Cinnamon Press Poetry Book Launch, June 25

Cinnamon Press should be proud to be nurturing, mentoring, editing, publishing and promoting such interesting and diverse poets as Hugh Dunkerley, Mark Fitzgerald, Lizzie Fincham and David Gilbert.

Unfortunately, Lizzie Fincham was unwell and unable to travel over from Wales, and was replaced, very generously, by David Gilbert. Jan Fortune of Cinnamon Press read one poem from Lizzie’s moving three-act collection Green Figs & Blue Jazz, which follows the seasons mapping loss, hope and resolution, so she wasn’t completely absent.

David’s poems made us laugh and touched us deeply, portraying as they did mental illness, family life and couple dynamics. His new collection, comprising these poems, will come out in the autumn.

Hugh Dunkerley’s book, Kin, is a series of poems and prose-poems on the theme of fatherhood from the first glimpse of the foetus in a scan to the unexpected birth of a premature son, and more via science, iconoclastic humour and domesticity, but always original and resonant in content and form.

Mark Fitzgerald read from his second collection for Cinnamon Press, Downburst, a very different voice and not just because Mark lives in Virginia and teaches in Maryland. ‘As rich in sound as in sense, the book is about finding magic in the ordinary, the afterglow of time, family inspirations and resurgences across seasons.’

Books available from Cinnamon Press’s own website and Amazon, or to order from bookshops.

Photos to follow, hopefully…

Events

Tuesday May 5 [NEW DATE AND NEW PROGRAMME] at West Greenwich Library, 7 for 7.30 – LIVE CANON POETS: Barbara Barnes, Helen Eastman, Tessa Foley and Andrew George

[Pindrop Press reading postponed till November due to technical issues delaying the printing of the new collections].

LIVE CANON, under the stewardship of Helen Eastman, has been a driving force in publishing, performing, promoting and sharing poetry in all sorts of settings and forms for over 15 years.

I am thrilled and grateful that Helen, Barbara, Tessa and Andrew have stepped in at short notice, and I can’t wait to hear their inimitable voices.

Their biographies will follow shortly.

The event is free as always – and as always there will be plenty of refreshments. Expect a great variety of books on sale, too.

Tuesday June 9 at West Greenwich Library, 7 for 7.30: Robert Seatter presents ‘RIVER – Poems for the River Thames, from source to sea’

This year marks 30 years of the Thames Path, creating unique access to England’s most important and much loved river. RIVER will take you on a new and visceral journey, from source to sea, unpacking encounters en route and revealing the extraordinary emotional pull of the Thames in our lives.

Robert Seatter is writer in residence on this fascinating project, writing 30 short poems for key locations along the river’s 200 mile route, including Greenwich. Poems will be accessed via QR codes on the footpath finger posts, realised in audio, plus available in a hand-printed, limited edition book.
Join Robert to hear more as well as to share your own memories and stories of the Thames over time.
Robert has published eight poetry collections, and has won many awards and nominations for his poetry, including National Poetry Competition, London Poetry and Forward Poetry Prize. He is also a skilled poetry curator, with a specific interest in poetry and place making, as well as an arts professional with experience of chairing both The Poetry Trust and The Poetry Archive. He lives in London, where he works for the BBC, his most recent role being Head of BBC History. www.robertseatter.co.uk

SAVE THE DATES FOR THESE THREE FORTHCOMING EVENTS:

Tuesday September 8 – Gale Burns and friends

Tuesday October 6 – Blake Morrison

Tuesday November 10 – Pindrop Press, with Sharon Black, Alex Josephy and Emily Wills