All 2023 events will be held at St Michael's Church, Shute unless otherwise specified
Coming up in October...
THURSDAY 12 October 7-8:30 PM, St Michael's Church, Shute EX13 7QR
ELAINE BECKETT on her new poetry collection in discussion with ANN PELLETIER
Tickets £10 on the door (cash or card) with drinks; children 16 and under FREE
Elaine was born in London. She originally trained as a pianist and composer at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama where she taught for many years, specialising in the curious business of encouraging classical musicians to develop their improvisation skills. Her own creative work has journeyed through theatre, film, and also (briefly) architecture. She holds a PhD from the University of York, a BSc (Hons) Architecture from UCL, and is also a graduate of the National Film and TV School. Early in her career she trained as a music therapist and worked part time with children and adults with severe learning disabilities, later moving onto supervising arts therapists working in the NHS and other settings.
Her first poetry pamphlet, Faber New Poets 13, was published by Faber&Faber in 2016. Via the Faber New Poets scheme, Elaine received mentoring from Professor Sinead Morrissey who supported the development of this first, full length collection, Sea Creature Regrows Entire Body (Verve Poetry Press 2021). Elaine’s poems have appeared in numerous other publications, including the Bridport Prize Winners Anthology, The New European, and The Poetry Review. Recent readings include Ledbury International Poetry Festival (2022), Verve Poetry Festival (2022), and Aldeburgh Poetry Festival (2020).
Ann Pelletier-Topping’s poems came second in the National Poetry Competition (2019), appeared in Ambit, in Tears in the Fence and is forthcoming in Obsessed with Pipework. She was longlisted for the Women Poet’s Prize 2022 and is currently working on her debut pamphlet. She belongs to a couple of editing groups, takes part in open mic events and runs poetry workshops locally and further afield.
ELAINE BECKETT on her new poetry collection in discussion with ANN PELLETIER
Tickets £10 on the door (cash or card) with drinks; children 16 and under FREE
Elaine was born in London. She originally trained as a pianist and composer at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama where she taught for many years, specialising in the curious business of encouraging classical musicians to develop their improvisation skills. Her own creative work has journeyed through theatre, film, and also (briefly) architecture. She holds a PhD from the University of York, a BSc (Hons) Architecture from UCL, and is also a graduate of the National Film and TV School. Early in her career she trained as a music therapist and worked part time with children and adults with severe learning disabilities, later moving onto supervising arts therapists working in the NHS and other settings.
Her first poetry pamphlet, Faber New Poets 13, was published by Faber&Faber in 2016. Via the Faber New Poets scheme, Elaine received mentoring from Professor Sinead Morrissey who supported the development of this first, full length collection, Sea Creature Regrows Entire Body (Verve Poetry Press 2021). Elaine’s poems have appeared in numerous other publications, including the Bridport Prize Winners Anthology, The New European, and The Poetry Review. Recent readings include Ledbury International Poetry Festival (2022), Verve Poetry Festival (2022), and Aldeburgh Poetry Festival (2020).
Ann Pelletier-Topping’s poems came second in the National Poetry Competition (2019), appeared in Ambit, in Tears in the Fence and is forthcoming in Obsessed with Pipework. She was longlisted for the Women Poet’s Prize 2022 and is currently working on her debut pamphlet. She belongs to a couple of editing groups, takes part in open mic events and runs poetry workshops locally and further afield.
THURSDAY, 19 October 2023, 7-8:30 PM, St Michael's Church, Shute EX13 7QR
WILLIAM HENRY SEARLE in discussion with PADDY MAGRANE on ELOWEN
Tickets £10 on the door (cash or card) with drinks; children 16 and under FREE
Will is the critically-acclaimed author of Lungs of the Earth and Threads. Having worked as a labourer, lecturer, mountain guide and manager of a hostel in Snowdonia, William now lives with his wife, son and two collies in Cornwall.
In the summer of 2017, Will and Amy lost their baby girl, Elowen, a few days before her due date. When they returned home to the New Forest, they stepped into a twilight where nothing made sense and words were never enough to describe what they were going through.
In the weeks and months that followed, Will found himself despising the beauty of the forest: the trees, the wildlife, all the places that had become special to them both. He rages against the natural world, against the cruelty of nature for stealing his daughter away.
Elowen is a deeply honest and moving portrayal of Will and Amy’s journey back to each other, their family and themselves. It is a profoundly hopeful and uplifting story, describing with clarity and beauty how love sustains us through the darkest of times: a love for each other, a love for the natural world.
WILLIAM HENRY SEARLE in discussion with PADDY MAGRANE on ELOWEN
Tickets £10 on the door (cash or card) with drinks; children 16 and under FREE
Will is the critically-acclaimed author of Lungs of the Earth and Threads. Having worked as a labourer, lecturer, mountain guide and manager of a hostel in Snowdonia, William now lives with his wife, son and two collies in Cornwall.
In the summer of 2017, Will and Amy lost their baby girl, Elowen, a few days before her due date. When they returned home to the New Forest, they stepped into a twilight where nothing made sense and words were never enough to describe what they were going through.
In the weeks and months that followed, Will found himself despising the beauty of the forest: the trees, the wildlife, all the places that had become special to them both. He rages against the natural world, against the cruelty of nature for stealing his daughter away.
Elowen is a deeply honest and moving portrayal of Will and Amy’s journey back to each other, their family and themselves. It is a profoundly hopeful and uplifting story, describing with clarity and beauty how love sustains us through the darkest of times: a love for each other, a love for the natural world.