Pour a cup of tea (or a glass of wine), find a comfy chair, and watch the online launch of The Ministry of Flowers here, where various actors, poets and and creatives read from the book. Available for a limited time.
THE MINISTRY OF FLOWERS, Valley Press
Curated by
Fiona L Bennett & Andrea Witzke Slot
Producer and Event Co-ordinator
Sally Anglesea
Readings by
Andrea Witzke Slot; Sally Anglesea; Hafsah Aneela Bashir;
Fiona L Bennett; Vanessa Gebbie; Faisal Mohyuddin;
John Prebble; Michael Shaeffer & Valerie Wallace
with an introduction for Valley Press by Jo Brandon
Created with the generous support of
The Poetry Exchange: www.thepoetryexchange.co.uk
Click below to hear the full recording and/or poems from the book
from the Covid-era launch 🌼
from the Covid-era launch 🌼
|
|
|
|
Click on any picture to hear a poem. First here is Emily's poem that inspires the book.
The other three come from each section of the book as it moves through the ideas in Emily's poem.
Listen to poems from Ministry on YouTube in a discussion with the writer Sarah Salway,
Listen to readings by actor Michael Shaeffer, creative Sally Anglesea, and poets Hafsah Aneela Bashir, Valerie Wallace, and Faisal Mohyuddin
The other three come from each section of the book as it moves through the ideas in Emily's poem.
Listen to poems from Ministry on YouTube in a discussion with the writer Sarah Salway,
Listen to readings by actor Michael Shaeffer, creative Sally Anglesea, and poets Hafsah Aneela Bashir, Valerie Wallace, and Faisal Mohyuddin
Click to hear Fiona reading 'Gemütlichkeit'
Fiona Bennett is the Founder & Artistic Director of the award-winning The Poetry Exchange, a one-of-a-kind creative project that celebrates poetry, friendship, listening and dialogue. She is a poet and creative facilitator and her work has been featured in journals in the UK, the USA and on BBC radio, while her collaborative work includes The National Theatre, New York University, Shakespeare’s Globe, Spread The Word and many more. Fiona truly defines the generosity of collaborative work. She connects people and inspires friendship wherever she goes.. Find out more about Fiona here: https://www.fionabennett.co.uk
Click to hear Faisal reading 'Ode to the Stairs'
Faisal Mohyuddin is a writer, artist, and educator. He is the author of The Displaced Children of Displaced Children (Eyewear Publishing, 2018), which won the 2017 Sexton Prize in Poetry, and was selected as a 2018 Summer Recommendation of the Poetry Book Society and named a "highly commended" collection of the year by the Forward Arts Foundation. Faisal and i met through the love and admiration of a much-loved mutual friend, Helen Degen Cohen. Find out more about Faisal here: https://www.faisalmohyuddin.com.
|
Click to hear Hafsah reading 'Minister of Milk: Liam's Song'
Hafsah Aneela Bashir is a playwright, poet and performer, and was a Manchester International Festival Jerwood Creative Fellow of 2017 and The Royal Exchange Supported Artist of 2018. She is author of The Celox and the Clot, founder of The Poetry Health Service and an associate artist with The Poetry Exchange. Hafsah is the most generous, kind and thoughtful people I know, not only in her writing, but in the way she connects people in truly meaningful and inspirational ways. Find out more about Hafash here: https://www.coliseum.org.uk
Click to hear Valerie reading 'Memory is not a peacock landing on a sleeve'
Valerie Wallace is an incredible poet, teacher, editor and web designer, whose first full-length poetry collection House of McQueen won first prize in the Four Way Books Intro Prize, selected by Vievee Francis. I will never forget going to see the McQueen exhibit at the V&A museum with Valerie in London while she was still working on the book. Valerie and I first met over a decade ago as editors with Rhino Poetry in Chicago. She is the loveliest and most generous kind of friend and I admire her to no end. Find out more here about her incredible work here: https://valeriewallace.net.
|
Click to hear Michael reading 'The Palm of Proprioception'
Michael Shaeffer is the Associate Director of The Poetry Exchange. Michael has been closely involved with TPE since its inception, bringing a multi-faceted practice in voice & performance to our conversations, readings & audio work. Michael's recent work in the theatre includes: A Very Expensive Poison; The Girl From The North Country; How To Hold Your Breath; Mr Burns; Table; London Road. His recent film & television credits include: London Road; London Fields; Trance; Rogue One and The ABC Murders. Once you see him on stage, you will see what acting does to the soul. A generous friend with a great sense of fun, our poetry exchanges have been a gift to me. Find out more about Michael here. https://www.imdb.com
Click to hear Vanessa reading 'The Slug'
Vanessa Gebbie is a novelist, short story writer, poet, a writing tutor, an editor, an occasional writing competition judge. She is author of The Coward's Tale (Bloomsbury), Words from a glass Bubble (Salt), and other unforgettable books of poetry and flash fiction. I guarantee you will not be disappointed when you delve into the effortless beauty and subtle humour of her work. I was a fan from the first page. Find out more about her Vanessa here: http://www.vanessagebbie.com
|
Click to hear Sally reading 'Remember when we thought we'd live forever?'
Sally Anglesea is the Marketing & Events Producer for the Poetry Exchange writer, performer & creative producer. Sally was also the amazing event coordinator for the launch and honestly I could not recommend her more highly. Her presence, sense of fun, wisdom, technical knowledge and confidence, inspired me to no end and helped create a unique and joyful celebration. You can find her on LinkedIn as well as Instagram. where she also writes amazing food critiques. She is a writer, producer, director and all-round creative. Her versatility and creative breadth is only part of what makes her so good at when she does.
Click to hear John reading 'llama'
John Prebble is a
Producer of the The Poetry Exchange. As a creative producer, he is dedicated to poetry and the many ways it can speak to us in our lives. He was previously Relationship Manager for the Literature and Arts Council England and Chief Executive at New Writing South. John is also a Relational Dynamics 1st qualified coach and Co-Director of Junction 7 Creatives in Stevenage. John is also the person to thank for putting together and organising these amazing videos. Among his many gifts, is the art of truly listening. Find out more about John's life coaching and other talents here: https://www.johnprebble.net |