A second Poetry Evening in the Smith Studio
		Sunday 14 September, 2025 At the Tower Theatre, Stoke Newington

Roanne Insley writes:
Poetry-lovers came together on Sunday 14 September to share some of their favourite rhymes (and non-rhymes!).  It was an absolute treat of an evening, with a wide range of poetry from well-known writers (Charles Causley, WB Yeats, William Wordsworth)  and more obscure published poets (Rafael Ziadah, CP Cavafy) - and a smattering of new writing performed by authors.

Highlights of the evening included Lorca’s Romance de la luna luna read in the original Spanish by Flavia Di Saverio, the rather wonderful Ashfield Prison Blues - written and performed with guitar accompaniment by Michael Reilly. My favourite, though, was Laughter - a gloriously cheerful piece written and performed with aplomb by Sandra Monero. The bar was lively - clearly poetry-lovers like a glass or two! There were properly high-brow discussions around favourite poets, and when does something count as poetry rather than prose? 

There was a general feeling that we might want to up the frequency of Poetry Evenings from annually to six-monthly as it was such a splendid event. George Savona and Matthew Ibbotson did a wonderful job of pulling it together, so - who knows - they may be persuaded to do it again soon (ish)!

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Photography by Matthew Ibbotson

Here's a record of the chosen poems:

PART ONE
What’s He Building? by Tom Waits and What Is Chatteris...? by Half Man Half Biscuit read by John McSpadyen
Everything is Waiting for You byDavid Whyte read by Karla Ptacek
In Memory of My Mother by Patrick Kavanagh read by Sean Dempsey
Daffodils by William Wordsworth read by Vyvian Shaw
Ceremony after a Fire Raid by Dylan Thomas read by Chris James
From Knots by R D Laing read by Rosanna Preston & George Savona
Ithaca by C P Cavafy, translated by Rae Dalven read by Tom Tillery
Romance de la luna luna by F G Lorca read by Flavia Di Saverio
English translation by Gloria Garcia Lorca & Jane Duran read by Jonathan Buckingham
Ninth Duino Elegy by Rainer Maria Rilke, translated by Stephen Mitchell read by Simon Taylor
Laughter by Sandra Monero read by Sandra Monero
A Worker Reads History by Bertolt Brecht, translated by H R Hayes and The Song of the Smoke by Bertolt Brecht, translated by Eric Bentley read by Michael Hopkins

PART TWO
We Teach Life, Sir by Rafeef Ziadah read by Rosanna Preston
Passport by Mahmoud Darwish, translated by A Z Foreman read by Chris James
Words by Yuliya Musakovska, translated by Ella Yevtushenko & Olena Jennings read by Emily Carmichael
3 February 2022 by Serhiy Zhadan, translated by Oksana Maksymchuk & Sasha Dugdale read by George Savona
Healing a Lunatic Boy by Charles Causley read by Vyvian Shaw
Just by Andrew Robinson read by Andrew Robinson
He Wishes for the Cloths of Heaven by W B Yeats and The Love of a Fox by James Collins read by James Collins
Milking Time by Gillian Wallington read by Gillian Wallington
A Defense of Joy by Mario Benedetti, translated by Maria Popova read by Karla Ptacek
Ashfield Prison Blues by Michael Reilly read by Michael Reilly
A Blade of Grass by Brian Patten and an unpublished poem dedicated to Glen Byam Shaw by Siegfried Sassoon read by Tess Walsh
Gus – The Theatre Cat by T S Eliot read by Tom Tillery