casey garfield️

the death of [FORMER NAME REDACTED]

In Summer 2023, friends and followers of a Norwich poet were directed to a website detailing an upcoming event titled 'The Death (and Immediate Rebirth) of [FORMER NAME REDACTED]'.

Those who RSVP'd to this event recieved an invitation to a funeral for the poet, to be held in a dilapidated riverside warehouse.

From the invitation:

[NAME REDACTED] and their loved ones request the honour of your presence at The Death (& Immediate Rebirth) of [NAME REDACTED] - a celebration of life, poetry and community.

You are invited to a special event remembering the poetry persona of [NAME REDACTED], who will sadly be shot to death during their own set at this very service, and to celebrate their reincarnation, which we hope will occur almost immediately after.

(Please note: The reincarnation is dependent on factors such as weather, the success of the ritual which the funeral clown will lead the guests in following [NAME REDACTED]'s death, and the number of guests joining with the revivification ritual.)

Order of Service

• The event began with guests who had been friends, influences and inspirations in [NAME REDACTED]'s poetry journey reading their own work, celebrating community and connection, old lives and new.
• [NAME REDACTED] performed their final set, a retrospective of pieces and performances from 2016 - 2023. Among the featured selections were their Lonely Hearts poems (which had been posted as personal ads on Craiglist), found poetry (reading the replies they recieved to their Craigslists ads), ASMR poetry, and a rare return to their 'soundcloud era' in which they would perform over floaty electronic music alongside soundcloud rappers.
• Closing this final performance, the honoured guests and the funeral clown in attendance were provided with party poppers/cannons and shot [NAME REDACTED].
• Led by the funeral clown, guests joined together to perform a ritual reviving the body of the former poet, channeling the immortal spirit of queer poetry into their form, and allowing them to be reborn as their new pen name, Casey Garfield.
• Casey Garfield read a selection of their most recent poems, finishing the set started by their former name, turning a final performance into a debut.
• The funeral pivoted to being Casey Garfield's birthday party, with guests invited to come together, celebrate, mingle, and visit the funeral merch table.

Funeral Merchandise

A funeral merch table was set up to sell badges, stickers and zines, exclusive to this event - images of which can be found here. Merch included:

• a black badge reading "I shot and killed former poet [NAME REDACTED] in a warehouse and all I got was this lousy badge"
• a rainbow badge reading "A funeral clown guided me in a ritual to channel the immortal spirit of queer poetry into the mortal vessel of Casey Garfield and I had a great time! Also, I got this cool badge!"
• free stickers of a small sigil, representing the phrase 'the immortal spirit of our words, the immortal spirit of our love'
• ‘favourites from my former name', a zine of selected poems published between 2015 - 2022
• 'happy birthday casey garfield', a zine of selected pieces from casey garfield's daily writing practice in 2023

The Ritual

After a final goodbye, party poppers and party cannons were passed around the funeral goers. The funeral clown (drag performer Clutter Malarkey, armed with a custom nerf gun) led the mourners-to-be in shooting the soon-to-be former poet.

After [NAME REDACTED] lay collapsed on the ground for precisely one beat past the point where it became a little uncomfortable, Clutter Malarkey began a performace to the song Send In The Clowns by Frank Sinatra.

During the number they mourned the poet, took the flowers which had been bought for them, beat their corpse with the flowers and threw them over their body, moved the front rows of the audience from their seats in order to roll up the rug their chairs were on, revealed a sigil in the style of a summoning circle which had been hidden under the rug, and dragged the body onto the sigil in the most slapstick way possible.

As the funeral clown performed, a grieving widow handed out black prayer candles for the congregation to hold for the upcoming ritual.

After finishing the performance, Clutter read from The Last Will and Testament of [NAME REDACTED]:

As they retire this name and this body of work, there are three values [NAME REDACTED] has tried to celebrate in their poetry and wishes to carry forward into their new journey.

In this, their last will and testament, they have requested three members of the congregation volunteer to read these values, these tenets of their poetry, and pledge themselves to these beliefs also.

Through this act, your hearts will be connected to the same passions and joined in shared celebrations, and by this connection, we can begin the ritual to reincarnate this poet as Casey Garfield.

May I have three volunteers from the crowd, please.

Three volunteers are chosen. Each is given a scroll they are asked to read aloud in order.

Oath 1:
I swear to survive for as long as I've got
and give myself to each moment, for those who cannot.

Oath 2:
I vow to voice my joy with pride,
to share it loudly, not to hide it inside.

Oath 3:
I hold out my heart, open and true,
to adore all wholly. Especially myself, especially you.

Clutter continues:

We, friends and fellow poets, community and comrades, call upon the immortal spirit of queer poetry to be channelled into the former poet in front of us, so they may celebrate and honour these three tenants.

Scroll holders, please repeat your poetic promises.

(Volunteer 1 repeats their lines)
Clutter: An oath to LIVE

(Volunteer 2 repeats their lines)
Clutter: An oath to LAUGH

(Volunteer 3 repeats their lines)
Clutter: An oath to LOVE

We call upon these tenets and channel our hearts and our flames. Congregation, please chant together: LIVE! LAUGH! LOVE!

The crowd and Clutter chant "LIVE! LAUGH! LOVE!" together until Clutter announces: "Now we call upon them and gift them their new name. CASEY! CASEY! CASEY! CASEY!"

All chant Casey's name until they rise, reborn. The show continues.

Images

Pictures of the venue, merch and ritual can be found in the funeral image gallery