Arts of the Earth
Raised bed with Curly Kale and Ursula Red Russian Kale inter-cropped with Jack Ice, Black Eyed Simpson, Red Leprechaun Cos Lettuce and Bronze Fennel.
©robcullenjuly2019
Watching the D-Day commemorations reminded me that in January 1944 there was another landing – Anzio. And there are no commemorations:
“When Lucian Truscott’s 3rd Division was first selected for the operation, he pointed out to Clark that the position was a death trap and there would be no survivors. Agreeing, Clark canceled the operation, but Prime Minister Churchill revived it.”
The Irish Guards Battalion in which my father served was almost wiped out at Anzio – he was lucky to survive. He then was a prison of war – Boyd Clack – to return to hear soldiers of the Italian Campaign called “D-Day dodgers”.
Ironic too listening to historians talk about Churchill’s anxiety about D-Day because of the disaster of his making at Galipoli – when he was also responsible for the more recent disaster at Anzio and placing men in a “deathtrap” – helped by the incompetence of the American Generals in command.
But no commemoration for the Battle of Anzio – albeit deleted out of history!
Amelia Unity foto credit: Amy Farrer
Amelia Unity cut her teeth performing with Rufus Mufasa at the end of 2017 as writers in residence for Tactile Bosch’s Lost Vegas Hotel and at Cwmdonkin Drive in Swansea, Unity won Swansea’s poetry slam last year. She went on to support Hollie McNish and Clare Potter as the opening act for Swansea Fringe Festival. A regular at Voices on the Bridge Pontypridd and Company of Words Cardiff, Unity is also a founding member of Ladies of Rage, a collective of females into Spoken word, Hiphop, Grime and Drum & Bass. A recently commissioned piece for Manchester University about Merthyr’s Gurnos is due to be released soon and her poem Self Medication will be available in May as an AR video for TAE Edinburgh.
“Cardiff born and Cardiff bred”, Bob Walton has lived and worked in Bristol for many years, but the view from Avonmouth to South Wales still nourishes his hiraeth. With a PhD in Creative Writing, he teaches Creative Writing at Cardiff University and is anexperienced workshop tutor. In Bristol he’s a member of The Spoke poetry collective,currently developing a poetry & music project about the Severn Beach railway line.In late 2017, Seren published his collection, Sax Burglar Blues, which was shortlisted by Wales Arts Review for Best Welsh Book of 2018. He’s an ardent laptop fan of Cardiff City and has been the ruin of several music teachers who tried to help him improve in playing the saxophone.
Chris Norris is Emeritus Professor in Philosophy at the University of Cardiff. He is the author of more than thirty books on aspects of philosophy, literature, the history of ideas, and music. Among his poetry collections to date are The Cardinal’s Dog, For the Tempus-Fugitives, and The Matter of Rhyme. A Partial Truth will be published later this year by Seventh Quarry Press in Swansea. His political poems appear regularly on the website Culture Matters and in his recent book The Trouble with Monsters. He has sung with Cor Cochion Caerdydd (the Cardiff Reds Choir) for more than thirty years.
Born in Dowlais, Al Jones is an experimental filmmaker, a photographer and a Red Poet.
Nicholas McGaughey is an actor living in Pontypridd. He is part of the Literature Wales Mentoring Scheme 2019. His poetry has appeared recently in Ink Sweat and Tears/Poetry Scotland/Lampeter Review/ London Grip and An Outbreak of Peace Anthology. He has work forthcoming in Prole / Edify Fiction and the anthologies Story Cities/Noon and As You Were.
Mair De-Garde Pitt teaches creative writing for Torfaen and Monmouthshire adult larning. She writes poetry, children’s fiction, short stories and drama. Recently she has worked with Jill Powell in putting together “Power Play” for publisher Culture Wales and is looking forward to her first children’s novel “Cat and Pony” being published in Summer 2019 by Gomer Press.
“Stainless” Steve Garrett has self-published several books of poetry, and one “Coming In – Messages from the Edge” has been published by Accent Press. “I try to write about things that matter to me. I’m always trying to say as much as possible in as few words as possible – especially with humour. Writing helps me respond to experiences (including affairs of the heart) that have amused, inspired, or annoyed me. With these verbal outbursts I try to share observations and insights, inspired by the belief that words can help us know and appreciate each other more.”
Rob Cullen grew up on a council estate in the Rhondda. He went to Art School at Bristol, Cardiff and Brighton. He lived in New York. Rob returned to South Wales in 1982 working professionally with damaged and damaging people in the criminal justice system and latterly as a UK recognised expert. Rob returned to creative work in 2013. His first collection of poetry “Uncertain Times” was published in 2016. His poetry has been published in I AM NOT A SILENT POET, The Bezine, The Learned Pig and Red Poets issue 34 & 35. Rob had a short story published in the anthology “Love – A Fall into Grace”. Rob has completed a novel and is working on a second both focussed on the impact of trauma on the individual and the community.
Rob organises VoicesontheBridge …Hooraah!
Just a reminder that Globetrotters is a cash only venue.
Regrettably the venue is not wheelchair accessible.
Boyd Clack’s acting credits include Twin Town, High Hopes, and Satellite City, the latter two of which he also co-wrote. He has also released the first part of his autobiography. Kisses Sweeter than Wine, and two music albums, Welsh Bitter and Labourer of Love.
The actor, singer and writer has spoken openly about his struggle with depression, which saw him have a breakdown at the age of 19 before being given treatment, in the first part of his hugely successful autobiography Kisses Sweeter Than Wine.”
A lot of artists suffer from depression and mental health things, and one of the few things that comes from it is a slant on art, an interesting slant on art. It’s probably the only positive thing that comes from mental illness. And not for everyone, but for some people it does.
“Depression is a weird thing you know? It’s something that is difficult to express to someone who hasn’t experienced it. One of the problems with depression is the actual word depression. It’s a word in common use when someone says ‘Ah I’m depressed today, my girlfriend’s left me, I’ve got exams coming up’. Actually clinical depression is a different thing, it’s as different as different can be. It’s the difference between a match going off and a hand grenade going off.”
Much more could be said but we’ll leave that in Boyd’s hands.
Kirsten Jones is a writer and actress, known for High Hopes (2002), Sorrow (2017) and Masterpiece (2010)
Pipers on the Bridge will be playing Uilliean Pipes and Fiddle.
Siôn Tomos Owen is a bilingual writer, cartoonist and presenter from Treorchy in the Rhondda Valleys. He’s currently working on two poetry collections, two children’s books & a Welsh graphic novel. Soon he will have a day off.
Rhoda Thomas is a regular performer on Swansea’s vibrant poetry circuit and at public and street events including Swansea Troublemakers, Merthyr Rising festival and the Llanelli 1911 Railway Strike commemoration. She is also a founding member of Live Poets Society. Her poems are in publications by Poets on the Hill and Red Poets, and she’s launching her third individual collection ‘then comes the birdsong’ this spring. Her work has been described as ‘profound, searing and honest’; ‘an iron fist in a soft velvet glove
Nicholas McGaughey is an actor living in Pontypridd. He is part of the Literature Wales Mentoring Scheme 2019. His poetry has appeared recently in Ink Sweat and Tears/Poetry Scotland/Lampeter Review/ London Grip and An Outbreak of Peace Anthology. He has work forthcoming in Prole / Edify Fiction and the anthologies Story Cities/Noon and As You Were.
Ben Smith born 1972, Birmingham. Released two albums of original songs. Literature Wales Bursary recipient, Hay Festival Writer at Work, once sang for Slade. Winner 2005 Raw Edge Monologue Competition.
Mike McNamara was born in Northern Ireland but lives in S. Wales. He has had a collection of poetry ‘Overhearing The Incoherent’ published by Grevatt and Grevatt in 1997. His poetry has been published in Envoi, Orbis, Tears in the Fence, New Welsh Review, Acumen, International Times etc. Mike also had a selection of poems published in The Pterodactyl’s Wing (Parthian, 2003).
Suzanne Iuppa is an award-winning poet and conservationist living near Cadair Idris, in Snowdonia. She is of Italian, Welsh and Irish rootstock and was raised in an immigrant community in America before moving to the UK in the 1980s. She’s published two poetry series set in Wales; and several short stories under an amalgam of her grandmothers’ names, Luned DeSimon. She likes sharing her garden with pine martens and a goshawk.
Rob Cullen grew up on a council estate in the Rhondda. He went to Art School at Bristol, Cardiff and Brighton. He lived in New York. Rob returned to South Wales working professionally with damaged and damaging people in the criminal justice system and latterly as an independent UK expert. He returned to creative work in 2013. Rob’s first collection of poetry “Uncertain Times” was published in 2016. His poetry has been published in I AM NOT A SILENT POET, The Bezine, The Learned Pig and Red Poets issue 34 & 35. He has a short story published in the anthology “Love – A Fall into Grace”.
Rob organises VoicesontheBridge – Hoorah!
There is no wheelchair access available at this venue.
Globetrotters is a cash only venue.
©fotorobcullen2019
