My latest review for London Grip is of God’s Little Artist, Sue Hubbard’s distillation of Welsh artist Gwen John’s life in short, beautifully constructed poems. I found myself deeply moved by Hubbard’s writing and by Gwen John’s strength in pursuing her art.
Month: March 2024
Prompts from Churchill Writers last week
Here are the five writing prompts I brought to our first Churchill Writers’ session in person since last November. As usual, I opened books from my shelves at random and chose a line or two, anything at all. The context of the source doesn’t matter, what’s important is that you take a prompt and dance with it whatever way you like. Enjoy the adventure:
‘inside will be a room filled with everyone I love‘ (from Joelle Taylor’s C+nto)
‘the music is big boned, takes up the whole of the dance floor‘ (source ditto)
‘he’s killing the shadow of a life my mother lived before they met‘ (Mothersong by Amy Acre)
‘Shadows on the wall, Noises down the hall‘ (Maya Angelou, Life Doesn’t Frighten Me)
‘I’ve got a magic charm that I keep up my sleeve‘ (source ditto)
Several of the group members said they hadn’t written anything for ages and doubted that they’d be able to produce anything. Well, here they are…
Ashford library, Kent – World Poetry day, Thurs 21 March, 6.30pm
This Thursday is World Poetry Day and I look forward to reading in Ashford library in Kent, from 6.30pm, alongside these excellent poets:
Maggie Harris was born in Guyana and has lived in Kent since 1972. A poet, prose writer and memoirist, awards include Kent’s Outstanding Adult Learner, The Guyana Prize, Commonwealth Short Story Prize and The Wales Poetry Award. Her poem ‘Canterbury’ is displayed in the city’s Westgate Garden, and the BBC-commissioned her poem for Kent, ‘Lit by Fire’, about the North Foreland Lighthouse.
Christopher Horton was a prize winner in the National Poetry Competition and the Bridport Prize and won first prize in the South Downs Poetry Festival Competition in 202. His pamphlet, Perfect Timing, was released by Tall-Lighthouse Press in 2021.
Jessica Taggart Rose is a writer and editor fascinated by human nature, the nature of time and our interactions with the natural world. She has poems published in the Letters to the Earth, Storm Chasers and ‘New Contexts’ anthologies, Confluence Magazine, Full House and Three Drops from a Cauldron. A founding member of Poets for the Planet, she lives in Margate where she helps to run the Margate Bookie Lit Festival and Margate Poetry Stanza.
This is going to be a really exciting evening. Many thanks to Christopher and the library for organising it. You can book your tickets at £2.50 each here.
This Tuesday, 5 March 2024, 7pm: celebrate Shakespeare in poetry and new biography in West Greenwich library, SE10
On Tuesday 5 March, 2024 at 7pm, I am honoured to be one of the Live Canon poets reading at In-Words’ Shakespeare event in West Greenwich Library, London SE10. Organiser Irena Hill says:
‘Local writer and scholar Neville Grant will talk about some aspects of his recently published book Shakespeare in an Age of Anxiety (Greenwich Exchange, 2023) – his motivation and process of writing, and a very 21st century perspective (our own age of anxiety).
Neville’s talk will be followed by readings from 154 (Live Canon 2016), an amazing project where each of 154 poets responds to one of Shakespeare’s 154 sonnets. Lorraine Mariner, Gillie Robic, Rosie Johnston, NJ Hynes, Doreen Hinchliffe and Nick Elsen form the outstanding line-up.
With many thanks to James Hodgson of Greenwich Exchange and Helen Eastman of Live Canon.’
Details of everyone’s CVs are on Irena’s website here. She omits to mention that wine and her fabulous home-made cakes will on offer too. Please join us if you can for this unique evening.
Rosie Johnston 