Later this month, Island poets Maggie Sawkins and Blake Everitt will be joined by singer/songwriter Mark Hickman for an evening of music and poetry at a venue in Cowes.
It’s the latest of several similar events being held within the intimate and friendly confines of Medina Bookshop in Cowes.
Store manager Paul Armfield explains:
“We love poetry readings but find that a whole evening can be a little too intense, but having the right sort of music at intervals throughout the evening makes for a much more enjoyable experience, a chance to pause and let the words sink in.”
The 3 performers this evening should complement each other very well, they all take great pleasure in the natural world.’
Maggie Sawkins
Maggie Sawkins grew up in Leigh Park, a large housing estate north of Portsmouth, where she began writing poetry as a child. After returning to education at the age of thirty-five, she gained an MA with distinction in Creative Writing from the University of Chichester. She has facilitated creative writing projects in community and health care settings, including with prisoners, those affected by psychoactive substances and the refugee and asylum seeker community in Portsmouth. Her previous collections include Charcot’s Pet (Flarestack), The Zig Zag Woman (Two Ravens), Many Skies Have Fallen (Wild Mouse) and Zones of Avoidance (Cinnamon). Her live literature production Zones of Avoidance, described as ‘beautifully written and uncompromising’ by the judges, won the 2013 Ted Hughes Award for New Work in Poetry.
Blake Everitt
Currently residing in Ventnor, his new collection of poems has a strong voice, a deep rooting in nature, a narrative of departure and return, and an engagement with the world via social critique. Written on the Isle of Wight and in Southern France, mostly during the coronavirus pandemic, these poems are abundant with wildflowers and trees, visual and auditory beauty, reflection and mourning, prophetic awareness and botanical precision.
Mark Hickman
A well respected luthier and instrument repairer from Seaview, it was his friend the accordionist Karen Tweed who suggested that he should have a go at writing some songs. The result is Roads To The Sea, a collection of songs inspired by boats, the sea, and our wonderful local surroundings. Born close to where he now lives, the sea has played a major part in almost everything he does, it is a never-ending source of inspiration and this is clearly reflected in many of these songs
The event takes place at 19:00 on Tuesday 30th May, tickets are £6 directly from the store or from the Bookshop Website 2 Poets 1 Musician, Maggie Sawkins, Blake Everitt and Mark Hickman – Medina Book Shop The bookshop is unlicensed and so attendees are invited to bring their own refreshments.
