Our fourth week highlights heard us finding out about window smashing suffragettes, queer mermaids, and England's lost places.
The week of wild weather started off with our audience braving torrential rain, to hear Jennifer Godfrey talk about her latest book Secret Missions of the Suffragettes on Monday 18 November.
"The talk was just grand. Jennifer was interesting in a wonderfully... I want to say 'nerdy' way, but I'd mean it as a compliment." (Todd)
Then on a chilly Wednesday it was over to Wigmore Library for a talk by Barbara Havelocke on her novel Estella’s Revenge for her packed part of the Wigmore Lectures series.
"I've been coming to the Wigmore Lectures for 2 years and this was by far my favourite." (anon)
On Friday 22 Nov, we were back at Coffee Republic in Chatham, for our fourth edition of Poetry Republic featuring Martin Figura and Helen Ivory, ably supported by local legends Zack Davies and Pauline Holmes.
"Had an excellent evening at Coffee Republic (where all the hipsters go on a Friday night!). Poetry from Zack Davies who brought us humour & marriage of X & Y. Wonderful Auntie Pauline, who enticed us to ditch wasteful consumerism to save the planet. We had the petite goth, Helen Ivory, tell us poems of witches & spells & Martin Figura, looking dapper with his flying frog brooch (it's dead he said to me, which made me laugh), reading us poems, including delightful ones about his son & daughter. He had an air of Gervase Phinn about him. Great night." (Tracy)
On Saturday 23 November, we were based at Chatham Library, and whilst Storm Bert raged outside, we were warmed by Carol Donaldson’s tales of her experience leading a team of conservation volunteers in her latest non-fiction book The Volunteers.
Carol was followed by Adam Taylor, (below left), a local canoeist who is writing a book about the lost islands of the Medway. His slideshow on the lost and disappearing islands of the Medway was lapped up b the audience (excuse the pun...)
Dr Phil Smith (above right), literally wrote the book on Mythogeography – a potentially transformative approach to exploring the spaces around us. His latest book is Albion’s Eco-Eerie: TV and Movies of the Haunted Generations. It’s not really surprising that the man who invented sideways walking didn’t really talk much about his latest book, but instead took us on a fanciful exploration of his and our shared paths and pasts.
"A very interesting afternoon and great speakers. Needless to say we came away with many books." (Bronach)
Saturday was wrapped up with a showcase of poets from Common Ground, a poetry workshop series run by Sarah Hehir and Charlotte Ansell. (Below - Beth, Sarah, Charlotte and Michi reading poems.)
There was also the opportunity to watch an online version of The Modern Image of Dorian Gray by Aimee Riddell, which was performed at Spotlites Theatre, and is available to watch till the end of the month.
On Sunday 24 November, playwright-turned graphic novelist and co-director of Medway River Lit, Sam Hall, discussed adapting other sources into comics and graphic novels, with writer Matt Adcock, author of Complete Darkness. (Below left.)
This was followed by Sacha Coward’s hilarious and poignant presentation on his debut non-fiction book Queer As Folklore. (Above right.) So those were our fourth week highlights!
Find out more about the non-fiction books mentioned above in our blog.
You can also hear an interview with Barbara Havelocke on our podcast, The River Is Lit. (Watch on Youtube.)
It's our final weekend on starting this Friday at Coffee Republic with poet and festival patron Caroline Bird - and we'll have some more freebies for you from our sponsors, as well as books from some of the writers who've appeared at the festival, so if you want to stock up on your Christmas shopping - be sure to reserve your space!
Then the final day of Medway River Lit 2024, features an addition to the programme for our very young readers, as storyteller Rachael Hammond will be telling Afro Carribbean tales for restless spirits at Rochester Library (kids' section at 11.30am and 1.30pm. We're also delighted to host a panel on Writing Horror, Sci-fi and Fantasy from 11am, followed by Tom Huddleston, author of The Worlds of Dune, then our finale author is Ben Aaronovitch, writer of The Rivers of London series. All at Rochester Library.
(Photos above by the team, incl - Harmesch Kaur, Anne-Marie Jordan, BFH, and SFH)
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