Author diaries

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12 February 2004 Entry: "A full diary"

After a lull at the start of the year, the literature scene in the North East is in full swing which means a full diary and regrets over those things I can't attend.
The Newcastle Lit and Phil seems to be featuring in my diary quite a lot at the moment. My first visit there this year was for the Arrowhead reading. It was good to hear friends Bob Cooper and Sue Vickerman read again, and the evening also introduced me to the work of Jennifer Copley. I bought her pamphlet House by the Sea and rushed home to read it.
Then last week I was back for the evening with Val McDermid and Ian Rankin. As they weren't promoting new books, Chaz Brenchley was able to lead the evening in much more interesting conversations. I was intrigued by the idea that people can bid to get their name used as a character in books, with the money going for charity, and it sparked off an idea for a short story that I'm working on now.
This was the first evening in the Lit and Phil's crime month. There's still lots planned and tickets are free, so definitely worth considering if you're in the area.
I'll be reading at the Lit and Phil on March 11th with others from Newcastle University's MA in Writing Poetry who appear in our anthology Under Your Skin.
I've been adding lots of links to this page, as I know how annoying it can be to have to keep searching for more information. Hopefully, you'll keep returning to read on as I have one more interesting link to add!
The poem I'm working on at the moment is based on internet "travelling", as I've been having fun with one of those translation pages, letting my stanza explore the world in various languages, then translating it back. It's great fun, and even more exciting to then turn the journey into a poem.
If you are a poet and of "a certain age" - that's 50 and over - then don't miss the Blinking Eye poetry competition which has just been launched by Jeanne Macdonald. Even if you're not entering, the website is worth visiting, so here is my final link for this entry. I'm off to London for a touristy half-term with David and Robbie (16) tomorrow, so will be taking some of the entry forms to the Poetry Library - my guarantee that we'll be visiting there after the London Eye!