The Art of Penguin

Found on BoingBoing.net, The Art of Penguin is beautiful thumbnail gallery of every science fiction novel published by Penguin UK since 1935.



The man behind the site is James Parday. The site complements a series of articles he's written for the Penguin Collector's Society on the history and cover art of science fiction published by Penguin Books from 1935 to 1977.

The website is primarily intended to be a visual experience with articles going into more detail about science fiction and the connections between sci-fi and twentieth-century art.

Poem of the Month

May's Poem of the Month is Aeroplanes by Rebecca Goss.


Aeroplanes

I like to think, when the bomb went off
she slipped from her seat
into the sky, floated for a time
before the body broke apart.
It’s difficult to keep her whole.

Now that this package has come,
(her things wrapped in plastic)
I worry they were carelessly scooped up.
That I will tear away the wrapping
to find her fingers, loose, like crayons.

Night of the news flash, I sat on the stairs,
absolutely sure she had survived.
I kept my runway of Christmas lights
blinking on the banister for weeks,
but she didn’t make it home.

I’d signed for my daughter’s things,
went to work, left them untouched in the hall.
Opening my front door now, a stench hovers.
Diesel fuel, instantly thick in my throat,
with the hang of disinfectant behind.

The package mocks me, it’s what I’ve waited for,
but I find it choking, unpleasant.
I lift it to the garden, let the smell seep upwards,
hear the rumble of distant aeroplanes.

Eagerly, I look for her.
The long, hard legs puncturing clouds
as she falls down to me.
My hands getting ready to grab the feet,
pull her safely through the trees.


Rebecca Goss lives in Liverpool. Her pamphlet collection was published by Slow Dancer Press and her poems have appeared in many magazines including Ambit, Stand, Mslexia and Magma. She will be reading for Poets and Players on May 16th at The Whitworth Gallery, Manchester, 2.30pm. You can find out more about Rebecca at poetrypf.co.uk

Don't miss Jodi Picoult live in Manchester

Manchester Libraries present best-selling author Jodi Picoult at the Friends Meeting House on Tuesday 5 May.

Jodi is the author of sixteen novels (and counting) and is one of the most successful authors writing today. She was born and raised - happily - on Long Island... something that she believed at first was a detriment to a girl who wanted to be a writer.

"I had such an uneventful childhood that when I was taking writing classes at college, I called home and asked my mother if maybe there might have been a little incest or domestic abuse on the side that she'd forgotten about" Picoult recalls. "It took me a while to realize that I already did have something to write about, that solid core of family, and the knotty tangle of relationships, which I keep coming back to in my books."

Her latest book is Handle With Care. "Picoult, a master of the domestic landscape, creates a dramatic page turner, relentlessly driving home what doctors tell Charlotte at Willow’s birth: “You can’t live a life without impact.” PEOPLE magazine.

Admission is by ticket only and advance booking is essential. Tickets are £5 and are available from the Library Theatre Box Office on 0161 236 7110

Bob Hysek and Salford Uni Poets at Central Library

Last year, after a week’s intensive coaching with Czech performance poet Bob Hysek, the Salford University Creative Writing students brought the house down at Manchester Central Library – standing room only!

This year, coached once again by the ineffable Bob, the students return to perform their poems and sketches. Bob Hysek is a much acclaimed poet, performer and translator from Palacky University in Olomouc, Czech Republic, an Erasmus exchange partner of Salford University.

Thursday 30 April
Committee Room, Manchester Central Library
1-2pm FREE

Orange Prize shortlist

The Orange Prize for Fiction 2009 shortlist has been announced:

* Scottsboro by Ellen Feldman
* The Wilderness by Samantha Harvey
* The Invention of Everything Else by Samantha Hunt
* Molly Fox's Birthday by Deirdre Madden
* Home by Marilynne Robinson
* Burnt Shadows by Kamila Shamsie

Download free extracts from the shotlisted books to read on your mobile phone

Download Full Volume for May Library events

Download May's Full Volume and never miss another library event again!

Things are warming up nicely this month, with a diverse range of goings-on in libraries – from Laurel and Hardy to Jodi Picoult to Ugly Man Records.

We have a few tickets left for Jodi Picoult’s visit on May 5. Call 0161 236 7110 for yours, but make it quick!

Meet R John DeSanto, Son of the Desert and one of the world’s foremost authorities on Laurel and Hardy. Carcanet presents the eminent New Zealand poet, C K Stead and closer to home, we shed a tear for the demise of the Ugly Tree magazine.

Guy Lovelady, founder of Ugly Man Records shares a few insider tips about life in the music biz and Adele Geras does something similar with a writers’ workshop. Both in Chorlton Library, presented as part of Chorlton Arts Festival.

Two new reading groups this month: fiction at North City and a Chinese-speaking group in Central Library. Everyone who loves a good read and a good natter is welcome.

Mab Jones at Poets and Mash

Celebrating art and entertainment, pop on over to see an exclusive Manchester performance from the stunning MAB JONES. Joining Mab from the 'Pen-ultimate' collective will be the amazing NIVEN GANNER, fresh from Contact Theatre the wonderful NIKKY NORTON and, making his triumphant return to POETS AND MASH, the inimitable slam champion TONY WALSH.

Winner of the John Tripp Audience Award for Spoken Poetry, MAB JONES is an amazing performance poet from Cardiff. Semi-finalist in both the Radio 4 National Poetry Slam and Funny Women competitions, she possesses a dark comic edge and a keen, satirical wit. She has performed with several well-known poets and comedians (including Joolz Denby, John Hegley, and Lucy Porter), done a stint at the Edinburgh and Leicester comedy festivals, and worked as a writer with Welsh National Opera. She will be one of six poets representing Wales at the Smithsonian Folklife Festival in Washington DC this summer.

Join the crowd at POETS AND MASH for a brilliant night of great new verse.

POETS AND MASH
This coming Monday 27th April
Doors open at 7pm
£4 / £2 concession
at Matt and Phreds, Tib St

Listen to recordings of Katherine Kilalea & Jane Draycott

Katharine Kilalea launched her debut collection One Eye'd Leigh last Friday at Manchester Central Library, where she was reading with Jane Draycott, a poet whose new collection Over is also published this week by Carcanet. Follow the links below to listen to audio recordings of the two poets on www.carcanet.co.uk:

'The boy with a fire in his boot' by Katharine Kilalea

'The longest day' by Jane Draycott

Earth Poets this Friday

EARTH POETS
Friday 24th April
7pm
£3 / £1.50 concession
at Earth Cafe, Turner St

Six vibrant and entertaining artists share their wit and wordsmithery in Manchester's Earth cafe this Friday. "One of the best veggie places to eat... a delicious selection of desserts' (customer review from happycow.com).

Come and listen to writer of The Royal Exchange's 'Coconut Tree', Akiel Chinelo and Liverpool soul, author of 'Miracle' and creator of Chloe Poems, Mr Gerry Potter. There's Annie C from the Contact Theatre's 'Crow of Murders' and Apples and Snakes' own Ann Wilson plus 'active disabled' vegan ambrosia, Cathy Bryant. The night is compered by Dominic Berry.

£260,000 for Mrs Gaskell's House

Elizabeth Gaskell's house in Manchester has been awarded a £262,000 grant for urgent repairs by English Heritage. Gaskell, 39 when she moved in, wrote most of her work at the house including Cranford, North and South and The Life of Charlotte Brontë. She also entertained Brontë and Charles Dickens, who were friends as well as literary colleagues. On one occasion Brontë, apparently shy of other guests, is said to have hid behind curtains.

Visit the Elizabeth Gaskell House website for up to date information on the, restoration and forthcoming events. The Gaskell Society also offers a journal, newsletters, visits, meetings and conferences, lectures and tours.

Focus on India

This year’s London Book Fair is showcasing writers from India in partnership with the
British Council and we are delighted to welcome these three distinguished authors.

Satish Alekar - one of India’s leading playwrights, his work has been performed
throughout India and translated into many languages. His Collected Plays is due to
be published this year by Oxford University Press.
Y.D. Thongchi - during a long writing career, he has written seven critically acclaimed
novels and two anthologies of short stories, including Sonam, which was made into
an award winning film.
Shafi Shauq - has been writing in Kashmiri, English, Urdu and Hindi for the last 40
years and has authored/edited/translated over 55 books in the fields of poetry,
literary criticism, linguistics and culture.

Friday 24 April
1 - 2 pm
Committee Room
Central Library

Visuwords - a graphical dictionary

"If you like words, you'll love playing around with Visuwords, a graphical dictionary", writes Phil Bradley, at his blog. (Phil is also the man behind the ever useful I Want To... web 2.0 tools blog).

You can hover your mouse over each definition and click to re-search the dictionary. The coloured links indicate useful information about the word and its relationship to other words. It uses Princeton University’s WordNet, an opensource database built by University students and language researchers.

Ten Young British Poets - the Facebook Generation?

Better late than never...The Times published an article last week, singling out ten young British poets, for attention. Labelling them "The Facebook Poets", their list includes: James Byrne, Sandeep Parmar, Musa Okwonga, Emily Berry, Olivia Cole, Siddhartha Bose, Amy Blakemore, Laura Dunthorne and Luke Kennard.

Freed Up tonight

Tonight is a FREED UP Thursday, from 7pm, at the Green Room, Manchester. They promise a tip top lollypop night of vivacity and verse!

Steve O and Dominic B host the city's friendliest open mic night. All places to read are now full, but you can still go and cheer on both new and established artists who will be performing work on this month's theme of CRUELTY.

If you would like to read at next month's FREED UP, the Green Room box office will be taking bookings from this Friday on 0161 615 0500. Phone them up and they will tell you the theme.

Enter the BBC 2009 Poetry Slam

Write Out Loud have announced that they will be hosting the BBC Regional Slam, 2nd July 2009 at the Green Room in Manchester. BBC Radio 4 will be broadcasting a second series of Poetry Slam programmes in 2009 and this is one of the regional heats open only to previous slam winners who have won a bona fide slam since January 2006.

If you think you may be eligible then please have a look at the detailed rules and if you still qualify sign up!

This is going to be the hottest poetry show in the region this year with the cream of North West talent competing for two places in the national finals - so book your ticket now to ensure you’re part of it. Green Room box office number: 0161 615 0500

Unmasking the Real Shakespeare

A Seminar, Lecture & Book Launch by Dr. John Casson. Who was the real author behind the pseudonym 'William Shakespeare'?

For centuries there have been doubts that the man from Stratford wrote the plays - but this 'Authorship Question' has never been satisfactorily answered. In 2005, Brenda James' book, 'The Truth Will Out: Unmasking the Real Shakespeare', alleged Henry Neville was the man behind the mask.

John Casson has built on Brenda James' research, working closely with her but also making his own discoveries here at Central Library, and elsewhere, and has now published his own book - 'Enter Pursued By a Bear: the Unknown Plays of Shakespeare-Neville' (Music for Strings Publishing).

Sir Derek Jacobi has described the book as - "A work of first class research and scholarship...fascinating."

Saturday 18 April
Committee Room
Manchester Central Library

11am - 1pm Seminar
2pm - 4pm Talk & Book Launch

Lunchtime Poets @ Central Library: Jane Draycott & Kate Kilalea

Our latest CARCANET reading features Jane Draycott & Kate Kilalea. Jane Draycott's published collections include "Prince Rupert's Drop" and "The Night Tree" (Carcanet/OUP). She was the winner of the Keats-Shelley Prize in 2002, and named as one of the PBS/Arts Council 'Next Generation' poets in 2004. A recent Stephen Spender Prize-winner (2008), she is reading here today to celebrate the publication of her new collection, "Over" (Carcanet). Jane teaches on postgraduate writing programmes at Oxford University and the University of Lancaster.

Kate Kilalea is originally from South Africa and moved to the UK in 2005 to study for an MA in Creative Writing at the University of East Anglia. She has received an Arts Council Award for poetry, and her poems have appeared in PN Review, Stand, Magma, Carapace, Pen Pusher and New Coin. "One Eye'd Leigh" (Carcanet) is her first complete collection. She lives and works as a journalist in London.

Friday 17 April 1-2pm
Committee Room
Manchester Central Library
FREE

JOB: Commonword New-Writing Coordinator Post

Commonword is currently advertising for a New-Writing Coordinator. Closing date: 17th April 2009. Please email admin@commonword.org.uk for more details.

Wigan & Leigh Words Festival 2009

This year's Wigan and Leigh annual Words literature festival has a stunning line-up of literary talent. Three of the best scriptwriters in the country will be visiting the Festival, including Jimmy McGovern who has created a string of acclaimed TV dramas including Cracker, The Lakes, Sunday and The Street.

"This year we have three of the best scriptwriters in the business – David Nobbs, Frank Cottrell Boyce and Jimmy McGovern. There is a real buzz about this year. It's going to be a fantastic festival."

Jimmy McGovern will be at Ashton Library on Saturday, April 18 to take part in a question and answer session. Reggie Perrin creator David Nobbs will appear in the atrium of Wigan Town Hall on Friday, April 17 at 7.30pm.

A total of 32 literary events will run at venues across Wigan borough from April 13 until May 1.

Other notable highlights include archaeologist and author of Myths and Legends, Mark Olly, storyteller and musician Ben Haggarty and poet Wendy Cope, who has been has been described as a "jet-age Tennyson."

Find more information and a full brochure at the Festival Fever website.

New Podcast - New Zealand Poets

Carcanet has launched its first ever podcast! The new Carcanet volume Twenty Contemporary New Zealand Poets: An Anthology was launched last month at Manchester Central Library, with readings by the poets Bill Manhire and Jenny Bornholdt and introductions by the anthology's editor, Robyn Marsack. This is the first anthology in decades to present to British readers the remarkable freshness and vitality of New Zealand poetry.

Poem of the Month - April 2009

Our poem of the month for April is In Praise of Older Women by Anne Caldwell. Anne grew up in Congleton. She now lives in the Pennines and works for the Open University and NAWE. Her first poetry collection is called 'Slug Language' (Happenstance Press) and she has also edited and written for an anthology of stories called 'Some Girl's Mothers' (Route) recently previewed at Manchester Central Library.

In Praise of Older Women

She is a smoked glass jug of chrysanthemum
perched on a window sill between
the Coco Pops and All Bran.

Bubbles cling to her woody stems
petals stiffen, dry as sugar paper,
leaves curl near the surface of the water,
smelling of ripe fruit,
crushed beetles, compost.

Yet these purple flowers
have staying power -
hold up their bright corolla to be kissed
long after the table’s rosebuds
have dropped their petals, stained linen
with yellow pollen.

New Poetry Courses

Elements and Forces with tutor Grevel Lindop includes four seminars on fundamental elements and forces of poetry. ‘Myth, Magic and Poetry’ examines what we can learn from myths and legends about poetry; ‘The Identity of Words’ looks at the nature of language, and the ways in which words can interact to develop the shape of a poem; ‘Private to Public’ studies ways of transmitting the poem to an audience – magazines, competitions, the internet, book publication or performance; ‘Sustaining a Poetic Life’ explores how everyday life can best support and feed our poetry. Lots of scope for questions and discussion.

Elements and Forces will be held over four Thursdays (30 April, 7, 12, 21 May), from 6.30-8.30pm, at the Friends’ Meeting House, 6 Mount Street, Manchester M2 5NS. The fee is £37 (£30 concs).

Poetry and Vocabulary: Galvanizing Your Work with tutor Matthew Welton. A very musical poet himself, Matthew will encourage you to find ways of improving the textures of your poems by examining in depth the language you use. Using examples from poets who have used both expansive and restricted vocabularies, you’ll investigate how the meaning, etymology and sound of words can open up intriguing new possibilities for your poems.

This workshop will be held on 2 Saturdays (25 April and 9 May), from 10am-4pm, at the Cathedral Visitors’ Centre, 10 Cateaton Street, Manchester M3 1SQ. The fee is £80 (£50 concs) for the pair.

Courses run by The Poetry School.

Incorporating Writing - New Issue

Read Andrew Oldham's editorial in the new issue of Incorporating Writing magazine. Launched in Autumn 2003 by Bixby Monk, Samantha Morton and Andrew Oldham, its readership has grown to over 100,000+ readers.

Full of interviews, articles, critical opinion, editorials and reviews on Literature and the Arts. It continues to bring the best and exclusive to its readers. Incorporating Writing pulls no punches and continues to provide informed opinion and is critically acclaimed by many.

In the latest edition, Andrew Taylor and Daniele Pantano reveal their growing addiction to the darker side of writing and living. Ian Kenworthy, takes his own life in his hands as he clearly states the North is a place of violence and death. Helen Stacey stands her ground against the growing tide of anger and Valeria Kogan notes violence and paranoia is growing excuse in our world. In her column from America, Christine Brandel notes that the USA is now safer than the UK.

Incorporating Writing has now set up a brand new Facebook group. Join for free and have another way of keeping in touch, or follow on Twitter.

Mills and Boon launches social network

Romance publisher Mills and Boon launches a new social networking website today. The site will branch directly off Mills and Boon's main website and includes blogs, forums and reviews and will work in the same vein as Facebook, allowing users to create a profile. Once registered members will be able to maintain their own blogs, take part in forums on new books, and read tips on how to write Mills and Boon books.

As one of the "key" parts of the community Mills and Boon is launching a Book Challenge in partnership with The Reading Agency. Community users will be set the challenge of reviewing 5,000 books. The reviews can be of any length and be on any book. If 5,000 reviews are achieved by the end of the year then the publisher has said it will donate the same number of books to independent charity, The Reading Agency.

The North Will Rise Again

John Robb is set to release a new book detailing thirty years in the life of a city with the publication of 'The North Will Rise Again: Manchester Music City: 1978 - 2008'. Read more at clashmusic.com
Taking its title from a song by The Fall, 'The North Will Rise Again' will be launched with a show at Manchester's Urbis venue on May 5th.

10 websites for book lovers

By now, surely everyone has heard of has heard of LibraryThing, the most popular social cataloging website online, and perhaps even Shelfari, but here are a few websites for book lovers that you may not have heard about:

1. BookSprouts is a website where you can join and create book clubs. Members can vote on which book to read next, have book discussions in forums, post book reviews, and hold meetings.
2. Blippr is a website where you can add short reviews of 160 characters or less of books, movies, music, games, and applications. You can connect your account to many other social networks such as Twitter and Facebook where you can continue your conversations.
3. 22 Books will allow you to quickly create book lists of any type. You can make comments on books in your list, and embed your lists in other websites.
4. Book Cover Archive is a collection of over 1,000 book covers categorized and browsable by designers, authors, titles, art directors, photographers, illustrators, and more. Readers can leave comments on covers and can suggest entries.
5. BookJetty is a social cataloging app that will let you set up a bookshelf of titles you own or want and then easily search for them in your local library with a click. Amazon and other booklists can be imported for quick startup.
6. Book Glutton is a social community where you can read public domain books and discuss them with groups. Members can annotate books and make their comments public for discussions or keep them private. You can even upload your own books.
7. Gurulib is a social cataloging program which lets members organize their book, movie, music, game, and software collections. The site allows members to use their webcams as barcode readers to scan in items. Items be loaned out and members can track borrowed titles.
8. Listal is a social cataloging website where members catalog books, movies, TV shows, video games, DVDs, and music. Members can loan their items, import and export their catalogs, and create favorite lists that others can comment on.
9. GoodReads is a social cataloging site in which members can create lists, write reviews, form groups, create trivia questions about titles, and converse in forums.
10. Bookcrossing is a free social network where members leave a book in a public place to be picked up and read by others who then do likewise.

List via the excellent iLibrarian

Centre for New Writing Summer Events

The Centre for New Writing's summer season of events is now available for booking:

2008/9 WRITERS IN RESIDENCE:
POET PETER SANSOM AND NOVELIST CHRIS KILLEN (£4/£2.50)
Monday 29 June, 5:00pm (no drinks reception)
Martin Harris Centre for Music and Drama
The University of Manchester, Bridgeford Street, Manchester M13 9PL

FICTION AND POETRY READINGS BY CENTRE MA STUDENTS (free, no booking necessary)
Friday 3 July, 1.00pm
Manchester Central Library
St. Peter's Square, Manchester M2 5PD

SCI-FI AND MAINSTREAM WRITER GEOFF RYMAN (FREE)
Wednesday 22 July, 1.00pm
Manchester Central Library
St. Peter's Square, Manchester M2 5PD

MARTIN AMIS ON LITERATURE AND SUICIDE (£5/£3)
Friday 3 July, 6:30pm
Whitworth Hall, The University of Manchester
Oxford Road, Manchester M13 9PL

Please book for ticketed events by contacting Quay Tickets on www.quaytickets.com or 0870 428 0785. Tickets are also available from the Martin Harris Centre, on 0161 275 8951 (weekdays, 14.00 to 16.00 only).

For more information on all our events, please visit www.manchester.ac.uk/arts/newwriting.

Lunchtime poetry @ Central Library: Edmund Prestwich & Amanda Dalton

Edmund Prestwich & Amanda Dalton
Thursday 16 April
1-2pm

Edmund's narrative poem, Their Mountain Mother (Hearing Eye Press), has been described by Ian Pople as "powerful storytelling, adroit and incantatory". You can read more about Edmund and see more of his work at his blog.

Amanda is a well-known poet and playwright, with many plays broadcast on BBC Radio. her poetry collection, How to Disappear, is published by Bloodaxe. You can read an interview with Amanda at the BBC Writer's Room.

Committee Room, Central Library