Clive Fencott (b 1952) is a poet: sound, concrete, ergodic ... and a computer scientist specialising in researching and understanding interactive digital media.
He has been publishing and performing and otherwise presenting his work since the 1970s when he started attending Bob Cobbing's legendary experimental poetry workshops at the National Poetry Centre in London. This led to a concern with creative ways of presenting sign systems visually, vocally and electronically. To date he has over 40 poetry publications as well as a number of cassettes and records.
At the 1976 London Sound Poetry Festival Clive joined up with Lawrence Upton and Cris Cheek to form jgjgjgjgjgjgjg (as long as you can say it that's our name) a performance group for poetry that went on to perform around the UK and at Sound Poetry Festivals across Europe until March 1978.
Clive has also given many solo readings and performances both in Europe and North America as well as the UK; including a number of International Sound Poetry Festivals in the late 70s and early 80s. He also performed extensively with Bob Cobbing and was a founder member with him of both Oral Complex and Bird Yak.
His first computer based project was a collaboration with free improvising musician Steve Moore in about 1982. Steve was the programmer on this project using an Apple IIE desktop computer to create graphical redrawings of phrases from The Manual of the Permanent Waver (TMotPW), a 1930s hardressing book. These graphics were then used as texts for performance with Steve on soprano sax and Clive on vocals.
After working on TMotPW Clive became increasingly interested in computing and soon after took a degree by independent study in computer science and the philosophy of science that led on to an MSc in Foundations of Advanced Information Technology at Imperial College, London. This led to a parallel academic career lecturing and researching in interactive computer systems. He has a PhD in virtual reality theory and has published over 50 research papers and books.
Over the past 25 years he has created many digital publications using a range of technologies.
His current concern is with bringing together creative, technical and scientific enquiry as a process towards understanding everything ... he hasn't got very far with this yet.