Deborah Harvey : The Red Dress of Poetry ...: Stewart Carswell

Showing posts with label Stewart Carswell. Show all posts

Sunday, 21 September 2014

The IsamBards: Poetry Walks on Clifton Suspension Bridge

It's 150 years since the Clifton Suspension Bridge was opened and to help mark the anniversary, the Isambards - Pameli Benham, Stewart Carswell, David Johnson and I - were approached to participate in some guided walks, thus turning them into poetry walks.

Being Bristolian, I'd never seen the need to go on an official tour of the bridge, but our guide, Laura Hilton, was informative and interesting, I learnt stuff and it was good to give our bridge-related poems, some of which had been written especially for the occasion, an airing in the spot which inspired them.

Here's a link to one I read, a poem about Sarah Ann Henley, who was jilted by her lover and who jumped from the Clifton Suspension Bridge on 8^th May 1885, only for her dress and petticoats to fill with air, parachuting her onto the muddy river bank. She died 63 years later, a reluctant celebrity.

Another woman associated with the bridge is Ann Wood-Kelly, an American aviator who flew with the British Air Transport Auxiliary in the second world war. There's some dispute as to whether - as her Guardian obituary has it - she twice flew under the Suspension bridge, but let's pretend for the sake of this fabulous picture (and the poem that accompanies it) by IsamBard artist, Dru Marland, that she did.

An updated pamphlet of IsamBard poetry, including all the new poems, is available to buy for £5 in the Visitor Centre of the Suspension Bridge.

Monday, 25 November 2013

Inking Bitterns on the North Bristol Art Trail

Here are the Isambards - David Johnson, Pameli Benham, Stewart Carswell and me, reading poetry on the North Bristol Art Trail this Sunday just gone, and yes, we did trot out a few Brunel-themed pieces, but Stewart and I also read our contributions to this brand new and fantastic poetry bookette, Inking Bitterns, lusciously illustrated by Dru Marland and costing a mere £5.

'Inking Bitterns' - a book of poems and pictures for wild places, illustrated by Dru Marland - is published in association with Poetry Can and available from Gert Macky books and good independent bookshops - in Bristol, this means Durdham Down Bookshop, Standfords, and Foyles, price £5.

For more peeks inside this gorgeous book, take a look here!

Sunday, 10 November 2013

Inking Bitterns (after 'Little Women' by Louisa May Alcott)

'Christmas won't be Christmas without any presents,' grumbled Jo, lying on the rug.

'It's so dreadful to be poor!' sighed Meg, looking down at her old dress.

'I don't think it's fair for some girls to have plenty of pretty things, and other girls nothing at all,' added little Amy, with an injured sniff.

'We've got Father and Mother, and each other,' said Beth contentedly from the corner, 'but best of all, there's Inking Bitterns, published by Gert Macky Books in association with Poetry Can, hot off the press and costing only £5 per copy! Just about everyone can afford to buy a few of these to give as presents. And if they're really lucky, they might even get given one themselves, to treasure for ever! Look, they're available to order from this handy website! I'm going to buy one for everyone I know - even strange people who think there's something to 'get' about poetry which they feel is beyond them, because all of the poems in this book are enjoyable and accessible, and the illustrations by Dru Marland are just glorious!'

'Let me see!' said Amy, snatching the book from gentle Beth's gentle hands. 'Lawks, Jo, look at these! They're awesome!'

'Gosh, yes, I shall buy one for Laurie and Aunt March! Even that old bat will melt when she sees this beautiful cat in the wind!'

'No, I want to buy one for Aunt March!' cried Amy. 'I'll put it in her stocking. Wait, though, where's Meg?'

'She's online!' cried Jo. 'Quick, stop her before she buys the entire remaining stock! It's such a gorgeous little book (to quote esteemed poet, Penelope Shuttle) that it's sure to sell out if we don't get our orders in quickly!'

'Don't take on so,' soothed Beth. 'We could always get our copies from Acoustic Night Bristol at Halo Cafe Bar on Monday 2nd December. Lots of the featured poets will be there reading from the book and some of them might even be sober enough to sign it. And failing that, there's another opportunity to hear the poems and buy a copy or four at Can Openers on Friday lunchtime, December 6th. It'll be upstairs in Foyles as usual. That'll be one in the eye for that sneaky cow, Meg!'

And the remaining sisters all agreed that it bloomin' well would be.

Sunday, 29 September 2013

A Voyage Around Brunel and Bristol's Floating Harbour

The weather forecast had been grim - heavy rain for Saturday afternoon - but as it turned out, it turned out nice - warmish, definitely dry, rather grey admittedly, but a beautiful soft grey, the sort that makes you think of the end of the world (but in a good way).

The inaugural event of Bristol Poetry Festival 2013, the intrepid IsamBards' celebration of Brunel, was all set.

Having discovered that Temple Meads Station - that masterpiece of Brunel-designed architecture - was even noisier than we had envisaged, we beat a retreat to Temple Quay rather sooner than we had planned, there to finish our railway poems before embarking on the water-borne part of our voyage.

Mal dressed for the occasion

Then we were off on a quick detour under the first of Brunel's bridges over the Avon before executing a nifty turn in the allotted space and heading off on the first leg of our journey, to the SS Great Britain.

Passing St Peter's on Castle Green, bombed during the Bristol Blitz and now a memorial to Bristol's civilian dead.

Dru just before she gave me an impromptu physics lesson on 'How concrete barges float'

Brunel's Severn Shed, now a restaurant, previously a storage facility for the luggage of SS Great Britain passengers.

Now another restaurant, The River Station was formerly the HQ of the Port of Bristol Police.

The familiar landmark of Redcliffe Parade.

Thekla ...

... with her very early Banksy. (An even earlier one was painted over by the Harbour Master who failed to appreciate the fine line between vandalism and art.)

Proof that the Press Gang is still operational in Bristol.

A fishing boat from Fowey moored near the Lloyds Bank HQ.

The replica of Cabot's Matthew heading for SS Great Britain.

Two iconic ships

At the SS Great Britain, we stopped alongside its bows and poeticised, which seemed to go down well ... at least, none of our listeners took advantage of the drowning option.

Then it was on to the Underfall Yard, a historic boatyard dating from the early 19th century, with improvements by Brunel in the 1830s.

The name Underfall comes from the series of sluices Brunel designed to keep the harbour as silt-free as possible.

The Matthew seemed to be following a similar route to us.

At the Yard we disembarked for more poetry.

So good to see it still being used for its original purpose also.

A short distance on, and our last poetry stop of the day, at the lock, considerably enlarged and improved by Brunel so that his SS Great Britain could pass through. Looming above it - as if you didn't know - is that other iconic emblem of Brunel's Bristol, the Clifton Suspension Bridge.