Month: September 2017

Anthony Wilson: Books for the Aspiring Poet

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National Poetry Day 28 September 2017

Ahead of National Poetry day we asked Exeter based poet Anthony Wilson to recommend five books for the aspiring (or established!) poet to read.  Anthony and fellow poet Lawrence Wilson will be appearing at the bookshop on Friday 29th September, reading a mix of their own and others’ poems which they have chosen to explore this years theme, Freedom.  Writing Poems by Peter Sansom A brilliant guide to the process of putting pen to paper. Contains a great reading list, … Read more

Lawrence Sail: Five Poems for the Poetry-Shy to Try

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Collage with text - 28th September - Freedom = Poetry

To celebrate National Poetry Day well known Exeter poets, Lawrence Sail and Anthony Wilson, will be reading their own and others’ poems which explore this year’s theme, Freedom. Find out more about the event here. Ahead of the event we asked Lawrence Sail for five poems for the poetry-shy to try, and being a generous man, he gave us six. “Where might anyone possibly begin to fish in the great ocean of poetry? To pick out such a small number … Read more

Interview: Jenny Balfour-Paul

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Jenny Balfour-Paul is a writer, artist, international lecturer and intrepid traveller, with a life-long love of India. On Thursday 5th October we’ve an event with Jenny entitled Independence Blues: Stories of India, Indigo and Gandhi. Our favourite question to ask authors is ‘What book changed your life?’ and Jenny Balfour-Paul had a cracking answer. Q: What book changed your life? A: E. M. Forster’s last novel, A Passage to India, was a set book in my school English class and … Read more

Review: I am I am I am

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I am I am I am Front Cover Blog Image

Told in Maggie O’Farrell’s flowing yet penetrating style, this memoir is a delicious series of vignettes. Her eighth book and first autobiographical work was conceived of while caring for her daughter who lives with a severe auto immune disorder, and describes her own brushes with death. ‘Most of us tend not to dwell on our mortality since that way madness lies, but many have stood on the precipice, often several times over, and stared it squarely in the face.’ This … Read more

Review: Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine

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Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine Blog Image

Eleanor Oliphant has organised her life to ensure unexpected events do not occur. Keenly timetabled, she wears the same clothes to work every day and follows the same weekly routine. Eleanor’s understanding of life is touching in its clarity, funny and sad. Perhaps inevitably her world begins to unravel with what initially appears to be a minor event. Her subsequent insights into her past are heart wrenching and although it isn’t easy, her willingness to engage in the process is … Read more