Poetry in the Woods

I was invited to run a poetry session for a retreat earlier this week. It was a Rookhow, a beautiful old building with its own ancient woodland in a quiet corner of the Lake District. Typically for a summer's day in the Lakes, it rained and was quite chilly but this did not detract from the writing.

We chatted for a while in the beautiful old hall then wandered into the woods and wrote. After around half an hour we shared what we had written, standing under the trees as rain dripped onto our shelter.

It was a peaceful and contemplative way to write and we produced some interesting pieces. Afterwards we walked back to the hall and talked about writing in nature and poetry about the natural world. Overall it was a wonderful way to spend a rainy day in August, one that I hope to repeat again soon.

Keswick Open Mic

 

I was lucky enough to read some of my poetry at an open mic session in Keswick on Wednesday. This was in Barua Street Food in Keswick. It's a fabulous restaurant that has weekly open mic sessions (as well as a DJ on Saturdays).

There are a number of bars that run open mic evenings in Keswick, all on different nights which is a great idea. Plenty of opportunities to perform and catch different artists.

There is a lovely feel to all of the venues (The Pocket Cafe and Crooked River were the other ones I tried). Barua had it's own fushion-food, cocktail vibe and the staff are really friendly. There was a great cross-section of customers - all ages and backgrounds - and they were really responsive to the performers. There was a mixture of singer-songwriters playing guitars and singers with backing tracks but I was the only poet. My material went down well and it was a lot of fun, though quite scary as well.

Next time I'm in Keswick I'll be heading to one of these venues. It's a really great town for a night out!