Seasonal Events

I couldn't resist adding these pics of our Tom Paine Printing Press shop from late Night Shopping night, it looked beautiful from the yard of Westgate Chapel - it was tipping down with rain but it is always great to take to the streets. Harveys brewery are now opening up ( renovating) a new pub on the High Street just a few hundred yards along called the Rights of Man - it's looking good, opening very soon I think.

Don't forget my Open Studio starting tomorrow friday 7th December - see posting below.......

Studio Sale 7-9 December

Hand Made and Bound

Just a reminder about the Hand Made and Bound Artist Book Fair
at St Bride Foundation, Bride Lane, Fleet Street, London
this sunday
12-6
free entry

and I have a stand.....

see details on previous post
hope to see you there

HANDMADE and BOUND

I'm really looking forward to doing this Fair at lovely St Brides....
The fair will take place in the Bridewell Hall and Farringdon Room.

Travel directions:

Bride Lane is near Ludgate Circus, between Fleet Street and New Bridge Street.

The nearest underground stations are Temple, St Pauls, Farringdon and Chancery Lane. The nearest mainline railway station is City Thameslink on Ludgate Hill.
Bus routes 4, 11, 15, 23, 26, 76, 172 run through Fleet Street. Routes 45, 63 and 100 run through New Bridge Street, and route 17 runs along Farringdon Street and Ludgate Hill via Ludgate Circus.

Facebook event: http://www.facebook.com/events/404529299613442/
Twitter: @handmade_bound
www.handmadeandbound.com

I'll have work £5 - £120, including miniature Cock Robin books
see you there!
Have a look at the nice little video on the handmadeandbound site above....

GRIMMS FAIRY TALES

It is 200 years since the first publication of Grimms Fairy Tales and being celebrated by an exhibition of books from the collection of David Blamires  across two wonderful libraries in Manchester - the amazing Chethams and equally delightful Portico Library.
In a fit of craziness we decided we just had to make a one day pilgrimage by train and were not disappointed, not least because it was also an opportunity to meet up with our very good friends from Incline Press, Graham and Kathy ( publishers of my biography of Peggy Angus) - Kathy works at the Chethams Library and Graham has produced a beautiful letterpressed book to accompany the exhibitions with essays by David Blamires and tipped in illustrations, and a newly translated tale with a specially commissioned illustration by Clifford Harper, who does the small images that look like wood engravings for the Guardian.

 Here are Peter, Graham and Kathy discussing the finer points of printing around an old common press refurbished by Alan May ( who made Peter's own for the Tom Paine Printing Press ).

The older editions are on show at Chethams ( dating from 1821 - early 1930's) and the twentieth century illustrated ones, 1945-2011  at the Portico.

Chethams Library, on a site originally a monastic foundation and now a private music school, is an early example of a chained library ( apparently even the monks were not averse to hiding a few mss up their monkish sleeves ) . It really has wonderful atmosphere. The image immediately above shows the alcove where Marx and Engels sat and worked .

The exhibition at the Portico ( a library dating back to 1806) was an altogether more chaotic affair in a very charming way - it would have nice to see more artists books ( the four small books that did represent the form were really lovely - I didn't note the artist and I can't find them named in the catalogue.... )

We then dashed to complete our Manchester library tour by visiting the Rylands Library - with its new glass addition to the ecclesiastical looking building , Victorian Gothic, commissioned as monument to John Rylands by his enlightened widow.
It is huge  and over several floors with various exhibition spaces and a grand reading room at the top, completely wonderful...
My daughter is helping organise an exhibition here next year to commemorate 700 years since the birth of Boccaccio, see
http://locatingboccaccio.wordpress.com
and I am about to start designing a book for what should be a very interesting exhibition of 21st century book artists reacting to his work .

 It has some nice printing presses in it too...

NEXT

October 9 and 11-14, 2012

Agenda/St Leonards Mayfield School

International Poetry Festival

The Old Palace, Mayfield, East Sussex TN20 6PH

Prize-winning poets from England, Wales, Ireland, Scotland, India.

Art exhibitions: Brian Whelan, Carolyn Trant, Johnny Marsh

Tuesday 9
Gillian Clarke reading, 2.30 Workshop midday
Thursday 11
Split Tongues: Three Irish (Joseph Horgan), Scots (W.S.Milne) and Indian (Sudeep Sen) poets
read their poetry and discuss how it is to have two or more native languages 7.30pm
 
Friday 12
Mimi Khalvati reading, 2.30 Workshop 6.30pm
Hearteners: Gill McEvoy, Abegail Morley and Sue Roe read their moving poems 8 to 9pm
 
Saturday 13
Four Shades of Translation: Timothy Adès, Susan Wicks, Josephine Balmer, Sian Thomas giving
readings and discussing the ‘impossible art of translation’. Poets discussed include Catullus, Ovid,
Resistance French sonnets, modern French poetry. 2-3.15pm
Poetry workshop: Fragments with Josephine Balmer 4-4.45pm
Getting Yourself into Print with editors Simon Jenner, John F. Deane, Sudeep Sen and Patricia
McCarthy 6-7pm
Storm Houses: Tim Liardet and Peter Carpenter read their haunting poetry 8-9pm
 
Sunday 14
John F. Deane, revered Irish poet, founder of Poetry Ireland and the Dedalus Press, a Chevalier
d’Honneur reads his poems in the ancient Chapel 2.30pm

Launch of Rodin’s Shadow by Patricia McCarthy (Patsy Cornish):
a dramatic reading of five voices 4pm
Accompanying art work: Johnny Marsh

Young Agenda Broadsheet Poets reading their poems 5.30pm

Grand finale: launch of ‘Celtic Mists’ issue of Agenda and drinks 7pm.
Refreshments and wine available at all events.

Stroller ticket for all events (except workshops) £20 Other events £5 each; Gillian Clarke’s and
Mimi Khalvati’s workshops £20 with lunch/supper; Jo Balmer’s workshop £10
Spaces only for 10-14 people in the workshops. Special prices on day/evening events.

Contacts: Tel 01435 874600 for tickets; 01435 873703 for further details or

email staylor@mayfieldgirls.org for further information, tickets and times.

Full programme www.agendapoetry.co.uk

 

I am very happy to be involved again with an Agenda event ; I believe I have images in the new Celtic Mists volume being launched on the sunday evening - from my work in progress on Mharbna, the book I wrote when on a residency in Donegal; (one day this book WILL BE FINISHED!).

I hope also to be exhibiting in Handmade and Bound at St Brides Printing Library on November 18th - watch this space for further details.