Last Thursday's Vanguard Readings event, at The Bear, Camberwell, was a lot of fun. Six readers, of which I was one, a lively and very responsive audience, and a great venue.
It was great to hear Josephine Corcoran read. She's been such a tireless promoter of other's work that her own poetry has sometimes been overshadowed, and very unfairly so. I enjoyed her honeymoon poem in particular, but her whole set promised good things from her forthcoming Tall Lighthouse pamphlet.
I'd never heard Josephine Dickinson before, but I have read plenty of her very fine work, and it was given a whole new dimension by her reading here. She's one of those poets who manages to create an enviable stillness and silence around her words - there's a tension there that always feels as though it's on the point of breaking.
Michael Symmons Roberts read beautifully, mainly from his most recent collection, Drysalter, and it's hard to add anything useful to the praise that it, and he, have already received. His poems are always spiritually charged, yet intimate and approachable too.
Cristina Newton read just two long poems, and held everybody spellbound with the sustained music of her work - I look forward to reading and hearing more from her.
Finally, Richard Skinner, whose hard work makes Vanguard happen in the first place, read the work of three absent poets who appear in the Vanguard anthology - it's not on general sale but you will be able to buy it at future readings, and I recommend it very highly.
My own reading went well, and it was good to read a couple of poems, including Butterflies from the afore-mentioned anthology, that haven't had an airing for a while.
Showing posts with label Vanguard Readings. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Vanguard Readings. Show all posts
Tuesday, 25 November 2014
Wednesday, 19 November 2014
Vanguard Readings, 20.11.14
Just a quick reminder that tomorrow, Thursday, November 20th, I'll be reading as part of Vanguard Readings' all-poetry night, at The Bear, 296a Camberwell New Road, London SE5 0RP, along with Josephine Corcoran, Josephine Dickinson, Cristina Newton, Richard Skinner and Michael Symmons Roberts.
If you're anywhere in the area, come along - as well as the poetry, there's good beer and food available, and entry is free.
Friday, 14 November 2014
Vanguard reading series
Next Thursday, November 20th, I'll be reading as part of Vanguard Readings' all-poetry night, at The Bear, 296a Camberwell New Road, London SE5 0RP, along with Josephine Corcoran, Josephine Dickinson, Cristina Newton, Richard Skinner and Michael Symmons Roberts.
It's a terrific venue, and a great line-up - I'm flattered to be part of it. The poetry starts at 7.30pm, and entry is free.
It's a terrific venue, and a great line-up - I'm flattered to be part of it. The poetry starts at 7.30pm, and entry is free.
Wednesday, 18 June 2014
Vanguard readings
I was in London yesterday, both to do a bit of research for some writing, and to meet up with James Wood for a drink and chat before he read as part of the Vanguard Readings series, at The Bear, Camberwell New Road.
It's an excellent venue - real ales, plenty of room - and the mixed poetry/prose line-up that had been put together by Richard Skinner did it proud. There were a couple of names already familiar to me - Martin Malone is, of course, a regular at Shindig in Leicester as well as other Midlands events, while Paul Ebbs is a poet whose name has stuck in the memory for a while now. Both were terrific. I noticed a chat on Facebook recently about the pace at which poets read (too fast, was the general consensus), but Martin and Paul were a perfect example of why different strokes suit different folks. Paul's delivery was rapid-fire and high-energy, but it suits his work down to the ground, while Martin varied the pace more to similarly good effect.
The fiction, from Joanna Walsh, David Ogunmuwiya and Nicci Cloke, was uniformly high-quality. Short stories strike me as being much more difficult to read to an audience than poetry (with the latter, if people don't like a particular piece, there's always a chance that there'll be something they do like in a minute), and extracts from novels even more so. So, it's a tribute to all three writers that they had the audience rapt throughout, and I'd like to read something from all three.
James closed the evening with a short but extremely well received set - highlights for me were his opener (in praise of vinyl records) and his closer (a Piers Plowman-inspired piece). His reading, I think, brought out the rhythmic and technical skill of his writing in the best way possible - the song-like quality of his work brought an audience response more akin to what you'd get for a band.
It's an excellent venue - real ales, plenty of room - and the mixed poetry/prose line-up that had been put together by Richard Skinner did it proud. There were a couple of names already familiar to me - Martin Malone is, of course, a regular at Shindig in Leicester as well as other Midlands events, while Paul Ebbs is a poet whose name has stuck in the memory for a while now. Both were terrific. I noticed a chat on Facebook recently about the pace at which poets read (too fast, was the general consensus), but Martin and Paul were a perfect example of why different strokes suit different folks. Paul's delivery was rapid-fire and high-energy, but it suits his work down to the ground, while Martin varied the pace more to similarly good effect.
The fiction, from Joanna Walsh, David Ogunmuwiya and Nicci Cloke, was uniformly high-quality. Short stories strike me as being much more difficult to read to an audience than poetry (with the latter, if people don't like a particular piece, there's always a chance that there'll be something they do like in a minute), and extracts from novels even more so. So, it's a tribute to all three writers that they had the audience rapt throughout, and I'd like to read something from all three.
James closed the evening with a short but extremely well received set - highlights for me were his opener (in praise of vinyl records) and his closer (a Piers Plowman-inspired piece). His reading, I think, brought out the rhythmic and technical skill of his writing in the best way possible - the song-like quality of his work brought an audience response more akin to what you'd get for a band.
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