It’s still summer, with warm temperatures outside, and hopefully they will stay high into September, when our new season starts!
We open on Tuesday 15th September with a reading by Simon Barraclough, a first visit to the K&S from this much talked about writer. Simon’s second collection Los Alamos Mon Amour was short listed for a Forward prize. As usual the meeting will be at the Camden Centre, beginning at 8pm and will start with a short open-mic session, so bring along your poem to share.
Simon was born in Huddersfield, West Yorkshire to an Irish mother and a Yorkshire father. His debut collection, Los Alamos Mon Amour , was published by Salt in 2008 and was short-listed for a Forward prize. Since then he has published Bonjour Tetris with Penned in the Margins and his second full collection from Salt, Neptune Blue, came out in 2011.
He enjoys developing live, multi-media events, including Psycho Poetica and The Debris Field. You can learn a little more about all these books and events by visiting his website. Sample poems are scattered throughout.
His latest collection is called Sunspots and is published by Penned in the Margins. Sunspots is a book-length sequence ‘about’ the Sun and largely from the Sun’s point of view. It is the result of four years of research and travel and intense contemplation of our local star. Working with Penned, he has created a live show based on the book and will be touring around the UK from October 2015. Local venues are 23 NOV FOLKESTONE Book Festival and 7 DEC LONDON Kings Place.
For your diary:
20th October – AGM and a reading by Martina Evans
17 November – reading from Annie Freud (plus open-mic)
15 December – Christmas event including a poetry quiz
19 January 2016 – three poets: Chris Renshaw, Phil Vernon, Jess Mookherjee
16 February – open-mic and a reading by Luke Kennard
As well as all this there is our open poetry competition, closing date 31st January 2016 with £1600 of prizes and judged this year by Anne-Marie Fyfe.
The busy and successful lives of our member poets this season also start with the launch of a first full collection from Graham Mummery entitled Meeting My Inners and published by Pindrop Press. Graham will be giving a reading from the book and copies will be on sale at the Poetry Café, 22 Betterton Street in London on Thursday 17th September. The evening begins at 7 pm and all are welcome, so do come to support him.
Members’ workshops will also be taking place again at our monthly sessions.
The Kent & Sussex Poetry Society 