Getting ready to celebrate
The Shelley Memorial Project is delighted to announce that its annual Celebration of Poetry, taking place in St Mary’s Church Horsham on Saturday, 12 October 2024, will be led by the award winning author and poet Louis de Bernières.
Louis de Bernières is best known as a novelist and author of Captain Corelli’s Mandolin, an international best-seller that has been translated into over 30 languages and adapted for screen and stage. Louis is also an accomplished poet and musician who has written four collections of poetry and recorded four albums of his songs.
Commenting on his writing in an interview with the Granta Magazine, Louis said. ‘I think of poetry as my original vocation, novel writing somehow grew out of it.’ So the Shelley Memorial Project is particularly delighted that he has agreed to take part in its celebration of poetry.
For the Celebration event in October, Louis will be joined by actor Emily Rose Smith as they take a heartwarming look at life and love in a performance of his poetry and music, including a performance on the mandolin. Also taking part in what promises to be an unforgettable evening of live music and poetry are four excellent Sussex poets: Liz Barnes, Ted Gooda, Simon Zec, Barry Smith, and poet and guitarist Chris Hardy who will join Barry in a performance that sets some of Shelley’s greatest poetry to music.
Louis will present prizes to the winners of the Shelley Memorial Project Poetry Competition 2024, including to the winner of the Sussex Cup, awarded to the best poem by a Sussex-based poet. The evening will conclude with a book signing with Louis’s books available to purchase, along with collections of poems from the event’s other poets.
The event will once again be expertly compered by BBC Radio 4 presenter Chris Aldridge.
Don't miss this opportunity to experience the magic of this great celebration of live poetry and music.
Tickets are £18.00 via Eventbrite- search ' A celebration of poetry with Louis de Bernieres ‘
A Celebration of Poetry with Louis de Bernieres Tickets, Sat 12 Oct 2024 at 18:30 | Eventbrite
For students and unwaged the ticket price is £12.00, these can be purchased by contacting shelleymemorialproject@btinternet.com
The Shelley Memorial Project is very grateful for the support of event sponsors The Steyning Book Shop and local author Graham Sitton.
All money raised will get the Shelley Memorial Project a step closer to realising its aim of delivering a permanent public memorial to Horsham’s most famous citizen and internationally acclaimed poet, Percy Bysshe Shelley.