Thank you to British East Asian Artists' (BEAA) Creative Lab for hosting their networking and fundraising session for Typhoon Haiyan Appeal and rehearsed reading of Tan Suet Lee's A Second Life. It was a memorable and mesmerising evening. Thank you to the playwright Suet Lee for travelling from Singapore, and all the crew involved - Jennifer Lim, Michelle Lee, Rebecca Gloria Yeo, Daniel York, Mo Zainal, Renee Montemayor and Cui. It was an especially lovely event to end the year with - in a room full of friendly and warm folk :) Wishing BEAA and the community brighter and better adventures in the new year!
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Poetry, music, more poetry, plus open mic-ers, it was Platform 65's fourth Poetry Thingy session, with special guests Stephanie Dogfoot and Jerrold Yam :)
I am not often at a loss for words on how to describe an event, but I must say, I am completely stymied now. New York-based writer, musician and mental health activist Sabrina Chap was at W&T on Wednesday evening to share from the second edition of Live Through This: On Creativity and Self-Destruction. I haven't been able to put the book down since. But how shall I describe what Sabrina's talk was -- and the book is -- about without reducing it to meaningless cliches? Yes, it is a book with contributions from various artists - writers (bell hooks among them), photographer Nan Goldin, comedian Margaret Cho, playwright Amanda Palmer (who wrote the foreword) et al - on how they have come through their darkest and yet most creative hours, and have lived to tell the tale. But it isn't just an uplifting reminder that if you hurt, you are not alone. That would be waaaay too trite. Instead, it is an exploration into the multiple shades of gray which make us who we are -- dark sides and all. 'Nuf said. To try and elucidate further would be to render this amazing and complex anthology less than the sum of its parts. My suggestion: Read the parts. Thank you to Sabrina for an awesome event and for soldiering on despite succumbing to the damp London weather. - Fran It was a full house yesterday evening for the event Writing in Conflict, which saw journalist-turned-Chechen freedom fighter, Mikail Eldin, now exiled, Vietnam War veteran-turned-espionage fiction writer, Edward Wilson, translator Anna Gunin and chairperson Arifa Akbar, literary editor of The Independent and i Newspaper, share and discuss the topic of what resistance through writing means. Thank you to English PEN, the panel, and all who came for a powerful and moving evening. Mikail's story graphically depicts the horrors of war, and yet also the resilience and courage of the human spirit, so that we may remember what violence does to humanity. It is often said that reading promotes empathy -- may it also provoke awareness. Thank you to Stephanie Seegmuller (Pushkin Press) and Meike Ziervogel (Peirene Press), Samantha Schnee, founder and editor of Words Without Borders, and English PEN, for an insightful, enlightening and inspiring evening of discussion on the future of the book. Topics ranged from the transformational power of story, the importance of reading, the challenges of independent publishing, to the changing form of the 'book' in the midst of an age of digitisation. Drop by and explore the amazing titles we have in store from these inspirational powerhouses of indie publishing; against the tide of mass market publishing, they have carefully developed catalogues of worthy collectibles. I have to say there are times I really love my job. The event with Canadian author Joseph Boyden was both a treat and a reminder of the benefits of being a bookseller. I learnt a lot at that event. Prior to that evening, I had not even been aware of the term 'First Nations' to denote the aboriginal or indigenous people of Canada. Joseph not only read from his novel The Orenda, he provided an insight into the history and culture of these varied ancient tribes. On top of that, it was a double treat to have his friend, Native American actress and musician Tamara Podemski, sing and play the drum at the closing of the session. Now, how many people can say they experience that in the course of their job? What a lovely and magical evening :) Thank you to Joseph for appearing at W&T while in London, and to the Canadian High Commission for supporting the event. We only have one signed copy of The Orenda left in store -- so come and grab it before it goes! And oh, if you're wondering what 'Orenda' means, we asked Joseph too -- it's the spiritual/life force inherent in people and shared with nature. Keeewl... - Fran Channeling Harry Christmas, the protagonist from his debut novel, A Bright Moon for Fools, author Jasper Gibson, founder of thepoke.co.uk, read several excerpts which introduced the audience to Christmas - a rather curmudgeonly drink-fuelled character on an unlikely quest in Caracas. The evening was also lubricated with shots of Santa Teresa, a Venezuelan rum, to complement Christmas' misadventures. Jasper and his publisher Crispin Somerville, of Inside the Dog Press, also shared their approach to independent book publishing - a first for both - which happily has seen A Bright Moon for Fools first print run in hardback edition sell out. There's only two signed copies left at W&T, so grab them while you can! Salud! The Gentle Author, is best known for his observations of daily life in South London, and about Spitalfields in particular. So it was a real treat that he ventured further east and was at W&T yesterday evening. In a beautiful presentation of 100+ photos, both old and new, the audience was transported to a London of old and the contemporary; accompanied by a narration from the Gentle Author of the stories behind many of London's memorable traditions, landmarks and to meet its even more unforgettable folk. Plus, we were treated to interesting tidbits about London that are less well known -- e.g. did you know that Waterloo Bridge was built by women and it's self-cleaning? [I cannot even fathom what a 'self-cleaning' bridge means :) ] The Gentle Author's London Album is available now and will make a wonderful Christmas gift. Copies have sold out at W&T but we will be restocking some soon. Authors Andrew Whitehead, Zoe Fairbairns and Sarah Wise shared background stories on their contributions to the anthology London Fictions at Woolfson & Tay at a Tuesday evening session on 16 July 2013. The evening proved to be a fascinating journey which delved into London's past and present. Historian Sarah Wise's exposition of Arthur Morrison’s 1896 novel A Child of the Jago shed light on life in the Old Nichol slum in Shoreditch during the Victorian era, while Zoe Fairbairns trek through Clapham Common - in an attempt to retrace the world conjured in Pamela Hansford Johnson's This Bed Thy Centre - revealed that while much had changed, much also remained the same. Andrew Whitehead rounded off the evening by exploring the slums of London as evoked in George Gissing's The Nether World. The evening was a celebration of not only London fiction per se, but also the diversity of the microcosmic worlds which coexist in the great historic city of London. To learn more about London's evolution, grab a copy of London Fictions or to explore other readings, visit www.londonfictions.com. Thank you to Kenyan author Juliet Barnes for sharing with us her love for the history and peoples of Kenya. In the UK on a promotional tour of her book, The Ghosts of Happy Valley: Searching for the Lost World of Africa's Infamous Aristocrats, Juliet shared images from her research of the crumbling ruins of what was once Happy Valley's colonial homes, as well as offering comparative archival images of the people and sites of scandals. Fans of Frances Osborne's White Mischief or Nancy Mitford's The Bolter would not have been disappointed as Juliet recounted fascinating vignettes from meetings with descendants of the infamous Happy Valley set of Wanjohi Valley. In some cases, she also met elderly Kikuyus who had once served in the homes, estates and gardens of these colonial transplants. Apart from recapturing the dubious 'glory' of those days of debauchery, Juliet offered an insight into present-day Kenya and its challenges with preserving its indigenous wildlife, most notably through the story of Solomon, her friend, guide and collaborator in the retelling of Happy Valley's past. |
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