Next Meeting: July 3 - Mendoza Performing to the SPG

The next meeting will be at 7.30, Wednesday, July 3, at Coffee Corner. The poet Mendoza will be reading/performing.  Mendoza is a Northumbrian poet and researcher at Birkbeck University investigating identity through poetic practice. Mendoza writes and performs under several personas, most notably “Linus Slug: Insect Librarian”, “Elgar Funk” and “Elffish Jon”. The poetry itself references Northumbrian history and culture, as well as insect folklore and mythology, and some personal obsessions, like the number 9, and Art Garfunkel . Their (and I use the pronoun advisedly – how else can a range of personas be adequately referred to?) reputation is extending beyond the dark undergrowth of the avant-garde to reach and engage a wider audience, with appearances in recent wide-ranging anthologies of what’s most exciting in current new poetry. Mendoza is an intelligent and skilled performer: prepare to be astonished, intrigued and delighted, and to recognise the life within these language creations.

We also need to draw up a schedule of activities for next year (September-July). I propose not a formal meeting in August, but maybe anyone interested in coming up with ideas could come along to Coffee Corner on August 7 at 7.30 for a brief planning meeting. Alternatively please email me with any suggestions or ideas for what you would like next year.

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?

A CELEBRATION OF WILLIAM BLAKE, APRIL 4

This is what I have put together so far for the evening:

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

Any more offers? Any suggestions for 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?

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

Meeting: November 2nd

Our third meeting will be on Wednesday November 2, at 7.30, upstairs at Waterstone’s in the Coffee Bar. Patrick Walker is on holiday, but Sasha will be on the shop front door from some time after 7.00.

Last month’s meeting worked very well – I felt (and I think others did also) that we gelled very well as a group. People read out poems they had written or that were important to them, and there was genuine discussion in response to this. It was a very positive beginning.

It seemed a good idea to continue with this at the November meeting, and hopefully build further. So, as I said last time, “we should bring along and be prepared to read a couple of poems, either we have written, or that we like strongly, or that we feel have influenced us. I hope we can share these, with people prepared to say something about what they read, and others able also to respond. (Though don’t anyone feel forced to participate more than they want!)”

And we really must plan what we can do in subsequent meetings, so we can work out a programme for future meetings. Suggestions of further poets to invite would be useful, and any other activities/events.

I will bring Membership Cards with me – these will give a 10% reduction in poetry books at the Bishops Stortford Waterstone’s. If you can’t make the next meeting, do tell me, and I’ll post one to you. I will need to charge for wine at the meeting (Waterstone’s, bless them, can run to soft drinks for us), so will ask for a voluntary contribution per glass of wine. We’ll also need to think if we invite poets of a similar system of voluntary contribution to give some money for expenses, even payment.