Walpole Old Chapel 10th Aug
Walpole Old Chapel was the gathering point for Cafe Poets on Suday 10th August with friends and poets from as far as North Norfolk (Kay and Roger Hathaway, James and Ann Knox Whittet) and those who came back from Herts. just for the occasion. The readings this year were consistently good, two per poet unless it was over 40 lines. Ivor Murrell and James Knox Whittet both read complex single poems to the intense listening of all present. Christine Redington read two sections of the long poem she is working on about the Fens. Ann Elliott, a newcomer to Cafe poets, read a prose piece that contained an ancient poem put to music. Jenny Cunningham also graced us with an old ballad while Perc played two different wind instruments. Favourite poets like Elizabeth Bracken, Nicola Hughes, Kaaren Whitney, Rosalynde Price and Dorothy Stewart were all there. Sandy Spirling and Janni Ellmoos read at Walpole for the first time. Jen Berry broke any sense of the serious with her typical rousing poem as did Henrietta Maslen with her rendition of a Royal Slice of Bread.
Our great thanks go to Christina van Melzen who gave a brief talk about the origins of Walpole Old Chapel and arranged for the event to take place. Mike Bannister and Richard Maslen masterminded the whole show to everyone's great benefit.
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Walpole Old Chapel
It is good to have a report of this successful gathering, which I was not able to attend. For anyone who hasn't visited the Walpole Old Chapal I can say that it is a place of great serenity and a wonderful setting for poetry readings. But for one thing - it is in a part of the region that is very remote for perhaps most Suffolk people.
The concept of bringing members of the several cafe poets groups together is an excellent one. But maybe we should be thinking not simply of the travelling time, but also of the environment. I am reluctant to use my car - even though it is said to be one of the greenest on the road - to support my poetry habit - at least beyond a certain point. We can do more certainly to share travel, but in future years a more central location or one attainable by public transport should perhaps be a factor in planning.
Many of us write about nature and the environment in our poems - sadly this does nothing to help save it!
Cameron Hawke Smith
Walpole Old Chapel
Yes, supporting the poetry habit is costly. Recently I made a pledge to the environment not to exceed 55 mph where appropriate when driving. I was quite surprised at what a difference it made to my petrol consumption. A minor point but it might be of interest to someone else in this poetry quest. Shared transport is an even better idea so thank you for that input.
Kaaren Whitney