New Yorker Vanessa Hidary a.k.a. Hebrew Mamita performed an awesome set of poetry and short stories from her book The Last Kaiser Roll In The Bodega at W&T on 19 December 2012. We were very fortunate to have Vanessa at our venue for her only London performance during this trip. (Her next stop is Limmud 2012 at Coventry.) It was a spellbinding performance - a mixture of humour and heart that captivated everyone in the room. Thank you Vanessa for dropping by and mesmerising us. Thank you to the North London Yiddish choir led by Robin Rubenstein for kicking off the night with a wonderful medley. If you missed tonight's performance or would like to check out Vanessa's work, visit her YouTube channel below:
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What if oil -- like wine, chocolate or even coffee -- had identifiable provenance; would it change how we think about black gold and its many uses in our daily life? Author James Marriott has spent a decade studying this energy industry. Together with co-author Mika Minio-Paluello and fellow team member of Platform, an arts activism organisation based in London, The Oil Road: Journeys from the Caspian Sea to the City of London took three years to write. At the event on 1 November at W&T, James shared stories seldom heard: from families in Azerbaijan dealing with the consequences of an oil tunnel below their home, the massive and highly coordinated military infrastructure which protects oil tankers in Somalia to the role of BP in inadvertently propping up military juntas. Thank you James for an insightful, informative and throughtful evening. If you want to learn more about how this commodity changes lives, the environment and economies across the globe, pick up a copy of The Oil Road. Or check out Platform London's website. "If you want to know why oil matters, read this book.” - Time Out. ”An elegantly written travel book…will make you think the next time you fill the tank.” - Financial Times “The Oil Road is an inspiring act of political cartography. It makes chastisingly visible the means by which we blithely consume ‘the geology of elsewhere.’” – Robert Macfarlane, author of The Wild Places and The Old Ways Jasia Reichardt spoke of her motivations in publishing her memoir, Fifteen Journeys: Warsaw to London, at W&T on 19 October 2012 through an illustrated talk, featuring images of artwork and texts that most influenced her as a child in prewar Warsaw. This included artwork and illustrations created by her aunt (Franciszka Themerson) and mother (Maryla Weinles-Chaykin), who was a children's illustrator. It is befitting that Jasia is now the custodian of the Themerson Archive, as her career has also spanned the art world. She was Assistant Director of the ICA in London, 1963-71, and Director of the Whitechapel Art Gallery, 1974-76. Since 1995, with her partner, the artist Nick Wadley, she has catalogued and curated the Themerson Archive. Last night, Jasia brought to life the creative influences which have shaped her journey by sharing Polish children's songs she grew up with, as well as the beautiful artworks that surrounded her as a child. Her poignant memoir is a record of that tumultous 6-year period in her life, accented by the letters, postcards and illustrations from that time. The not-for-profit indie publisher & Other Stories hosted a line up of exciting talent at W&T on Thursday 23 August 2012 with the likes of British author-playwright-poet Deborah Levy (whose Swimming Home has been longlisted for the Man Booker Prize), Swiss author Christoph Simon and the Argentinian author Iosi Havilio. Discussions following the reading included the mechanics of publishing translated works, the challenges of indie publishing, and what it takes to be an author. & Other Stories is a unique entity, with many of their translated non-English works cherry-picked through reading groups worldwide. Visit their website if you'd like to get involved in the reading groups or to follow their progress. To help support the work of & Other Stories, you can also subscribe on a once-off or annual basis to receive upcoming publications, so check those options out here. Thank you to everyone from & Other Stories, and the authors and translators, who made the literary evening a very special one. And oh yes, last but not least, the Swiss Embassy for the flow of sparkling wine! (Hic!) Author Deborah Moggach, acclaimed author of "The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel" was at Canada Water Library on 31 July 2012 to talk about her life and work. Deborah's many successful novels include: "These Foolish Things" - a tale of outsourcing the elderly to India. Recently filmed as "The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel", it received critical acclaim and commercial success. "In the Dark" - the story of Eithne Clay, running a boarding house in Southwark in 1916 while her husband is off at War. Quirky characters and a shocking denoument make this a must-read. "Tulip Fever" - "Moggach reproduces the coded language of 17th century Dutch art with subtle artfulness. At the same time, she tells a truly thrilling love story." The Financial Times. Deborah's screenplays include the BAFTA nominated film of "Pride and Prejudice". What price would you pay to bring the truth to light? To document events and lives in far-flung places known for repression and violence? In this fascinating event held last night, Maziar Bahari and Ben Rawlence shared about their experiences on the field in Iran and Congo respectively. Iranian-Canadian journalist Maziar Bahari left London in June 2009 to cover Iran’s presidential election, believing he’d return to his pregnant fiancée, Paola, in just a few days, a week at most. In fact he would spend the next three months in Iran’s most notorious prison, enduring brutal interrogation sessions while terrible threats were made to his family. The account of his ordeal is captured in his book Then They Came For Me. Ben Rawlence's Radio Congo: Signals of Hope from Africa’s Deadliest War is the first book to show the Congolese as people, not victims. Ben travelled on foot, by boat and by motorbike from North Kivu to Manono to document life in the aftermath of brutal upheaval. Platform 65, a non-profit cultural arts group by a group of Singaporeans based in London, organised an evening of poetry reading and open-mic poetry at W&T on Thursday 28 June 2012. With the blare of music and sounds of drinking revellers at the StockMKT Bermondsey in the square muffled somewhat by the closed doors and steamy heat in the shop, the event featured special guest and Singaporean poet Alvin Pang, as well as other poets participating in the open-mic session. Alvin is in town representing Singapore as part of the Cultural Olympics festival, the Poetry Parnassus. Alvin's work has been translated into over fifteen languages and featured in anthologies, journals, and publications all over the world. His latest book is When the Barbarians Arrive, a collection of new and selected poems, published by Arc Publications in the UK. It was a packed house at Canada Water Library's Culture Space on Monday 11 June 2012, with more than 150 people turning up for an event with author Lionel Shriver (who we must mention, braved the wind and rains and cycled to the venue!) Lionel Shriver is a novelist whose previous books include Orange Prize–winner We Need to Talk About Kevin, The Post-Birthday World, A Perfectly Good Family, Game Control, Double Fault, The Female of the Species, Checker and the Derailleurs, and Ordinary Decent Criminals. She is widely published as a journalist, writing features, columns, op-eds, and book reviews for the Guardian, the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, the Financial Times, the Economist, Marie Claire, and many other publications. She is frequently interviewed on television, radio, and in print media. She lives in London and Brooklyn, NY. Some of the photos of this page are courtesy of Canada Water Library. (Hint: The non-shaky ones not taken using a Blackberry LOL) Jane Colling's original screenprints series A to Z - An Alphabet is up at W&T until 27 May 2012. Last night, a public event was held to launch the event with poet Sarah Reilly and musician/artist Peter Blegvad performing a recitation of Alphabet. It's no secret that Blegvad's Leviathan has always amused, bemused and boggled me, so it was a special treat to get a signed copy! Thank you to all our wonderful speakers and attendees for last night's event 'Speaking Out: Voices Celebrating LGBT HIstory Month'. We had amazing people in the house - artist Aliyah (Come see her exhibition Home And Away - it's on till Mar 11 in our gallery), Cllr Mark Gettleson, publisher/writer Helen Sandler (Tollington Press), filmmaker Campbell X (watch out for Stud Life, coming soon to cinemas near you), author/aerialist Will Davies, award-winning author Paul Bailey (who shared about his early days in theatre opposite Christopher Plummer, among his many recollections on being 'queer' in the 50s), poet/performer Andra Simons - and wonderful sharing. Many thanks goes to Southwark LGBT Network for their support towards the event and exhibition. Do check out their website (http://southwarklgbtnetwork.com/) and the services they provide; membership is only £1, so join up to enjoy the many events and activities they organise. Thank you everyone so very much for making the event a very special one! |
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