With a mixer, looper and a kaoss pad, Heike Fiedler may
closely resemble a DJ, but this revolutionary author-poet is using the mediums
of music, sound, visuals and performance to portray the essence of her work.
“My poetry is irregular in beat and style. Since I am a musician – I play the
flute and the guitar – I use music to carry the momentum of rhythm (rather like
a fast beat percussion), in the language. Ultimately, it’s the inner feeling of
rhythm that defines my poetry,” avers Heike whose poetry is written in several
languages all at once. “I mix languages like French, which I write more often
in, with English, German, Russian and Spanish.”
However, Heike shies away from the more untethered ‘sound
poet’ category. “Poetry can also be very lyrical for me, but I do not like to
limit myself. For me it’s a very open genre. I use a lot of visuals, and
mathematic formulae. I like to exploit the words in a language and the sound of
it, but my content is classical,” she reiterates.
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“When I perform, I bring all these elements to bear. I also
perform with electronics with the aid of a computer to project images while I
am reading or lyrically singing it. A mixer, looper and kaoss pad help me to
manipulate the sounds to achieve the desired effect,” explains Heike who has
been performing and collaborating with various artists, writers and musicians
worldwide for the last 10 years, even before her books were published. Now on
an India literature tour, which commenced in Goa yesterday at the Sunaparanta
Centre of Arts, Panjim, she is also scheduled to perform at Pune, Delhi and
Jaipur.
Her first poetry book ‘Langues de Meehr’ (2010) is an actual
‘play on words’ as the English translation indicates. The second text book, ‘Se
Will Mehr’ (2012) (‘she wants more’), an auto-biographic novel written entirely
in French, reflects her need to experiment and innovate further. Although she
likes to highlight issues on politics and gender in society, Heike nevertheless
maintains she has no conscious preoccupation to go against the system. “My
inspirations are drawn from everyday situations, environment and things, but
the inner sound is more important.”
With poetic expressions of what she truly feels and
experiences, Heike has been able to strike a connection with her audiences
wherever she goes.
