Lyrical: Open Mic & More at Trowbridge Town Hall Arts
Join us in the beautiful Town Hall Arts building on
Market Square, Trowbridge for the first evening in a
new series:
Lyrical - Open Mic & More
If you’re a poet or a lover of poetry and all things lyrical, this is for you.
Poet and writer Diana Durham is author of three poetry collections, a novel ‘The Curve of the Land’ from Skylight Press and the nonfiction ‘The Return of King Arthur: completing the quest for wholeness’ from Tarcher/Penguin.
Diana has recently moved to Trowbridge, and is excited to host a place for writers of poetry, fiction and nonfiction with visionary thinking and a lyric sensibility— meaning what is deep, in rhythm, intuitive and wise.
More below:
“…the "the visionary dimension is not something internal or even obscure—a private language or mythology—but actually happening around us in ways we don’t recognise unless we learn to see with a kind of bi-focal vision which is at
once literal and symbolic.” From my friend Jay Ramsay’s Preface to his poetry collection ‘Monuments'
Our aim is to blend the Open Mic + guest poet format with conversation and also expand the slot to include talks, book launches and workshops.
Each evening will have a theme, announced beforehand, which poets are free to explore or ignore.
Poems can still be shared when there is a scheduled speaker/event, but please be aware that the time allotted will be shorter, and themed poems may have to be included next time round.
Please join us to read, listen and converse-
When: First Thursday of the Month
Time: 6 -7.30 PM
Cost: £3
Calendar:
7 February: Kick-off session, Diana Durham will introduce her work and give
an overview of the vision for Lyrical. Optional theme for Open Mic: Lyrical
7 March: Featured Poet & Theme TBA
4 April: Visionary novelist Lindsay Clarke, winner of the Whitbread Award, will speak about his new collection of essays ‘Green Man Dreaming’ from Awen Press. Optional theme for Open Mic: Inside/Outside
2 May: Featured Poet & Theme TBA
6 June: a double-billing, with Helen Moore, ecopoet & activist, who will read from a new collection: ‘The Mother Country’: and author/translator and publisher, Anthony Nanson, the vision behind Awen Press, who will read from his translation of New Caledonian writer Nicolas Kurtovitch’s ‘By the Edge of the Sea’. Two voices, two perspectives on colonial heritage. Optional theme for Open Mic: Belonging
4 July: ’Making Sense’ a short documentary film on the work of Dr Iain McGilchrist, author of ‘The Master & His Emissary: The Divided Brain and the Making of the Western World’, introduced by director Jonathan Guilbert with
writer Diana Durham. Optional theme for Open Mic: Escape from the grid.
1 August: TBA
The Blake Society, London Celebrates William Blake's Birthday, Wednesday 28th November, one of my sonnets will be read...
Although I cannot attend in person, I am going to watch the live streaming, and feel very honoured to have my sonnet about Blake read at the event.
Here is the sonnet:
Blake
What bravery, what extremes, completely
to leave the world and etch the real one:
engrave it, ink with rainbow, then copy -
world everlasting, repeatable, done;
and listen only to voices inside
not the outside, political rabble’s
rush to the bottom financial scrabble,
take dictation, write songs and hymns, abide
the time when valleys’ green can meet again
inside our hearts that realm whose pure exchange
does not pollute; single-handed counter-
balance, counter-culture, who was madder -
poet of fire, brimstone, smoke stacks, vision
of sadness, small cold rooms’ introversion.
Here are the event details:
Month of November
Wednesday 28 November 2018 at 7pm for 7.30pm
We look forward to seeing you at Blake’s Birthday Revelry.
!!! Please note the change of venue from that published in our printed programme !!!
7pm for 7.30pm on Wednesday 28 November 2018
The Theodore Bullfrog, 26-28 John Adam Street, London WC2N 6HL
Birthday Revelry
Then was a time of joy and love
And now the time returns again
Come and celebrate the 261st anniversary of the Eternal Prophet’s entrance into this vegetable universe with an evening of art, poetry, music, drama, and wit.
Join the Tithe Grant Award winner Will Franken as he compères the night’s festivities, introducing a bevy of talented performers of all stripes in honour of the manifold layers of Blake’s unique genius as poet, painter, satirist, rebel, and prophet.
If you would like to perform or be involved, please email:
revelry@blakesociety.org
Blake' was first published in the anthology of eco-spiritual poetry 'The Soul of the Earth' published by Awen Publications, edited by Jay Ramsay
Here is the sonnet:
Blake
What bravery, what extremes, completely
to leave the world and etch the real one:
engrave it, ink with rainbow, then copy -
world everlasting, repeatable, done;
and listen only to voices inside
not the outside, political rabble’s
rush to the bottom financial scrabble,
take dictation, write songs and hymns, abide
the time when valleys’ green can meet again
inside our hearts that realm whose pure exchange
does not pollute; single-handed counter-
balance, counter-culture, who was madder -
poet of fire, brimstone, smoke stacks, vision
of sadness, small cold rooms’ introversion.
Here are the event details:
Month of November
Wednesday 28 November 2018 at 7pm for 7.30pm
We look forward to seeing you at Blake’s Birthday Revelry.
!!! Please note the change of venue from that published in our printed programme !!!
7pm for 7.30pm on Wednesday 28 November 2018
The Theodore Bullfrog, 26-28 John Adam Street, London WC2N 6HL
Birthday Revelry
Then was a time of joy and love
And now the time returns again
Come and celebrate the 261st anniversary of the Eternal Prophet’s entrance into this vegetable universe with an evening of art, poetry, music, drama, and wit.
Join the Tithe Grant Award winner Will Franken as he compères the night’s festivities, introducing a bevy of talented performers of all stripes in honour of the manifold layers of Blake’s unique genius as poet, painter, satirist, rebel, and prophet.
If you would like to perform or be involved, please email:
revelry@blakesociety.org
Blake' was first published in the anthology of eco-spiritual poetry 'The Soul of the Earth' published by Awen Publications, edited by Jay Ramsay
Please join us: This Sunday July 17th at 4 PM a multi-media concert at St John's Church, Portsmouth NH
Please join us for a multi-media event, one of St John's Concerts on the Hill series. I will be reading my own re-write of
Claudel's 'Stations of the Cross' which accompanies Marcel Dupre's amazing organ music, played by Philip Brisson. Four others will share the reading; and artwork of the period (19th C) will be displayed.
Claudel's 'Stations of the Cross' which accompanies Marcel Dupre's amazing organ music, played by Philip Brisson. Four others will share the reading; and artwork of the period (19th C) will be displayed.
May 18 Portsmouth Public Library New Hampshire 7 PM
Come join us for an illustrated reading from and talk about my new novel The Curve of the Land, including photos of some the mysterious neolithic sites of western Britain which form the setting for the story.
Come join us for an illustrated reading from and talk about my new novel The Curve of the Land, including photos of some the mysterious neolithic sites of western Britain which form the setting for the story.
Coming up in the fall at the Women Supporting Women center in Exeter, New Hampshire, I'll be giving a Reading & Talk entitled: Ancient Stones, Ritual Space & the Curve of the Land
I'll explore themes of eco-shamanism, sex magic and ‘Gaia’ consciousness, as well as emerging archaeological and scientific findings pertaining to the sacred sites of Britain and read excerpts from my new novel 'The Curve of the Land' and talk about its deeper context.
Date: Thursday October 15 Time: 7 - 8.30 PM
Fee: "Love Offering" (you may want to purchase a copy of my book)
WSW is located at 111 Water Street, Exeter, NH. For registration or information go to:
I'll explore themes of eco-shamanism, sex magic and ‘Gaia’ consciousness, as well as emerging archaeological and scientific findings pertaining to the sacred sites of Britain and read excerpts from my new novel 'The Curve of the Land' and talk about its deeper context.
Date: Thursday October 15 Time: 7 - 8.30 PM
Fee: "Love Offering" (you may want to purchase a copy of my book)
WSW is located at 111 Water Street, Exeter, NH. For registration or information go to:
Please email Diana here for more information on booking workshops, talks, readings or staging 'Perceval and the Grail'
or use the Contact Form below.
or use the Contact Form below.
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