Sarah Wardle on the Web

• Fields Away by Sarah Wardle on PopMatter website

http://www.popmatters.com/pm/review/fields-away

quite detailed and positive review by John Sears

• Tottenham Hotspur FC - Poetry in Motion: Woman’s Hour Interview with Martha Kearney on BBC website (audio)

http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/womanshour/2004_16_sat_01.shtml

discussing her appointment as poet in residence at White Hart Lane, which led to her second book, SCORE!, plus a poem read

• Sarah Wardle on British Council Writers Directory website

http://literature.britishcouncil.org/sarah-wardle

brief information & statement, plus a little discussion of Fields Away & SCORE!

• Interview with poet Sarah Wardle on Dr Stephen Ginn’s blog “frontier psychiatrist”

http://frontierpsychiatrist.co.uk/interview-with-poet-sarah-wardle/

Sarah Wardle’s third book A Knowable World was largely written when she was detained on psychiatric wards: quite revealing. She had attended & addressed the 2010 Annual London Psychiatry Trainee Conference: The Art of Psychiatry.

• The International Linguistics of Art and Music on the Institute for Cultural Diplomacy website

http://www.culturaldiplomacy.org/acd/content/articles/2011loam/participant-papers/The_international_linguistics_of_art_and_music.pdf

Sarah Wardle, here as University of Middlesex academic and FRSA, discusses clearly and powerfully her sense of lyric poetry as covering the range of what is meant by being human

Poems Online

• http://www.poetrysociety.org.uk/content/competitions/dearmer/gd1999/

2 poems published in Fields Away - The Geoffrey Dearmer Prize 1999

• http://www.tottenhamhotspurs.tv/forum/players-lounge/6317-spurs-poems-sarah-wardle.html

3 poems from SCORE! on a Spurs fansite

• http://www.versedaily.org/pastoral.shtml

poem from Fields Away

Next Meeting June 6

The next meeting will be at 7.30, Wednesday June 6, at the Coffee Corner café on the corner of South Street and Station Road. We’ll have several things going on. We need to decide what we’re doing next year, what activities people enjoyed and thought worked well (and fresh ideas!) and make some kind of outline calendar. We also need to consider whether we ought to establish a formal structure, or set ourselves any sort of joint project (like a reading by members, a small anthology, a website etc). It would be useful if people could either contact me with any ideas or views in advance, or post them on the Facebook page or here.

Diane Shorrock will introduce the poems of Sarah Wardle. I’ll circulate some poems by her and some links to material on/by her on the internet nearer the date

The third strand will be a workshop on poems by group members. The pattern for this would be to have small groups looking at the poems, and to come up with detailed responses and feedback. I need the poems in advance, again so that I can circulate them. So please email or post copies to me if you want to take part.

This is a lot to do in the time available! We need to finish by 9.30, so we’ll have to start quite promptly.

I’ll also remind you that on July 4, Frances Presley will read and talk about her writing at Coffee Corner.

Two major bits of information, plus a reminder about next week!

Patrick Walker is leaving Waterstones, emigrating to South Devon indeed. The bookshop will not be able to host our meetings after May, as no one else is willing to stay for the evening. I have therefore arranged with Coffee Corner, the café on the corner of South Street and Station Road, that we will meet there for the two remaining arranged meetings, in June and July.

The May meeting I have altered somewhat from as proposed. It is now linked with the Stortford Music Festival, which will be occurring that week, across a range of venues in the town. I’ve therefore altered its nature to an open mic reading (ie come along and read! – no actual microphone). I would hope to be able to draw more people in like this.

So schedule until the summer now runs:

• April 4 – Waterstones
  Blake Evening – sharing poems, images, music
• May 2 – Waterstones
  Open reading
• June 6 – Coffee Corner

1. Diane Shorrock introducing the poems of Sarah Wardle
2. Workshop on poems written by group members
3. Arrangements to set in motion for Next Year:

• plans for any projects (publication online/paper or reading???)
• set up more formal organisation?
• poets to invite?

• July 4 – Coffee Corner
  Frances Presley – read + talk about her writing

I hope this is all OK!
For next week’s event, the schedule I’ve got is:

• Sue Abbott, “London” and is happy to explain her choice + why she loves William Blake
• Stuart Masters, “The Chimney Sweeper”
• Jessica Mayhew, own "ending" to “The Sick Rose”
• Carol Russell, “Smiles” (from The Pickering Manuscript)
• Sheila Moy, “The Voice of the Devil” from The Marriage of Heaven and Hell
• Peter Philpott, opening passages from Milton + passages from his own An Encounter Upon the Beach at Minehead with the Prince of this World

 I hope there will be more! Please email or otherwise tell me! And music? Any suitable music?

SPG Programme first half 2011

March

Jeff Hilson to read & talk about his writing

April

Blake Evening

May

Workshops on poems written by group members
Own poems? On theme?

June

• Diane Shorrock introducing the poems of Sarah Wardle
• + … introducing the poems of …
• Ideas for Next Year:
• plans for any projects (publication online/paper or reading???)
• set up more formal organisation?
• poets to invite?

July

Frances Presley to read & talk about her writing