Present: Simona, Liz, Sarah, Keith, Dave, Cathy, Natasha, Heather,
Apologies: Alan, Tricia, Nathan, Harry, Teddy
NEWS:
- Simona advised that subscriptions would be invited as soon as new bank details had been confirmed, but that meanwhile the financial position of WWC was healthy.
- Nathan had submitted an entry to a poetry pamphlet competition. Well done, Nathan.
- Dave’s poetry book, Poems in a Bottle, will be published on 5th December 2025 by Austin Macaulay. Dave will be the featured poet at the Woking Write-Out-Loud meeting on Thursday 27th November. (This will be the last meeting at the Fiery Bird.)
- Write-Out-Loud meetings will be held on Mondays at the Lionsheart Bookshop from January 2026. There will be no meeting in December 2025.
- Liz reported that the previous book considered by the Book Group, The Midnight Library, by Matt Haig, was enjoyed by all, earning a score of 8 out of 10. The Group is currently reading, Milkman, by Anna Burns.
Readings:
Keith had followed the Homework invitation to produce a piece in a foreign language, with his poem, Viva La Espana. This was much appreciated, with the humour around incorrect use of words – in this case ‘chicken’ – enjoyed by all. Keith’s second poem, Marloes, told the story of pilots flying out from this airfield during the 2nd World War, with some skilfully etched contrasts. In particular, the sudden activity when the bell rang after all the waiting, and also the unknown dangers awaiting the pilots which made them wonder if they would ever return to the ‘natural beauty’ of the base.
Heather read her poem, The Light-Catcher, which described an unexpected visit from a ‘fickle and fey’ friend, who nevertheless brings laughter and joy when she turns up. The poem was enjoyed and the title seemed to fit. Heather had been thinking about the glass ‘dream-catchers’ (thanks, Liz!) when she came up with the title.
Simona introduced her extremely powerful poem, Obsession, by explaining that she gets obsessed with certain songs and lyrics, an experience which was shared by other members of the group. In this case, the band was Sleep Token and their song, Hypnosis. All agreed that the poem succeeded brilliantly in conveying the trapped feeling of the writer, with its unrelenting language, including phrases such as, ‘fabricated reality’ and ‘fractured realities’.
Dave talked about becoming obsessed with turning poems into lyrics and read a break-up verse/song. There was an interesting discussion about the synergy of music and lyrics and Dave outlined his considerable experience of collaborating with musicians representing totally different genres, including Rastafarian and country-style. The relationship between the creative arts is a vigorous and fascinating one, each having drawing inspiration from the other.
Cathy read a piece capturing the humour and adventures of a trip she made with her mother to Munich. This was a hugely enjoyable and well-written piece which was greatly appreciated by all. Cathy deftly incorporated a fair amount of German conversation, but meanings were always clear from the context without the need for translation, which would have interrupted the story’s flow. There were some laugh-out-loud remarks from Cathy’s mother, who apparently had previously joked about having Semtex in her pocket when visiting Ireland during the Troubles, and in Germany thought an English map of Munich should show the street names in English. Simona suggested producing an audio version. A brilliant piece of writing!
Sarah, continuing the multi-media theme, showed a beautiful video of clouds to accompany her prose-poem, Metal Bird. Sarah explained that she had not flown for many years due to caring responsibilities and experienced anew the wonder of flying when she was able to get away. This was a lovely piece of writing with a dream-like quality. Heather particularly enjoyed the thought that ‘usually we’re looking up’, but on a plane ‘we’re looking down’. The lovely singing to an ABBA song that followed confirmed what a talent we have in the group!
Liz read her poem, Autumn, which she has entered into a Godalming writing competition. Everyone enjoyed this poem, with the thought-provoking idea of ‘lessening’ rather than loss. There were lots of interesting details, such as the leaves dropping and going into the ground to the mycelium layers beneath, highlighting the circle of life. Clever Liz had also managed to highlight ‘Godalming’ in the version she sent in – well done, Liz! Liz also produced verses in Romanian, German and Slovak, read by Simona, Cathy and the poet. The poem was a clerihew featuring ‘The Heavy Bear’.
Next Meeting 18th December 2025
Bring a Christmas carol you have written or another Christmas piece. There will be festive refreshments, and Simona will write out to members separately about this.
