What a wonderful evening of poetry we had a week ago! Probably the biggest and most enthusiastic audience yet, and one of our best meetings ever, with a glorious performance from Mark Haworth-Booth and some very strong contributions in the open-mic sessions.
Our next meeting will be on Monday 3rd June at 7pm in the upstairs room at The King’s Head in Wells High Street. Our guest poet will be Pratibha Castle (Miniskirts in the Waste Land, 2023) and as usual there will be open mic opportunities.
Jean Atkin writes: “Here is a vivid and sensual poetry of short lines and sharp images that carry the fortunate reader all the way from Portobello Market to Mahatma Gandhi Road in India – ‘the air a ferment// of patchouli, rotten apples’. These poems are vividly-drawn snapshots of a time, and mind, and place – and I am very much drawn in.”
No-one could accuse our guest reader, Mark Haworth-Booth, of not being socially engaged! He is a Parish Councillor, District Councillor, Chair of North Devon Green Party, member or Chair of several committees (both cultural and political), activist with Extinction Rebellion, and co-ordinator of North Devon Stanza. Mark is an award-winning poet who writes about his wildlife-rich habitat, but also about large and immediate public issues – from the need to address the Climate Emergency to the need for a ceasefire in Gaza. He believes that poetry is whatever it needs to be. His poems also reflect his long career as a curator at the Victoria and Albert Museum where he worked with many notable artists and designers. His reading will explain how his poems came about – sometimes from a chance wildlife encounter, sometimes prompted by the work of another poet.
The meeting will be upstairs at The King’s Head (7pm as usual), on Monday 6th May. The pub is in Wells High Street, conveniently close to the Union Street car park. The food is good. Why not come early and have supper beforehand?
Our April meeting was full of wonderful poems, both from our very engaging guest Tristram Fane Saunders, a great performer of his work, and from regular and visiting poets in the open mic sessions.
I’m sorry to say that the evening of poetry at Quilter Hall on 20th April has been cancelled because the organisers “have unfortunately not managed to secure a big enough audience to proceed with the event.”
Wells Litfest Poetry Competition closes on 30th June. It will be judged by Dr Anthony Joseph, winner of the T.S.Eliot Prize 2022, one of the speakers at last year’s Festival.
Wirral Poetry Festival: thanks to Ewa for sending this link, which will take you to the website where you can book a place on Chester Poets’ next Zoom Session on Tuesday 23rd April. This will include a virtual tour of Ron’s Place and a discussion on Outsider Art.
Open-minded, enthusiastic reading is the first step towards good writing. –Tristram Fane Saunders
There are so many people who want to see their poetry published but so few who want to buy other people’s work. – Maytree Press, on ceasing publication, March 2024
ways with words in the city of Wells 