Headingley LitFest: Are you around, John Comer?

Sunday, 14 March 2010

Are you around, John Comer?

If you're reading this, John Comer, we - Doug Sandle and myself - would like to know where you are. You are a one-time resident of Headingley, and our attention has just been drawn to your recently-published The Old Time. So are you close enough to come to any LitFest events or to join us for a drink in Arcadia, which is very close to where you once lived in Alma Road?

The Old Time - ISBN 142514298-2 Trafford Publishing

Email us at heveliusx1@yahoo.co.uk

Below, John in the 1960s. Photo taken by Dave Williams in Moorland Avenue, LS6

2 comments:

Anonymous said...: As the first day of your festival dawns wishing you all the very best for every event to be a success. The programme looks superb- something for everyone!; March 16, 2010 10:59 am
Anonymous said...: Hi all - all the warmest and best wishes from me too - there's nowhere lovelier than Headingley, specially in the current sunshine.
I'm really looking forward to doing my bit on Saturday, and thereafter. For example, when I was small, I went to St Agnes' school in Burton Crescent - still going, though it's a very long time since I went there, apart from occasionally taking my Mum to the surgery just up the road. I've often wondered what became of other pupils (apart from sister Hilary, editor of Red Pepper, who I'm sure would come and regale the Litfest in future years.
The Misses Harvey who ran it in my day were teachers of the most inspiring kind, as were their staff such as the sweet Mrs Keble who lived opposite the old library in St Michael's Terrace, and Mabel Armitage whose husband John was curator of natural history at Leeds Museum and is still much (and deservedly) revered. He was also an expert forger of postage stamps.
More in this vein on Saturday in True North. btw if any reader wants a bit of background on that, the books online bibliography/discussion blog (to save paper) is on http://martinwainwright-truenorth.blogspot.com

All v best

Martin Wainwright; March 16, 2010 12:58 pm

LITERARY HEADINGLEY

Headingley is just the place for it! Don't expect a big circus with marquees, though: we're not at that stage yet. We're all volunteers as well.

Our venues include the HEART Centre on Bennett Road, the New Headingley Club on St Michael's Road, friendly cafés, historic local cinemas, Headingley Library, people's houses and the historic Leeds Library in Commercial Street, city centre.

Headingley's Literary Links

Headingley has strong connections with many writers:

Arthur Ransome was born in Headingley, J R R Tolkien lived at 5 Holly Bank and also at 2 Darnley Road, West Park when he was reader in English Language at the University of Leeds 1920 - 25, Alan Bennett lived over a butcher's shop opposite the Three Horseshoes, now Royale Dry Cleaners.

Lucy Newlyn has published poetry about her early life in Headingley, George Orwell stayed at 21 Estcourt Avenue with his sister Marjorie and her husband Humphrey 'Humpy' Dakin (with whom he visited the Brontë Parsonage Museum in Haworth), T S Eliot used to visit his mother-in-law in Weetwood Lane, William Fryer Harvey was brought up in Spring Bank, Trevor Griffiths lived just off Victoria Road on Winstanley Terrace, Jon Silkin's first office of STAND magazine was his flat at 144 Otley Road, Sir Geoffrey Hill lived in Shire Oak Road, Peter Redgrove lived in Headingley between 1962 and 1965 when he was Gregory Fellow of Poetry at the University of Leeds, and playwright Kay Mellor still lives near The Hollies in Far Headingley.

Wilson Barrett, the charismatic first manager of the Grand Theatre, Leeds (a prolific playwright as well), lived in Beech Grove Terrace, Woodhouse in the 1870s. His house was a meeting place for many writers, artists and visitors to Leeds - such as W. S. Gilbert, George Grossmith and Atkinson Grimshaw.

Headingley LitFest 2020 was the thirteenth. The fourteenth will take place from March 2021 and will be adapted to the rules of the Covid pandemic. We are now a proud part of the annual Leeds Lit Fest.