Tag: Arundel

Art/

Book promo: readings, reviews, articles… plus other stuff

Writers & Artists blog post

A couple of weeks ago I did a reading with Peter Kenny at at Arundel Arts Junction, a lovely eclectic event which also included a comic improv act, jazz for keyboard and sax, a photography presentation and more – it’s all happening in Arundel, people!

Peter and I are doing another joint reading at In-Words this coming Tuesday 24th June from 7.30 at West Greenwich Library, together with fellow Telltale Poet Sarah Barnsley. As well as reading our poems we’ll also be chatting & taking questions about Telltale Press. It’s free, and there are refreshments – come if you can!

Yesterday I was reading in the home of a very good friend. She basically asked me to come and talk about the book, and read a few poems, for a group of her friends. Susan’s enthusiasm and unwavering support for my work are both astonishing. So there I was with a small group of women, telling them a bit about the book, reading some of the poems and answering questions. It was a lovely intimate event. And I sold ten books! Much gratitude to Susan.

Meanwhile off the back of the book launch I’ve had a couple of writing commissions,  the first being this blog article on the Writers & Artists website, about getting poetry published. Another piece, ‘Top Five Poetry Books with Unusual Themes’, is due to appear in The Big Issue.  There are also a number of reviews of the book forthcoming, and I was delighted to get an endorsement for the book from Rishi Dastidar on the socials.

Coming up I’m reading at an event unrelated to The Mayday Diaries. Here in Eastbourne we have the wonderful Towner, a gallery of contemporary art, cinema and general arts hub. The current show is ‘Sussex Modernism’, and next month I’m one of five poets who have been invited to read work inspired by the exhibition. It will be an interesting evening; members of the public are invited to come along and listen, and (I think) add their own contributions if they wish (not sure how that will work, with the time restrictions, but hey. I’m scheduled to read last (a very common occurrence!) so I’m just hoping I don’t get squeezed out or that people will have drifted off by then (out of the gallery I mean, not fallen asleep, teehee!) Even if you can’t come to the readings (Friday 4 July, 6.30 – 8pm), do try to get to the show if you’re able, it’s really interesting and wide-ranging. It goes on until September 28th.

I’ve not been able to sideline the singing. The big and lovely East Sussex Community Choir is doing a mini-tour to East Anglia next weekend and singing an informal concert in Blythburgh Church, then a small group of The Lewes Singers are off to Ely at the end of July to sing the weekend services in Ely Cathedral. Some tricky music – we had the second of our three rehearsals today. It’ll be lovely!!

Blog/

Music, art, poetry launch and a party

It’s February. It’s rainy and windy. What better reason for arty distractions?

On Wednesday we slipped over to Chichester to see The Sixteen perform Handel’s Acis & Galatea in the cathedral.

The next day we visited the Pallant House Gallery to see an exhibition of work by 20th century artist Jessica Dismorr and several of her (female) contemporaries. I confess I hadn’t heard of her before, but enjoyed learning more about her life and seeing some of her art, which certainly developed over her lifetime, from this:

to more abstract work such as this, one of a series of pieces entitled ‘Related Forms’:

In a neighbouring room was an exhibition of work by Jann Haworth, mostly billed as ‘pop art’ and ‘soft sculpture, which was great fun. One of the pieces got me thinking about a poem, although I’m not generally into ekphrastic stuff. On the way in, visitors had been invited to think of a person who was their own female hero and to draw her face onto a card. The resulting display was strangely moving.

The Pallant House Gallery is housed mostly in a modern extension to an original Georgian house, although you pass seamlessly from one to the other when viewing exhibitions. Having started in the new section I was struck particularly by the different smells when walking into the rooms of the old house. A smell of old building, yet each room was different. The impressive stairway and hall of the old building is also used as an exhibition space, currently Wall Pomp by Pablo Bronstein which I loved – I want massive graphics like this in our flat!

pallant house stairway

That evening I was in Brighton for the launch of the first collection by poet friend Sarah Windebank, Memories of a Swedish Grandmother, together with five other books in the new series from Spotlight, which bills itself as a collaboration between Creative Futures, Myriad Editions and New Writing South. I’m so pleased for Sarah – it’s a super collection and I was privileged to hear several of the poems when she brought them to Brighton Stanza for workshopping. I also really enjoyed the reading by Jacqueline Haskell, a poet I wasn’t familiar with, and I came away with her book Stroking Cerberus.

Myriad Launch

myriad launch

Yesterday was the third of six choral workshop days that Nick and I are organising in Lewes and Eastbourne, and despite the threat of bad weather everyone showed up and we had a fine day learning one the six Bach Motets. The workshop days are great fun and high energy but take some organising. Three more to go. Following that, Nick went off to conduct a concert and I took myself to Brighton to Peter Kenny‘s birthday party and a right good knees up among poet and non-poet friends. Sadly I had to leave unfashionably early, but I slept very well last night.

Looks like the storm is abating – I hope you’re staying dry and well.