Charlotte Brontë in Brussels

An 'In Between the Lines' event -

CHARLOTTE BRONTË IN BRUSSELS

7 Jun 2018 7:30pm - 9pm

The Leeds Library 18 Commercial Street, Leeds, LS1 6AL

This illustrated talk is to promote Helen MacEwan's much-acclaimed new book: Through Belgian Eyes: Charlotte Brontë’s Troubled Brussels Legacy.

Helen MacEwan

Richard Wilcocks writes:

MacEwan once more reveals herself as the current leading figure in the area of Brontë studies which concentrates on the time spent in Brussels by Charlotte Brontë, as a pupil and as an assistant teacher. Her well-known negative observations on Brussels and its inhabitants, and on Belgium in general, are rehearsed, embroidered upon and set in context, and the influence of her experiences in the city on her writings, particularly those relating to her beloved teacher, Constantin Heger, are examined in detail in a discourse which is both scholarly and accessible to less academic readers.

Less well-known ground is ploughed in addition: MacEwan has researched not only what Belgian commentators wrote about Charlotte Brontë, but what other literary figures like Baudelaire and Thackeray thought of Brussels and the relatively new country at a crossroads of Europe in the nineteenth century. Many of their opinions were not too different to hers.

It's free. Just turn up but to make sure of a seat ring 0113 245 3071 or register here:

https://www.eventbrite.com/e/charlotte-bronte-in-brussels-tickets-43502331645

A A Dhand - 'City of Sinners'

Read our local pharmacist's latest crime thriller. Enter the competition too!

The time has arrived! "City of Sinners" is due for release on Friday June 29th at Bradford Waterstones and I would love for you all to join me and host BBC 5 live radio presenter Phil Williams (who has a cameo in the book!) as we explore the novel and the Harry Virdee series. bradfordlitfest.ticketsolve.com/shows/1173587376 The launch also kicks off a weekend of crime at the Bradford Literary Festival AND a major competition to find Yorkshire's next big crime-writer... see below

Major writing competition in association with Bradford Literature Festival, WME agency and Mayfair Group Investment Time to give something back! I'm delighted to announce that Yorkshire based company, Mayfair Group Investment have donated a substantial amount of money to provide a UNIQUE opportunity for up to TEN writers to attend a writer's residential course at the well-respected ARVON foundation in Yorkshire where AA Dhand and Simon Trewin will help them with their novels. The six-week competition window will open at the launch of "City of Sinners" at Bradford Waterstones where more details will be provided. As a preliminary heads-up, writers will be asked to submit the first 5000 words of their crime-novel and up to TEN will be selected for a year's mentorship. WME agency will also consider representation of one or more of these authors.   Get tickets >>

Crime-writing workshop at Bradford Literature Festival with AA Dhand and agent Simon Trewin Want to kick-start your entry to the competition above? Then get ahead with this workshop where author AA Dhand gives you the cheats, hows and why's and agent Simon Trewin tells you what he is looking for and how to make your novel stand out from the crowd. Get tickets >>

Into the mind of a serial killer - join AA Dhand and former Bradford detective's Andrew Laptew and Stephen Snow as we explore the criminal mind How does the criminal mind work and what can we learn from the detectives who helped to bring down some of the most notorious murderers of our time including the Yorkshire Ripper and the Crossbow Cannibal Killer. Not only a fascinating view into the darker side of human behaviour but for aspiring authors, a view into a world they may be writing about in their novels...  Get tickers >>

LCA Open Mic evening at HEART

Event Organised by Leeds Combined Arts


Audience Comments

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A very enjoyable variety of recitals humourous and those with a message to ponder over. It was the first time I shared my poem in public.  It was well received and has encouraged me to attempt a few more.

Great. Lovely to hear so many people speak. Thanks to Carol Downing for rearranging things. It's been a good informative evening.

A very good night's entertainment.

Good event. Never been before.

They know how to run a poetry evening, lots of laughter, fun and diversity.

Richly varied content very well executed.

Lively and creative. Carol did an excellent job in hosting.

A very diverse and enjoyable evening!

Good event.

Initially upset the original event was cancelled or postponed, but we decided to give the poetry a go and whilst we didn't perform ourselves we were amazed at how many talented poets there were.

Very stimulating and varied work.

My own event was censored and this was there replacement.

Very good poetry evening. I have been a member of his group for over 10 years and the poetry was as usual very good. I particularly thought June Smith's poems were very funny and I enjoyed John Coopey's Scottish accent take-off on his poetry.

Sorry we couldn't stay for the whole evening, but we enjoyed very much what we did see. Thanks.

Good varied evening though it was a shame the scheduled event was cancelled.

Wide variety of styles in a comfortable setting. Very supportive audience. No airs and graces.

Very good.

Great evening. Will come next time.

Very good, a chance for budding poets to get together.

Poet James Nash at Weetwood Primary School

Sally Bavage writes: 

A sunny and bright morning greets the Weetwood Primary School poetry assembly, hastily re-arranged in the intimacy of the classroom after the blight of snow that scuppered earlier plans.  Year 5 – some as young as nine, some as 'old' as only ten – have been studying the poem The Listeners by Walter de la Mare. It complements the work on a gothic theme that they have been working on this term – and we certainly got atmosphere dripping from every line. Poets extraordinaire!

Mr Inglesias, headteacher, commented on the project as a whole: “Brilliant!  The creative arts have an impact on the whole child, and this work supports a robust curriculum that we offer here to prepare a child for life.”  As Joanna Parker, the class teacher in charge of the development of English, echoed: “This work is very valuable.  It's an opportunity to work with a published author and discuss the power of language and the writing process.  And it was fun!” 

James Nash, the poet commissioned by Headingley LitFest to deliver the poetry workshops, assisted by LitFest volunteer Rachel Harkess once again, commented to all: “Drafting and redrafting – it is valuable to learn that losing words may be a gain for the quality of the writing. Sacrificing some, even favourite, bits may mean Less is More”.  Yong Waters, teaching assistant also agreed.  “The children are loving it, they are bursting with ideas and embracing an understanding of how to write, and write better.”

The modern-day Listeners – parents, school staff and LitFest volunteers – were treated to poetry that was both “Powerful – and creepy!”  The work imagined the Listeners in the poem were the ghostly presence in the house upon which door the Traveller knocked.

'The screaming echoes in my ear'

'I am lying at my grave'

'Caught between two worlds, I look back at the graves'

'Scary dark shadows, I see the Traveller, I wish for life'

'My family are died, They died in this house, I saw my family in the shadows'

'I can't breathe, Moonlight smites the door'

'I must listen to the Man, Who must travel in the world of Men, And who looks so like father'

'My family stays in my head, They never leave'

'The light of the cold moon'

'Ghosts, neither dead nor alive'

'I sit on the stairs, listening and watching'

'I am isolated from the rest of humanity'

'The dark creaks'

'I am a phantom, Lurking in my own house'

'I am history'

'They are looking for me … am I dead?'

'It is night, midnight, in the haunted house'

A refrain of 'It got louder, and louder, and louder' makes one poem really sinister

'Leaving me alone in the empty void I call home'

'I have been blinded by the doubts'

'I watch as everything fades … I fall'

… 'There is a smell of rotting flesh, and some of old blood'

'I am trapped between life and death, I hate Humans'

'The Listeners watch me all the time with their black eyes'

'My vision keeps on flickering … between two worlds'

'Owls hoot in the swaying trees'

'The clock in my heart doesn't tick any more, Had I fainted or was I dead?'

As one parent commented afterwards: “This work is crucial for broadening horizons and cherishing the art and importance of language.  Poetry is an art for that has so much to offer children and needs to be supported.”  Another contributed that “Poetry helps give the children the experience of using words and language to change their environment and engage with the world and society around them.”

Last word to the young people themselves.  When asked what had been the best thing about the project:

Writing in poem form

Using our imagination

Getting our brains going

Getting into the world of the story

What will they remember about this project?

Thinking about the best vocabulary

Using imagination

Show you've got talent

Face your fears -the more you do, the better you get

All the creepy stuff!