LitfestGuest Post by Jane Routh and Mike Barlow
When Andy Darby, Litfest’s Director, first asked for suggestions we drew up a long list – poets whose work we admire but haven’t heard read; poets we’ve heard read once or twice and wish were better known so more people could enjoy their work; or poets who are already well-known but haven’t come to Litfest before. And then, as we studied the list, certain names seemed to fall into pairs quite naturally.
To begin with there are the Irish. John McAuliffe’s first collection A Better Life (Gallery Press) had been shortlisted for a Forward prize in 2004. It’s highly rated by August Kleinzhaler, no less. There’s a facility and music on the page that makes us want to hear him. We’d heard Jim Caruth reading from his first collection A Stone’s Throw (Staple First Editions) a couple of years ago. The economy and directness of his writing is very moving, and his voice gives it all an understated and particular music. He’s from Ulster, while John’s from Eire but both live in England – another thing that made them a natural pairing.
Luke Kennard’s first small collection, The Solex Brothers (Stride), introduced a fresh, offbeat and surreal voice. With The Harbour Beyond the Movie (Salt) he became the youngest writer ever to have been shortlisted for the Forward prize. Hearing him read, his work became even funnier and richer in its unpredictable imagery. David Grubb’s writing seems to complement this with its fluency and pace and idiosyncratic syntax. While both take a slant view of life and events, David’s is a serious world seriously addressed in matters of family, faith and his experiences working in conflict zones throughout the world. He’s written many collections – the latest, The Man Who Spoke to Owls (Shearsman) – all of which carry an emotional punch as powerful as Luke Kennard’s surprises and belly laughs.
Paula Jennings’s poetry is carefully crafted, passionate and often brave. Her first collection Singing Lucifer (Onlywomen Press) sold out in the first print run. Last year Happenstance published From The Body of the Green Girl. She writes with compassion about people and relationships and a strong and individual spirituality comes through. Ann Sansom has two full collections from Bloodaxe, Romance and In Praise of Men and Other People. She also writes powerfully of people and relationships, but hers is a more complex and ambiguous world rendered in rhythmic and graphic language.
Since James Lasdun’s here as a short story writer, it’s a brilliant opportunity to hear his poetry too. Born in England, he now lives in New York and his finely crafted collection Landscape with Chainsaw (Cape) deals with identity and belonging and the everyday realities of making a home in strange territory. Michael Laskey, well known as poet, facilitator, editor and founder of Aldeburgh Poetry Festival, has a recent New and Selected, The Man Alone (Smiths Doorstop). He too writes about home, the everyday, the domestic with a perceptive and sympathetic eye and ear. We’re hoping that two skilled English poets from different sides of the Atlantic on the same stage will prove a serendipitous occasion.
