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The Poetry of an English Spring: A Celebration of Nature with Charlotte Moore

The Poetry of an English Spring: A Celebration of Nature with Charlotte Moore


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Can't make this time? A video recording will be sent to all participants after the seminar.

Spring is traditionally the most inspirational time of year for poets and nowhere more so than in England. The reawakening of woods, meadows, gardens, and hedgerows has produced beautiful lyrics from the earliest times to the present day. We will explore the connection between language, love, longing, and landscape through poems full of the sights, scents, and sounds of an English Spring.
In each session of this four-part series, Charlotte Moore will introduce a group of five poems inspired by Spring, ranging from the Middle Ages to the 21st century. She will put each poem in its cultural and historical context, describing the circumstances under which it was produced and the character and personal history of its author, as well as discussing its particular qualities as a work of literary art. The text of the poems will be sent to participants ahead of time. Charlotte's choices range from the well-known to the unusual, from the traditional to the experimental.
In the fourth session, we'll encounter poets who look at nature in close detail; all the poets represented in this section lived in intimate connection with the land, from Vita Sackville-West, creator of the great garden at Sissinghurst, to the "peasant poet" John Clare. This seminar is designed for those who would like to know more about poetry as well as for those who already love it, for nature lovers, and for those who, restricted from traveling, relish the opportunity to travel in their imaginations.
Chosen poems for this session:
  •  Kentish Spring (extract from The Land) by Vita Sackville-West
  • March by Edward Thomas
  • March by W H Davies
  • How Fresh The Air by John Clare
  • The Traveller by John Drinkwater.
Participants will be provided with a handout of each poem before the session.
Led by a writer and expert on English literature, Charlotte Moore, this interactive seminar will explore poetry in many of its forms. Designed to inform curiosity and future travels, participants will come away with an increased understanding of poetry inspired by English springtime.
This conversation is part of a 4-part series with Charlotte Moore. Each session is designed as a stand-alone seminar as well as part of the four-week series.

Charlotte Moore has loved poetry ever since she can remember. After reading English Literature at Oxford University, she taught in schools before becoming a writer and journalist. She has published four novels, four historical books for children, George and Sam, a memoir of family life with her autistic sons, and Hancox: A House and a Family, a social history based on her 500-year-old house in rural Sussex, England. Her most recent book is The Magic Hour: 100 Poems From The Tuesday Afternoon Poetry Club, an anthology based on the poetry discussion group she runs. She has written widely for newspapers and magazines. She is an experienced speaker at conferences and literary festivals.

This conversation is suitable for all ages.

90 minutes, including a 30 minute Q&A.

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