Our Poetry and Reminiscence sessions are all about sparking memory through the sharing and reading aloud of well-loved poems. This summer, Caleb Parkin will be our host for the poetry and reminiscence cabaret!
Over five weekly afternoon poetry performances we’ll hear poems, play with words and connect through poem-making:
Dirty Cabaret – it’s not what you think! We’ll hear poems of plants, earth, rock and – perhaps – a little mud. Poems of earthy abundance and rootedness from Derek Walcott, Mary Oliver and more.
Don your poncho: in the Soggy Cabaret, rivers and oceans of poetry will flow into your ears, from Wordsworth’s Thames and the ‘cool blue middle’ of Tony Hoagland’s lake.
The Sizzling Cabaret will up the temperature with fiery poems: Blake’s ‘Tyger’ roves alongside poems in praise of the Sun – as well as those of love, lust and longing.
Take flight in the Blustery Cabaret with poems of airy exploration and adventure. From Ted Hughes’ ‘Wind’ to Kwame Dawes’ ‘Tornado Child’, we’ll embrace the blustery and billowing.
Wear your most futuristic outfit for our grand finale: Cabaret…in Space! Through poems about comets and astronauts, space dogs, robots and extra-terrestrials we’ll set the countdown timer at Poetry NASA and wait for lift off.
Caleb Parkin is a poet, performer, tutor, facilitator and Bristol City Poet from October 2020. He’s published widely in magazines, journals, through commissioned poems and competitions. He tutors for Poetry Society, Poetry School and First Story and holds an MSc in Creative Writing for Therapeutic Purposes. Debut pamphlet: Wasted Rainbow, (tall-lighthouse, Feb 2021). Debut collection: This Fruiting Body (Nine Arches, October 2021).
Dates: Wednesdays from 4 – 5.30 pm, 30th June, 7th July, 14th, 21st and 28th July 2021
Location: Exeter Custom House
Further details and to book here