I always enjoy watching summer sliding into September, with the leaves beginning to turn, the subtle alteration in the light; I love to sense the change in the air when I walk the dog in the mornings. But this year circumstances got the better of me - having spent a fortnight hardly leaving house or hospital, I emerged blinking at the weekend to find autumn, my favourite season, already firmly established. A timely reminder that, whilst our lives may be on hold with personal traumas, the world moves on and life elsewhere continues.
But now there is much to look forward to, especially on the poetry front. I was interested to read in the Guardian on Saturday that Nielson Bookscan had reported a 10% year on year increase in poetry sales, and last week's National Poetry Day was a resounding success, with events not only in the usual venues but in all manner of unexpected places. Far from being a now neglected art form as it's sometimes portrayed, poetry is not just alive and well but thriving in this country.
And it certainly thrives in Gloucestershire and Wiltshire! This month sees the Swindon Poetry Festival (October 5th - 9th), the Cheltenham Literature Festival (at which I'll be introducing the Gloucestershire Writers' Network event) running from 6th - 15th, the Mere Literary Festival (at which I'll be reading two of my poems shortlisted for the Poetry Prize) from 9th - 15th and the first ever Gloucester Poetry Festival (October 26th - 29th). We're certainly spoiled for choice in this neck of the woods! All the events promise to be interesting and enjoyable so do join us at some of them if you can - there are details on all the relevant websites.
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