A brilliant line up for The Kennington Festival Arts starting with Peggy Seeger. Read my profile feature on her here.
The Kennington Festival of Arts kicked off with the memorable Peggy Seeger.
She had the audience in the palm of her hand and her empathy shobe bright. I can recommend First Time Ever .
Many memoirs have too much detail ,this one is perfectly balanced has narrative drive and is poignantly honest. If you can’t buy the book ro don’t have much time you can read my 300word castaway feature on her life here.
It kicks off on Friday 20 April @ 7.30pm with Peggy Seeger talking about her book First Time Ever. Her life has been lived at the heart of major world events making her memoir truly MEMORABLE. Tickets @ £5 (in advance) are going fast.
Click on the pdf for the full programme for Saturday which includes me talking about China under Mao and what a courageous group of young artists did next. A day ticket in advance £10.
kennington library arts festival. programmpdf
Memories! Korky Paul led our 200 yard Pied Piper Procession. Korky is the Friends (FOKL) Honorary Life President and will help our fundraising on April 21 at Kennington Festival of Arts with a family event aided by Winnie the Witch and Wilbur.
http://www.oxfordmail.co.uk/…/8838230.oxfordshire-library-…/
Qu Leilei: A Chinese Artist in Britain opens this week (Nov 7) at the Ashmolean.
Qu Leilei is a founder of the Stars Art Movement. When he told me his story it inspired me to write Brushstrokes in Time. Recording the trial of democracy leader Wei Jingsheng (1979) catapulted his life into nightmare. (again) He left China for the UK in 1985. Like most refugees he had to start all over again. He earned his living as a pavement artist in Piccadilly Circus, washing dishes in Chinese restaurants, cleaning houses and typing translations in Mandarin. Quite a journey to becoming an internationally acknowledged master! The late Michael Sullivan (1916-2013), who founded the gallery on the ground floor of the Ashmolean where the exhibition takes place, said of Qu Leilei: “What sets Leilei apart is the strength and depth of his feelings for people his warm heart, his generosity that sees the essential nobility of us all.” We need a lot more of that spirit! You can read his castaway feature here. I tell it as 9 lives! Qu Leilei Castaway
Leilei is not the only Chinese artist with connections to Oxford. Brushstrokes in Time OLE
Qu Leilei’s castaway feature (Oxford Castaways 3) has been translated into Mandarin. Read it here.
https://mp.weixin.qq.com/sbiz=MzA4MzY1Njg0Nw==&tempkey=OTMxX3pYMjdhVzJ0SDNKUHBRcGRpM0lIUG5pLUdad2xud29GRXRoM19IN3ZEcFVJd3J5Z2l1VFJ2bE1KSkJfa09qR2RTcUZoUnpKaG1rRjNXX2wxQzd4M1FrZHI4WHBTMGtZUmRVUUVkZTZrcGxZQWJnMVVPX3hzSkI2Q3BLdENfdjZaZmNPNHZqTnNHVWdjVEUwek40eVhDVFFUUU9rVlhUV0tZMGh4VVF%2Bfg%3D%3D&chksm=07ec4c84309bc5927faf588b078e6f40b922f01c4ec5f46eb7d195dbd8cdcbd2e6c40ca5319c#rd
Qu Leilei feature in Mandarin
Below are 2 of the paintings from the exhibition
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Poems in an Exhibition : An accidental but delightful celebration of diversity in aid of Standing Voice.
Oxfordfolio are sending ‘Poems in an Exhibition’ to the printers today. Hatred of the ‘other’ has been rearing its ugly head everywhere. ‘Poems in an Exhibition’ has accidentally become a celebration of diversity. The backgrounds of the poets and artists who have contributed to this anthology are wondrously diverse. The youngest is 18 and the oldest 93. They were born in 4 continents, represent most religions and have every shade of skin of colour. But there is unity in our diversity. We sing under the same book cover! Our poems are inspired by a visual image and most of the poets ( &2 artists)ended up in Oxford or regularly come here. We have come together in support of Standing Voice. I encountered this young human rights charity when my village raised the funds for a skin care clinic for people with albinism in Tanzania who dying of skin cancer before the age of 35 ( Easily preventable! ) My journey to this anthology was inspired by the documentary Standing Voice made for BBC titled ‘Born too White’ and I wrote a poem with that title inspired by a special young man. The book will be launched on November 30 in the Old Library in the University Church of St Mary the Virgin. It was the university library before the Bodleian.
Many of the poets are awarding winning. I am honoured to have poems side by side with theirs.
SYLVIA VETTA Tate St Ives…………………………………………
JENNY LEWIS The Rosewater Basin………………………….
SIMON ALTMANN Hands……………………………………….
SHAKIRA MORAR The Cracked Jug………………………..
SUDEEP SEN Jacket on a Chair………………………………….
DAVID OLSEN Migrant Mother………………………………..
HEATHER ROSSER The Bronze Chalice……………………
DWINA GIBB My Songbird Has Flown……………………..
SIMON ALTMANN Potsdamer Platz ……………………….
SYLVIA VETTA The Mists of Dao ……………………………..
ARABELLA CURRIE First Light………………………………..
PENNY BOXALL The Wheelwrights…………………………
EUTON DALEY In Emergency – Break Glass…………….
ADNAN AL-SAYEGH Extract from Uruk’s Anthem….
And finally …. Born Too White
Inspirational Young People – Oxford’s own Romeo and Juliet (Joe and Zara )
I can’t believe that the young people in this film including my grand-daughter Amber will be at university next month. Polly Biswas Gladwin, Victor Glynn and I organised these filmed workshops of Joe and Zara –Oxford’s own Romeo and Juliet . I love Philip Hind’s short film of our Shakespeare in Oxford Project . I was impressed by their perceptive and intelligent discussions and some of the participants were only 14 at the time.What do you think?
https://vimeo.com/123886243
Two of the students want to be professional actors. Akasha Daley is studying at Stratford and is already taking part in Mandala Theatre performances . Hartley Bannister Parker is off to study drama in New York. Amber has chosen to study history at Warwick – I hope that isn’t anything to do with me !
Talking about Life Storytelling and why you should do it – on That’s Oxfordshire TV
I don’t like watching myself on TV but it was in a good cause. Dominique Cadiou and I were promoting the launch of The Sobell House Come4 Tea fundraising campaign, It will be launched at The Vaults (Radcliffe Square) on July 4 at 5.30pm . We will suggest ways of encouraging your guests to tell short stories from their lives adding a castaway element to the tea party ! But it’s entirely optional. You can just pick up or order a starter pack from the hospice and just share tea and cake with your friends. That’s fine too.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fa8UloZrxrM Part 2
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VuXsJuI4vpc part 1
Tips about Life Writing. Kennington May 3@11am
For my author talk for the Friends of Kennington Library I’ll share what I have learned from writing 170 life stories for books and for The Oxford Times
FOKL author talk .
The poster was made by a lovely young Duke of Edinburgh Award volunteer Michelle Landau. Its heartwarming to see enthusiastic young readers volunteering in the library.
Do you like her poster design? Click on the 3 minute video on the home page to get an idea of the diversity of people whose life stories I have had the privilege to write. They are from 5 continents but what they have in common is a connection to Oxford.
To buy copies of Oxford Castaways 2
Go to
http://www.oxfordfolio.co.uk
and click on the cover image.