Two of our members, Iris Anne Lewis and Frank McMahon, have joined forces with Liz Carew of Catchword Writers to provide a monthly programme called ‘Writers in the Library’ which takes place every second Monday of each month in Cirencester’s Bingham Library from 2.00pm. The session lasts an hour and features a talk by a writer followed by an opportunity for audience members briefly to share a reading of examples of their own writing or that of other authors they particularly admire. This month’s guest is the poet Anna Saunders.

Described as ‘a modern myth maker,’ Anna is the author of Communion, (Wild Conversations Press), Struck, (Pindrop Press) Kissing the She Bear, (Wild Conversations Press), Burne Jones and the Fox (Indigo Dreams), Ghosting for Beginners, (Indigo Dreams) and Feverfew (Indigo Dreams).

She is also the Executive Director of Cheltenham Poetry Festival and works as a creative writing tutor and mentor,  communications specialist,  journalist, broadcaster and  copywriter/editor.

Anna’s new book is The Prohibition of Touch. (Indigo Dreams 2022).

Anna will be at the Library on Monday February 12.

Many congratulations to our newest member Olivia Tuck, who has just been announced as second prize winner of the 2023 Jane Martin Poetry Prize, a national poetry competition for young poets, established in 2010 in memory of Girton College alumna, Jane Elizabeth Martin. 

Olivia was awarded the prize for the poems ‘The Obligatory Future Child Poem’ and ‘Mistress of Arts’ (view poems – PDF).

Olivia’s work has been published by the Poetry Society and Broken Sleep, and in several print and online journals. She has been longlisted for the Rebecca Swift Foundation Women Poets’ Prize, and is an associate editor at Tears in the Fence and at Lighthouse. In 2022, she completed UEA’s MA Creative Writing – Poetry course with Distinction. Her pamphlet ‘Things Only Borderlines Know‘ is out now with Black Rabbit Press. Follow on Twitter @livtuckwrites.

Novelist Pam Keevil will be talking about her latest book at Cirencester Library this Monday afternoon (January 8). Her talk will be followed by an open mic session. All are welcome. The hour-long event starts at 2pm.

Our poem of the month is Monday Morning by Norman Smith.

Norman started writing at school for the magazine The Retfordian. As a student, he wrote short stories for The Irish Mountaineering Club magazine on his climbing exploits in Ireland, Scotland, Wales and the Alps.

He discovered haiku while in Japan and was inspired to express contemporary thoughts in the short form. He loves the fact that there are no capitals or punctuation! Norman said: ‘For me, writing is about recording thoughts and feelings about people and places. It’s a joy to portray love in words.’ He adds that Somewhere Else Writers Group in Cirencester have helped him to explore his work with positive encouragement and care. In his spare time, Norman reads and visits Cotswold Saxon churches. You can read his poem, Monday Morning here.

Congratulations to Iris Anne Lewis, whose poem ‘The World Tilts’ is featured in Ink Sweat & Tears this month. The prestigious, UK-based webzine runs an annual Twelve Day of Christmas feature highlighting specific works on each day. ‘The World Tilts’ will be featured on December 21.

There will be a chance to hear more of Iris’s work this Monday ( December 11) when she is the guest speaker at Writers in the Library, a monthly event at Cirencester Library from 2pm to 3pm. Everyone is welcome.

Our poet of the month is Frank McMahon, who imagines mid-winter life in pre-Christian times in “Winter Bleak”.

Frank has been widely published, including two collected volumes of work, “At the Storm’s Edge” and “ A Different Land”, both produced by Palewell Press. Last year he won the GWN Poetry Prize, and this year, read at both the Cheltenham Poetry and Literature Festivals.

He’s also helping promote the Poetry Together Initiative, which brings children and older people together to share the pleasure of poetry. He’s one of the founding members of the monthly Writers in the Library sessions.

His third collection of poems, “The Light Will Always Return”, is being published by Tim Saunders Publishers in April 2024. 

You can read “Winter Bleak” here.

Writers in the Library, Cirencester, will hold a special event to support the national initiative, ‘Poetry Together’ on Monday, November 13th, from 2pm to 3pm.

Pupils from Powell’s School will be sharing their poems on the theme of “Happiness.” 

Poetry Together aims to bring children and older people together to share the pleasure of poetry.

Older people are invited to come along to read their own poems on this theme, max. 14 lines.

Among those appearing on the stage at last month’s Cheltenham Literature Festival was Graham Bruce Fletcher, who read a Drabble – a story of exactly 100 words – about the way writers’-group members enter lots of competitions!  There’s even a Drabble in the group’s anthology “Off The Wall” available from Amazon, which also features recordings of group members reading their stories and poems which you can hear by scanning QR codes alongside the printed versions.

Graham has been writing since before he went to primary school. His work has been featured in a wide variety of publications, and performed at many spoken-word events.  He has also been an editor and written non fiction, journalism and commercial copy.

You can read ‘Competition’  here.