April Poetry

Our first Session of the year will be on Friday 22nd April at The Folly in Settle at 7.30pm

We're delighted that well known Settle based poet Jean Stevens will be launching her new collection with us. 

Jean Stevens

Jean is a poet and playwright. Her poems have been published in numerous magazines, newspapers and anthologies and broadcast on BBC Radio Three and Radio Four. She has won the Yorkshire Post Poetry Prize and Leeds Library Writing Prize. Her latest collection of poems Beyond Satnav has just been published by Indigo Dreams. Her previous collection Undressing in Winter was launched at Ilkley Literature Festival. Her poems range from the lyrical to the colloquial, from the moving to the witty and, although her work is rooted in her response to the Yorkshire Dales where she lives, her writing embraces the world from Australia to Zimbabwe.

 

Anne Caldwell

Also reading her new work during the evening will be Anne Caldwell. A poet and literature consultant,  

Anne works for the British Council as their Literature Programme Manager. Her latest book of poetry is out with Cinnamon Press this spring: Painting the Spiral Staircase.

 

Taking part in "Read Two", an open mic session are local people sharing their favourite poems:

Jackie Allott was born and brought up in Otley but has lived in Settle for 12 years. She qualified as a Social Worker and spent much of her professional life working as an Independent Review Officer for NYCC. She can't imagine living anywhere else but Yorkshire. Explorative learning is the challenge now and playing with the imagery and ideas in poetry, a quiet and sometimes teasing pleasure!

Beryl James moved to Settle from Exeter in 2014. She is a lifetime sporadic poet although her output over 60 years has been small due to life intervening. She finds it a good way of expressing strong feelings and says that it may be writing that has kept her sane!

Jean Lavelle was born in Blackburn but has lived in Langcliffe for the last 21 years. She has taught both Art and French, worked with physically disabled children, and brought up a family of five. She is a lover of theatre and has had a lifelong interest in poetry.

Tricia Robinson has always enjoyed poetry and written it, but just for herself. She has drawn it from family life and also from living and working in Africa and Spain. Only three members of her family, and more recently Jean Stevens, have ever read or listened to it until tonight. 

Tickets are £6 (£5.50 for members) and will be available from The Folly, Cave and Crag and The Dairy Courtyard, all in Settle.



Settle Sessions will have 4 evenings of poetry and short stories this year, including a celebration of National Poetry Day on October 6th at Settle Victoria Hall, with a national and local poetry competition running through the summer. More details at settlesessions.co.uk and info@settlesessions.co.uk


For more details contact Jean Harrison on 01729 823305 or info@settlesessions.co.uk