This post is a recreation of the newsletter I just received from CB editions.
Free Verse 2012: The Poetry Book Fair – next Saturday, 8 September, at Candid Arts, London EC1V 1NQ, round the corner from Angel tube station. Entry is free, and to the readings too.
On the left, below, is the upper gallery, curiously empty. Centre is the floorplan for ground-floor and upper galleries: too small here for you to see, but there are 55 tables in there, 29 of them in the space you’re looking at on the left. (50 poetry publishers: we could have called this eventFifty Shades of Poetry if we’d had a mind to, but we didn’t.) Let’s say you come for two hours, and let’s say you find a couple of items that interest you on each table: that’s about one minute’s browsing time for each book. You may need to stay a little longer.
On the right is a bell and a cat. The bell will be rung every half hour to announce a new reading taking place in the readings room (separate from the book-fair galleries but a part of the venue). The cat is who you’ll be answerable to if you don’t come along, if you don’t buy at least one book. Because to make this event worth the putting on, we do need as many people as possible to roll up, roll up and chat and read and browse and buy. Bring cash, chequebooks and/or the family jewellery. That was the suggestion last year, and it worked.
Brooke Sharkey, who came in from busking on the street last year to do a set on the stage, will be back again this year.
The book fair has been organised by CB editions and Chrissy Williams.
And you know what – you don’t have to be a ‘poet’ to come to this! You could be someone who likes books and wants to see some fun new stuff. You’re interested in small presses and want to see what they’re getting up to these days. You fancy a different hour or so in the Angel, before or after lunch. You want to impress a girl.
We’re in a bit of a glorious moment for poetry: you might like to come along and find out.
I will be there most if not all of the day. Unfortunately, my books won’t be on one of the tables, as Salt won’t be there this year, unfortunately – but I might just possibly have have one or two in my bag…)