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Under The Raging Moon (One night with Dylan Thomas in Greenwich Village).

A new drama by Swansea poet and dramatist Peter Thabit Jones

October, 1953. Dylan Thomas, unwell and harassed by personal problems, is
on his fourth and fatal visit to America, organised by John Malcolm Brinnin,
Director at the YM & YWHA Poetry Center in New York.

Dylan, accompanied by Liz Reitell, Brinnin’s assistant, with whom he
started an affair on his third visit, is in a taxi on the way to Greenwich
Village. Since his arrival in the city, she has been trying to keep him away
from his ‘hangers-on’ and to focus him on the upcoming two performances
of his Under Milk Wood at the Kaufmann Auditorium. Unhappy and upset
by his general behaviour, she stops the taxi near her apartment and abandons
him to do whatever he pleases.

In this imagined scenario, he stops at some bars where he mainly meets
people unknown to him. The final bar is the White Horse Tavern, his
favourite drinking place in the Village.

Note: In the early hours of 3 rd November, Dylan would leave the Chelsea
Hotel and an upset Liz. His last-ever drinking spree would lead to him being
rushed to St Vincent’s Hospital on November

VoicesontheBridge is hosted by Jeff Baxter @StoryvilleBooks 8 Mill St, Pontypridd

VoicesontheBridge is organised by Rob Cullen

Sophie Buchaillard writes contemporary fiction that reflects on the anxieties of our age, using fiction to connect historical events with our perception of movement, migration and identity today, and dehumanising the ‘other’. Her short stories and essays have appeared in a wide array of literary magazines and newspapers. This Is Not Who We Are (Seren Books) is her debut novel. 

A Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy and a member of the Society of Authors, Sophie is passionate about empowering others to write. She splits her time between writing and tutoring in creative writing at Cardiff University and in the community. During the lockdown she set up the literary podcast Writers on Reading with author Jonathan Macho to give a platform to local authors and independent publishers to promote new releases, and to foster a virtual community of authors and poets in Wales, at a time of great challenge.

Originally trained as a political scientist, she has worked as a policy advisor and a campaigner. In 2016, she co-authored Talented Women for a Successful Wales, a report making recommendations to the Welsh Government on improving gender parity in business and education. She holds an MA in Creative and Critical Writing and is currently doing a PhD at Cardiff University. 

Writers also reading will be Abeer Ameer @abeer_ameer77, Peter Thabit Jones, Susie Wild, Ben Wildsmith, Stephanie McNicholas, Nick McGaughey, Sion Tomos Owen & Rob Cullen.

VoicesontheBridge is hosted by Jeff Baxter @StoryvilleBooks

VoicesontheBridge is organised by Rob Cullen.

Writers and poets include – Sophie Buchaillard, Abeer Ameer (@abeer_ameer77), Sion Tomos Owen, Ben WildSmith, Susie Wildsmith, Peter Thabit Jones, Stephanie McNicholas, Nick McGaughey & Rob Cullen –

VoicesontheBridge is hosted by Storyville Books

VoicesontheBridge is organised by Rob Cullen

Our thanks go to Jeff Baxter of Storyville Books for his generosity and support.

Through thick and thin whatever the weather threw at them …lovers of poetry and words kept coming in…Muchos gracias amigos!

@StoryvilleBooks Pontypridd

A night of poetry seriousness and moments of chuckles and mirth!

With thanks to the poets and especial thanks to our host Jeff @StoryvilleBooks

Next VoicesontheBridge Wednesday 30th November 6.30pm.

@Lit-Wales @PoetryWales @PontyTownCouncil

Update Voices on the Bridge: Sad to report Mike McNamara has had to pull out of tomorrow night’s event due to ill health – A speedy recovery Mike and look forward to seeing and listening to you read with Voices on the Bridge in The New Year!

Pleased to say that Mary Kaye has agreed to step in at very short notice….

Mary Kaye has been writing poetry since adolescence but it’s only in recent years that she has been sharing them, some being published in magazines such as Red Poets and in the anthology Uprising by Culture Matters. She writes about issues close to her heart such as feminism, mental health and anything that inspires her.

A big welcome from Voices on the Bridge to Mary!

BridgesofPontypridd –

Wales has more Bridges than castles we should remember the Bridges!

Come have some fun …. Don’t miss this one!

Poets Patrick Jones, Mike McNamara, Nick McGaughey, clare e. potter, Taz Rahman, Alix Edwards, Pete Ak, & Rob Cullen will be reading their work.

This is VoicesontheBridge!

VoicesontheBridge is hosted by @Storyville books and organised by Rob Cullen

BridgesofPontypridd – there are more than one.

Poetry is alive and kicking!

Nicholas will be reading with Patrick Jones, Mike McNamara, clare e. potter, Taz Rahman, Alix Edwards, Pete Ak, & Rob Cullen.

Every VoicesontheBridge is a bit special … this edition is stand out! But then every VoicesontheBridge is stand out…Mind the gap, coming through!

VoicesontheBridge is hosted by @Storyville books and organised by Rob Cullen

BridgesofPontypridd

Poets Patrick Jones, Mike McNamara, Nick McGaughey, Taz Rahman, Alix Edwards, Pete Ak, & Rob Cullen will be reading their work.

Don’t miss this one…

VoicesontheBridge is hosted by @Storyville books and organised by Rob Cullen

BridgesofPontypridd

Pete Ak’ spoken word performer and vocalist/songwriter with the S.Wales based band TaffyWasAThief. His spoken word pieces are strong on narrative, rhyme and humour, enjoying word play and ingenious metaphors. His pieces reflect his admittedly confusing childhood, growing up in a Barnardo’s children’s home as the only black child in a small Welsh valley town in the 1960’s. His performances strongly feature emotional and energetic renditions which add colour and verve to his pieces. He has appeared at Llandeilo and Hay (fringe) ‘ Where the Light Comes In’ literary festivals and also appeared on BBC Wales’ feature programme Jonathan Davies’ Six Nations Quiz performing his poem ‘A Nation Hold its Breathe Again’ a signature piece which integrates patriotism with rugby lore and passion. He has yet to publish independently but has had numerous pieces featured in various publications both online and in print.

Poets Patrick Jones, clare e. potter, Mike McNamara, Nick McGaughey, Taz Rahman, Alix Edwards, Pete Ak, & Rob Cullen will be reading their work.

Take a seat early before its taken from you…

VoicesontheBridge is hosted by @Storyville books and organsied by Rob Cullen

BridgesofPontypridd

Mike McNamara had his Selected Poems Overhearing The Incoherent published by Grevatt and Grevatt in 1997. His poems have appeared in Acumen, The Atlanta Review, Orbis, International Times, Ink Sweat & Tears, The New Welsh Review, Tears in the Fence, etc. His eBook This Transmission was published in Oct. 2019 by The Argotist Online. His print book Dialling A Starless Past was published by Arenig Press in December 2019 and his collection Loose Canon was published in July 2020 by Canada’s Subterranean Blue Poetry. His poem Other Times was featured in the 2022 Bridport Literature newsletter and his latest collection Mondegreen is due for publication this October from the editors of Aji (USA).

Mike is a published songwriter and lead singer with 12-piece Classic Soul outfit Big Mac’s Wholly Soul Band who have been together for over 3 decades performing in Cairo, Vienna, Tenerife, Germany, Dublin and all over the UK supporting acts from Van Morrison and Edwin Starr to Billy Ocean and Jools Holland.

Its great to have Mike reading with VoicesontheBridge again!

Poets Patrick Jones, clare e. potter, Nick McGaughey, Taz Rahman, Alix Edwards, Pete Ak, & Rob Cullen will be reading their work.

If you think poeytry isn’t cool … Hold on to your seats for a great ride…what a line up! Don’t miss this one…

VoicesontheBridge is hosted by @Storyville books and organsied by Rob Cullen

BridgesofPontypridd