Artswords News July 2016

Dear Writers and Readers  


Summertime in Swindon… and Artswords and friends offer a range of reading, writing, and listening activities throughout July.

Mum’s the Word, a friendly, informal group for mothers interested in writing meets on Tuesday 5th July at 7.30pm at Lower Shaw Farm. Don’t worry if you haven’t had a chance to write anything, yet. The group will help you get started, if you want it to. For further information, please contact Monica at montimms@waitrose.com 

Poetry Swindon’s workshop with award-winning poet and educator Jean Atkin takes place on Sunday 17th July from 5 to 7pm at The Richard Jefferies Museum, SN3 6AA. 'Mapping into Landscapes of the Mind’ uses the environs of the Richard Jefferies Museum, incorporating its eponymous work, Edward Thomas', and more recent writing. Jean will follow this with a guest reading at Poetry Swindon’s Open Mic at 8pm.  Further details, including ticketing options, available here.

The Artswords Reading Group meets at 7.30pm Tuesday 19th July to discuss 20th-century metaphysical classic, The Magic Mountain by Thomas Mann. Transported from an ordinary life in the ‘flatlands’ to the rarefied mountain air, a young man discovers the introspective world of a sanatorium. He ends up spending more time there than expected, and learning much more than he expected too…
Further details about the group from matt@lowershawfarm.co.uk

For other reading groups, run by Swindon Libraries,see http://www.swindon.gov.uk/info/20057/books_and_reading_services/288/join_a_reading_group

And for other reading-related activities in Swindon libraries this summer, see https://swindonlibraries.wordpress.com/category/events-and-activities/

Artswords Writers' CafĂ© & Kitchen, a meeting place for new writers, experienced writers, and anyone interested in writing, takes place on Thursday 28th July at Lower Shaw Farm. Starting at 7pm and finishing at 10pm, it is a reflective and, whisper it, a slightly rebellious writers’ group! The emphasis is on feeding back on people’s writing, rather than focusing on the ‘rules’. If you’d like your work to be the subject of helpful comments and discussion, please email said piece to artswordsinfo@gmail.com by Thursday 22nd July, so that group members can read and reflect in advance of meeting. This should amount to no more than 500 words of prose or 40 lines of poetry.Please also bring a little food to share, if you would like to.

Sunday 30th July from 2.30 to 5.30pm sees the annual Poetry Swindon picnic at The Richard Jefferies Museum. Come and enjoy good food, lovely company and some great poetry and music, courtesy of guest performers. Better still, bring a poem or two to share.

Finally, we’d like to draw your attention to events happening nearby. The Hungerford Arts Festival takes place from 1st to 17th July. A celebration of music, poetry, plays and performers, you can find out more, including purchasing tickets, here.

If you wish to forward this newsletter, please do; and like us on Facebook or join the conversation on Twitter.

If you have any news or events for August and you would like us to mention them in the next Artswords Newsletter, please let us know by the middle of this month by emailing matt@lowershawfarm.co.uk or calling 01793 771080

Happy summer reading and writing!

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