This year marks 30 years of the Thames Path, creating unique access to England’s most important and much loved river. RIVER took us 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.
Full house again at West Greenwich Library on June 9th for this unique event of words and music to celebrate the Thames and what goes on alongside it. And it wasn’t an ordinary journey. Robert has taken a sideways look, making the familiar surprising, both in his poems and introductions to them, and in the fabulous images on screen.
As writer in residence on this fascinating project, Robert was commissioned to write 30 short poems for key locations along the river’s 200 mile route, including Greenwich. But, as he said, he got ‘carried away’ and ended up writing 50 poems. The collection is published by Paekakariki Press, a small independent house that produces beautiful books by using letterpress printing methods. The original 30 poems will be accessed also in audio via QR codes on the footpath’s finger posts at the relevant locations.
I shall write a bit more about the poetry and the music once I caught my breath. In the meantime, here are Robert’s and Lucia’s condensed biographies.
A huge thanks to them, to all who came and as always to the Library staff (Emma and David this time) and to Mari and Mandy for manning the refreshments table.
Robert Seatter 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
Lucia Foti is a London-based Italian harpist. After graduating with first class honours from the Conservatorio di Como, she completed her Master’s, graduating with distinction from Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance. Lucia has won several national and international prizes, including first prize at the 2012 Concours Français de la Harpe and the 2015 Soroptimist Italia Competition for Young Talents, and more recently, third prize at the 2024 Manchester Harp Competition. She performs solo with professional orchestras, has performed at Kings Place and can be heard regularly at Cadogan Hall and St John’s Smith Square with the Young Musicians’ Symphony Orchestra. Lucia and guitarist Stefano Fiacco have partnered to form the Nazca Duo, and in 2023 they have been awarded the Colin Blythe Bursary Fund in recognition of their achievement in chamber music.
