Medway River Lit's second week began on Wednesday 6 November at Rochester LIbrary, with a sobering talk from climate scientist Bill McGuire, whose non-fiction book Hothouse Earth: an inhabitant’s guide is a call to action.
Bill told us that if the world continues on at the same rate of warming that much of riverside Medway will be under water in 15 to 20 years, and society will be beset by problems including food and water shortages, and population displacement. Bleak though it is, the picture is one we must all face up to, if only to spur genuine action - even at this late stage - to stop a harrowing future becoming a truly cataclysmic one.
Our second Friday Poetry Republic at Coffee Republic in Chatham on 8 November, saw Medway River Lit’s first ever slam. Headlined by Lalah-Simone Springer’s sensitive and emotionally raw poetry from her collection An aviary of common birds (first picture below), the slam contestants were all equally impressive, from Marlene, who was reading in public for the first time, to Aidan, who read a timely poem about Donald Trump, and Harry who wrote a hilarious poem about writing and performing a poem. The judges Michi, Sam and Lalah (3rd picture) split the prize between the top four poets, Sarah, Naomi, Aidan, and Harry (2nd picture), as they were all amazing in different ways.
On Saturday 9 November, at Chatham Library, we met children’s author Tom Mitchell, who told us about the writing of his new book from children aged 8-12, How to stop the end of the world. Our young readers were full of questions afterwards – including asking how much a writer makes, how old Tom is, and who is his favourite son! (Tom had a very diplomatic answer!) (Photo 1 below.)
This was followed by a thought-provoking Masterclass on Writing Historical Fiction with authors Michael Hughes and Charlotte Byrne (photo 2 above). The workshop flowed into a panel discussion with the authors answering questions on their writing techniques and respective books – Michael’s novel Country is a “vivid and brutal reimagining of Homer's Iliad, set in the Troubles of the late twentieth-century” and Charlotte’s YA novel Folked Up, a time travelling fantasy with folk music.
The final event on Saturday was an evening dedicated to ‘90s fandom.
Sam Hall (photo 1 above,) gave a talk about her process for creating an auto-bio-fictional illustrated memoir, loosely inspired by her experiences as a music journalist in the 1990s.
Sarah L Dixon read from her poetry collection A Bit Like Falling In Love, her love letter to ‘90s indie music fandom, then interviewed the former lead singer of Carter USM, Jim Bob, whose latest book Where Songs Come From gives the background to his song writing process. (Photo 2 above.)
Jim Bob then followed up with some songs, then generously spent time autographing his book and speaking to fans. (Photo 3 above.)
Sunday 10 November’s first event was the prize-giving ceremony for The Rosemary McLeish Poetry Prize 2024. After Rosemary’s widower Richard Cooper introduced the prize, the winners were announced and read their poems, judge Sarah Hehir then said what she liked about each of the top three placed poems. First prize went to Connor Sansby for his poem 'Marine Snow'. (Picture 1 above.) Well done to all the placed and shortlisted writers.
Then Zahra Barri entertained us with a talk and reading from her debut novel Daughters of the Nile, following the lives of three women from the Bin-Khalid family, “an original and darkly funny novel that examines the enduring strength of female bonds”. (Picture 3 above, talking to Sam Hall.)
Last up for Sunday was award-winning writer Maggie Harris, speaking about her memoir Kiskadee Girl, reissued and updated with photos from Maggie’s childhood in Guyana. It tells the story of growing up in the ‘50s and ‘60s in a society that was trying to find its path after centuries of slavery and colonialism. (Picture 2 above, talking to Anne-Marie Jordan.)
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