CityLife

The saving grace of Power Point

Dave Gaffney

I DON'T know about you, but when confronted with a three foot high projection of a Microsoft operating system I don’t immediately think ‘ooh, I’m in for a good time here’; the mind tends to wander more in the direction of ‘now’s a good time for a short nap’.

It’s a brave man who sets out to deliver what is effectively an hour long Power Point presentation to a packed room of literature junkies on the second day of the Literature Festival (October 17) , but that is exactly what David Gaffney did at the Manchester Art Gallery with resounding success.

Gaffney’s short stories are all told via the medium of Power Point, and focus mainly on the topic of, well, Power Point.

Wry observationalist wit

If this all sounds defiantly whimsical and self-reflexive, that’s because it is, but Gaffney is a real storyteller and combines creative graphics with a wry observational wit to poignant effect.

And actually his stories are not about Power Point at all, but more about the vagaries of modern communication.

On every chair was a handout outlining the ‘aim’, ‘scope’ and ‘learning outcomes’ of the session, which included ‘de-negativise the positive non-use of powerpoint’, spoofing the modern workplace trend for excessive use of corporate management-speak.

Years of working in public service have furnished Gaffney with masses of material to make sure this particular joke isn’t going to run out of steam any time soon.

Folk art

‘The idea came from a hatred of Power Point’ Gaffney told his audience ‘from continually working in public service and being bombarded with presentations’.

He subsequently began imagining Power Point as an outlet for creative expression, a kind of ‘folk art’ that was later usurped by the tyranny of corporate templates.

His short stories range confidently over topics such as the effects of neuro-linguistic programming, through psycho-geography and algorithmic walking to the revenge of a corporate underdog at Sellafield whose presentation on the finer points of his new ‘arse licking’ initiative earn him a swift exit from the building.

Strangely uplifting

Gaffney is a genial chap, with a confident delivery and a sharp wit. There’s an unsentimental pathos to his storytelling that calls to mind Alan Bennett, with shades of Douglas Coupland, all of which makes for a highly enjoyable and strangely uplifting hour.

‘Never had backdated housing legislation thrilled so deeply’ says the King of Power Point.

Indeed it has not.

David Gaffney’s novel Never Never is out now, published by Tindal Street Press.