[[Image:Bill_Lewis_Self_Portrait.jpg||thumb|''Self Portrait'' by Bill Lewis]] '''Bill Lewis''' (born [[August 1]], [[1953]]) is an artist, poet, publisher and mythographer, a founder-member of [[The Medway Poets]], and a founder-member of the [[Stuckism|Stuckists]] art group. ==Life and art== Bill Lewis was born in [[Maidstone]], England. He attended a secondary modern school and left in 1968 with no qualifications. In 1975 with his friend, [[Rob Earl]], he started a series of poetry readings called ''Outcrowd'' in a pub in Maidstone. In 1976 he had a breakdown and spent time in a psychiatric ward. In 1977 he attended [[Kent Institute of Art and Design|Medway College of Art and Design]] on a year Foundation Art course, where he met [[Billy Childish]]. [[Image:Bill_Lewis.jpg|thumb|left|Bill Lewis circa 1980]] In 1979 joined up with Childish, [[Charles Thomson (artist)|Charles Thomson]], [[Sexton Ming]], Rob Earl and [[Miriam Carney]] to found [[The Medway Poets]] poetry group. This was very successful in the region and beyond, performing at the Cambridge International Poetry Festival in 1981 and the subject of a TV South documentary the following year. In Lewis's dynamic performances, he "jumped on a chair, threw his arms wide (and to everyones amusement hit his head on the ceiling) and pretended he was Jesus."Milner p.79 1978-82 he was the CSSD Porter at West Kent General Hospital, which provided subject matter for many of his poems at the time (since 1982 he has concentrated on creative work full-time, supported by his wife, occasionally taking temporary jobs such as cleaning floors in Tesco and tomato-picking). He knew [[Tracey Emin]] at this time and helped edit her short stories for her first book, ''Six Turkish Tales'' [[Hangman books]] 1987).Milner p.9 In 1999 he was one of the founding members of the [[Stuckism|Stuckist]] art group along with Childish, Thomson and Ming. Lewis has been featured prominently in all the key Stuckist shows, including ''[[The Stuckists Punk Victorian]]'' held in 2004 at the [[Walker Art Gallery]] for the [[Liverpool Biennial]]. He has stressed sincerity in art: "People are never sure if we are being ironic or not. We are not. We are coming from the heart."[http://72.14.207.104/search?q=cache:wx3Q5l4KNlsJ:www.24hourmuseum.org.uk/exh_gfx_en/ART24134.html+%22Bill+Lewis%22+artist&hl=en&gl=uk&ct=clnk&cd=39] [[Image:Quixote2.jpg|thumb|Left|''Donde Esta Don Quixote?'' by Bill Lewis]] Lewis has published six books of poetry and three of short stories; he has read in the US and [[Nicaragua]]. His writing is included in ''The Green Man'' (Viking Press), World Fantasy Award winner, as well as ''The Year's Best Fantasy and Horror'' (1997)and (1998)[http://www.sfsite.com/07b/fant37.htm]. His work was also published in ''The Grandchildren of Albion'', edited by [[Michael Horowitz]]. Hisi poems were translated into Spanish by the Puerto Rican poet Naomi Ayala, though not published. Several of his short stories were translated and published in Germany by Connie Lösch. He has also been a small press publisher under differing imprints, including the Lazerwolf Press. In 2005 he founded The Medway Delta Press. The first project was a limited edition set of 3 CDs entitled ''Voices From The Medway Delta'', featuring work by [[Billy Childish]], [[Sexton Ming]], Chris Broderick, Pete Molinari, Bill Lewis, and other key names in the Medway scene. The Medway Delta Press has also published a DVD documentary by Carol Lynn on Stuckism. [[Image:Lewis---God-Is-An-Atheist.jpg|thumb|left|''God Is an Atheist: She Doesn't Believe in Me'', by Bill Lewis, between 1997 and 2001.]] ==Trivia== [http://www.googlism.com/when_is/b/bill_lewis/ Bill Lewis googlism] ==See also== [[Image:Joe_machine.jpg||thumb|''[[Joe Machine]]'' by Bill Lewis]] *[[Stuckism]] *[[The Stuckists Punk Victorian]] *[[The Medway Poets]] *[[Medway groups]] ==Footnotes== ==References== * Evans, Katherine ed. (2000), "The Stuckists" Victoria Press, ISBN 0-907165-27-3 * Milner, Frank ed. (2004), "The Stuckists Punk Victorian" National Museums Liverpool, ISBN 1-902700-27-9 ==External links== * [http://www.stuckism.com/lewis/index.html Some paintings] *[http://www.bbc.co.uk/dna/collective/A3039121 BBC audio interview] *[http://members.tripod.com/~trbell/metaphor/thought1.htm Bill Lewis poem: "Therapy Room"] *[http://www.medwaydeltapress.com The Medway Delta Press] *[http://www.endicott-studio.com/bios/biolewis.html Biog] + [http://www.endicott-studio.com/cofhs/index.html 7 poems] + [http://www.endicott-studio.com/rdrm/index.html a short story] [[Category:1953 births|Lewis, Bill]] [[Category:Living people|Lewis, Bill]] [[Category:British artists|Lewis, Bill]] [[Category:British painters|Lewis, Bill]] [[Category:Modern painters|Lewis, Bill]] [[Category:British poets|Lewis Bill]] [[Category:Natives of Kent|Lewis Bill]]