WOKING WRITERS CIRCLE 30TH AGM and NOVEMBER READINGS at ST MARY’S CHURCH, HORSEL, 21 November 2019
Present: Greg, Peter, Heather, Dan, Alan, Amanda, Liz, Hilary, Kate, Chris, Sarah DD
Apologies: Simon, Tricia, Cathy
2019 AGM
- Minutes of 2018 agm were accepted.
- No matters arising.
- Venue: the move to Horsell and St Mary’s has been well received, and we’re happy with the move, and wish to continue.
- Chairman’s report (Peter Morley): Numbers are stable, however new members are always welcome. The standard of writing has improved, and members have reported various successes and publications, often reported on our website. The theatre and art reviews from the New Victoria theatre and the Lightbox add interesting contributions to the website. More similar or locally related articles are encouraged.
- Treasurer’s report: It has been decided not to continue our membership of the National Associations of Writers Groups. Greg or Hilary will close the account. Current membership: There are 11 paid-up members, although we need 16 paying members to break even. Current funds will allow us to continue without increasing membership for another year. Current subs are £24. We may need to raise it by £2 next September.
- Website report (Greg Freeman). Greg felt the website had featured more items in the past year, and was a lively mix of arts reviews and reports of members’ successes and activities. He repeated Peter’s call for more articles on local matters, and said The Ambassadors and the Lightbox both value the coverage they get form us.
- Election of officers: current officers approved. Chairman: Peter Morley, Treasurer: Hillary, Secretary: Amanda, Steering committee member: Liz, Website Manager: Greg.
NOVEMBER MEETING
News
- Alan is continuing to push forward with publicity of his novel, Theta Double Dot, which is going well, with particular thanks to his hairdresser. There’s a rumour a book club has picked it up.
- Greg, aka Pirate no.3, promoted the forthcoming Send Amateur Dramatic Society pantomime, ‘Treasure Island’ written by Ben Crocker, one of the best writers in the field, and “one of the best we’ve done”. It has since played to often packed houses and much acclaim.
- The WWC Book Club recently read the Secret Life of Bees: rated as 8/10, very positive and life enhancing. Next meeting Jan 13, to review The Ginger Tree by Oswald Wynd.
- December (19) meeting will be a social at the hall. Peter and Rosie to bring a meat and veggie chilli. Open to all members and partners. Please communicate numbers, and what you will be bringing to Peter, in order to avoid an overabundance of mince pies and sausage rolls.
- One of Carla’s academic articles has been accepted by a Warwick University magazine, to be published in January. It has a Margaret Atwood connection with regards to the consumerism society.
Readings:
Greg’s ‘A Puritan’s View of Bonfire Night in Lewes’ was a vivid, colourful, vibrant poem, capturing the truculent, rebellious nature of the town, which has a tradition of civil disobedience. The excitement and thrill of the parade and celebration was well conveyed, and the change in imagery and tone at the end provoked a lively discussion, reinforcing the effectiveness and power of the poem.
Heather read two poems. In the first, ‘Lunch’, a sharp old aunt listens for the ping of the microwave, whilst fantasising about her love of deliciously cooked food. A surprising ending that made everyone laugh out loud. ‘The Outing’ was a poignant, sparse poem about a day trip with a disabled loved one, which ended in humiliation and rage. The emotions conveyed were powerful and evoked a strong response from members. Although very different, both poems were hugely admired for the powerful imagery, and treatment of the subject matter, and skill and versatility in style.
Carla read three poems, ‘Fallen Leaves, November’; ‘Negotiating Caponata’; and ‘Country House’. All three were beautifully rich and deep; described as requiring time to consume at length to fully appreciate, perhaps ideally to be read and savoured with a glass of whisky in front of a warm fire. The third poem, ‘Country House’, received the most comments; images of catching lizards were evocative, as were the destruction of the snake eggs. The interesting juxtaposition of cruelty and innocence was well-regarded.
Hilary continued with her psychological thriller novel. Sam is living in a large house with her new husband and extended family, including her two nieces (aged two and five) who are a constant cause of annoyance. We learn that Sam is secretly taking contraceptive pills. Her only pleasure is swimming in her pool. After the swim, ‘almost immediately things start to go wrong….’ The dark undertones and sense of menace is constant – very taut. The listing device was very effective in understanding Sam’s state of mind. The voice of the 5 year old Maisie was discussed, with reference to the adult tones. As we get deeper into the story, we see this is becoming a real page turner!
Kate read chapter three of her novel ‘The Heron Pool’. Previously: After an unexpected break up, Lucien the narrator, has fled to his family home … Lucien is disturbed in the middle of the night, which leads him to the garden to search for an intruder. He is drawn to the pool where he sees a young woman swimming in the lake before mysteriously disappearing. The piece was admired for the descriptive style; the garden was particularly well described, painting a dreamlike picture in the moonlight.
Daniel’s short story, Ellie’s Game, was fast-paced, fast-read, and universally admired. An avid video gamer finds solace in the gaming world whilst hiding his university rejection letters from his parents. He is at the point of contemplating suicide when he becomes enamoured by a fellow gamer, ‘Ellie’. A connection soon develops, with unexpected consequences. A highly entertaining piece with unexpected twists and turns; the combination of prose, character, style and plot were considered masterfully done by the delighted group.
Alan’s short story, Please Do Not Walk on the Illusions, was a tale of two halves – recollections of a learning experience in a vividly described classroom leads to another one of ‘life’s vignettes’ at a later stage of life, involving a desert plant as the focal point for a busy office’s beleaguered workers. Cemented by Alan’s inimitable style and lexicon, the piece gave the audience much to enjoy, and was universally accepted as very entertaining.
Chris read an extract from his fantasy fiction novel, Pipe Down. Kelvin is distraught when he finds his boss about to fry up a gigabird egg after 10 months of tender care in the hatchery. This leads to an animated discussion between Kelvin, Maddie and Ros on the distinctions between caring for and the exploitation of both humans and animals. Group response: loved it – very enjoyable. Notably for the distinctive narrative voice, strong sense of identity, good use of dialogue and action.
Liz: Life Writing – Portraits (various, 1921-51?). A photo of a family gravestone, a photo album of various members of the family on the Brock family farm and surroundings, is the inspiration for this piece of writing. Liz warmly describes the family members, ponders on the circumstances of the photos, whilst building a strong, nostalgic sense of character, time and place. There was a sense of authenticity and even catharsis to the piece. The group agreed it would be interesting to use the photo album as a device to create a structure for a story, prompted by a lovely last line; ‘The album – it’s full’.
Sarah DD’s inspired ‘eleventh hour’ poem, written whilst relaxing on the sofa contemplating a piece of art, was highly evocative and identifiable, noting that the value that one holds in a piece of art should be measured in how it makes you feel, and not its monetary value. The group asked for a second reading, enjoying and much discussing a couple of lines in particular – “All that is human …”and “The ignited mind”.
This last piece was surely the prompt to ignite the minds of the group to do the next homework, ‘Ekphrasis’: a literary description or commentary on a visual piece of art
Upcoming reminders:
Christmas party: Thursday 19 December. 7.30 pm. Pot luck – please bring a dish or something to drink. A literary game or two?
Next reading meeting: Thursday 16 January
Homework: Ekphrasis
Hilary: milk and biscuits
Kate: Wine
Heather: Minutes
Carla: Chair
Woking Writers Circle 