These competition evenings are always fun!   The theme this year is ‘The Poetic Highway Code’ and this should bring forth an interesting collection of poems from our inventive poetry group members.

As always, we hope you can come and read your entry at the meeting, but if you cannot come or would prefer not to read, your poem will be read by one of our resident ‘readers’.

Ouir Judge this year is Sandra Snelling, well known for her work at the Swan Theatre in Yeovil.  

Note – Our venue is The Village Cafe in East Coker

Can poetry have therapeutic value?   Our main speaker will be a presentation by poet Ellie Sturrock who works within Dorset NHS.

Poetry group member Trevor Pearce will also be reading poetry from his personal experience.

This will be a ‘new area’ for the group and I hope it will stimulate interest in this facet of poetry.

Iona Lambe, Peter Tait, Stephen Beer and Catherine Simmonds each present a short reading of their personal choice of poetry.

This is likely to be a very interesting mix of poetry.

Philip Larkin and John Betjeman are quintessentially English poets who are often regarded as reflecting different aspects of twentieth-century Britain.
Jem Langworthy presents this evening and is of the view that their personalities and poetry – though at odds in many respects – have more in common than one might imagine. Listen to the poetry and see what you think.

Bring a couple of poems to read – or just come and listen and be entertained by the variety of poetry that always makes these evenings popular.

Virginia Astley has chosen the River Thames for her latest collection of poetry.  A much admired songwriter and musician since the 1980s, Virginia is known for her engaging lyrics as well as for her melodious style.   Now her other two passions take centre stage in this book: poetry and the River Thames. She grew up by the river’s upper reaches and in recent years has returned to the Thames, working for a summer as an assistant lock-keeper, and walking its length to record and respond to its landscapes, river life and river folk as a poet and photographer.

She will be reading from this collection with harp accompaniment.

This meeting will take the form of a ‘sit-down’ meal; the poetry and music intertwined between the courses.  Booking will be required as we are limited in numbers and the cost will be £16-00 a head.  Details of the menu and how to book will be given in the next Newsletter or email via this website contact page.

Leonard Cohen was a poet and novelist before he became a singer. 

This evening tries to encapsulate this and present some of his beautiful poems and lyrics.

The evening will be lead by Heather Murphy.

Bring a couple of poems to read.  Read your own or any poem you feel will interest the group.

Or just come and listen.  These open evenings are always popular.

Sounding the Silence with R S Thomas.  A talk by John Summers

R S Thomas was a Welsh Poet and Priest.   John Summers will be exploring how he interpreted silence in his poetry, focusing particularly on the silence of place, the silence of self and the silence of God.

He will explore how R S Thomas found redemption in the menace and danger of quietness and absence.

A poet for difficult times like ours.                 

Two Bristol poets, Elizabeth Parker and Luke Palmer, are coming to East Coker to read.  Both poets are recently published;  Luke Palmer was the winner of this year’s Prole Pamphlet Competition for Spring in the Hospital, and Elizabeth Parker has had her debut collection In her Shambles published in 2018.