Quick Quick Slow
Last minute treats and midwinter light for the week ahead
Hello! It’s been a cold and wet old time, and after a mad and busy year putting the fun into fundraising in the arts (ha!), here at Dialect we’re gearing up for a period of deep rest and wintering to recharge our batteries. This Black Friday it’s less hyper consumption and more hibernation round our way, and we couldn’t be happier with that:)
But before we apply ourselves completely to pyjamas and festive cheeseboards, we wanted to drop you a quick line about some exciting stuff coming up over the next couple of weeks to keep you, whether the sun shines or not!
TONIGHT! FRIDAY 29th NOVEMBER
Dialect founder and poet JLM Morton will be performing as guest poet in-the-round this Friday at the The Mill at Brimscombe, home to the Long Table.
Reading from her debut collection Red Handed, she’ll be joining Christopher Haddow + Mara Simpson (with band Imogen Mason + Rob Pemberton) for a really special night of collaborative audio and spoken word.
“Mara’s critically acclaimed work seamlessly blends electronic, acoustic and orchestral instruments, exploring her love for tape delays, analogue synths and field recordings.”
“Christopher Haddow is a Glasgow-born guitarist and composer. From his home studio in the village of Chalford near Stroud, Haddow experiments with guitar, field recordings, and tape loops. His style explores the ethereal sounds of lap steel guitar and the intricate textures of open-tuned primitive guitar.”
“JLM Morton is a writer and poet based near Stroud in Gloucestershire, England. Her work explores contemporary rural experience and belonging, ancestry, place and practices of care, repair and solidarity across human and other-than-human worlds.
Spaces are limited - if you haven’t got one already grab a ticket for your last minute Friday night out! Kitchen is open from 6pm, performances from 7.30pm
https://thelongtablestroud.com/events
SATURDAY 30th NOVEMBER
THE TIME IS NOW
Groundbreaking photographic portrait project about to get started!
DIALECT AND VOICES GLOUCESTER ARE SEEKING FRONT-LINE WORKERS, CARERS AND VOLUNTEERS TO REPRESENT THEIR COMMUNITIES - DEADLINE NOVEMBER 30th, MIDNIGHT
Do you know a Gloucester resident who does lots for their community and deserves to be celebrated? Is there a place in Gloucester that you would like to see getting the recognition it deserves?
A new project funded by Voices Gloucester is looking for THREE local residents to represent their community, in a brand new set of portraits by renowned photographer Emilie Sandy.
Facilitated by Dialect, these portraits will capture for the historical record some of the brilliant volunteers and community workers in Gloucester, who have worked so hard to support others in recent years.
These won't just be pictures of individuals - each image will be co-created with the wider community. We want to represent Gloucester’s unique history, catch an exciting moment in time right now, and represent the real people of this city for future generations.
So - if you know a brilliant community, and a brilliant person who deserves to be celebrated, you can nominate them by completing our short online form here before 12pm on November 30th
WEDNESDAY DECEMBER 4TH, 7pm
DIALECT DINNER WITH SARAH BROOKS
A little reminder that our very next online literary soiree (we’re pretty fancy these days) will be this coming Wednesday evening at 7pm.
If you joined us for our previous events, or have caught up with the highlights on our YouTube channel, you’ll know that these are really special events, where each guest brings along three imaginary courses of food that they love and want to share with us. And they don’t just bring dinner. Crucially, they bring stories - about their lives, their writing, the things that inspire them, and the people who give them permission to write. Since it’s online, there is no limit to what we get to consume, or where we are for each course. Our meals have covered everything from a single jacket potato in a remote part of South America, to cherry galette in Nazi occupied France, to fish and chips (with pickled onion), eaten in a car during a storm on Withernsea sea front.
We can’t tell you what we’ll be serving up, or where, but we do know that our guest will be the Sunday Times bestselling author Sarah Brooks, author of the *incredible* novel ‘THE CAUTIOUS TRAVELLER’S GUIDE TO THE WASTELANDS’.
Part historical fiction, part fantasy, part thriller and 100% magical eco-fable, this is the story of a group of Victorian passengers on a perilous train journey across China and Russia, where nobody - and nothing - is quite as it seems. A beautifully written examination of the relationship between humans, nature and technology - this book is deservedly a Sunday Times Bestseller.
Tickets are £5 or pay as you wish for caregivers and those on a small income - grab your seat at the table for chats and Q&A, and bring yer drinks and nibbles!
https://www.dialect.org.uk/events/dialect-dinner-with-sarah-brooks
CHRISTMAS MERRY MAKING
While we’re here - don’t forget that our Christmas *in real life* gathering on Saturday December 14th is open to all comers!
First we have Philip' Rush’s wonderful festive Poetry Walk, kicking off at 11am in Chalford (tickets are £12 or pay as you wish for those on a small income).
From there we’ll be wending our way up the abandoned Thames and Severn canal to an old pub that always looks to us like it’s hopped straight out of a Christmas card: the Crown Inn at Frampton Mansell. We’ll be there from 1pm for drinks and merriment of all kinds - everyone welcome, and a prize for the best hat. And if you’re not from Gloucestershire but fancy a Christmas day out with Cotswold bells on - you won’t be alone! We’ve sounded the conch shell, and the Dialect community is gathering, from Dartmoor to Derbyshire. Wherever you are, get your skates on (maybe literally if this cold snap continues) and come join us for what promises to be a really special afternoon.
Tickets for the poetry walk can be booked here: https://www.dialect.org.uk/coursesworkshops/winter-poetry-walks
Or drop us a line at dialectwriters@gmail.com if you’d like to join just for the pub section!
Hope to see you soon for some midwinter gathering in and moving up!
Much love,
Emma and Juliette x