Buy Poetry and Support Your Independent Presses!

If you follow any poetry related news (beyond Ruth Padel and Derek Walcott) Chris and Jen (Salt Directors) have been struggling to keep Salt moving since June last year when the economic downturn began to affect their press. Their three year funding ends this year, and they cannot apply through Grants for the Arts for further funding for Salt’s operations. Spring sales were down nearly 80% on the previous year, and despite April’s much improved trading, the past twelve months has left them with a budget deficit of over £55,000. It’s proving to be a very big hole and they’re having to take some drastic measures to save their business.
They’re asking you to buy just one book, right now. They don’t mind from where, you can buy it from them or from Amazon, your local shop or megastore, online or offline. If you buy just one book now, you’ll help to save Salt. Timing is absolutely everything here. They need cash now to stay afloat. If you love literature, help keep it alive. All it takes is just one book sale. Go to their online store and help keep them going.
It’s often said that there are many more writers of poetry than there are readers of poetry. Salt is responsible for publishing a few Metaroar/FYI favourites, including Anthony Joseph, whose new collection (http://bit.ly/X1JOE) launches officially on the 3rd of June (http://bit.ly/JbNKo). Support your independent presses!by James Walker, Literature Editor at LeftLion Magazine

Friday July 10th -Sat 18th – Southwell Poetry Festival

NWS members Kevin Fegan, Jenny Swann, Ross Bradshaw and Cathy Grinrod feature among a great line-up which includes Jean ‘Binta’ Breeze and Britain’s Poet Laureate Carol Ann Duffy. Copies of the Southwell Library Poetry Festival programme are available from Southwell Library and appear on www.nottinghamshire.gov.uk/southwellpoetryfestival.pdf or from southwell.library@nottscc.gov.uk.

The ScreenLit Festival, 29 June – 5 July 2009

Professional Development Events  at  Broadway

 SUNDAY JULY 5TH, 3PM – NOTTINGHAM WRITERS STUDIO PRESENTS SHOW AND TELL  as part of the The ScreenLit Festival, 29 June – 5 July 2009  Broadway Cinema, Nottingham
Three working screenwriters from Nottingham present and discuss their own work to explore the varied routes a writer’s original idea can take to reach the screen – or not. £5 full / £4 concession.  Info at: The ScreenLit Festival  http://www.broadway.org.uk/festival/index.htm  
 Co chaired by David Morrissey.

 Paul Schrader Screenwriting Masterclass – Friday 3 July, 3.00pm. In a two-hour lecture illustrated with clips, screenwriter Paul Schrader (Taxi Driver, Raging Bull) outlines a theory and method of screenwriting, drawing on his lengthy and prestigious career as filmmaker and film critic. £20 full / £15 concessions.  

BAFTA Rocliffe New Writing Forum – Tuesday 30 June, 8.00pm. A platform for new writing, including three selected 10 min script extracts performed live on stage with Q&A’s with the writers. Plus Q&A with host and Rocliffe founder Farah Abushwesha and industry Co-Chair director David Morrissey. £5 full / £4 concession.

 The Script Factory Training: Truth and Fiction – Thursday 2 July, 5.45pm. Writer and lecturer Rob Ritchie presents a workshop on the art of adapting existing stories for the screen, considering various creative approaches and practical principles. £15 full / £12 concessions.

 BBC writersroom Roadshow with Kate Rowland – Friday 3 July, 5.30pm. A free event giving the opportunity to put questions to the BBC’s Creative Director, New Writing, Kate Rowland on the process a prospective script goes through when it reaches the BBC. FREE but must be booked beforehand.

 BBC writersroom Presents Five Minutes of Heaven plus Q&A with screenwriter Guy Hibbert – Friday 3 July, 8.00pm. Following a screening of Five Minutes from Heaven, the BBC’s Creative Director, New Writing, Kate Rowland discusses with Guy Hibbert the process that resulted in his award winning screenplay. £6.20 / £4.50 concession.

All events for the ScreenLit Festival, Nottingham, can be booked at www.broadway.org.uk/festival or by ringing 0115 952 6611.

 Literary Events

Adam Thorpe: Hodd + The Adventures of Robin Hood Novelist Adam Thorpe reads from Hodd, his dark reworking of the Robin Hood story, then is interviewed by screenwriter Michael Eaton. Followed by Thorpe’s selection of two episodes from the 1950s TV series The Adventures of Robin Hood.

 Chandleresque: Raymond Chandler on Film & Television Adrian Wootton, Director of Crime Scene and CEO of Film London, presents a lavishly illustrated talk chronicling the extraordinary life and career of Raymond Chandler.

 Miranda Seymour: Chaplin’s Girl Biographer and novelist Miranda Seymour reads from and signs copies of her acclaimed new book Chaplin’s Girl, the biography of Virginia Cherrill, socialite and lover of Cary Grant.

 Lynn Barber: An Education Journalist Lynn Barber reads from her autobiography An Education and discusses its forthcoming film adaptation by Nick Hornby.

 D.H Lawrence, Cineaste? An illustrated lecture from Dr Sean Matthews, Director of the D.H. Lawrence Research Centre and Lecturer at Nottingham University on Lawrence’s attitude to film and whether, if he were alive today, he would be writing for cinema.

Cyburbia: An Illustrated Talk by James Harkin plus panel discussion Writer and social forecaster James Harkin responds to our growing aptitude for digital technology and discusses how this relates to cinema and TV audiences. Plus panel discussion. Presented with Gamecity. 

 All events for the ScreenLit Festival, Nottingham, can be booked at www.broadway.org.uk/festival or by ringing 0115 952 6611.

NOTTINGHAM OPEN POETRY COMPETITION 2009

PRIZES: 1st: £300 2nd: £150 3rd: £75
and Merit Prizes of One Year’s subscription to
POETRY NOTTINGHAM

Adjudicator: Penelope Shuttle

Closing Date: 7th September 2009

1. The competition is open to anyone aged 16 or over.

2. Poems should be in English, unpublished, not accepted or submitted for publication elsewhere, and must be your original work.

3. Poems should not be entered in any other competition, or have previously been a prizewinner in any other competition.

4. Poems should be no longer than 40 lines.

5. Each poem should be typed on a separate sheet of A4 paper, and must not bear your name or any other form of identification. On a separate sheet of paper list your name, address, titles of poems submitted, and where you heard about this competition. No application form necessary.

6. Entry fee: £3.00 per poem or £10.00 for 4 poems.

7. Any number of poems can be submitted on payment of the appropriate fee. Cheques and postal orders should be made payable to Nottingham Poetry Society. No stamps, foreign currency or Irish P.O’s accepted

8.Winners will be notified by post in October 2009

9. Prizes will be presented at a public adjudication in Nottingham on 28th November 2009. All prizewinning poems will be published in Poetry Nottingham and a selection on this website. The decision of the adjudicator is final.

10. Entries should be addressed to: The Competition Secretary, 38 Harrow Road, West Bridgford, Nottingham NG2 7DU

To request further details, please contact us http://nottinghampoetrysociety.wordpress.com/competitions/

The End of The Road

Dear Steering Committee,
This is a Statutory Off Road Notification. On 17 May 2004, I began a journey in a graffiti-covered car from Nottingham to Liverpool. On 17 May 2009, I winched the car into the River Mersey. The car and its contents were then crushed. Now I return to The Bluecoat in Liverpool for the final chapter of a trilogy of events – SORN.

SORN
Friday 19 June 2009 – Sunday 21 June 2009
10am – 6pm
The Bluecoat, Liverpool
Free

The remains of the car are exhibited in The Hub alongside a film of the final journey to Liverpool. Visitors are invited to hear the car history and take away a piece of the car, wrapped in brown paper and string, tagged and logged. SORN – a performance installation – takes place until there is nothing left of the car except its history.

Images of The End of the Road are online at www.acarhistory.blogspot.com. The Long and Winding Road was commissioned by Fierce! and Hinterland with funding from the University of Chester. With thanks to The Bluecoat, British Waterways, Mersey Docks and all the venues and partners who supported the project.

Safe driving Steering Committee. Thank you for joining me on The Long and Winding Road.

All best

Michael
Driver
——————–
The Long and Winding Road is a five year live art project by Michael Pinchbeck. For more information about the artist and his work please go to www.michaelpinchbeck.co.uk