HOWL – Headlining: The Sun at the Station

Following the wonderful writing workshop with Claire Walker on the 12th August, I went home to select & rehearse my set for HOWL.

HOWL is a monthly spoken word event hosted and created by Leon Priestnall.

©Murdock Ramone Media

They have 3 headline acts each month as well as open mic slots. I was delighted when Leon asked me to headline earlier this year. The date clashed with Ledbury Poetry Festival and Ruth Stacey’s book launch. So I had to wait some extra time to grab this opportunity.

HOWL is always a great night, without fail you will feel thrilled by the performers and leave on a poetry high every time. I think this energy is how I set myself alight (not literally) – I was in the 2nd headline slot and had to make it through the first half and interval before hitting the stage. I had memorised part of my set and was also anxious to get the poems right and hopeful that the set I had selected would work, as I didn’t have my poetry notebooks with me.

I think all performers in this position worry about whether the material is appropriate, if this is the right audience.

I needn’t have worried the set was well received and I was delighted by people’s comments both on the poetry and my performance of it. I think this was probably my strongest headline set this year and I look forward to smashing through my own performance barriers another time.

The whole evening was exceptional. The open mic slots taken up by extremely talented poets.

The other headliners Sophie Sparham and Carl Sealeaf blew us all away. It was great meeting Sophie and reconnecting with Carl.

I am grateful to Leon for this opportunity and I still buzz just thinking about it!

Avoncroft Writing Workshop with Claire Walker

Following my London trip, I was delighted to have a place on Claire Walker’s Writing Workshop at Avoncroft.

It was a beautiful sunny morning too. The tickets were all sold and I met writers from Malvern and the surrounding area. Mark William’s Dad was there and Polly Robinson, who I  partnered up with for an activity. Great fun (and biscuits) were had by all.

I would love to run workshops like this and it is firmly written in my future plan. Claire was a great facilitator, calm and well prepared. The activities she chose were wonderfully creative and a joy to gain writing from. I am not going into detail in case she wishes to repeat the programme again. It was relaxed and worth every penny. We had the perfect amount of time to write balanced with space to share our writing if we wanted.

Amongst the writing that came from it, I have a poem ‘And in the Rockery Lay a Tiny Cup’ from the mixed bag activity, I am pleased with the end result and it hasn’t needed too much polishing or editing either.

The Poetry Café – Schooldays Anthology Book Launch Paper Swans Press

Having just spent the morning editing (nearly 3 hours, with poems already created) – it still amazes me the amount of time working on poetry and submissions takes, I have some time now before rehearsals (for NPD) to catch up with the blog.

I NEED TO CATCH UP! Step into my time machine and let’s go all the way back to…

AUGUST 8th 2015

PAPER SWANS PRESS – Schooldays Anthology – Book Launch

The Poetry Café – London

Paper Swans Press © 2015

My weekend in London was phenomenal. I was excited about reading at the Poetry Café – an achievement beyond my radar but one that I grew attached to.

I have family in London and the surrounding area and after my last ill-fated trip down on the Mega(Death)bus, I thought it was a good idea to create an entire adventure around the Paper Swan Press Book Launch, so I did!

I journeyed down on Friday in the car to Buckinghamshire and stayed with my Aunty, managed to catch up with cousins and their little ones and had a lovely, indulgent time. Saturday my Aunty (who came to enjoy the book launch readings) and I took the 30 minute train journey into London.

I met an old college friend, Helen – from my dance days, I had not seen her for 20 years, she was taking her eldest down as he was performing in the West End and was journeying with the entire family as it was summer they were spending down South for the run of the show!

Lovely coincidence and so amazing to hear the words; ‘I’m a poet now, I am going down for a Book Launch reading at the Poetry Café’… coming out of my mouth.

I gave myself permission for such things back in 2013 when my journey back into writing began and have only recently realised that a lot of people struggle with allowing themselves such a job title/ definition.

It was awesome again later, after the event when I was asked if I was a tourist and replied; ‘No I used to live down here. I am a Poet, I have been to a Book Launch.’ If only I had some extra copies of the anthology I could have sold at least two!

Nina Lewis © 2015

Finding the Poetry Café was a little harder than expected as we spent some time in Covent Garden mooching first, then decided it was best to find out where we were going. I did zone in with intuition – or a poet’s heart or something and didn’t make a wrong turn – well that’s a bit fictional, I had asked an extremely tall market trader for directions. It was as if he was performing a soliloquy. A very poetic one – though I suppose looking down on mere mortals of less than 6ft tall would have hurt his neck. Like most other people in the city (huge generalisation) I presumed he was a ‘resting’ actor.

ed. by A . B. Cooper, Ellie Danak & Sarah Miles

The book launch was a fabulous event. I loved the Poetry Café and everything about it. The coffee was good too and I was surprised by the reasonable charge for everything on the menu – it is the headquarters of the Poetry Society and there were workshops and other things going on at the same time as the anthology launch. Some poets I know were in the building, but sadly didn’t get around to the basement where we were reading amongst the heat of summer and fairy lights.

Poetry Café © 2015

It was great meeting the editors Sarah Miles and A.B Cooper and seeing the book ‘Schooldays Anthology’ in all its glory for the first time. I met Carole Bromley who I know through 52 online but had never met in person and saw Roy Marshall again, it was lovely to reconnect.

 Roy Marshall

 Nina Lewis

 A.B Cooper

Photography Credit Carole Bromley © 2015

The launch was lovely and it was great to hear poets sharing their own poems from the book. I enjoyed meeting new people and having a good, old natter.

Jessica Frost © 2015

Photography Credit Jessica Frost © 2015

© Nina Lewis 2015

© Nina Lewis 2015

Later, I met with my Uncle and Aunty for food in Holborn before journeying back on the buses to stay over for the night. After chat and wine and all the usual visiting relatives things happened, it was bedtime and I thoroughly enjoyed my night on the bed settee with the noises of the city that never sleeps sounding out at the edge of my dreams. It may sound strange but every since I moved back up to the Midlands I have been based in small towns and villages and although I gain a certain enjoyment from this environment and appreciate the safety of travelling alone through these places, I miss the bright lights, hum, energy, noise and 24/7ness of major cities. Which let’s face it are like mini villages unless you’re in the centre.

I had a great sleep and woke up incredibly excited, I could never manage the pace of the city full time, but as a visitor it wraps you in warm arms and extends a friendly welcome.

Nina Lewis © 2015

I explored the British Library and returned to the old haunts of Trafalgar Square, the national portrait gallery etc.

© Nina Lewis 2015

There was a massive food festival on at the time and it was more crowded than usual. I had a list of other places to go off to but in the end decided I was hot and tired, my bags were fairly heavy and although I had a magic weekend ticket (or not so as I needed assistance at every barrier), I needed the green of the shires again and headed back to Buckinghamshire, where a lovely relaxing lazy evening awaited.

I then spent another two days with my Aunty visiting relatives and shopping.

It was lovely to spend so much time together, she has always been so supportive of my writing.

The one thing I didn’t do whilst I was away was prepare for my Headline set at HOWL.

I headed back to the Midlands and spent an entire day rehearsing. It turned out to be one of my strongest and well received Headline slots to date. That’s for another blog post though.

http://paperswans.co.uk/schooldays-launch/

http://paperswans.co.uk/online-shop/

This month Schooldays has received a fine reviews on Sabotage Reviews and Write Out Loud, I am delighted to have my poem mentioned in both!

http://www.writeoutloud.net/public/blogentry.php?blogentryid=51033#.Ve7NzTLBMSA.twitter

http://sabotagereviews.com/2015/09/19/schooldays-ed-by-a-b-cooper-ellie-danak-sarah-miles/