Seren First Thursday March - In person & Online

Seren Books

This month we're joined by guest readers Kathryn Gray and Carole Burns

Carnegie House

Join us in person and online as Seren First Thursday returns to Carnegie House in Bridgend. This month our guest readers are Seren poet Kathryn Gray reading from Hollywood or Home and novelist Carole Burns reading from The Same Country (Legend Press). Come along in person or watch the main readings via Facebook live. Doors open 7pm for 7:30pm start. About the authors:Kathryn Gray was born in Wales and now lives in North London. Recipient of an Eric Gregory Award, her first collection, The Never-Never (Seren, 2004), was shortlisted for the T. S. Eliot Prize and the Forward Prize for Best First Collection. An artist’s book with Mary Modeen, Uncertain Territories, appeared from Pharos Editions in 2011, and a pamphlet, Flowers, was published by Rack Press in 2016. Gray’s reviews and essays have been published widely, and she has been a contributor to arts programmes for the BBC. She is a former editor of New Welsh Review and Parthian Books, and currently co-helms the digital poetry journal Bad Lilies. Her second collection <a href="https://www.serenbooks.com/book/hollywood-or-home/" title="https://www.serenbooks.com/book/hollywood-or-home/" target="_blank" data-msys-clicktrack="0" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer">Hollywood or Home</a> was published in 2023. Carole Burns is an award-winning American writer and journalist living in the U.K. <a href="https://linktr.ee/purchasethesamecountry" title="https://linktr.ee/purchasethesamecountry" target="_blank" data-msys-clicktrack="0" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer">The Same Country</a> is her debut novel. A freelance writer for the Washington Post’s Book World, Carole was awarded the 2015 John C. Zacharis prize by the U.S. literary magazine Ploughshares for her collection, <a href="https://linktr.ee/themissingwoman" title="https://linktr.ee/themissingwoman" target="_blank" data-msys-clicktrack="0" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer">The Missing Woman and Other Stories</a>. American Book Review described the stories as “a precise, almost clinical look at the emotional landscape of womanhood in the contemporary world.” About the books:Hollywood or HomeWelcome to Kathryn Gray’s <a href="https://www.serenbooks.com/book/hollywood-or-home/" title="https://www.serenbooks.com/book/hollywood-or-home/" target="_blank" data-msys-clicktrack="0" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer">Hollywood or Home</a>, a poetry collection with as much ruthless glamour as any Old Hollywood movie. These worldly-wise poems explore celebrity culture in a mode that is both seriously playful and playfully serious. Here, melancholy and humour, irony and sincerity can be often found in the same poem, creating a rich experience for the film buff or fan of celebrity culture, as the book is full of easter eggs and movie references. The Same CountryWhen three old friends find themselves back in their hometown, their thoughts inevitably turn to the past. Twenty years ago, Joe was shot dead in the bedroom of his white girl friend, Aggie. It was deemed an accident, but now Cassie – a journalist – is not so sure. As racial tension ignites a string of violence across their New England city, secrets are revealed, questions mount and suspicions grow. Will the answers that they are so desperate to find cause everyone’s world to shatter? Open mic:Our guest readers will read in the first half, after which the floor will be opened to attendees for our popular open mic. Open mic readers can put their name down by the door on the night. Please stick to one A4 page of poetry or prose so that we have time to get though everyone.Those not able to attend in person can watch the main readings via Facebook live. Unfortunately, the open mic won't be streamed as part of our hybrid format. This is to preserve the open mic as a space where readers can road test new material prior to publication. We hope our online audience understands. TicketsTickets are £3, available from Eventbrite in advance, or on the door on the night. Please note entry on the night is CASH only. Book SalesBooks by both authors will be available on the night but please note we can unfortunately only accept CASH for copies of A Small Country. Apologies for any inconvenience. Accessibility:On street parking is available outside the venue after 6pm. There is ramp access to the building and lift access inside as well as disabled toilets on site.Please contact us to discuss other access requirements and we will do our best to accommodate everyone’s needs.Please feel free to wear a mask if it would make you more comfortable. Getting here:Carnegie House is a 5 minute walk from Bridgend train station. Bridgend Bus station is also nearby. Numerous pay and display car parks are available locally and there is limited on street parking available outside the venue after 6pm.

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Seren First Thursday March - In person & Online

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Seren First Thursday March - In person & Online

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