The Woman Who Mistook Her Jumper For A Hat ...

 ... or great laundry disasters of our time, 
#4762 ...

Fear the Poet ...

Two of my favourite things ...

Culture Vulturing

It's been a great few weeks for getting out and about and soaking up a bit of culchurr.  In addition to King Lear, I've seen a second local panto (with my Art Critic for filtonvoice hat on), Elmfield School for Deaf Children's wonderful Musical 'Around the World with Elmfield', and a startlingly good production of 'Spring Awakening - The Musical' (now who'd a-thought?!) at my son's college.  For a lad who once played the part of an aphid in his primary school play, my boy shone and I was really proud of him and his lovely singing voice. And there's another of my university set texts on at the Tobacco Factory next month, namely, Chekhov's The Cherry Orchard, which I'm really looking forward to.  

I've also been to Cardiff to see an exhibition of work by John Piper and David Jones, and am savouring the prospect of another featuring work by Eric Ravilious at the RWA.  Tomorrow night - or rather, later today - I'm attending a free lecture at Bristol University by Al Alvarez, with poetry readings by Edward Lucie Smith, Tom Raworth and John Fuller.

This afternoon saw my final poetry reading in a series of five over four weeks.  (In fact, I think that constitutes a tour!)  I was guest poet at Can Openers in the Bristol Old Vic at the beginning of the month, I read five poems as part of Voices in the City at Bath Literature Festival, and also did three smaller gigs, finishing today with a joint reading for International Women's Day with Hazel Hammond at Filton Library.  Our poems were accompanied by photos by Alison Wills. I enjoyed collaborating with Hazel and Alison - our work dovetailed nicely and it almost felt more like having a conversation with friends rather than reading our work.  And unlike at Can Openers, this time I didn't forget to take my poems with me!  

I'll be reading again in Bath next month as part of the Poetry Cafe's Bloodaxe Day, and later in the year at the Acumen evening and the portraitswest project respectively.  I also hope to venture further afield to read in Bradford on Avon in due course.  

And then there's the Bristol Spring Poetry Festival coming up in a few weeks.  Hooray for poetry and Poetry Can!!

Photos of me with Hazel Hammond, and my mother and two of her sisters by Dru Marland.

To Dartmoor and Beyond

Dru and I went down to Cornwall the day before yesterday, via Dartmoor the Beloved.  Here's a link to her blog about our trip.

And some more of her wonderful photos ... 

We thought it would be good to have a photo of me on the moor for the back of my novel, 'Dart', when it's published by Indigo Dreams in the autumn.  It will probably be one of these ... 

Thank you to Dru for driving all the way to Callington and back, to my cousin, Hilary of Goodwood Emporium for picking up and storing the armchair we bought off eBay for my father's 90th birthday tomorrow, and to my Auntie Gill for tea and Battenburg cake!  

Leap Day

Leap Day

Five and twenty past the hour

on a non-existent day

without a season.

An early evening rainstorm

chases molten silver mullions

down each westward-facing window.

For a while I watch it claw

the warp and weft of beaded gauze

blinding a scenery of tarmac, concrete, cloud.

There are landscapes in the rainlight:

glassy worlds meander

in a random stream,

encircle tumuli and earthworks

of a long-forgotten past;

snail trails

becoming frosted footpaths

over empty, unlit hills

from which a people with our faces

traced the swathes of ancient stars,

augurs of when to sow and reap.

I cannot wrap myself in their dreams,

only recognise and keep

a thread of memory

to make this weave complete.

©Deborah Harvey 2011

My poetry collection, 'Communion', published by Indigo Dreams, £6.99 is available from the Indigo Dreams website, Amazon, W H Smith on line and all good independent bookshops.  A selection of my poems are available to read here.  

King Lear at the Tobacco Factory

One of the first signs of spring in these parts is the return of Shakespeare at the Tobacco Factory, doing (in this first production at least) what it says on the tin.  This year they are kicking off with King Lear, with John Shrapnel in the role of the ageing king whose narcissistic folly unleashes a tragedy of savage proportions.

It's had mixed reviews, the main criticism being Andrew Hilton's direction, but I found it mesmerising, owing in no small part to its intimate setting which serves to bring the audience right into the action.  There were stellar performances from SATTF regulars and some new faces, though I would single out Trevor Cooper's moving portrayal of the blinded Gloucester for special mention.  My only quibble was the change in style of costume in Act IV, from traditional Jacobean to World War I type uniforms, which didn't seem to add anything to the production and which I found distracting.

Having seen SATTF's interpretation of 'Uncle Vanya' (confusingly by Chekhov and at the Bristol Old Vic!) a couple of years ago, I'm really looking forward to their production of 'The Cherry Orchard' (one of my set texts at university) in April, as well as the new leaves and blackthorn blossom and daffodils which are surely about to burgeon now Hilton and his team are back. 

'Th' hast spoken right, 'tis true.
The wheel is come full circle'  

Waiting in Vain

... because the starlings that always do their swirly starlingy thing at New Passage on the Severn were a few miles upstream tonight. And it was bloody freezing! But the company and views and the sunset were well worth the frozen noses and toeses.