Got My Name In The Paper: Ken Hollings Reads at Helen of Troy

 

Issue Two of the ambitious newspaper project Agapius hit the street on Tuesday 16 December with a new text by me on its front inside page. It was great to have the opportunity work with such a large format, and ‘Permanent Threat’ is the result. Its theme of constant societal collapse and menace has been carefully balanced by the editors with Jeremy Deller’s more reassuring ‘Community Centre’ text on the back inside page. In between, Agapius offers a wide range of subjects, styles and techniques. From Satanism in Bolivia to a Queer History of Diamonds, everything in this newspaper is a reflective surface.

 

The paper launched in grand style at Helen of Troy, a louche little hangout on Hanway Street in the West End of London. This marvellous dive’s interior lighting concept favoured deep shades of red, thus making it almost impossible for any text to read indoors. Charlie Hills, who coedits Agapius with Kay Basil Fletcher, had asked me to read ‘Permanent Threat’ at the paper’s launch, but I wasn’t sure how that would be possible under the circumstances – besides, everybody was having far too good a time to stop what they were doing and listen to me. Charlie, however, had the inspired idea of inviting me to read my text to the sizeable crowd smoking and vaping on the pavement outside Helen of Troy. Hanway Street feels more like a back alley in old Paris than something that leads off Oxford Street – even this close to Xmas – so I decided to do just that.

 

Long story short: doing the reading outdoors turned it into a small piece of theatre that ended up involving pedestrians and bystanders in the action. At one point a taxi dropping off a passenger had to inch its way past me, but I didn’t stop reading – no, not even for a second.

 

You can find more details about Agapius issues One and Two by clicking here. Support independent publishing wherever and whenever you can.

 

Pictured above: Ken Hollings reads ‘Permanent Threat’ to those attending the launch of Agapius Issue Two at Helen of Troy, Hanway Street, 16 December 2025 – photographs by @lahollings – also pictured above: Agapius Issue Two, a detail of ‘Permanent Threat’, plus the Agapius promotional badge.