WOKING WRITERS CIRCLE MEETING at St Mary’s church hall, Horsell, on Thursday 20 January

Attending in person: Amanda, Greg, Emily, Liz, Hilary, Tricia.

Attending on Zoom: Carla, Alan.

Apologies: Heather, Peter.  

News

Carla announced publication of her poem ‘Words are good’ in Acumen poetry magazine. We all congratulated her, particularly Greg, who has tried several times to get a poem in Acumen!

Liz mentioned upcoming Burns Night celebrations, the Lionheart independent bookshop in Woking, and a recent debate she had attended in Woking on trans-gender. The book group had read The Eyre Affair by Jasper Fforde, which takes place in an alternative 1985, and awarded it a disappointing 4.5 out of 10.

Hilary as treasurer warned that we will have to increase member subscriptions from £24 to an initial £30, and then consider a further increase in September, to stop us running out of funds over the summer. Because of lockdown no one has paid any subs for two years. She would welcome electronic bank transfer of subs. Please email Hilary individually to obtain details.  

Amanda has details of forthcoming productions at the New Victoria theatre, if anyone would like to review something for the website.

Readings

Carla (via Zoom)read two poems that had been created at a recent poetry workshop –‘Pristine’, about a beloved grandmother: “I would like to paint the smell of clean laundry in the hospital basement where you used to work”; and ‘Off to Scotland’, about a family holiday of around 15 years ago, in which “tortellini and double cream” was mentioned. She also read her Acumen poem, which was inspired by one by Sylvia Plath.

Emily revisited a section of her completed novel for our further thoughts. The section included a conversation between two friends in a bar. We enjoyed details like “picking the label off her bottle of Bud”, and oohing and aahing over a bloke’s Facebook and Instagram pages, and suggested there could be more of such details, to help illustrate the plot more effectively than simple exposition.  

Amanda read us what she described as the first draft of a poem with the wonderful title, ‘What’s Wrong with Hayling Island?’ She said it had been inspired by a desire to go for a dip in the sea on her recent – January! – birthday. There were many phrases to cherish and treasure – “spinnaker skyline”, “ruthless rip currents”, “faded lino floors”, to name but a few. It’s a poem about an unglamorous, unfashionable kind of place. The final line? “What’s wrong is what keeps it right.”  

Greg’s post-Christmas poem ‘There’s a Dinosaur in the Bath’ was a collection of images that summed up the atmosphere in a house after the grandchildren have gone home. It was warmly received, with suggestions that it could be made into a children’s book.

Liz read two examples of her ‘life writing’.  The first was about Christmas 2021, and included a preamble in which she discussed her motives for such work – “honest”, although she sometimes felt “awkward about disclosing”. It included nuggets such as references to cooking partridge, baby Leo’s first Christmas, and wondering what the time was in Arizona or Utah. The second was an example of ekphrastic work, ‘The Snow Cone Man’, describing what she saw on a coaster, a detailed scene of people in Barbados. Greg suggested it could and should be turned into a poem.

Hilary read a re-edited section of her novel about Linnet, a teenager who has taken a job at a hairdressers with Jimmy A. It included an arresting description of “estate boys … these are the bad boys, the get you into trouble boys.” They have “bad smells” that are “really exciting” and eyes “dark and delicious”.  This was fabulous stuff, that had us all hooked.  

Alan (via Zoom) read his recent blogpost,  ‘A Little Industrial Monologue’, about life among a group of mechanical draughtsmen, and the laughs that helped lighten their day. As he says at the end: “A ready-made monologue for radio, the middle of a short story plot idea, or a little slice of seventies British socio-industrial history. It could well pass for all three – I’ll enjoy taking my time to choose.” You can read it here

Tricia had taken a recent look at her pandemic saga, and realised there were a few gaps to fill, some catching up to do. The section she read included the race to develop a vaccine, arguments about PPE and dodgy procurement processes, masks and social distancing, conspiracy theories , Eat Out to Help Out (“Many of us thought we were out of the wood”). Then Christmas was cancelled. “The year ended much as it started … but the vaccine was ready.”

Next meeting: Thursday February 17

Minutes: Heather

Chair: Greg

Wine: Hilary or Tricia

Milk and biscuits: Hilary or Tricia