Monday 29 January 2018

Amit Dhand Girl Zero PREVIEW LITFEST 2018



A message from Amit Dhand. Don't miss the event on 15 March!

GIRL ZERO TOUR!








Come and meet me on tour!
DATES:
1. Saturday March 3rd, 2pm at Bradford City Library, BD1 1SD 
2. Friday 9th March, 2pm at Community Hub Central, Hartlepool, TS26 9DE.
3. Thursday 15th March, Headingley Literature Festival, 7:15pm, New Headingley Club.
4. Monday 26th March, YorkLiterature Festival, 7pm, Waterstones, York, YO1 9QL
5. Wednesday 18th April, GooleLibrary, 6:30pm, DN14 5DS
6. Monday 23rd April, Halewood Library, Knowsley, 11am, L26 9UH
7. Thursday 26th April, Hemsworth Library, Wakefield, WF9 4JY, 2pm. 
8. Thursday 26th April, Central Library, Halifax, HX1 1QG, 7pm. 
9. Tuesday May 1st, Cullercoats Library, North Shields, NE30 3JY, 7:30pm.
10. Friday 4th May, GosforthLibrary, Newcastle, NE3 3HD, 2pm. 
11. Wednesday 6th June, Workington Library, CA14 2ND, 6:30pm. 
12. Friday 21st July, Harrogatecrime festival, 12pm. 






As ever, if you have enjoyed any books, please do consider leaving the author a review. It does keep us in the chair, creating the next book! 




Friday 26 January 2018

The Maud Allan Libel Trial - PREVIEW LITFEST 2018

The Trials of Salomé: The Maud Allan Libel Case 

7.30pm Wednesday 7 March in the historic Leeds Library, Commercial Street.



In the early part of 1918, one might have thought that the British government and the British press had more important matters to consider than whether a Tory MP had maligned the character of a Canadian dancer. The outcome of the war remained in doubt - libel was surely unimportant measured against the scale of the war effort.
But when Noel Pemberton-Billing published an excoriating review of Maud Allan’s performance as Salomé, under the heading ‘The Cult of the Clitoris’, which implied that Allan, then appearing in her Vision of Salomé, was a lesbian associate of German wartime conspirators, she sued Billing for libel. 
This very minor story became a sensation, implicating the government at the highest levels. In this public talk, Professor Ruth Robbins (Leeds Beckett) retells the story, and traces its implications

Free. Donations welcome. Reserve your seat with ticket from: http://bit.ly/litfestmaudallan

Thursday 18 January 2018

PREVIEW LITFEST 2018 - Poet Ralph Dartford at Hyde Park Book Club

Tuesday 6 March
Hyde Park Book Club 7.30pm FREE


Recovery Songs by Ralph Dartford
Directed by Samuel James Humphrey

A brand new spoken word story about addiction, the causes of addiction, and the recovery from its destructive forces.

Written and performed by A Firm of Poets founder, Ralph Dartford, from his own true experience of addiction, falling down and getting back up again. An unflinching, sometimes funny confessional that might change your mind about everything you thought you knew about addiction.

Funded by the Arts Council of England

Audience reviews for Recovery Songs

‘Recovery Songs is moving, compelling and brave. I was gripped by Ralph Dartford’s performance.’ - IMove Arts

‘I remember awkwardly laughing at the beginning of  Recovery Songs', expecting Ralph to jump into comedy through his first piece. Immediately, I realised my mistake. An honest take on his experiences with addiction, it made me sit up and listen. Ralph was captivating and straightforward, stepping from darkness, to hope, to troubled relationships, to love effortlessly. I have no idea how long he performed for, but I couldn't stop listening.’ - Up Yours, Leeds

‘I loved it! Ralph is an excellent and honest storyteller. Go and see him yourself, and make your own judgement.’ Dominic Monaco - Audience member.

Ralph Dartford Biography

Ralph Dartford studied poetry at Birkbeck College, London under the tutelage of Michael Donaghy. His work has appeared in the Guardian, Pulp Faction, Stirring (US), WordLife and London Territories amongst many other publications. His first volume of poetry, ‘Cigarettes, Beer and Love’ received wide acclaim, and his second, ‘Dirty Needle Rain’ will hopefully see the light of day in 2019.
Ralph Dartford

Latest Project. New Town Utopia: A film about Basildon

Wednesday 10 January 2018

Poet James Nash at Ireland Wood Primary School















The Theme:  World War I

A selection of lines from the children’s poems

Behind me the ghost of my friend,
they’re breaking people’s hearts with bullets.

All I hear is his voice
I smell sweat

Reflections in my mirror won’t leave my head.

Have I been shot or am I having a dream?

Seeing rats made me think of a barbeque.

Glory, now death and glory.

War doesn’t deserve me.

The feeling of fear is skipping all over me.

I’m letting the death come in
and letting the hope go out.

Our room seems old and dusty.
We have waited for months
and I wonder if you have died

He was once in my dreams
but now he is my nightmare.


 


















Comments from teachers (Mattt Collins, Nina Grayson, Adreinne Amos)

As always working with James Nash has brought about the most awesome effect on our Yr. 6 children at IWPS. Their writing has developed in an extraordinary manner – and they are chuffed to bits! A. Amos

An incredible opportunity – our children have written incredible poetry,

The children have grown in self belief and created great poems.

Vice-chair of the Governors
An outstanding event. The inspiration from James and the resulting poems was amazing. The empathy was quite emotional.

The Children were asked what they thought about the project. Below is a summary of their answers.

What was the best thing about the project?
Being able to write all our poems
Helping others
Giving out ideas

What have you learnt?
To write your poem.
Listening and getting ideas
How to look at a picture.

Why is it good to share your work with other children in the school?
Leads to growth in confidence.
To believe in yourself.

What will you remember about this project?
The poems we wrote – the topic
The five questions
The inspiration of working together.

Comments from the Audience
A wonderful opportunity for the children to experience poetry. My child has really enjoyed working with James and is happy with what she has learnt. Thank you for providing this experience.

Nadia has asked me to write for her that she is so grateful to hear the poetry and to understand World War 1 through the children. She had no idea before.

Children learn about WW1 and me also (written for me)

Really enjoyed listening to what the children had wrote! Brilliant!

An absorbing topic which ignited genuine interest from my daughter who enjoyed every moment. Some great work produced at the end.

A great event, being taken through a poetry workshop stage by stage was very insightful. Good to see confidence it has already brought the children to express themselves.

It was such a privilege to hear the children read their poetry today. What an incredible opportunity they have had having James Nash teach and help and inspire them to write such rich and beautiful poetry. A big thank you to Headingley LitFest. Long may these opportunities continue.

It gave me food for thought too. All the children did a fantastic job, I really enjoyed the thought and time and effort that went in.

What a great event. So much creativity amongst the children and so diverse. They have obviously learnt a lot about WW1 and also about creative expression through