Stort Poetry Group Open Reading: May 2, 7.30, upstairs at Waterstones

The Blake event went extremely well, I thought, with a shared light thrown on William Blake’s compelling but often quite obscure writing. As I informed everyone at that event, May’s meeting is an open reading, which I am just publicising at the moment. It’s linked with the Stortford Music Festival, which is this year returning to its roots with a more local focus, and is a series of events around the town, labelled in a rather student-oriented fashion as The Crawl. I’m calling it an Open Mic event – even though we are happily live and unplugged! So, really, it is an opportunity to read whatever you want, as always whether it is what you have written, or simply poems you would like to read and share. We can decide on the evening whether we talk about and respond to what people read (as we often do, though the “Open Mic” format I think would discourage). These things usually work on the basis of time slots, so if you want to actually book one, do let me know (though I expect it can all be arranged on the night!) It might be an opportunity for anyone who wants to to read more than just a single poem – up to 10 minutes anyone?

Regrettably this looks as though it will be the last event held at Waterstones. Patrick will be a citizen of South Devon by that date, so Nick Crofts will be the person from the bookshop. It looks as though subsequent events will be at Coffee Corner (though we can obviously discuss this more).

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?

Blake Evening April 4

Next month’s event is our Blake Evening on April 4, in the week before the Easter weekend. Can people email or post me or phone me with what they would like to read at the event. I’ll then draw up a schedule. I’ll put this up on the blog as I produce this, and make sure it’s circulated to everyone shortly before the event also. I suspect that there will be popular poems chosen by several people – fine. We’ll have them more than once, in different voices.

Also interesting would be music associated with Blake, eg settings of Blake poems. Mike Westbrook’s Glad Day is wonderful. Vaughan Williams’ Job – A Masque for Dancing also – based on Blake’s set of illustrations of the Book of Job likewise. We can surely include music too. Preferably CD or MP3. Suggestions also please of pieces to use!

Images? These might be worthwhile to somehow have available. I have the editions reproducing Blake’s books Urizen, Milton, Marriage of Heaven and Hell, and Songs of Innocence & Experience (latter very battered through teaching), plus a couple of books with big colour plates of various works. Anyone else?

What about writing influenced by Blake? Anyone daring this far? I’ll confess to a sequence that used Blake’s prophetic books as model, and an even odder point where the spirit of Robert Blake is presented as intervening in a poem.

Anyone prepared to say what they value or like in Blake also? I hope we can move to discussion at the end, but some points where people are prepared to say what they value when introducing poems etc would be very useful I think. Again, please let me know.

We also need to consider where we hold the event! I think I let everyone know of the sudden last minute change of venue to the Coffee Corner café – which worked extremely well. The sisters who run the place are very happy to repeat our use – a round of coffees and a few other things (food is available) made it worthwhile within those hours, finishing at 9.

My feeling is that meetings should continue at Waterstone’s, who were genuinely faced with a staffing crisis that evening – but use Coffee Corner for visiting poets. What do you feel?

Change of Venue for Jeff Hilson Reading

Coffee Corner, the cafe on the corner of South Street and Station Road, will be where the event takes place. I am extremely grateful for their rapid decision to host the reading. I will be there from 7, and I've informed them we shall finish by 9. Plainly, they will wish to sell coffee, drinks and snacks (not their delicious hot food, I'm afraid, with only one person working!), and I won't be bringing any wine etc. We, may, obviously, want to consider using them as a venue again, if the evening works well - they had already suggested this to me ...

Full address is 51-53, South St, Bishop's Stortford, Hertfordshire CM23 3AG