Headingley LitFest: Ralf Thenior in Leeds - Headingley on 21 September 2017

Wednesday, 30 August 2017

Ralf Thenior in Leeds - Headingley on 21 September 2017

Peter Spafford writes:

I want to put the word out about Ralf Thenior, a poet from Dortmund who is spending a week in Leeds from Sept 17th. I’ve organised a few readings/events for Ralf - it would be great if you could make it along to one or more of them.

Ralf Thenior - Ein Dichter aus Dortmund

Ralf’s visit is part of a Dortmund-Leeds exchange I've initiated - I’m going to Dortmund in October for a week to read at the Literature Festival there. The exchange is a pilot, bravely funded by Leeds City Council; a chance for each poet to meet a new place and write our own poems about the other's city. It’s a deliberate attempt, in the wake of recent events, to reach out to the writing communities of other European cities. Dortmund is twinned with Leeds and seemed a good place to start.

Here are the events:

TUESDAY 19th, 7.30pm: Ralf will co-host Love The Words with me on Chapel FM. Listen at www.chapelfm.co.uk. He will be reading, talking about Dortmund, translation, life in general, and chatting to guests.

WEDNESDAY 20th 12noon: Ralf is talking to young people studying German at Lawnswood High School.

THURSDAY 21st, 7pm: In The Neighbourhood, at Oxfam Books, Headingley. Ralf, myself, and Matthew Bellwood will be reading and talking about our respective neighbourhoods. Free event in collaboration with Headingley Litfest.

FRIDAY 22nd, 1pm: Ralf is reading and talking at Leeds Central Library, 1pm. Free event. http://www.leedsinspired.co.uk/events/writers-transit

FRIDAY 22ND, 7pm: House gig at my gaff, with French chansons performed by Encore. Limited space, but let me know if you want to come along.

I really want to make Ralf welcome. He’s a fascinating poet, working in three languages, and - not incidentally - a very curious and engaging human.

www.peterspafford.co.uk

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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.