If you're wondering what to do over lunch on Saturday 5 November, 12-2pm, head over to the South Lookout for the launch of a new anthology of Aldeburgh inspired poems. Editor, Tamar Yoseloff, explains the book's genesis
This painting by Tessa Newcomb, Aldeburgh based artist who has been inspired by the South Lookout, will form the frontispiece to the anthology
Anyone who has visited Aldeburgh will know the South Lookout tower on the beach, as it’s one of the town’s most prominent landmarks. When Caroline Wiseman took over the ownership of the Lookout five years ago, she invited poets and artists to climb the spiral staircase to the top, and to make new work based on the extraordinary views of the beach and the turbulent North Sea.
I was fortunate to be one of those poets, and it’s been a privilege for me to edit an anthology bringing together all of the extraordinary writings from fellow poets who have shared the experience. Lookout: Poetry from Aldeburgh Beach gathers work from over thirty poets, invited by either Caroline or by the Aldeburgh Poetry Festival, to spend time in the tower, or to draw inspiration from the artists that Caroline has promoted, or simply to record their impressions of the Suffolk coast.
The poets included are: Daphne Astor, Anne Berkeley, Simon Barraclough, Julia Bird, Matthew Caley, Catherine Coldstream, Joey Connolly, Claire Crowther, Tim Cumming, Rebecca Farmer, Annie Freud, Anne-Marie Fyfe, Rody Gorman, Ian Griffiths, Michael Horovitz, Pamela Johnson, Gerry Loose, Ian McMillan, Leanne Moden, Blake Morrison, Rebecca Perry, Andrea Porter, Sue Rose, Anna Selby, Gemma Seltzer, Penelope Shuttle, George Szirtes, Harriet Tarlo, Siriol Troup, Robert Vas Dias, Vanessa Vie and Tamar Yoseloff.
Readers at the launch are still to be confirmed, but expect great poetry in one of Aldeburgh’s most iconic and evocative venues.