Archimedes Screw poetry showcase with Liz Berry + guests \\ The Art House \\ Friday 9th January 2015, 7.30pm

"Black Country is an extraordinary debut and rooted in place. When you close the book, you can still see the Black Country in your mind's eye, as if all the poems in it were coming together to form a continuous landscape, a single yet varied view. We are in the West Midlands, a world of closed pits and the memory of coal dust and there is a sootiness that contrasts with a fresher and more rural scene of trees, moss, mushrooms. There is a particularly memorable poem about mushrooming, Woodkeeper, which manages to be comic (there is a certain amount of rolling about on the forest floor) and erotic at the same time. Less predictably, dancing across this landscape, are two poems about shoes – moving in metaphoricalquickstep – a silver pair and a scarlet. The scarlet, in particular, stands out against the established darkness of this collection. These poems need to be studied slowly yet there is, as one reads on, a sense of gathering speed, a flightiness, a readiness to soar, and, most of all, an awareness of Berry's inclination to be, in some way, allied with birds. She writes, in the best sense, on a wing and a prayer." - Kate Kellaway, The Observer

Liz Berry was born in the Black Country and now lives in Birmingham. She has an MA in Creative Writing from Royal Holloway and received an Eric Gregory Award in 2009. Her poems have appeared in magazines and anthologies, been broadcast on BBC Radio and recorded for the Poetry Archive. She was the winner of the 2012 Poetry London competition and a 2012 Arvon-Jerwood mentee. Her debut pamphlet The Patron Saint of School Girls was published by tall-lighthouse in 2010. Liz has written about dialect poetry for The Poetry School and The Young Poets Network. She is an assistant poetry editor at Ambit magazine. Her debut collection, Black Country, published by Chatto & Windus in August 2014, was a Poetry Book Society recommendation, an Observer Poetry Book of the Month and won the Forward Prize for Best First Collection.

Accessibility info:-

The event is suitable for adults, young people and older children - children must be accompanied by an adult at all times. Young children are also welcome to come along but be aware some poems may contain adult content (although we try to keep these until after children have left!).

The event is held on our first floor, which is accessible by a wide staircase with a sturdy banner, and seating is provided. We regret that, due to space and other constraints, we are unable to relocate this particular event to the ground floor for those who require level access - so sorry.

Travel information:-

We are a city centre venue and parking can be in short supply. If you are driving, please make sure you leave plenty of time to find a space click here for a map of where the nearest parking spaces can be found.

We are about 10 minutes walk from Southampton City Centre train station and on the route for most city centre buses.

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FAQs

Are there ID requirements or an age limit to enter the event?

Events are open to all ages unless otherwise stated, however please note that our mission is to provide creative activity primarily to adults, therefore most of our programme is aimed at 16 years and over. Performances may include stronger language.

Life drawing classes are open to over 18s only.

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Please don't bring your own food or drink to The Art House.

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The best way is by email to info@thearthousesouthampton.co.uk

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The name on the registration/ticket doesn't match the attendee. Is that okay?

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