July 2024: touring, festivals and poetry...

 

Hey there, 

How are you doing? 

I want to take a moment to say a huge thank you to everyone that came out to see us on the LIVEwire tour last month. We enjoyed beautiful poetry gigs at The Edge in Manchester with Nafeesa Hamid and Molly Naylor, Wrecking Ball in Hull with Vicky Foster and Matt Abbott, Hyde Park Book Club and Leeds Lit Fest with Simone Yasmin, Faye Marshall and Spencer Wood hosted by Maria Ferguson, and Front Room in Weston-Super-Mare with Johnny Fluffypunk and Matt Abbott. We'll have some films and clips to share from these awesome set of shows soon, so watch this space...  

I also need to say thank you for everyone that came to Pages of Hackney bookshop on election night too. I loved chatting with and reading alongside my poetry sister Joelle Taylor (pictured). Check out her debut novel The Night Alphabet, it's so bloody brilliant and out now in hardback and audiobook. BIGlove and thanks to everyone at the fabulous Idler Festival in Hampstead and the fantastic ALSO Festival family too!

Sharing this gorgeous and generous review of the new poetry by Mab Jones!! So wonderful. Thank you so much Mab and Buzz Magazine Xx

Love this page from Octavia Butlers notes

For those of you following my socials...

I have been tweeting and instagramming about one of my heroes Octavia Butler: July 20 2024 is Octavia Butler day — It is the date that her novel ‘Parable of The Sower’ begins. I love Octavia’s writing. I urge you to read, re-read or seek out the audio book of this prophetic and brilliant work. It opens with these lines “all that you touch, you change, all that you change, changes you, the only lasting truth is change…” 

-- Read it! 

The first page of Parable Of The Sower

For more of my book recommendations have a look at my lists for Roaring 20’s Radio Show. Amah-Rose and Matt and I host and produce our show monthly for Soho Radio. I have topped up the book list, it is a labour of love making our radio shows and podcasts, however, I must tell you that 2024 has been amazing for books so far! 

Here’s a link: https://uk.bookshop.org/shop/salenagodden

Talking of podcasts and book recommendations: I’m chatting about the amazing poetry of Nikita Gill on the latest episode of Arji’s Pickle Jar - I love the format of this show and I am so very happy to be asked to pick a poem, Arji is brilliant and Nikita is a phenomenal writer too, I enjoyed this so much.

Coming up I’m doing a headline solo performance at Green Gathering in Chepstow, August 3rd. Then I’m up in Scotland to do shows at Edinburgh International Book Festival, August 10th, 11th and 12th. And then I head south and home to the seaside for a gig with Hastings Book Festival where I will be in conversation with my beautiful friend Anita Rani in September.

I’ll see you here and there,

Keep on keeping on my lovelies... 

BIGlove, Xxsg

For more writings, my Substack page is 'With Love, Grief and Fury' I've been sharing notes, poetry, tour diaries on there, you can follow and subscribe for free here: 

https://salenagodden.substack.com/

Bookshop window, Lighthouse Books, Edinburgh

Poetry and books and tour dates:

Out now: With Love, Grief and Fury

Out now: Springfield Road 

Out now: Pessimism is for Lightweights 

Out now: Mrs Death Misses Death

Linktree: https://linktr.ee/salenagodden

Please donate and share:

Choose Love

Save The Children

Action for Humanity 

UNICEF

MAP

Refugee Community Kitchen

Poem: ‘And You Will Go’ published in Traveller Magazine.
What a beautiful lay out and gorgeous artwork, thank you!

NEW poetry-films / Orwell '1984' 75th Anniversary / Tour Dates

Hello my loves, 

How are you? 

I haven't posted on here for a while as I have just started a new Substack and have been doing my blogging there. My Substack page is  titled 'With Love, Grief and Fury' and I have been sharing poetry and tour diaries there, you can follow and subscribe for free here: 

https://salenagodden.substack.com/

Overall, May 2024 was a wicked flurry of double book launches, gigs and festivals, books and adventures, miles and trains, poets and joys. THANK YOU: Thank you to every single person that came to a show, that came to get a book signed and have a chat, that reviewed and shared my two new books. Thank you so very much to everyone working so hard to make these events and festivals happen with so much care and consideration. I have really been enjoying sharing the new work and poems. 

This is all new work, poems I have never performed before. With every gig I learn new things. At every show I see how we gather and unite and share words and ways to heal and react and respond to our grief, trauma and fear, of past and present, the uncertainties of our now and here and our futures. I can feel a much bigger essay I want to write - All I can say for now is I love poets and  feel very grateful. My heart spills over. So here I am just saying thank you. Thank you to everyone at this first leg of the tour and first batch of gigs with the brand new books. Thank you for everyone who came to say hello. Thank you for listening to my audio book. Thank you for checking in with me, thank you for roaring with me. I thank you for your beautiful hearts and messages. Thank you for your time, it is a luxury and privilege to write a book, to read a book, to seek hope and wonder and nourish dreams. Solidarity. You’re a lovely lot, thank you Canongate and OWN IT!

2024 Book tour continues this month with a batch of LIVEwire shows with Matt Abbott and Maria Ferguson in Manchester, Hull, Leeds and Weston-Super-Mare I hope to see you here and there, scroll down for dates...

NEW POETRY-FILMS: 'While Justice Waits' and '2084'

I have been collaborating with my Hastings crew, artist, filmmaker and musician Wolfgang Dubieniec and my dear friend poet and artist Oli Spleen. A poetry-film 'While Justice Waits’ was shared online last month and I am delighted to see an article in the Hastings Independent about it this week by Merlin Betts, thank you!

Link: hastingsindependentpress.co.uk

As I write this I note the date is June 8th 2024. It is the 75th Anniversary of ‘1984’ by George Orwell so it seems fitting we share our second collaborative piece ‘2084’ this weekend. 

‘1984’ was published on June 8th 1949 by Secker & Warburg as Orwell's final book. I've shared the '2084' poetry-film and written a bit about it on the new Substack page.

Excited to add here, that both of these new poetry-films 'While Justice Waits' and '2084' will be included in an exhibition at The Garden of Tomorrow Festival, June 13-15, come along, find out more and get your tickets here 

Link: houseofhackney.com

 

Coming up: 

I continue my book tour with a fresh batch of LIVEwire shows, I will be on the road and on stage with my dear friends Matt Abbott and Maria Ferguson and all of these mighty and powerful and brilliant poets. I'm so looking forward to all of these shows. Tix are on sale now!

Link: livewirepoetry.org/events 

• 13 June - The Edge, Manchester

• 14 June - Wrecking Ball Arts, Hull 

• 15 June - Leeds Lit Fest, Hyde Park Book Club

• 20 June - Front Room, Weston-Super-Mare 

Summer 2024 - Gigs & Festivals

 

4 July - Joelle Taylor & Salena Godden

in-conversation, Pages Of Hackney, London 

6 July - Idler Festival, Hampstead, London

13-14 July - ALSO Festival, Warwickshire

2-4 August - Green Gathering, Chepstow

9-12 August - EIBF, Edinburgh

more on my linktree: https://linktr.ee/salenagodden

NEW Read: Last year I was invited to be a key note speaker for a conference on ‘consolation in contemporary literature’ at Lyon University. I had an incredible time in France, amazing conversations, and met with PHD student Héloïse Lecomte. Out this week is her incredible paper, a deep dive into the very heart and soul of my debut novel 'Mrs Death Misses Death' this is incredible. Thank you, Merci Xx

Chains of Consolation: Ghost-Writing Death’s Tales in Salena Godden’s Mrs Death Misses Death (2021)

Before I go offline again, here’s links to 4 delicious new listens and reads and things out now; a link for you to stream our packed out live and lively shows at Lyra Poetry Festival in Bristol, two very wonderful poetry podcasts, and a beautiful new poetry anthology, Poems As Friends by The Poetry Exchange: 

NEW Watch: Lyra Festival 

NEW Podcast: We, The Poets 

NEW Podcast: Poetry Archive

NEW Anthology: The Poetry Exchange

Out now: With Love, Grief and Fury

Out now: Springfield Road 

Out now: Pessimism is for Lightweights 

Out now: Mrs Death Misses Death

Linktree: https://linktr.ee/salenagodden