Two ways of reading is an exhibit that takes seriously the different ways in which a poet and publisher interpret the same manuscript. Poet Julia Rose Lewis and publisher Alec Newman offer their readings of Traumatism. This is a reflection of the working relationship between a poet and publisher who have collaborated on six poetry and essay collections to date.
Works Cited:
Cosgrove, Patrick, 'Poem Brut' Serendip Studio (2019) <https://serendipstudio.org/oneworld/poem-brut/patrick-cosgrove>
Fowler, SJ, 'Essay' Cosgrovia (steel incisors: visual poetry with teeth 2025)
Lewis, Julia Rose, 'Traumatism' (Knives Forks Spoons Press 1 August 2026) <https://www.amazon.com/Traumatism-Julia-Rose-Lewis/dp/1916590217/>
Lewis, Julia Rose and Newman, Alec, and Kratz, Martin, 'Two Ways of Reading,' European Poetry Festival Manchester Camarade, 3rd October 2026 <https://www.europeanpoetryfestival.com/manchester26>
Marshall, Richard, 'Assembling the Erotics of Dread', 3:16am, 2026 <https://www.3-16am.co.uk/articles/cosgrovia-assembling-the-erotics-of-dread>
Stein, Gertrude, Paris France (Penguin Archive 17 April 2025)
Julia Rose Lewis is a writer and her most recent poetry collection is Traumatism (KFS 2026). She and Wilfred Franklin wrote together the essay collection, Overly Verbal Ape: Studies in the work of SJ Fowler (KFS). She has authored the poetry collections: Phenomenology of the Feral (KFS 2017), High Erratic Ecology (KFS 2020), The Hen Wife (Contraband 2020), Misuse (KFS 2024). She and Nathan Hyland Walker co-authored The Velvet Protocol (KFS 2022). She and Paul Hawkins co-authored the visual poetry collection Postcards From Mental States (Hesterglock Press 2023). She has published ten pamphlets, the most recent of which is Still Life (Storybox Collective 2025).
Alec Newman is a poet, publisher and designer, and the founder of Knives Forks and Spoons Press, an independent UK publisher established in 2010. Dedicated to experimental, avant-garde and late modernist writing, the press has developed an international catalogue of poetry and innovative literary projects. Newman combines editorial practice with book design, typography and digital publishing, exploring the relationship between language, visual form and the material book. His work champions unconventional voices and approaches to literature, extending the reach of experimental writing through independent publishing, international distribution and digital media.