Poetry Swindon Day 5 Farewell Brunchfast

50 poets in 5 days! It was hard to imagine this festival coming to a close, but like all good things it had to happen sometime and here is where it happened… on a Monday morning, like no other!

Day 5 Monday

9th October

To get me over my heartache of losing my roomie, Daljit Nagra had invited me to sit for Breakfast and this was the only day I didn’t have a massive breakfast. Nothing to do with sharing a table with Daljit, more the thought of croissants and bacon sandwiches over at the Brunchfast, that and because the business clients weren’t about after the weekend the breakfast was cooked rather than a buffet.

It was fun and a big, wonderful thanks to Daljit for his generosity on this one.

I checked out and then it was over to the Museum for a final spot of stewarding, which came in the form of waitressing and cashing out books with poets.

10:00 to 11:30  POETRY BRUNCHFAST & FAREWELL  RJ Museum Tent-Palace
The festival closes with final croissants and coffee and a few last, remarkable displays from our resident artists and poets. Join us for a lively goodbye, some poetry, coffee and free-range laughter as the tent-palace descends back into the van and we celebrate our 5th poetry festival.
Ticket includes continental breakfast, and maybe bacon… and toast

The Brunchfast was a spectacular affair, besides food and coffee/tea we had final performances from Resident Poets Daljit Nagra, Tania Hershman and Jacqueline Saphra as well as Jinny Fisher and Julia Webb.

 

It was our final chance to mingle and say our goodbyes.

And Poetry Swindon 2017 goes from this…

to this.

Until next year!

Photography Credits: Mark Farley (Official Festival photographer) and Richard Jefferies Museum © 2017 Copyright remains with them.

 

Poetry Swindon Day 4 Festival Finale

Poetry Swindon – Festival Finale.

A madly exciting final evening event.

20:00 ‘til late FESTIVAL FINALE RJ Museum Tent-Palace
With Mab Jones, A. F. Harrold, Edward Day, Inua Elams, and George Fell.
Tonight we celebrate the power of poetry in performance with some of Britain’s most exciting voices coming together, with fantastic music to polish everything off. Prepare to be dazzled!
Rather than the creator of Death Robots from Outer Space, expect the A. F. Harrold who started in a Blackwell’s bookshop in the late 1990s, before going on to becoming a full-time poet and workshop facilitator in the early 2000s.
Edward Day is a genderfluid poet and theatre maker. Performing in a wild, theatrical style, Edward reimagines daily life in many fantastical ways, from having the powers of a Jedi, to food growing knots inside him.
Mab Jones’ newest collection, Take your experience and peel it, is published by Indigo Dreams. Her first collection, Poor Queen, was published by Burning Eye Books. “Her best poems take my breath away.” – Gwyneth Lewis
Born in Nigeria, Inua Ellams is a cross art form practitioner, a poet, playwright & performer, graphic artist & designer and founder of the Midnight Run – an international, arts-filled, night-time, playful, urban, walking experience.
George Fell has been mesmerizing UK audiences with his instrumentals and arrangements for
almost a decade, originally developing his technique from early Blues and Country recordings,
and the guitar as a solo instrument.

A. F. Harrold

George Fell

Mab Jones

Inua Elams

Edward Day

I have had the pleasure of watching A. F. Harrold in action before, many years ago when he headlined SpeakEasy in Worcester. I enjoyed his performance immensely.

George Fell is an exceptionally talented musician and it was wonderful to have his set peppered between the poets. I have really enjoyed music being a part of the festival this year.

Mab Jones I first saw in Birmingham, reading from her Indigo Dreams publication ‘Take Your Experience and Peel It’. I was looking forward to watching her perform again after seeing her around the festival for a few days. I enjoyed her performance poetry too. (Like me, she has a foot in both camps.)

Edward Day discovered Poetry Swindon last year and that is where we met. Since then Edward has developed a Touring Show based on Shakespeare and Gaming, it was an excerpt from this the audience were treated too. Very impressive.

Inua Elams I first saw earlier this year in Birmingham and he delivered the same clever poetry – using his document list to find poems on themes chosen by the audience.

It was a fabulous finale.

It didn’t end there, we also had the end of festival speeches and celebrations.

Maurice Spillane and Mike Pringle, two of the masters behind the festival and mentors of bread cutting and festival prep, invited the team on stage and spoke highly of Hilda Sheehan for curating another amazing Poetry Swindon.

They announced the Firework display and gave a sparky foresight into what was to come.

The Finale was billed ’til Late and it was! Toast-gate also occurred-  the table was emptied during the interval, so we had to restock the toast station for hungry festival goers, which meant an impromptu bread carving lesson from Mr Mike Pringle.

The Bar had another late opening too – which is going to guarantee poets staying to mingle and on top of all that there was a firework display!

The team had reckoned an end of Festival Party, however – due to the series of late nights and people needing sleep, we ended up with no wrap party. This was fine as we had a party to end all parties the night before with Sarah L. Dixon and we had just had the most incredible Fireworks party thanks to Mike Pringle and Tony Hillier, who themselves choreographed a dance in High Vis jackets and bright lamps that rivalled the fireworks display. In fact I suggested for next year they may want to work on this act!

 

Photography Credits: Mark Farley (Official Festival photographer) and Richard Jefferies Museum © 2017 Copyright remains with them.

Poetry Swindon Festival – Day 4

Photography Credits: Mark Farley (Official Festival photographer) and Richard Jefferies Museum © 2017 Copyright remains with them.

Day 4 

Sunday 8th October

Sunday… a day of rest? Erm, NO! It was quite a sad day, we had already lost Gram Joel Davies to the dreaded Swindon Lurgy, which was caught by the whole team and some of our resident poets too and Jill Carter the Artist in Residence! Today we had to wave goodbye to Sarah L. Dixon*. We also had to steward on very little sleep and draining energy supplies. So extra holes in the heart were quick to drag us down. But we were picked up by the ever positive Hilda Sheehan in the morning meeting where we scheduled the last full day of the festival.

*I knew I was going to miss Sarah, lots. I managed to sneak a little message and a poem into her suitcase for her to find once she made it home. After having a roommate it was very strange to be in a room on my own.

This was the final day of workshops, Jacqueline Saphra had stepped up to run a workshop as Jacci Bulman was unable to make it and Rishi Dastidar was booked to facilitate a Call & Response Workshop.

10:00 to 12:00 WORKSHOP: Call and Response Sun Inn With Rishi Dastidar
We’ve all been to workshops where we’ve been inspired by other poems, maybe visual art too, and then written in response to them. So what happens when we use pop songs instead? That’s the simple premise behind ‘Call and Response’, where some great music will hopefully provide great inspiration for writing poems. Just bring some paper, pencils – and your ears.
Rishi Dastidar is a fellow of The Complete Works, a consulting editor at The Rialto magazine, a member of the Malika’s Poetry Kitchen collective. His debut collection, Ticker-tape, is published by Nine Arches Press.

It was a most enjoyable experience, music really bringing me to waking moments on this tired Sunday morning, full of thoughts of goodbyes and trying to keep a balanced heart, this workshop lifted me out of that head-space. It was fast, furious and fun and a surprising amount of poetry was created. I loved hearing everyone’s takes on the same pieces and Rishi was a fantastic workshop leader. I would not hesitate to workshop with him again!

Over at the Museum A. F. Harrold had it all under control at the Open Mic Talent Show. This was the 2nd event for children, the first took place on Thursday 5th October on the opening day of the festival, whilst we were at Artsite.

10:30 to 12:00 POETRY RHYME TIME RJ Museum Tent-Palace 
You are invited to meet Custard the Dragon, The Owl and the Pussy Cat, and many more famous poetry friends. A fun and animated poetry rhyme time with music and movement for under 5’s, with arts & crafts with Suzie, and poetry.

Events for children is another great element of the Poetry Swindon Festival. Children are no strangers to the Richard Jefferies Museum programme either.

A. F. Harrold and Milo.

10:30 to 12:00 CHILDREN’S OPEN MIC TALENT SHOW RJ Museum Tent-Palace 
With A. F. Harrold
A morning of poetry play and fun for children under 11 years, presented by Milo age 10 and A.F. Harold. With Special Guest Young Poet Sophie Daniels. Come along with a poem, a song or a story – one you have created yourself, or a favourite!
A.F. Harrold is the author of the hilarious Fizzlebert Stump series, the award-winning book The Imaginary and the children’s poetry collections I Eat Squirrels and Things You Find In A Poet’s Beard (illustrated by Chris Riddell). He is well known for his energetic and silly performances where almost anything can happen. Expect poems, jokes, beards and nonsense, and maybe a snippet of his brand new book, Greta Zargo and the Death Robots from Outer Space.

Back to the Museum for Lunch and an action packed day for the team with three Stewards down. Julia Webb had stepped up to an afternoon reading as a poet couldn’t make it and had some time to go and prepare and of course, we had lost Gram and Sarah. I think this was one of the hardest work days, but all work is fun when you are part of such a great team.

13:30 to 14:30 READINGS RJ Museum Tent-Palace
With Rishi Dastidar, Jessica Mookherjee & Camilla Nelson
Transgressions and experiments of three daring poets who tread where it doesn’t seem safe or sane, and so manage to open our eyes and ears to the real pulse of the present.
If you were unable to get to Rishi Dastidar ‘s workshop in the morning, this is your chance to hear from his debut collection, Ticker-tape.
Camilla Nelson is a language artist, researcher and collaborator. Her current work is Apples & Other Languages, published by Knives Forks and Spoons.
Jessica Mookherjee is a poet of Bengali origin. Her first collection, Darshan will be published by Cultured Llama in 2018.

I have heard Rishi Dastidar reading at Ledbury and Waterstones Birmingham and it is always a delight to hear from this collection, Ticker-tape. Nine Arches Press were certainly well represented at this year’s festival.

In the afternoon reading I was so touched by one of Jessica Mookherjee’s poems that I completely unravelled! Which was a tricky situation to be in when there is no-one around as everyone was busy watching the event.

This is the power of poetry.

A speedy turn around for the last Open Mic event of the festival and one I could finally take part in.

15:00 to 16:00 OPEN MIC – Magic RJ Museum Tent-Palace 
‘I believe reality is approximately 65% if. All rivers are full of sky. Waterfalls are in the mind. We all come from slime.’ Dean Young Can you pull a poem out of hat? Join in as poetry is conjured from every beautiful mind. With special guest readings from Kathy Gee & Liz Mills – once upon a time Kathy was a museum curator, so for quite a while she wrote about ‘stuff’ and what we leave behind. Liz has written and acted all her life but only started writing poetry last summer.

During this event many poets appeared (for the next event) and I really wanted to leave the book stall and go to catch up with them, but I was torn as it seemed rude to miss the open mic-ers and I was also waiting for a slot (names were pulled from a hat). I stayed put.

I enjoyed the ‘Magic’ open mic and this time it was the turn of Kathy Gee and Liz Mills to take the Guest Spots. It was a lively event with some beautifully magic poetry.

Guest Poet Kathy Gee

Louisa Davison

Louisa Campbell

Miranda L. Barnes

Susan Taylor

Shaun Butler

Iris Anne Lewis

James Harris

I performed one of the shortest poems in the book ‘Linger’.

Bethan Rees

Simon Williams

Guest Poet Liz Mills

A quick stint behind the bar and then it was onto the final afternoon Readings of the festival. I was very much looking forward to seeing Daniel Sluman reading again and discovering the poetry of Alex Josephy, having met her earlier on at the Book Stall. Melissa Lee-Houghton was unable to make it so we had the delight of Julia Webb reading from her collection Bird Sisters (also Nine Arches Press).

16:30 to 17:30 READINGS RJ Museum Tent-Palace
With Melissa Lee-Houghton, Daniel Sluman & Alex Josephy
Intense and exacting reading from three of Britain’s rawest readers.
Melissa Lee-Houghton was named a Next Generation Poet 2014 for Beautiful Girls. Her latest book, Sunshine (Penned in the Margins, 2016) saw her shortlisted for the Costa Poetry Award, Ted Hughes Award and Forward Prize for Best Single Poem. Daniel Sluman is a poet and disability rights activist based in Oxfordshire. He was named one of Huffington Post’s Top 5 British Poets to Watch in 2015. His debut collection Absence has a weight of its own was released by Nine Arches Press in 2012. Alex Josephy lives in London and Italy. She has been a student and teacher of poetry all her life and leads a poetry reading group in East London. Her poems have been published widely in magazines and anthologies.

Alex Josephy

Daniel Sluman

Julia Webb

Then came the teatime rush and finally the Festival Finale… which deserves a post all to itself!

Poetry Swindon Festival Day 3

Photography Credits: Mark Farley (Official Festival photographer) and Richard Jefferies Museum © 2017 Copyright remains with them.

Day 3 

Saturday 7th October 

What better way to spend the weekend than at a poetry festival. Full of energy (and hash browns), I was ready in green for another day in the Tent Palace and Richard Jefferies Museum.

Just like Friday, Saturday kicked off with poetry workshops (after morning meetings for the team).

10:00 to 12:00 WORKSHOP: Blurred Boundaries RJ Museum Tent-Palace
With Tania Hershman
Some poems are also fictions; some stories are also poems. Where does one end and the other begin? We will take a wander through this fuzzy territory, from poem to short story and the weird and wonderful in between.

10:00 to 12:00 WORKSHOP: Being ‘Political’ Holiday Inn 
With Daljit Nagra
Some poems can hit you over the head with their political rage, or they can try to persuade you to their vision as the best way ahead. Explore with Daljit some ways in which poetry can deal with contemporary issues but with complexity and subtlety. Participants should expect to have tried to write their own poems of witness in the session.

Knowing it would stretch me – I opted for a 2nd workshop with Daljit Nagra. Another action packed session and more potential poems scribbled in my notebook. A whole sequence on Education materialised.

Then it was back to the Museum for Lunch before the first afternoon event, another open mic, this time with the theme of Happiness and guest spots from Marilyn Hammick and John Mills.

 

13:00 to 14:00 OPEN MIC: Happiness RJ Museum Tent-Palace
‘Oh god it’s wonderful to get out of bed, drink too much coffee…and love you so much.’ Frank O’Hara
This open mic aims to have everyone leaving the tent palace with a smile on their face. Bring us your joys and your gleefulness. Feel like the sun is shining, even if it’s raining! With special guest readings from Marilyn Hammick & John Mills.

14:30 to 15:30 POETS & PUBLISHERS RJ Museum Tent-Palace 
Discussions led by poet Carrie Etter with two prominent poetry editors, Amy Wack and Mary Jean Chan. Come and join a discussion about what it takes to get published.
Carrie Etter is a Reader in Creative Writing at Bath Spa University. Her most recent collection, Imagined Sons (Seren, 2014), was shortlisted for the Ted Hughes Award in New Work in Poetry by The Poetry Society.
Since 1990, American expatriate Amy Wack has edited Seren Books’ multi-prizewinning poetry list. Her own poems have appeared in various journals, most recently a 12-part poem inspired by feral cats in Spain in Long Poem Magazine.
Mary Jean Chan, from Hong Kong, is shortlisted for the 2017 Forward Prize for Best Single Poem and is Co-Editor at Oxford Poetry. Her work has been published in The Poetry Review, Ambit, The Rialto, The London Magazine, Callaloo Journal.

This was a truly insightful event to attend and some interesting questions were answered.

16:00 to 17:00 MAD & GLOW RJ Museum Tent-Palace
Mad & Glow are Jacqueline Saphra and Tania Hershman, but they refuse to tell who is who. However, they do promise to entertain you with brazen stories in poem and prose from each and both; a confederacy of words from a world that contains mad mothers and glowing jellyfish, kisses and war, salt, light and a few waterlilies.

This was an interesting event which will appear again next February at the Verve Festival of Poetry & Spoken Word in Birmingham. I feel a little honoured to have been part of the first outing and had a jam sandwich to boot!

 

Another thing I love about Poetry Swindon is the action on feedback. Last year the only thing missing was somewhere to sit. So they created the bar area for refreshments outside, plenty of picnic tables, relocated the Tent Palace and the old tea room/book shop became a whole room to chill out in, with gingham tablecloths littered with poetry magazines. Sarah and I dip into some our poems made it into and some they didn’t.

Christina Newton – Organiser Battered Moons

19:00 to 21:00 BATTERED MOONS RJ Museum Tent-Palace 
With Malika Booker
Battered Moons 2017 will be celebrating seven winning poets and their poems, with dazzling poet Malika Booker handing out the prizes and reading from her own work. Malika is a Douglas Caster Cultural Fellow at the University of Leeds and chair of the Forward Prizes for Poetry 2016. Her Malika’s Poetry Kitchen has inspired models from Delhi to Chicago.
The evening will include a musical treat brought by the outstanding voice of Caitlin Eastham and her band.

 

Caitlin Eastham

Malika Booker

 

 

A spectacular event (to almost round off the evening) with music, winning poems and Malika Booker (who I first discovered at Ledbury Poetry Festival this year), a woman with a heart as big as Poetry Swindon. It was lovely managing a quick chat with her later in the evening.

The final event of the evening was a musical one, much acclaimed and my late night bar duty.

21:30 ‘til late LATE NIGHT TOAST SPECIAL RJ Museum Tent-Palace
Keith James in concert – The Songs of Leonard Cohen
With a lifetime reputation of performing and an undying love of the ‘pure song’ Keith James gives you a concert of Cohen’s amazing material in the most intimate and sensitive way imaginable, exposing the solitary inner strength of his greatest songs in their original perfect form.
‘Some of the most atmospheric and emotive music you will ever hear.’
The Independent.

You can catch Keith James here.

This event was thoroughly enjoyed by all in The Tent Palace of Delicious Air and those of us outside it. *

After a late night bar, we finished late… later than the night before. The Late Night Special finished later than any other event on the schedule, the start scheduled at the time most events finished. Then there was the bar… then after the last festival goers had gone to bed… the team celebrated Sarah L. Dixon’s pre-Birthday, Birthday! Somewhat of a new tradition having managed to have her big, special birthday on her final day in Swindon last year. There was cake and beer.

 

*This year… Sarah started the celebrations before Battered Moons Event…

Tony Hillier loves any excuse to dance, after we all went to bed on Friday, he went out clubbing… so two late nights in a row for this man who could teach us all a thing or two about partying!

By the time Keith James took to the stage there was a competing house party in the Museum! And like all good parties it happened in the kitchen, no. The bathroom! Pizza had been ordered and merriment was on the agenda.

I had been outside manning the bar, but realising the games were afoot inside and attempting to go and soundproof the venue, I discovered the epicentre of the party on the landing and you know, these are once in a lifetime moments (like sharing barn hammocks with Angela France and Jo Bell in 2014).

At the officially organised pre-birthday/last night party there was a dance floor, a special mix tape that Hilda had compiled, the Swindon Dog, Poetry Pram balloons and plenty of dancing feet. It was a marvellous, strange, fun night. One that finished just 5 hours before we had to be up again. Sarah herself was having to leave the next day, which had to be an easier exit than workshops, events and stewarding… something to bear in mind when the Dancing Queen pulls this again!

When a party starts after Midnight… we eventually made it to bed with a few hours to sleep before morning alarms!

Poetry Swindon Day 2 – Evening

After the excitement of the afternoon poetry ramble, people were hungry and lots of drinks and amazing cakes were bought and consumed. After that was served and cleared away we were all ready for more poetry.

17:00 to 18:00 READINGS RJ Museum Tent-Palace
Poke into the poetry box! Treasures of the heart, inca-named stardust, and various severed body parts! An hour of humour and water with Sue Rose, Emma Simon and Simon Williams.
Emma Simon won the Prole Laureate poetry competition in 2013 and loss, love & severed body parts scatter through her first collection Dragonish (The Emma Press). Simon Williams latest collection, Inti, was published in July. Sue Rose is the author of three poetry collections. Heart Archives was published by Hercules Editions in 2014.

An hour of poetry from Sue Rose, Emma Simons and Simon Williams. Sue Rose read from Heart Archives – Hercules Editions, Emma read from Dragonish – Emma Press, Simon read from Inti.

It was an enjoyable and well received reading.

Simon Williams

 

Emma Simon

Sue Rose

This left time for tea and a myriad of jobs to do before all entering the Tent Palace for the final reading of the night. We finished with Primers.

20:00 to 21:00 POETRY PRIMERS RJ Museum Tent-Palace
The 2016 nationwide Primers scheme of The Poetry School & Nine Arches Press discovered the talents of Ben Bransfield, Cynthia Miller and Marvin Thompson.
Ben Bransfield was named a Teacher Trailblazer by the Poetry Society in 2015. Cynthia Miller is a Malaysian-American poet, currently part of Room 204, Writing West Midlands’ creative development programme for emerging writers. Marvin Thompson’s poems/sequences have appeared in a number of magazines.

It was an evening rich in poetry.

Primer Poets introduced by Tony Hillier and pictured with Publisher Jane Commane.

Ben Bransfield

Cynthia Miller

Marvin Thompson

The night followed with traditional free toast, the bar was open and just through the first thicket of trees a Bonfire complete with camp fire log seats, was enjoyed by poets and punters. The team caught up once the bar was closed.

See, I told you this festival was special!

It felt like this was a late finish after the toast and bonfire… but as I was to discover… this evening had nothing on late.

Photography Credits: Mark Farley (Official Festival photographer), Gram Joel Davies and Richard Jefferies Museum © 2017 Copyright remains with them.

Poetry Swindon Festival 2017

I have divided my festival review posts into days, sometimes half days and on occasion by events. The programme was action packed and I do not want to overwhelm you!

Photography Credits: Mark Farley (Official Festival photographer), Gram Joel Davies, Jennifer Berry and Richard Jefferies Museum © 2017 Copyright remains with them.

Poetry Swindon Festival took place in October. It is one of my favourite Poetry Festivals, such a laid back ambience and always an incredible programme. A really caring festival, where you feel part of a poetry family. Lots of people describe it as the friendliest festival.

I have attended the festival before, the first time back in 2014 (my 1st year as a poet), this was my 3rd year and this year I had the opportunity to join the team. I have never chosen to steward at a festival before as I usually like to participate fully. I missed being totally absorbed in the programme and having the freedom to talk to everyone, but it was a wonderful experience and one I know I will repeat and it also enabled me to enjoy a wonderful poetry festival, for which I am grateful.

Poetry Swindon Festival was created from the Swindon Literature Festival. For 5 years they have run an immensely varied and brilliant festival programme.

This year they had not 2 but 3 Poets in Residence: Tania Hershman, Daljit Nagra and Jacqueline Saphra. Who all committed fully to the role of resident poets. They came to many of the festival events, stepped up to be Workshop Leaders, opened their workshops to additional participants and were available to talk to poets all weekend. Jacqueline was also the official Guest Blogger over on the Festival Chronicle (Louisa Davison).

I arrived on the Wednesday afternoon, the entire team were gathered by the evening at  Artsite in Theatre Square in the Town Centre, ready to dress the Number Nine Gallery space for the opening day. It was a fun evening and Hilda Sheehan provided us all with a beautiful homemade curry for our hard work.

Preparation included posters displayed in windows and dressing the space, which meant a trip to buy flowers, no shot of the full trolley, which looked beautiful. We prepared the Poetry Pram, set chairs out for the audience and made up all the badges.

Preparing the Poetry Pram.

I managed to pop my shoulder after photo bombing these two. We were booked to perform V Formation on the opening Night of the Festival. I was attempting to make the V.

Gram Joel Davies, Stephen Daniels and Nina Lewis V. Press Poets

It was lovely to meet Gram in real life after being internet (52) poetry friends since 2014.

Thursday 5th 

The next morning the festival kicked of at the Number Nine Gallery with Poems Aloud, an open mic event and Jinny Fisher took her Poetry Pram out onto the streets of Swindon.

Poems Aloud

10:00 to 12:00 POEMS ALOUD Artsite, Number Nine Gallery, Theatre Square, Swindon
‘I celebrate myself, and sing myself’ Walt Whitman
Come and share some favourite poems, or your own work, to launch the Poetry Swindon Festival. Hosted by Hilda Sheehan & Maurice Spillane, it will be a warm and friendly gathering, with The Poetry Pram out and about too.

FREE

Poetry Swindon Festival Programme © 2017

 

 

There were many performers and a good sized crowd for the opening event of the festival. Here are just a selection of photos from Poems Aloud.

Maurice Spillane

Matt Holland from Lower Shaw Farm, the original home of Swindon Poetry Festival.

 

He came bearing gifts…

Nina Lewis

Olivia Tuck

Stephen Daniels

Tony Hillier

Jonathan Robert Muirhead

Mark Farley

Julia Webb

Hannah Linden

Edward Day

Sam Loveless

Gram Joel Davies

Robert Stredder

Jinny Fisher

Sarah Dixon

Then it was time to take the Poetry Pram out and about.

 

 

Jinny Fisher: ‘This charming trio of barbers were the first to enjoy poems from the Poetry Pram on the first day of Swindon Poetry Festival, as part of the Poems Aloud event. Thanks to all the up-for-it poets who sent in poems. It was a fun event and unused poems were left in the pram, which was parked in the festival tent, for festival participants to enjoy and replace. So I still have a lot of poems, which I’ll carefully keep, for the next time. I hope there will be a next time! Many thanks to the irrepressible Tony Hillier and Hannah Linden for helping this event shape up into a weirdly fun experience — for all.’

Lunch was served after all this excitement.

Followed by Poetry Films with Chaucer Cameron and Helen Dewbery (Elephantfootprints).

14:00 to 15:00 POETRY FILMS Artsite, Number Nine Gallery, Theatre Square, Swindon
Join us to discover how poetry film can offer a rich and visceral experience. Poetry Film Live editors, Chaucer Cameron and Helen Dewbery will present a dazzling selection of international poetry films.
FREE

It was poetry films on show in the attic rooms of the Richard Jefferies Museum last year, which made me create my own.

It was an interesting event and great to see some examples of work.

Chaucer and Helen were very much part of the Festival this year. They invited selected poets (I was lucky enough to be one of them) and they projected our poems onto the walls of the Museum in the evening. There are not many photographs of this amazing film work but I did find a photo showing a reaction to one of the poems and in the video below there are several shots of their work.

 

 

Whilst writing this review I discovered two videos created by the Richard Jefferies Museum – home of Swindon Poetry Festival. The first one gives you all the flavour of the festival and the second one is a record of the hard work the team are putting in on site. Enjoy!

Richard Jeffries Museum Video by Paul Gentleman

SWINDON POETRY FESTIVAL 2015

Swindon Poetry Festival – blissful, amazing, supportive, friendly, fun, abundant opportunities, fabulous workshops, performances and readings, fantastic venue and lovely vegetarian food, what more could a poet wish for… well, the whole weekend for starters. I thought I was being very clever organising an action packed day and a bit of writing time, next year I plan on making the whole festival a 5 day stretch – Thursday to Monday morning.

I didn’t want to leave and if plans hadn’t already been made for the weekend I would have booked extra tickets for almost all of the events on offer in the programme.

The programmes themselves were works of Art, striking covers and clear festival listings sandwiched between poems from the performers booked for the weekend. Most of us will keep festival programmes so to have one as worthwhile as Swindon’s is a blessing. There were also Battered Moon pamphlets handed out over the weekend with winning poetry inside and the winner of the Buzzwords competition was announced too. The whole weekend was one massive celebration of words, poetry and poets and the whole community/ retreat feeling just added to the excitement of spending time together.

Everyone was friendly, I was trying to catch up with people I knew and get to meet new people too but my anxieties ran high and I wasn’t the best of company some of the time, watching others approaching strangers and not feeling confident enough to do the same. I did spend some of my free time writing as well, which makes talking to people a bit hard.

I first met Hilda Sheehan in January 2014 at Buzzwords, Cheltenham, an excellent evening organised by Angela France. Hilda is an amazing, generous person and an immensely talented poet. This year she had Jo Bell there as resident poet and she certainly worked hard in her role. Both these poets are a pleasure to be around. Their positivity is contagious and smiles have to be shared.

I met a lot of people who had never been to a Poetry Festival before and some who had only recently picked up the genre. The mix of residents and day trippers made for great conversational dynamics and as with everything in the world of poetry many of us knew each other.

I had hoped to make this festival in 2014 but work prevented it. I booked my tickets in the last few weeks of September believing it to be miles away and then realising Swindon Poetry Festival was just a week away!

It came at the end of a busy work week (unfortunately) I promise myself now I will plan better for 2016! I need FULL energy to appreciate this world fully!

Many of the events and the residential accommodation is at Lower Shaw Farm, an amazing place. Tickets are sold through Eventbrite and it couldn’t be easier book.

 

 Poetry Swindon Festival Programme 

 

“The friendliest and least pretentious; rich, diverse, and encompassing; pushing past conventional views of poetry in the twenty-first century; intimately global; startlingly fresh.” Robert Peake

We welcome you to Poetry Swindon Festival 2015. Our aim to offer up poetry on a pleasurable plate mixed with music, film, food, walking, boat trips, and some Dorothy Parker to ensure you have a good time during this one big creative programme over five days. 

This year, we are very fortunate to have the Canal Laureate Jo Bell with us all weekend. She brings with her great poetry fresh from her new collection Kith, published earlier in the year by Nine Arches Press. Jo offers us readings, chats, workshops, a canal trip and one-one poetry surgeries. You can book for the entire weekend at Lower Shaw Farm and enjoy the whole caboodle.

POETRY SWINDON FESTIVAL 2015

We have an exciting programme from 1st October to 5th October this year with wonderful visiting poets and masterclasses. Don’t miss: Jo Bell, Kei Miller, Robert vas Dias, Angela France, Ellie Woollard, Tania Hershman, Myra Schneider, Andy Jackson, Richard Skinner, Pascale Petit, Ross Cogan, David Clarke, Anna Saunders, Jacqui Saphra, Lynette Thomas, Robert Stredder, Jackie Bardwell and Cherry Potts.

I booked Friday and had the pleasure of the X-ray Spex Workshop with Jo Bell, which has given me at least 3 or 4 poems to work on.

I was one of ten 52 Poets who performed our work and promoted the anthology over lunch.

I thoroughly enjoyed Andy Jackson and the Double Bill event, followed by Kei Miller and then an evening back at the ranch with all the resident poets.

The following day after a comfortable night’s sleep, I shared time with people and wrote away the morning on the farm before I had to return home to normality and a world where words are sometimes harder to find.

There will be more photographs shared – a taster of the weekend coming soon.

 

 

 

RELATED LINKS

http://www.lowershawfarm.co.uk/oct-2015

http://poetryswindon1.blogspot.co.uk

Corinium Museum Poetry Competition – Results

A few months ago 4 Stanza poets (and many more online) took a trip to Corinium Museum, which could have stayed in the tearooms with cake, were it not for a side door straight into the Museum!

It was a great day out – Poets Day Trips (a tour idea for the future), we thoroughly enjoyed each other’s company, the company and freedom of our notebooks and the wonders of this museum in Cirencester.

Sometime later we all submitted poems based on the artefacts for a competition that Hilda Sheehan was judging.

I am delighted to announce that 50% of our day trip team won! Kathy Gee was Highly Commended as well as Short Listed for her 2^nd poem, Claire Walker and Sarah Leavesley (our stanza leader) were also Short Listed. Maggie Doyle performed her poem at a recent Book Launch and I am still playing with the word ‘triskle’ on my tongue.

There poems will be on display in the museum, congratulations to you all!

Winners of the three age categories

Adults: Orion and Lepus by Emma Halliday

12-15 year olds: Horae by Annabelle Fuller

Under 12s: The Poppy by Sophie Martin

 

RELATED LINKS:

http://coriniummuseum.org/2015/04/02/corinium-poetry-competition-winners/

A Day in My Writing Skin! (The 1st of the Year!)

Stretches her arms into a whole day of writing!

 

There is no excuse really for this being the 1st day of 2014 dedicated to writing. I go back to work tomorrow and there have been 5 days in the year already. Obviously the 1st is always a bit of a write off (no pun intended!) I did manage to sign up to 52 Jo Bell’s new writing project for 2014 and Mindful Writing at the start of the month.

 

I also registered for the next Hay House Summit, having missed the last one
I spent a frantic evening or two attempting to watch as many videos as I could before they were taken off the FREE resource lists!

 

 

The 2nd saw me attempt 2 poetry events in the same 8 hours, not for the faint hearted and probably not something I will manage again….Poetry For Lunch, & Liz Lefroy’s New Year Poetry Open Mic with Uncharacteristic Largesse.

The best part of Friday 3rd was spent in recovery, asleep! After I made myself spend several  hours updating writing admin, schedules, action plans, excel sheets, research lists and the like.

Saturday was an epically busy day in the real world, as I attempted to squeeze visits to most of the family into one day – having been too ill to see any of them much over Christmas and the New Year (this was similar to attempting 2 poetry gigs in a day, but with less driving and more food)!

© 2013 hearthouse – www.hearthouse.ca

 

Yesterday I had another day catching up on sleep after the mass tour of the family and had just enough time to help out by tidying up the kitchen before I went out to Buzzwords – A workshop with Hilda Sheehan and an Open Mic!

Today I made sure I was up and ‘actioning’ by 8 AM – which is a miracle – as I am not a morning person, especially not after a poetry gig the night before. I have made time allowances for de-decorating the Christmas decs, which are (as per tradition) coming down as it is the 12th night. And some much-needed -to-be-done-before-returning-to-work-household-chores!

I love a day like today, a writing day, even the sun has come and tried to frighten the rainstorms away. I spent the first part of the morning catching up on reading.

I have spent an hour online, researching websites and submissions, I have added two events – a book launch and an open mic to my desk diary for this month and I have subscribed to another mailing list.

I also managed to empty one inbox (the smaller of the 3 accounts) and have caught up with essential emails from the other two. Discovering a terrifying thing, a booking for work that had already been confirmed mid-January, that wasn’t in my diary and so now I have to postpone both an interview and public poetry performance! (Not looking forward to those emails/ calls…)

Off to have lunch and pack up the Christmas decorations.

Then this afternoon will actually involve writing!

3rd Event of the Month – Buzzing!

Today’s weather was pretty awful and I was think twice about this round trip (in the UK we consider 90 miles a long way – or at least I do!) After the night at Shrewsbury and the terrible journey home, I promised myself I would visit venues further afield only once Spring has broken. I broke my promise… well, January is the month for that is it not!

Angela France (whose book launch I went to in the Autumn) runs (and has run for just under a decade) a great spoken word event called Buzzwords, in Gloucestershire.

It starts with a workshop, usually facilitated by the guest poet, tonight Hilda Sheehan, followed by open mic and guest poet slots in two halves. It was a great night and I have come away with one new poem and ideas for 18 others.

Plus I now have a set of 3 poems I know by heart (my mission this year) and I have heard and met many new poets and had a fantastic night (except for the scary few hours on the road aquaplaning and unable to clearly see the road markings!)

I had a great night, Hilda’s work is moving and amusing and I look forward to finding more.

Thanks to Angela France for such a great night!