Endings and beginnings
December 2022
The city had withdrawn
into itself
And left at last the country to the country;
From Christmas Trees BY ROBERT FROST
(A Christmas Circular Letter)
My first task as laureate has been to write a poem for the new Greener Libraries toolkit and I‘m proud to say that my poem ‘One Act’ is finally out there. I will be visiting several Staffordshire libraries in the new year to share the poem with staff and customers and support creative workshops to encourage us all to think about the small ways we can help to reduce the impact of climate change. Look out for more details in your local library and on my social media.
We were put on the festive mood
recently as special guests at Burton Library Friends' community Christmas concert (left) where we were treated to poetry readings, Christmas songs and singalongs.
After chatting with some of the Friends I'm looking forward to supporting their next big event in March 2023 with opportunities for poets in the area to be involved. The event will celebrate Spring, rebirth and remembrance of loved ones with a classical guitar concert and poetry.
Thanks to Janet Jenkins and the Lichfield Poets I enjoyed my first visit to the Duke of York in Lichfield to headline. There was some great poetry from familiar faces and and a supportive audience who resisted the temptation to stay home to watch the England match! I will look forward to another visit soon and you can check out their next gig on Facebook or get in touch with Janet Jenkins (also on Fb)
I was also delighted to headline at the Caffe Grande event in Dudley last month. This is my second visit to this excellent venue and enthusiastic audience at The Albion in the centre of Dudley where great food and coffee is available alongside the brilliant hosting by Adrian and Rick Sanders ( Willis the Poet. ) It was also a chance to promote Staffordshire through poems in my second half set and I realised - as you sometimes do when poems seem different depending on the audience - what a huge and diverse county it is.
Coming up…
I recently met with Staffordshire Libraries development officers (LDO’s) and am excited to have plans in the pipeline to visit libraries across the county to find out how I can support projects going on like the last stages of the Lockdown Landscapes project in Burton and the Outside project in the Moorlands.
I start the new year though with a visit to The Hub in Lichfield and then hopefully several libraries in the north of the county during January and February, weather permitting! More details will be published as they become available on my Dawn Jutton Versified fb page and if you want to request a visit pop into your local library and let the staff know so they can pass it onto their LDO.
I’m planning to start on a Queer Staffordshire project and will be reaching out to poets and the LGBTQ+ community to explore queer history and culture in Staffordshire in preparation for celebrating LGBTQ+ history month in February. If you know anyone who might like to be involved please ask them to get in touch with me.
As for January, I’m dedicating it to getting back in the swing of writing and looking forward to training myself to write every day alongside the inspirational Kim Moore and Clare Shaw from Kendal Poetry Festival who will be hosting a writing hour online each day for the whole of January on a PAYF basis.
I’ll also be joining Deb Alma from the Poetry Pharmacy in Bishops Castle and Sophie Haworth The Poetry Habit - an online course with Sophie Howarth that that aims to "Discover the transformative effects of a daily poetry prescription" Tickets may still be available and If you haven’t visited the shop yet it is definitely a 'to do’ thing in the Spring, not just for the poetry books, brilliant workshops and book launches, but for the coffee and cake!
This should all be great preparation for my appearance at Wolves Litfest that has an impressive number of events planned for February 2023 and a great fringe programme lined up. I’ll be there to support Ian Henery and Stafford Word at their gigs
If you want to be involved, the Poets, Prattlers and Pandemonialists’ call for slammers for the Wolves Lit Fest slam is now open. The slam takes place on Saturday January 28th, 2023. If you want your name to go in the hat, let them know before Xmas Eve. The draw for the fifteen slammers is on Boxing Day.
If you have a project, event or workshop planned for 2023 and you would like my support please don’t hesitate to get in touch. In the meantime, I hope everyone enjoys the festive season in whatever way makes you happy. For me it will be a walk with the dog somewhere local before home to a simple meal in front of the log burner and tv. Maybe a few hours reading from my new poetry books from Santa - I hope!
Wishing you all a peaceful festive season and look forward to seeing you in the new year.