Blog - Literature
Signs; Share This Space
June 25, 2019 - by Richard DownesSigns; Share This Space is a sister poem to its brother, 'No One Shared His Space', which almost as if by magic will appear in a few weeks time. The sister is good and remains positive. Her brother not so. Just thought i'd keep you hanging on for a while ...
A Camera Shy Show-Off
June 24, 2019 - by Penny PepperMany people express amazement, fascination and sometimes gentle envy at what seems to be my life. I’m not that famous, I’m not a celebrity and I certainly don’t have that sort of bank balance. Who really does in the arts? In my hometown of Hastings I am recognised on the street ...
I can call it home
June 19, 2019 - by Bryony ParsonsI can call it home Tiled floors, Cold upon my feet, as I began to explore, Inside these four walls. It was dark and damp, dirty and smelly, it was hard to see, that this was once a home. The cobwebs were tidied up, Dead flies were seen, The walls are falling apart, The furniture was left unclean. There is a lot to ...
Juice: My Juiciest Juicy Bits
June 18, 2019 - by Richard DownesThank you Yoko for the instructions to peel, peek and take off as given in Numbers 1-3 Piece for Orchestra. Now you’ve made me confess openly to my own humanity and the absence of a radical edge whilst looking for something to do and accepting an offer to do something ...
DET – Scrimping and Saving Co. Ltd
June 10, 2019 - by Richard DownesI’ve lived through two periods of blue austerity. This one is the longest yet. A perfect time to look at organisational barriers being created by central government by filtering diktat through to local authorities of many different colours but usually the same hue of yellowy custard. Scrimping and Saving Co. Ltd Open ...
This One and The Next…
June 5, 2019 - by Gary ThomasI was doing box office on the penultimate day of Wandsworth Fringe 2019, having done my own show Hidden for the past 2 days. This was the 4th time I’ve done WAF in the 10 years it’s been running. It’s been good to revisit my play ‘HIDDEN’ again, especially with Niall ...
Initial – Allergy
May 30, 2019 - by Richard DownesThis weeks challenge from ‘A First Time For Everything’ is to write about my first allergy. I do have one or two but they’re not much to write about and the news is more mortifying. Initial - Allegy 2018 Natasha Ednan-Laperouse Dies from a sesame allergen Induced by a relaxed regulation 2019 Hello Brexit Food Standards Environmental Standards Workers Rights Relaxed ...
100 Meters – Clubfoot
May 22, 2019 - by Richard DownesA word memory found in the Poetry Library whilst reading an old, cherished poet who used the word infrequently. I think of Clubfoot sometimes and what happened the next day following my subsequent refusal of a date. My shame will not let me name her. I was young. As was ...
The Show Must Go On
May 16, 2019 - by Richard DownesA reflective Richard Downes looks back on four turns at REaD Rhymes Live his first experience of curating, MC-ing and performing at a self designed show for Disabled Poets at the Karamel Restaurant The Show Must Go On A note came out of the blue from the chair of Collage Arts suggesting ...
Hidden Stories: a free graphic novel that aims to banish loneliness among people living with invisible conditions
May 15, 2019 - by Root ExperiencePublished by Brighton-based arts charity Root Experience, Hidden Stories is the result of months of creative workshops, where participants from across the south of England explored and shared the challenges of their day-to-day lives through storytelling, visual arts and soundscapes. Millions of people worldwide are affected daily by health conditions whose ...