Co-op Writers York workshop with Paul Sutherland

Contact: adriantellwright@gmail.com

Hi Scribblers,
Following on from the great evening we had with Peter Knaggs from Hull, 2017 City of Culture, talking about his life as a writer and publisher on Sunday, 8th Jan, we are looking forward to welcoming Paul Sutherland, to present his poetry, and similarly talk about his life as a writer, editor and publisher.
His latest collection, New and Selected Poems, published by Valley Press last September (2016), spans forty five years of his writing covering his early life in Ontario, Canada and his arrival in the UK. His sojourns in York, on Fair Isle, in Scotland and in Lincolnshire where he has lived since 2000 are also featured in the book. It crosses cultural and political divides including East and West in a compendium of the author's life-long search for meaning.
Paul is not only well-known as a founder and editor for Dream Catcher, first published when he was a student at York St John University twenty years ago. He has also made a remarkable journey from agnosticism to Christianity and onto Sufi Islam.
Paul has been writing and publishing poetry since 1970, with ten collections to his name.
His latest collection includes significant pieces from that period, along with new and unpublished works, constituting a personal epic that spans 45 years of writing. It charts the poet’s life from his Canadian roots to immigration to the UK, and from natural wonderment to a greater understanding of the world around us. The collection is, by turn, heartfelt, philosophical, and beautifully lyrical, as Paul lays bare for the reader his experiences and perspectives – at once particular and universal. This is an unflinching and forensic exploration of a life lived through language.
I think we have a real treat in prospect and Paul promises to be a mine of information, as Peter was, that you will have the chance to explore in the Q&A session following his talk/reading that will occupy at least the first hour of our workshop, to which you are invited to contribute in the usual way, bringing work of up to 2,000 words or four sides of A4, in five or six copies, in addition to £2 if you're waged, otherwise £1, please.

PS An update on what Paul Sutherland plans to do on Sunday, 5th Feb, in what he regards as a homecoming.
He would like to review his writing starting with the influence his grandfather reciting poetry to Paul had on his early work. He will link fictionalized events that appear in his writing with actual events that have shaped him.
He will dedicate some time to his activities in York, notably his founding of Dream Catcher and its writers workshop, over 20 years in this city, that contributed to his formation as a writer, referring to his 'New and Selected Poems (2016).
He welcomes questions from participants during his talk, saying such questions in a recent reading in Lincolnshire informed his choice of which of his poems to read.
He will talk about his life after leaving York, including travels, encounters with different cultures, and his processing of these experiences in his writing.
Paul will draw on his experience as an editor whilst running Dream Catcher to offer advice on submitting work, manuscripts and avoiding various pitfalls, as well as indicating how editing and reading thousands of poems were vital to his own development as a writer.

Please note that this event is a writers workshop and that there will be opportunity for at least some participants to present their work to the workshop for constructive criticism, including from Paul. If time is limited then those arriving first will be prioritised over those arriving later. The plan is to allow up to 90 minutes for Paul's talk, which should leave 90 minutes for others to share their work.

Price: £2.00

Time: 5:30pm