May Newsletter
Poetry, Pimm's and Punch, a workshop, a photography exhibition, a Spring Fling ..
Poetry, Pimm’s and Punch
Trowbridge Stanza isn’t meeting in May but I’m thrilled to say that Seren poet Abeer Ameer will be reading for us in June. More details about that soon. In the meantime, I’m honoured to be taking part in WEFT (The West of England Festival of Textiles) at Trowbridge Museum when I’ll be reading poems from my mini-collection One Deliberate Red Dress Time I Shone and talking about how I wrote the poems which are themed around ideas to do with making, fabric and clothes. This set of poems was a winner in last year’s Coast to Coast to Coast competition and made into a limited edition, handstitched journal by writer and artist Maria Isakova Bennett. Poetry, Pimm’s and Punch will take place on Friday, 17 May, 5.30pm - 6.45pm at the museum. Tickets are £7 which includes a glass of Pimm’s or non-alcoholic punch and nibbles. It would be lovely to see you there and an opportunity for you to view and find out more about the festival, as well as to hear my poems and ask me questions about the competition (open again soon for entries) and about my writing process for this collection.
Writing Nature Poetry and Ecopoetry Workshop
For those of you interested in writing about the natural world and the environment, I’m running a poetry workshop at The Make Space in Bradford on Avon on Saturday, 18 May, 2pm - 4.30pm when we’ll be reading and talking about Nature Poems and Ecopoems, and writing our own poems in response. More details here or please get in touch if you’d like to book a place or find out more.
Bradford on Avon Photography Group Annual Exhibition
Two of our group, Pey Oh and Peter O’Grady, belong to Bradford on Avon Photography Group and are exhibiting photographs in their annual exhibition in the West Barn during the first weekend of May (dates and times in the poster below). I’ve been to an exhibition by this group before and the standard is fantastic. Images can often spark inspiration for a poem, as well!
Submissions Open
A couple of places open for submissions at the moment that you might like. Modron Magazine is edited by Zoe Brigley, Kristian Evans and others and is an online magazine publishing poems that engage with the natural world and the ecological crisis. Take a look at some previous issues to get a feel for the kinds of poems they publish and read their submission rules. They’re also open to receiving non-fiction and article submissions. Submissions at Modron are open Thursday 11th April to Wednesday 8th May.
14 magazine is a beautifully-produced yearly anthology of 14-line poems edited by Richard Skinner. Again, it’s worth trying to get hold of a previous issue to see the kind of thing Richard likes. Submissions are open at 14 magazine until 30 June.
Spring Fling at Tithebarn Workshops
Lastly, can I draw your attention to the Spring Fling at Tithebarn Workshops on Saturday, 20 April from 10am until 4pm. The artists, shopkeepers and a selection of pop-ups are staging a mini-festival of live music, food, crafts, open studios, and more. Tithebarn Workshops is a collection of working artist studios and a café set in their own tranquil garden within Barton Farm Country Park, near the medieval Tithe Barn in Bradford on Avon. It should be a lovely event and you’ll be supporting local artists and makers.
Wishing everyone well and thanks for reading.