On July 2nd a good crowd gathered at the Savoy Tap to launch the Dark Angels book of poetry And So We Grow. It’s hard to describe quite how joyful an occasion this was – but you can see a write-up of the evening by Monika Lehner here, and we’ll try to give you a flavour of the book with a review in next month’s newsletter.
In the meantime, you can read poems by several 26 members and many others in the book, beautifully produced with hot-metal typesetting by Paekakariki Press.
Here’s the link.
– John Simmons
I’m in my happy place in France. It’s a very small village near where I lived 21 years ago with my son for six months. I return regularly and my routine for today went like this:
- Coffee and croissant for breakfast and a baguette to take home from the epicerie/cafe which is literally in “my” garden.
- A cycle around the countryside ( electric bien sur)- my own Tour de France.
- Then lunch at Le Refuge Gourmand up the road beginning with a Pastis.
- A petite sieste is then compulsory followed by a stroll around Chalabre and a quick trip to the supermarket there for beer, saucissons etc.
- Then even though I have beer, I prefer a cold one at the cafe at the bottom of my garden. Way better than fairies. It’s still 33 degrees.
And now I’m writing this email.
– Sue Heggie
News bite: I’m on a podcast! Listen here.
A walking weekend in Wales led to a chance conversation about writing, which led to an intro to the lovely Gill Moakes ICF ACC. She invited me to the Heads Together podcast to chat about walking and writing, and how my wiggly career took me from running a dive shop on a tiny Caribbean island to being a brand writer in That London.
– Sarah Farley
I had an essay published by Lolwe! The essay is titled “Bugolobi Flats, Block 34, D2” and explores: my first experience with communal living after my fathers passing; the lack of ownership I felt in a communal space; the paradox of being surrounded by community yet, being lonely, depressed and grieving; the history of the flat I lived in and it’s different connotations for my different family members; my relationship with Uganda and how that changed over time; the privilege I had in my childhood and how that changed over time.
Read the essay here.
– Mugabi Byenkya
I’m giving a 10’ presentation on Robert Jackson (1840-1914) at the Hymn Society conference. An Oldham weekend on his trail had much help from Local Studies Centre’s Samantha. The presentation will call for help with the question of why Jackson named hymn tunes after places so far from his base.
– Aidan Baker
I interviewed Steven S. DeKnight who is a Hollywood director/writer/producer. He has just written a graphic novel (Hard Bargain) which is out on a Kickstarter campaign. I’m a HUGE fan of his TV work so I did well not to fangirl too much. The interview was for the Horror Tree website and you can watch it here and here. I’ve also just taken on the role of interviews coordinator at Horror Tree.
– Sarah Elliott