Pablo Neruda's body to be exhumed

A Chilean judge has ordered that the remains of poet and Nobel laureate Pablo Neruda should be exhumed in an investigation into whether he died of cancer as commonly believed or was killed by agents serving Augusto Pinochet. The exhumation was announced by the foundation that manages his literary legacy. The leftist poet, who died twelve days after the 1973 military coup that ousted socialist president Salvador Allende and brought General Augusto Pinochet to power, was long believed to have died of prostate cancer, but officials in 2011 started looking into the possibility he was poisoned by agents of the Pinochet regime, as claimed by Neruda's driver and aide. Neruda is best known for his love poems as well as his Canto General - an epic poem about South America's history and its people. 

This story will no doubt be of great interest for those who were at the special showing of Il Postino at the Cottage Road Cinema almost a year ago, which is about how the poet was forced into exile in Italy. Read the review here: http://headingleylitfest.blogspot.co.uk/search?q=neruda

Wartime Hospital at Beckett's Park

UPDATE - website for published book Stories from the War Hospital is at www.firstworldwarhospital.co.uk

Thanks to all those who have been in touch offering (and requesting) information. We are now realising that a separate website for our project on the 2nd Northern General Hospital at Beckett's Park during the Great War 1914 - 1918 would be a good idea, so one should appear online in the next couple of weeks, if all goes well. The URL will be put on the blog. The original press release  from when we started can be found if you simply scroll down a little.

There are so many names of people who were there, particularly members of the RAMC (Royal Army Medical Corps). We are hoping that there are plenty of searchers trawling the web for information on their ancestor, who might have been a nurse, or a wounded soldier, or...  so if we put plenty of names online, along with a few photos, we'll get results.

In the meantime, here are just a couple of photos which might bring results:

1) The cigarette case. An articial limb race so many years before the Paralympics! Do you know anything about either Douglas Longmate or CQMS (Company Quartermaster Sergeant) G W Browning? Below is a photo of an engraved silver cigarette case sent to us by a retired antiques dealer who wants to give it to any descendants we find:

2) The Irish Nurse. The granddaughter of a Red Cross Nurse who served at Beckett's Park between 7 August 1917 and 31 March 1919 sent us this photo from Ireland. It is of Mary (Polly) Dunne. She had two sisters, Kitty and Josephine, all of whom came from a small rural community and trained in England (St Alban's) as nurses. Do you know anything about nurses from Ireland in the Great War generally?

Contact us by email at headingleyhospital@gmail.com

And thanks for the feature in the Yorkshire Post, Chris Bond - 

http://www.yorkshirepost.co.uk/news/features/horror-humour-and-humanity-the-untold-stories-of-a-hospital-in-wartime-1-5383600

Congratulations to Sharon Olds

Congratulations to Sharon Olds, who was awarded the £15,000 prize for her collection, Stag's Leap, at the T S Eliot Prize Ceremony at the Royal Festival Hall in London a few days ago. She was shortlisted before - in 2009. Two thousand poetry enthusiasts were in the audience.

 Poet Laureate and Chair of the Judges, Carol Ann Duffy, said: "It was a really strong shortlist, with so much talent and grace, and it was particularly strong in women. We were particularly pleased to have six fantastic books by women." Carcanet is delighted that two of its most long-standing authors were shortlisted among such talented writers. See the Carcanet blog here.

LitFest gets Co-operative support

On Tuesday 15 January, Sheila Chapman, Chair of Headingley LitFest committee, accompanied by Sally Bavage, LitFest Fundraiser, was pleased and proud to accept a cheque from local Co-operative Community Fund representatives Jean and Ken Martin.  The money, which comes from members’ donations of all or part of their share of the profits, has been voted to us to support our first Youth Fringe day, on Saturday 29 June at the Heart Centre in Headingley.

Taking receipt of the cheque at our local friendly Co-op store on Cardigan Road,  Sheila acknowledged the opportunity this will give LitFest to pilot activities for young people in our community, with the programme decided upon by young people themselves.  Watch out for more details of the programme in the coming weeks.

Roger McGough at Headingley LitFest

The Wartime Hospital at Beckett's Park

UPDATE - website for published book - www.firstworldwarhospital.co.uk

Headingley LitFest has been awarded a substantial grant by the Heritage Lottery Fund for a project in 2013/2014 based on the military hospital which was at Beckett’s Park, Headingley, during the First World War.

The project will come to a climax in time for the seventh annual LitFest in March 2014 with the production of an illustrated publication and a dramatic performance based on its contents.