The East Coker Poetry Group was 10 years old in May.  What better way to celebrate than have a poetry party.

We had food, wine, a competition and ….poetry of course.  Poet Catherine Simmonds started the poetry readings and this was followed by readings from several local poetry groups.   A good time was had by all….

This meeting was a mix of poems and images.  The range and variety of poems/images made for a fascinating evening.

“Lyrics in Popular Songs”  –  to accompany a meal.

This was a topic we covered a few years ago and it was felt that there is still a huge wealth of material to be used including anything from Cole Porter to The Beatles. 

Heather and Julie did well keeping the evening together despite difficulties with the delay in serving the meal.

However it was a light-hearted and rather different meeting and it cheered a Winters evening. 

As usual, a very varied selection of poems made this a very good meeting – as these open meetings always are!

The West Coker Poets crossed the border to East Coker to put their slant on local Poetry.  A lively and varied programme of poetry and music.

This time of year is associated by many with imaginary and mythical beings.  Gaie Vickers and Anne Bingley lead this evening.  Readers included Trevor Peacock and Tilly Tremayne. 

This year the competition was different.  The subject was :-

A poem on an object

Part, or all of the poem must be written in some way on the object itself.

The ‘object’ can be anything you wish, provided it can be brought to the exhibition of entries at our meeting on Tuesday 29^th October at the Helyar Arms, East Coker.

The poem can be of any length or style but should be related to the object in some way and must be written by the entrant.

We do need the poems (but not the objects) by 1st October so that the judge has chance to read the poems free from the distractions of the exhibition evening.  However the judge’s decision will be made at this exhibition, when the judge has seen how the poem and object relate. 

There is no charge for entry to this competition but we will accept only one entry per person.

The prize will (as usual) be something apt and fitting for the subject.

Poems can be emailed to info at eastcokerpoetry.org.uk

Poetic forms and structures are varied and sometimes complex.  Can you tell a sonnet from a triolet?  What is metrical analysis?

Bernard Holiday has, for some time, been putting together a collection of material for possible publication in a book on the subject and we were delighted to have this preview of his knowledge of the ‘nuts and bolts’ of poetic structure.

This was to have been held in the Fox Inn at Corscombe, however the Landlord there had now decided that the Fox Inn will not reopen on Tuesdays as originally planned  – and so the meeting was held at our usual venue at  The Helyar Arms, East Coker.

As always a great variety of poetry was read………… and a good time had by all there.

Well known local poet Greta Stoddart gave an inspiring evening of discussion about the art of writing poetry based on her notebooks she has kept over the years.  Author of award winning poetry books ‘At Home in the Dark’ and ‘Salvation Jane’, Greta is a teacher at The Poetry School and the Arvon Foundation.