Artswords News June 2015

Dear Writers and Readers  
  

Hope your June is already busting out all over!

Here are some reading and writing events to help it along.

This month's Mum’s the Word meeting, for mothers interested in writing, takes place at 7.30pm at Lower Shaw Farm on Tuesday 2nd June.
For further information, contact Karen at mattkarensmith@yahoo.co.uk


And Poetry Swindon has a host of good things.

On 6th June, 13:30 to 16:30, at the Richard Jefferies Museum, Coate Water, SN3 6AA, there is a workshop: Smart Reading for Smarter Writing Martin Malone
£20 Members/£25 non-members
Some bursaries are available for members (email 
poetryswindon@yahoo.co.uk)
Eventbrite - Smart Reading for Smarter Writing: a workshop with Martin Malone



On 9th June, it’s Open Mic Night at the Savernake Community Centre, Savernake Street SN1 3LZ with guest poet Jill Sharp, celebrating the publication of her new pamphlet 'Ye gods'. Bring poems of your own or favourite poems to share with the audience.
£3 members/£5 non-members

Poetry Swindon Festival 1-5 October. Bookings are now open for residential places at Lower Shaw Farm. See http://www.lowershawfarm.co.uk/oct-2015#oct-poetry  
Visiting the Festival this year with poetry and workshops are Jo Bell as poet in residence, Kei Miller, Luke Kennard, Tania Hershman, and Pascale Petit plus many more exciting voices and experiences. 

Battered Moons Poetry Competition is open for entries until 30th June. For full details visit www.batteredmoons.com

The next Artswords Reading Group takes place at 7.30pm Tuesday 16th June at Lower Shaw Farm. The book is H is for Hawk by Helen Macdonald. ’To train a hawk you must watch it like a hawk. . . . The hawk’s apprehension becomes your own.’ A story of the hawk’s taming and the author’s un-taming. Costa Biography Award winner.
For further information, contact matt@lowershawfarm.co.uk or ring 01793 771080.

This month’s Writers’ Café and Kitchen takes place from 6pm on Thursday 25th June at Lower Shaw Farm. Cost £2. Starts with pot-luck supper from 6pm. If you can, please bring something to nibble or drink, to share with others. Following acclimatisation with food and friendly chat, we take time to look at our writing. You may simply read your work for up to 5 minutes; or, if you’d like your work to be the subject of helpful comments and discussion, bring 10 copies of one piece of writing. This should amount to no more than 500 words of prose or 40 lines of poetry.

Note. This month we shall be welcoming local storyteller Chris Park to assist with and inspire our story-telling. We now also welcome anyone with 5-minute stories to tell. If you have a story, to tell, not read, and ideally a story from your life, please bring it along.

Other News:

The Richard Jefferies Museum has a programme of Writing Workshops and Literature events for children and families. Please see 
www.richardjefferies.org and click Education for full details.

Long-time multi-tasking Artswords soul and helpmate Hilda Sheehan is concentrating on Poetry Swindon Festival and events, plus projects at the Richard Jefferies Museum, and related work. Stepping into her shoes at Artswords, especially on the social media and networking front, is word and Swindon-friendly and Annie Vickers, whom we welcome.

If you want to keep abreast of Literature development projects that Artswords will be organising or supporting, you can follow us via this monthly newsletter, or updates on Facebook and Twitter (See links below the newsletter), or on our website http://artswordsswindon.blogspot.co.uk/p/latest-news.html

If you have any news or events for July that you would like to share with other readers of ARTSWORDS NEWS, please let us know by the middle of this month.



Matt Holland & Annie Vickers
SWINDON ARTSWORDS
LOVE LITERATURE! LOVE LIFE!

Artswords News May 2015

Dear Writers and Readers  

Welcome to May!
We have launches, launches everywhere, and daisy and dandelions too.
Aren’t we the lucky ones!
Hope you get a chance to visit and do something related to writing or reading in the beautifully re-vamped and newly re-launched Richard Jefferies Museum, now as much like a living writer’s writing pad as it is a museum for a long-dead one.  See www.richardjefferies.org
And another launch takes place in a few days’ time: the Swindon Festival of Literature, at 5.30am on Monday 4th May. For full details of the early start and the subsequent fortnight of literary frolics at www.swindonfestivalofliterature.co.uk
It’s full of good things but we’d like to draw your attention to a few fascinating Artswords-supported events.
5th May WALTZING WITH FRANCES & MARTINE 6.30pm
Arts Centre, Devizes Road 01793 524481
5th MayWRITING MOTHERHOOD 8pm
Arts Centre, Devizes Road 01793 524481
7th May ANNA WHITWHAM & PADDY FITZPATRICK 8pm
Arts Centre, Devizes Road 01793 524481
9th May SWINDON SLAM! 7.30pm
Arts Centre, Devizes Road 01793 524481
11th May POETRY SWINDON OPEN MIC 7.30pm
Museum & Art Gallery, Bath Road, SN1 4BA 01793 466556
14th May WHAT I BRING 7.30pm
Central Library, Regent Circus SN1 1QG 01793 463238
15th MayTHINK SLAM! 8pm
Arts Centre, Devizes Road 01793 524481
Maybe see you at one or all of them!

The next Writers’ Café and Kitchen takes place from 6pm on Thursday 28th May at Lower Shaw Farm. Cost £2. Starts with pot-luck supper from 6pm. If you can, please bring something to nibble or drink, to share with others. Following acclimatisation with food and friendly chat, we take time to look at our writing. You may simply read your work for up to 5 minutes; or, if you’d like your work to be the subject of helpful comments and discussion, bring 10 copies of one piece of writing. This should amount to no more than 500 words of prose or 40 lines of poetry.

Note. We now also welcome anyone with 5-minute stories to tell. If you have a story, to tell, not read, and ideally a story from your life, please bring it along.

Other News:

The Richard Jefferies Museum has a programme of Writing Workshops and Literature events for children and families. Please see www.richardjefferies.org and click Education for full details.

The Battered Moons Poetry Competition is now open for entries: www.batteredmoons.com

If you want to keep abreast of Literature development projects and festivals that Artswords will be organising or supporting, you can follow us via this monthly newsletter, or updates on Facebook and Twitter (See links below the newsletter)

If you have any news or events for June that you would like to share with other readers of ARTSWORDS NEWS, please let us know by the middle of this month.

Happy May days and, from 4th to 16th, hope to see you at the Swindon Festival of Literature!

Matt Holland & Hilda Sheehan
SWINDON ARTSWORDS
LOVE LITERATURE! LOVE LIFE!