Monthly Archive for September, 2009

Poetry on Screen

Published on 28 September 2009 in Uncategorized. Closed

Sorry for the late posting of information about this month’s event but we have been waiting for confirmation of our booking of Heavy Water, a ‘poetry documentary’ about the accident at Chernobyl, written by Mario Petrucci (directed by David Bickerstaff and Phil Grabsky). Based on eye-witness accounts, collected in Svetlana Alexievich’s book Voices from Chernobyl, this tells the story of the people who dealt with the disaster at ground-level: the fire-fighters, soldiers, ‘liquidators’, and their families. Petrucci’s poem won the 2002 Daily Telegraph/Arvon award and is published by Enitharmon Press. On screen the poetry is read by David Bickerstaff, Francine Brody, Juliet Stevenson, David Threlfall and Samuel West.

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Mario Petrucci has been described as a ‘21st century Renaissance man’; ecologist, physicist, war poet and creative writing tutor, he is also appearing at the Durham Book Festival

on Saturday 31 October, 8 pm. ?????? ????? ????

Our screening of the film at the Star and Shadow cinema on Tuesday 6 October at 6.15pm will be followed by a chance to discuss the issues raised by the film – the potential of poetry and other media, as well as poetry and the wider world generally. This is a very exciting special event for the Poetry Room and it’s sure to be a stimulating occasion. You don’t need to have read the book, just come along and bring any friends who might be interested.

The Star and Shadow is at the top of Stepney Bank, Ouseburn/Byker, opposite The Tanners. (Metro: Manors/Buses: 12, 22, 39, 40, 62, 63, 106, 301, 302)

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Turnips and Tube-Rides at The Poetry Room

Published on 4 September 2009 in Uncategorized. Closed

Our first night back after the summer break (and it was still summer in the ever warm but always welcoming Blackwell’s!) saw unanimous approval for Seamus Heaney’s twelfth and most recent collection District and Circle. The book – which won the 2006 TS Eliot Prize – shows Heaney in reflective mood, returning to and circling many of his poetic preoccupations.

We began by discussing our reactions to the collection. It was generally felt that the book was a ‘grower’ and demanded a reader’s careful attention. The poet’s courage in looking unflinchingly at death and his quiet, confident tone throughout was admired. Some people were delighted to have discovered Heaney for the first time, others had followed his career: one woman remembered the excitement in Ireland when the poet initially came to prominence in his late twenties.

We looked at the book’s opening poem The Turnip-Snedder. Someone with a rural background vouched for the accuracy of the machine’s description. The menace of the poem was noted and the strange conjunctions of words which slowed down the poem and added gravity.

After a group reading of District and Circle, we discussed the layers of this complex title poem. It was felt the piece had been influenced by the 7/7 London terrorist attacks but went far beyond this – telling of a journey towards death through a literal descent into the underworld. The poem also worked on an immediate level as an evocative description of a tube ride.

Our next port of call was Wordsworth’s Skates ??????? ???? , which was admired for the beauty of its sparse description. One reader noted that in paying homage to Wordsworth’s ability to transform experience into art, Heaney pulled off the same trick in the production of his own poem. ?a????? ????? ?a????

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We finished with the The Blackbird of Glanmore and discussed how the poem’s tender lines such as ‘It’s you, blackbird, I love’ had been especially earned in a collection which eschewed sentimentality.

And so, we’re fans! And will be there with a banner for Heaney’s reading on Tuesday 13 October at 7pm at The Banqueting Hall, Civic Centre, Newcastle upon Tyne

. Further details at www.ncl.ac.uk/ncla

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Next month at The Poetry Room we’re hoping to host a special event ahead of National Poetry Day. On Tuesday 6 October we’re planning to meet at 6.15pm-8pm

at the Star and Shadow Cinema, Byker, Newcastle, to watch and discuss a film by the poet Mario Petrucci on Chernobyl. This event will be confirmed asap. Watch this webspace!