A SPA writer will launch her latest book at Saltfest with an evening of festival poetry.
The event will take place tomorrow (Saturday) to mark the publication of award-winning poet Sarah Leavesley’s fourth collection ‘plenty-fish’.
The book includes a poem written for the National Trust’s Hanbury Hall website as part of a project with Droitwich Arts Network.
The readings tomorrow will be themed around ‘endurance’ in keeping with the town’s festival and plenty-fish’s exploration of parenthood, landscape and influences.
Mrs Leavesley, who writes under the name Sarah James, will be joined by other regional poets for the reading at the Park’s Cafe, Victoria Square from 7pm to 9.30pm.
Among them will be Worcestershire Poet Emeritus Maggie Doyle and last year’s Worcestershire Poet Laureate Fergus McGonigal, along with Mike Alma, Kathy Gee, Ian Glass, Holly Magill, Ruth Stacey and Claire Walker.
Mrs Leavesley will also be answering questions about plenty-fish and the writing process.
Earlier in the day, at 3.15pm in Saltberrow Market, Mrs Leavesley will be MCing a special ‘Poetry Half-Hour’ with fellow Worcestershire poets Ruth Stacey and Claire Walker, sharing poems of myth, history and endurance, as well as a book-signing.
Mrs Leavesley said: “It’s amazing to see these poems published together, as some of them have been years in the crafting, editing and re-working into their final form.
“There are poems from my garden, from travel abroad, landscapes and sites across the country, as well as some short narrative pieces and more political poems.”
Here is some background information on the other writers who will be providing a memorable evening of festival poetry:
Mike Alma has always enjoyed writing, for pleasure, having always been enthralled with words, though only engaging with the writing community for the last three years. The most rewarding aspect of this has been the people he has met – he is grateful for having been made welcome.
Kathy Gee has been both a museum curator and leadership coach in her time, and her poems often grow out of observing people in the landscape. She has been writing for almost five years, has been published in magazines and anthologies and is now preparing her first collection.
Ian Glass writes poems when he’s supposed to be doing something else. He trained as an engineer and is a director of a small IT company. Sadly, this technical background often surfaces in his poetry which otherwise set out to explore parallels between natural and personal worlds.
Holly Magill is a poet from Worcestershire. She has a BA in Creative Writing from University Of Birmingham and has had poems published in various publications, including Lunar Poetry, Ink Sweat & Tears, The Stare’s Nest and Clear Poetry.
Ruth Stacey’s debut poetry collection Queen, Jewel, Mistress was published by Eyewear, July 2015. Her pamphlet Fox Boy was published by Dancing Girl Press in 2014. Most recently her poems have appeared in the anthology Advice on Proposals by Like This Press, Brittle Star magazine, Abridged issues 0-29 and 0-34, and online at Ink, Sweat and Tears. She lives in Worcestershire.
Claire Walker’s poetry has appeared in magazines, anthologies and websites. She was runner up in the 2014/2015 Worcestershire Poet Laureate Competition. Her first pamphlet, The Girl Who Grew Into a Crocodile, is published by V. Press.
