Christopher Ropes — The Operating Theatre(book)
The 68 page book appeared in 2015 on Dynatox Ministries- the publishing company of Bizarro writer Jordan Krall. The book comes in the form of a perfectly bound paperback, with a ltd edition of 25 copies coming with a CDR of occult noise from Mr Ropes- sadly this edition is now sold out, but the standard edition is still available.
The book takes in twenty five poems altogether, and these last between less than a page to over fourteen pages. And the often tortured & intense poems subject range moves from occult obsessions, sleazy & troubled life’s, perverse & violent outpourings, and psychiatrically troubled musings.
Mr Ropes prose are straight to the point, yet often intense in their brutal descriptive-ness. Sure the lack of sonic backing does lessen slightly the impact of Mr Ropes spiel, but his written words still simmer with a highly troubled & at times disturbed mind set. He pulls you in with his words, then batters you with their brutal & unsettling power. This is not poetry for relaxation or contemplation, this is poetry to unsettle & rage at ones own sanity.
The CDR that came with the ltd edition featured a single excusive Nighttime In The Abyss track, and it’s entitled “The Tatters Of The King”. This thirty four minute work is a dense & brain worming affair that brings together unwell ambience, buzzing drones, slurred ritual clashers ‘n’ swirls , stretched & melted vocal noises, and troubled whispers. I guess it’s not as searing noise bound as some of the projects work, been more of layer detailed affair that pulls you in with it’s subtle yet disturbing shifts. The whole track nicely fits the mood of the book, and works as an effective soundtrack to Mr Rope’s words.
Certainly if you enjoy Mr Ropes sonic work this is a must have item, but beyond that fans of intense, and highly troubled prose will find much here to satisfy their needs here too. As I said early the ltd edition version is sadly long out of print, but the standard edition can still be ordered direct from Dynatox Ministries here