Jim Crace is definitely in my all time ‘top ten’ of writers because he writes beautiful, simple prose. Better still, he manages to do this in relatively slim volumes of work. Being Dead is a strangely uplifting book, despite the fact that the middle-aged couple in it are killed while having sex near a beach. There is no magical solution or afterlife to appease the reader, instead we see the bodies decompose and nature take its course. But it’s beautiful because in death their bodies are still touching, they are somehow still connected, albeit symbolically. The book then starts to go backwards and we learn that thirty years earlier they’d had sex in the same place and were hoping to relive/capture the moment. This is the power of the book, the way the couple are resurrected through these memories; we only exist in the now. I wonder if this was an influence on Jon McGregor’s Even the Dogs which similarly uses a body as a means to piece together a life and link characters together.

I was meant to do a phone interview with Crace as a preview to Nottingham City Libraries Festival of Reading but I’ve just not had time. LeftLion has just been put to bed and will be out on the streets on Friday and it’s taken up more of my time than usual. Consequently, I decided that I’d turn up to Crace’s reading at City Library on Monday and do it face-to-face as a preview for future events.

I’ve been reading loads of his books in preparation (I’m such an obsessive reader that now when I interview someone, I try and read everything they’ve written, rather than just the latest book. It’s seriously becoming an unhealthy addiction) but the event had been cancelled because only four tickets had been sold.

This was worrying on many levels: Is it a reflection on Nottingham that no one was interested in a writer who’s scooped numerous prestigious awards? Or are people that skint, they couldn’t afford the modest £3 entry fee? Or was it down to PR and marketing? The council is already stretched for staff and resources so this is more than believable. In this, local hacks such as myself should have done more to support the event (this blog being my first Hell Mary). But most frightening of all is the consideration that libraries simply no longer have the same presence or cultural value in the community. They are not, rather oddly, places we associate with public readings. These happen at glamorous places like festivals and city centre bars.

What makes this most frustrating is that Crace said in 2008 he would stop writing in three years time. The suggestion being that by then he’d have said his piece and didn’t want to fall into the Updike mould of producing inferior work in his later years that got published on reputation, rather than merit. Whatever the reason, the lack of interest is as damning as any blow delivered by the Cleggeron. So without further ado, please do the following. If you haven’t read a Crace before, support your library and borrow some of his books. I recommend Continent and Quarantine. Two, get your arses down to the next event they are planning before the budget for these gets slashed as well. Don’t let libraries become a distant memory.

Tuesday 24 May, 11am, FREE
Brighter Days by Vida Theodosia Harris
St. Ann’s Library
Join Nottingham writer Vida Theodosia Harris for a talk on Brighter Days, an inspirational book written after the tragic loss of her daughter in the Marchioness disaster in 1989.
Contact: stanns_library@nottinghamcity.gov.uk / 0115 915 6941.

Tuesday 24 May, 2pm – 3pm, FREE
Player’s Past
Nottingham Central Library
Join us for a viewing of ‘Player’s Past’, a film featuring former employees of John Player and Sons sharing memories of their working lives.
Contact: kam.harte@nottinghamcity.gov.uk / 0115 915 2828.

The Festival of Reading has events running up until July

Image by Ryan McGuire from Pixabay

In Nottingham at the moment, spoken word events are popping up with more regularity than the spring daffodils. One thing unites them all and I’m not talking about a lack of funding. It is of course the open mic. This is an essential component of any spoken word event because it gives up-and-coming poets the opportunity to make that first tentative step into the public arena and learn their trade. For the promoters, it is an opportunity to draw in the numbers as the said performer is likely to bring an entourage of friends along to offer support.

We offer an open mic event at our LeftLion/Nine Arches Shindig! nights because we are on the lookout for content for the magazine and as a publisher of poetry pamphlets, Nine Arches may be able to take this a step further. Other events, such as Utter in London, afford the open mic slot even more prestige. Here, the audience votes the best act at the end of the night and they are then invited back as a paid performer. They can take this calculated risk because the poets are vetted beforehand. Although there are clear benefits to this, I’m a romantic. I like the spontaneity of people turning up on the night and that lovely feeling that comes with discovering a new voice in amongst the usual suspects.

Despite these many benefits, it is about time three simple house rules were laid down about poetry etiquette…

Number one: if you come down to perform at open mic, have the courtesy to stay for the whole event. Yes, we know you’re a bit nervous but it means that anyone interested in your work is unable to pull you to one side and make enquires. I regularly go ‘poetry poaching’ to find acts. John Marriott was recently nicked from a DIY poets gig and now kicks off all of our Shindig! sets. The other reason for staying is you get to see a wide range of performers with varying styles and techniques that will undoubtedly help clarify what works with your own work.

Number two: Speed poetry. Trying to cram in ten poems in two minutes is a bit like watching someone at an ‘eat all you can buffet’ ram up their plate to the hilt. Less is more. It is far better to do two poems than ten as we then have time to contemplate what you’ve said. Use the saved time to give context to your poems and tell us a little bit about who you are.

Number three: Hogging the mic is an awful faux pas. When we say one poem, we mean one poem. Not one anthology. In addition to looking arrogant it may also mess up the time schedules, meaning someone else may miss out. Poets are bitter creatures and attack each other with spiteful metaphors. Don’t give them an excuse to wantonly attack you.

If you want to come and break these three golden rules at our next Shindig! night, then get down to the Jam Cafe on Sunday May 22nd kick off: 7pm. For more info, join our Facebook group Writelion Leftlion.

Alternatively, the Nottingham Writers’ Studio is putting on a Word of Mouth special at Antenna this Thursday with a live link-up via Skype to poets around the globe. It’s a free event and may inspire how you think about presenting your own work.