Form and Place: A Poetry Reading by John Greening
RLF Writing Fellow, John Greening, introduces and reads his poetry. In this selection from over a dozen collections, he will suggest how a poem’s form is sometimes shaped by the character of particular locations. Beginning with ‘Westerners’ (1982), published after two years in Upper Egypt (his memoir of that period is published this summer), he will read verse both free and formal – including work from his 2016 collaboration with Penelope Shuttle, ‘Heath’, about the area around Heathrow where he grew up. There may also be glimpses of Scotland, Iceland, the South Pole and of course Cambridgeshire. But the main object of this slightly unusual seminar is to introduce Newnham to some of John’s work, and to answer any questions.
John Greening was born in London in 1954. After a period of study (including a year in Germany), he worked for Hans Keller at BBC Radio 3, and then spent two years with VSO in Aswan, Egypt, with his wife, Jane. His first book was published in 1982; he has since published twenty or so more, including To the War Poets (Oxford/Carcanet, 2013). Prizes include the Bridport Prize (1998), and the Cholmondeley Award (2008).
All Senior Members, Students, and Staff are warmly invited to attend the Pudding Seminars, which feature coffee, cake, and lively discussion! To allow people to get to 2pm appointments, please note that coffee and cake will be available from 1 o’clock with the Seminar starting promptly at 1.15pm.