

Arrhythmia Reading Circle #2
Arrhythmia is a new series, commissioned by Book Works and edited by Katrina Palmer. The series publishes artists and writers whose work explores ideas of being out of joint with the predominant social order, whether through disrupted trajectories, physical displacement, or political dissonance. We asked for experimental work that articulates a discontinuous sense of identity, and writing, or where the combination of writing and images in which the rhythm of the text is self-consciously questioned. Four authors have been commissioned – novels, writing and sound work by Roy Claire Potter, Alice Walter, Andrew E. Colarusso and Kamwangi Njue.
Please join an online reading circle, facilitated by curator Kristy Trinier, discussing excerpts of publications from the Arrhythmia series, edited by artist Katrina Palmer, commissioned by Book Works; in partnership with Mile Zero Dance.
- There are three events. Participation is free via an online Zoom video link provided in advance of the event, each approximately 1-1.5 hr in duration.
- An excerpt of each publication will be circulated to participants prior to the event, along with access for Kamwangi Njue’s audio tracks. The texts are approximately 10 pages each.
- If you’re inspired to read the publication in full, please contact Magpie Books locally, or order the publication online: bookworks.org.uk
- Conversations will be facilitated by Kristy Trinier with Marjorie’s Glove, a platform for creative exchange over distance.
For any additional information please contact Kristy Trinier at hello@marjoriesglove.org
Arrhythmia Reading Circle #1: The Medium, ALICE WALTER
Sun, Feb 23, 2025 1 PM MST
Arrhythmia Reading Circle #2: Black Body Index, ANDREW E. COLARUSSO
Sun, Mar 30, 2025 1 PM MST
Arrhythmia Reading Circle #3: Through the Tinnitus, KAMWANGI NJUE and The Wastes, ROY CLAIRE POTTER
Sun, Apr 27, 2025 1 PM MST
READING CIRCLE #2
Black Body Index, ANDREW E. COLARUSSO (2024)
Then there was the sculpture, a large lustrous black stone of alien provenance. Walking around it I
realised that the sculpture had been placed so that upon entering one might see only its black
surface. On the other side it revealed a surface open and coated in gold glitter, geodic revelation. I
knelt to inspect it closer, witness to a tiny spider crawling across its surface, from black to gold and
back.
Andrew E. Colarusso’s Black Body Index takes the concept of the ‘ideal black body’ as its guiding
object. In thermodynamics and physics, the ideal black body is a theoretical object that absorbs and
emits all incident radiation. No such object exists, though a few come close…
Told in a mercurial constellation of fragments that move between memoir, poetry and thermodynamic
theory, Andrew E. Colarusso’s Black Body Index inspects the ‘thingification’ of an ideal black life and
refutes it—insisting on the freedom to live beyond the demands of an enforced objecthood.
Black Body Index is published as part of Arrhythmia, a series curated for Book Works by Katrina
Palmer.
Andrew E. Colarusso was born and raised in Brooklyn, New York City. He occasionally writes things
when not tending to his bookstore, Taylor & Co. Books, in the Ditmas Park neighbourhood of
Brooklyn.
Published November 2024 |Black Body Index | Commission: Arrhythmia | Editor: Palmer, Katrina; | ISBN: 9781912570225 | Price: £12.00| Format: Book; | Extent: 130pp | Edition: 750 copies |
Dimensions: 140mm x 200mm | Publisher: Book Works | Designer: Traven T. Croves; | Printer:
Robstolk, Amsterdam
https://bookworks.org.uk/publishing/shop/black-body-index/
EDITOR BIOGRAPHY
Katrina Palmer is an artist and writer, living in London. She is the author of The Dark Object (2010),
The Fabricators Tale (2014), End Matter (2015) and Black Slit (2023), all published by Book Works.
She has exhibited extensively, including with an Artangel Open commission (2015), at Henry Moore
Institute (2015-16), Yorkshire Sculpture Park (2018), and with Estuary and Waterfronts (2021). She
received the Paul Hamlyn Foundation Award for Artists (2014).
Gratitude and thanks to all authors; Katrina Palmer, artist and editor of the Arrhythmia series of commissioned new works; Gavin Everall and team at Book Works, UK; Gerry Morita, Lexi Pendzich and Stacey Cann at Mile Zero Dance in amiskwacîwâskahikan/Edmonton, Canada.
Arrhythmia Reading Circle #1
Arrhythmia Reading Circle #1: The Medium, ALICE WALTER
Sun, Feb 23, 2025 1 PM MST
held virtually, a follow up email will be sent with access to the reading circle and PDF excerpts!