its forms e.g. ethnic, gender, duality. In 2019 the first volume of Lewis' collected poems was published by Colony Press entitled "This Love Like A Rage Without Anger", Poems 1975–2005. This collection contains the first 30 years of his writing including his 'Medway Suite' and poems written in the Americas.

Gallery

Image:Bill Lewis. The Laughter of Small White Dogs.jpg, ''The Laughter of Small White Dogs'' Image:Bill Lewis. Friday.jpg, ''Friday'' Image:Bill Lewis. Holy Spirited.jpg, ''Holy Spirited'' Image:Bill Lewis. Light Bringers.jpg, ''Light Bringers'' Image:Bill Lewis. Guitar, Woman, Snake.jpg, ''Guitar Woman Snake'' Image:Bill Lewis. Sleeper of Prague.jpg, ''Sleeper of Prague'' Image:Bill Lewis. Night Ride.jpg, ''Night Ride'' Image:Painting_%22Summer_Ghosts%22_by_Bill_Lewis.jpg , ''Summer Ghosts'' Image:%22The_Dream_in_the_Orchard%22_Painting_by_Bill_Lewis.jpg , ''The Dream in the Orchard'' Image:Kent_-_Painting_by_Bill_Lewis.jpg , ''Kent'' Image:Rusalka_Print_by_Bill_Lewis.jpg , ''Rusalka'' Image:Field_Print_by_Bill_Lewis.jpg , ''The Field'' Image:He_watches_me_from_the_corner_but_what_is_he_thinking_-_Print_by_Bill_Lewis.jpg , ''He Watches Me From The Corner But What Is He Thinking'' Image:Witched_-_Print_by_Bill_LEwis.jpg , ''Witched'' Image:Kissing_the_Minotaur_-_Painting_by_Bill_Lewis.jpg , ''Kissing the Minotaur'' Image:Nune,_Vodka_and_the_Cat_-_Painting_By_Bill_Lewis.jpg , ''Nune, Vodka and the Cat'' Image:Tricolor_%28North_African_Woman%29_-_Print_by_Bill_Lewis.jpg , ''Tricolor (North African Woman)'' Image:Trickster_-_Print_by_Bill_Lewis.jpg , ''Trickster'' Image:The_Gypsy_and_the_Moon_-_Print_by_Bill_Lewis.jpg , ''The Gypsy and the Moon'' 2003 Stuckists Summer Show (4)

References

External links

*
Richard Bledsoe article for the Remodern Review

Artist Page (Facebook)

* Walker Gallery Liverpool Victorian Punk Exhibitio

BBC audio interview at ''The Stuckists Punk Victorian'' show, 2004

* + NB: Medway Delta Press website is no longer current please see Bill Lewis Official website for further information.

JoMA Archives: Poetry Journal of Mythic Arts Poetry Archive features some Bill Lewis Poetry

Colony Arts - Chatham - Artistic Painting - Photography - Ceramics
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lewis, Bill 1953 births Living people 20th-century English painters English male painters 21st-century English painters Modern painters People from Maidstone Alumni of the University for the Creative Arts Stuckism English contemporary artists English male poets 20th-century English male artists 21st-century English male artists