Something Rather Than Nothing

Di Slaney lives with her husband in a Grade II Listed, 400 year old farmhouse in Bilsthorpe, Nottinghamshire with more animals than is sensible. She runs Manor Farm Charitable Trust [http://www.manorfarmcharitabletrust.org/]which offers a home for life for livestock, particularly elderly animals or those with special needs.  She operates an Egg Club to raise funds for the poultry and sells speciality yarn from the small flock of rare breed and rescued sheep under the name Hooligan Yarns. [https://www.hooliganyarns.com/] Di has a degree in English and European Literature from the University of Warwick, an MA in Creative Writing from Nottingham Trent University and owns Candlestick Press.  She has a Post Graduate Diploma in Business Research Methods and has been a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Marketing for over 20 years, founding Nottingham marketing agency Diversity [https://diversity.agency/]in 1999. Her poems have been published in Poetry Wales, Popshot, Magma, The Rialto, The Interpreter's House and Brittle Star, twice shortlisted for the Bridport Prize and Plough Prize, and highly commended in the Forward Prizes.  Di's pamphlet Dad's Slideshow [https://www.stonewoodpress.co.uk/product/dads-slideshow/] was published by Stonewood Press in 2015 and first collection Reward for Winter [https://www.valleypressuk.com/book/15/reward_for_winter#:~:text=Reward%20for%20Winter%20tells%20that,one%20of%20the%20farm's%20chickens.] by Valley Press in 2016.  Her second collection Herd Queen [https://www.valleypressuk.com/book/137/herd_queen] is due from Valley Press September 2020.  She is poet in residence at Nottinghamshire Local History Association [https://nlha.org.uk/]. This is something rather than nothing podcast [https://somethingratherthannothi.podview.com/] . . .

Steven Seidenberg [https://www.stevenseidenberg.com/artwork-1] is an artist, poet, and philosopher whose collections of photographs include The Architecture of Silence (Contrasto, 2023), Pipevalve: Berlin (Lodima Press, 2017), and the forthcoming Kanazawa Vacancy (Chin Music, Fall 2026).  He has had solo exhibitions of his work in Japan, Italy, Germany, Mexico, and the United States. He is the author of Coda (Omnidawn, 2026), Anon (Omnidawn, 2022), plain sight (Roof Books, 2020), Situ (Black Sun Lit, 2018), Null Set (2016, Spooky Actions), Itch (2015, RAW ArT Press), and numerous chapbooks of poetry and aphorism. His books have been published in Swedish, Italian, and Portuguese translation. This is Something Rather Than Nothing Podcast [https://somethingratherthannothi.podview.com/]

Kazu Haga [https://www.kazuhaga.com/] I have lived in Buddhist monasteries. I have spent the last twenty-five years in social justice movements. I have sat in hundreds of circles with incarcerated people witnessing them do the hard work of healing and accountability. And I have been humbled and inspired by my own, never-ending healing journey. My work tries to bring all of my experiences together in a way that contributes to social change and collective liberation. Each day I find myself more committed to fighting injustice. And each day, I learn more that the fight for justice is not a political battle. It is about healing the impact of violence and separation on our souls. Something Rather Than Nothing Podcast [https://somethingratherthannothi.podview.com/]

Podcast Host Ken Volante here. I am pleased to present J Webster Sharp, who is my favorite, illustrator, like, ever. Jemma has created The Scrapbook of Life and Death, Fondant, and an upcoming work on the super famous early 20th century actor Fatty Arbuckle. I can't even wait to lay my fingers on her Fatty book. Here's an exclusive interview. J Webster Sharp [https://jwebstersharp.bigcartel.com/] This is Something Rather Than Nothing [https://somethingratherthannothi.podview.com/]

Famous Painter Vanessa Stockard [https://www.instagram.com/vanessastockard/?hl=en] and her adventurer-space-mind-explorer-daughter Isobel tackle The Universe! A Something Rather Than Nothing [https://somethingratherthannothi.podview.com/] podcast exclusive