Review of “The History of Crime Fiction”: A talk by John Martin

John Martin began his talk by explaining that crime fiction began with ‘The Murders in the Rue Morgue’ published in 1841. This short story by Edgar Allan Poe was the first to feature a murder and a detective. Since then crime fiction has become a wide-ranging genre, and occupies a large part of the fiction section in libraries.

Fictional detective Sherlock Holmes first appeared in Arthur Conan Doyle’s A Study in Scarlet in 1887. The Holmes novels dominated crime fiction until 1920 when Agatha Christie began her decades of publishing with The Mysterious Affair at Styles.

We heard how Christie introduced new concepts in crime fiction: the unreliable narrator in The Murder of Roger Ackroyd; a female detective, Miss Marple, in The Murder at the Vicarage; and multiple murders in Murder on the Orient Express. Other well-known writers of the ‘Golden Years’ include Leslie Charteris (Enter the Saint) and George Simenon (The Crime of Inspector Maigret).

Raymond Chandler, Ian Fleming and Alistair Maclean are among the ‘Big Names’ from the forties and fifties. Fleming’s James Bond novels are a variant on the crime novel with the action being played out on an international level. Ruth Rendall, John Le Carre, and Colin Dexter are some of the prominent crime writers of the sixties and seventies, and their popularity was boosted by the advent of the ‘TV Years’ which saw a huge increase in television adaptations of crime novels.

Crime fiction continues to evolve, and John Martin ended his comprehensive talk by outlining the most recent developments. Stieg Larsson and Jo Nesbo are the most well-known of the Scandinavian crime writers. ‘Domestic Noir, a term first used in relation to fiction by Julia Crouch, includes Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn and The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins.

About the reviewer
Karen Powell is studying for a PhD in Creative Writing at the University of Leicester. Her poetry has been published in various anthologies and magazines including Welcome to Leicester: poems about the city, The Interpreter’s House and Silver Birch Press.

Review of "Finding the Extraordinary in the Ordinary": A poetry workshop with Cathy Grindrod

At the beginning of the workshop (an Everybody's Reading event) we were asked what image came to mind when we heard the word ‘change’, and each participant described something different. The exercise was to demonstrate that the image that comes to mind is the place to start a poem, to be ourselves in our writing, and to use our experiences in our own way.

Working in pairs, we generated answers to a selection of ‘What is …?’ questions (for example, the moon, a bat, a seed). This encouraged us to think beyond the obvious and focus on the precision of words to create fresh descriptions. To illustrate this further, we read ‘Refrigerator, 1957’ by Thomas Lux, and discussed the phrases that made an impact and brought the poem alive. Maraschino cherries were ‘fiery globes, / like strippers at a church social’ in contrast to a ‘childhood of dull dinners – bald meat, / pocked peas’.

Fruit and vegetables provided the prompt for one of the longer writing activities. We were invited to combine close observation with associations and life experiences to create a poem of eight lines. Cathy Grindrod encouraged us to look at everyday objects with fresh eyes, to enjoy the words in our writing, and to subvert the norm to surprise the reader. After fifteen minutes, we had produced a wide variety of ideas in our first drafts: plums inspired childhood memories and reflections on regional accents; and an orange prompted a poem about a child’s hope to grow their own tree.

Finding the Extraordinary in the Ordinary included all the essential elements of a successful poetry workshop: a small number of participants; analysis of poems by published poets; a combination of short and longer writing activities; time to give and receive feedback on each other’s writing; and ideas for further development.

About the reviewer
Karen Powell is studying for a PhD in Creative Writing at the University of Leicester. Her poetry has been published in various anthologies and magazines including Welcome to Leicester: poems about the city, The Interpreter’s House and Silver Birch Press.

Review of “Independent Publishing: the joys and tribulations” – a talk by Karin Koller

Karin Koller began her talk by stating that she was an enthusiast rather than an expert in the world of independent publishing.

Soundswrite Press was set up in 2005 with the aim of publishing occasional anthologies of poetry written by members of Soundswrite, a women’s poetry group. Since then, a total of four anthologies, three collections and four pamphlets of poetry have been published. Careful attention has been paid to the aesthetic aspects of the books, and I'm delighted that three of my poems are included in the 2015 anthology.

Outlining the processes involved, Karin Koller made everything sound quite straightforward, and offered advice for anyone considering setting up their own press. She recommended using a print-on-demand service and stressed the importance of investing in a proof copy. She also suggested looking at publications by other presses for design ideas.

Quirky Press, as its name suggests, was established to publish unconventional books and pamphlets. The first publication in 2015, was Somali Lullabies featuring illustrations, English translations of the lullabies, and a CD. This was followed by A Handful of Hungarian Earth - one family’s story of the 1956 Hungarian uprising told in letters written by Anna Koller Eady.

The latest Quirky Press publication is Leonie Orton’s memoir, I had it in me. Leonie Orton is the youngest sister of Leicester-born playwright Joe Orton. Part of the publishing process involved dealing with challenges relating to copyright in order to include quotes from letters written by Peggy Ramsey, Joe Orton's agent. Quirky Press also experienced problems with the print run, and future independent publishers were advised to allow plenty of time to check for, and resolve, any errors before the launch date! Approximately seven hundred copies of the memoir have been sold, and there is now a Kindle edition. Extracts of the book are also available on the British Library website.

Karin Koller is clearly enthusiastic and, after publishing fourteen books, has a great deal of expertise. Once again, she is taking on a new challenge: Take Three will be published in 2019 by Soundswrite Press, and will showcase debut collections of poetry by three women poets.

About the reviewer
Karen Powell is studying for a PhD in Creative Writing at the University of Leicester. Her poetry has been published in various anthologies and magazines including Welcome to Leicester: poems about the city, The Interpreter’s House and Silver Birch Press.

Review of Everybody’s Reading event – Poetry workshop with John Hegley

John Hegley’s poetry workshop was attended by approximately twenty-five people spanning a wide-range of ages and levels of writing experience.

We began by reading Hegley’s poem, ‘Guillemot’, for inspiration. The poem opens with the following lines: 'I am a guillemot / I use my bill a lot. / I get the fish out of the wet, I eat my fill a lot.'

The group drew up a list of three-syllable words as a starting point for writing. Our list included loveliness, fellowship, anarchy, animals and parallel. We were asked to choose one or more words and to play with language in our writing as Hegley had in ‘Guillemot’. Invited to share our work, without any pressure to do so, we read out our acrostic poems, and poems which incorporated several of the listed words.

Our next challenge was to tear out a leaf shape from a sheet of paper (more difficult than it sounds) and ‘fill it with leafiness’! We continued to write short pieces about elephants, dogs and peanuts on small pieces of paper. Thankfully we didn’t have to create paper shapes of elephants or dogs, just peanut shells! Words and/or drawings were encouraged and appreciated when shared with the very supportive group.

The prompt ‘mistaken identity’ generated a variety of responses: political, surreal, poignant, and humorous. Our last writing topics were hands and footsteps: our words contained within outlines of our hands and feet.

The two-hour workshop was very lively, with lots of humour and music. At the end of the session, our leaves, peanuts, elephants and dogs all came together to create a poetree. In case you are wondering, the elephants were for the trunk and the dogs were for the bark!

About the reviewer

Karen Powell is studying for a PhD in Creative Writing at the University of Leicester. Her poetry has been published in various anthologies and magazines including Welcome to Leicester: poems about the city, The Interpreter’s House and Silver Birch Press.

Review of "Shakespeare for the Terrified (or Rusty)" - a talk by Julia Pritchard

Having avoided Shakespeare since secondary school, I was both terrified and rusty when I arrived for this Everybody’s Reading event.

At the beginning of her talk, Julia Pritchard assured us that we are already familiar with Shakespeare’s writing by pointing out that many phrases from his work that are still in common use today. ‘It’s Greek to me’, ‘a fool’s paradise’, and ‘the long and the short of it’ are a few examples. We were also reminded that Shakespeare’s plays continue to be relevant today because they deal with universal themes, and include the ever-appealing elements of magic, sex, and violence.

The next step in our gentle introduction to was to learn a little about the theatre. In Shakespeare’s day theatres were not considered respectable places and so were situated outside of the City of London along with bull-baiting arenas and brothels. Day-time performances, standing audiences, the lack of toilets, and the sale of fruit and ale made the theatre a noisy and foul-smelling place. Perhaps it’s just as well that both The Globe and The Rose theatres were open-air!

Moving on to his plays, those new to Shakespeare were advised to start by a reading a summary and perhaps watching a film or stage version before reading one act of a play at a time. Books with the playscript and explanatory notes on opposite pages are particularly helpful. 

We read the original prologue to Romeo and Juliet along with a modern version, and this provided a brief outline of the play, the characters and the setting. Although the play is set in Verona, there is no evidence that Shakespeare travelled to Italy. During such a turbulent period of history, it was less controversial, and safer, for writers to set their plays in the past or overseas. 

We then watched two very different versions of the opening scene: the 1968 film directed by Franco Zeffirelli, and the 1996 interpretation set in contemporary America with Leonardo DiCaprio cast as Romeo. I expected to prefer the 1996 version but, based on the scene we watched, the earlier film was more appealing. I think that means I’m a little less terrified now!

About the reviewer
Karen Powell is studying for a PhD in Creative Writing at the University of Leicester. Her poetry has been published in various anthologies and magazines including Welcome to Leicester: poems about the city, The Interpreter’s House and Silver Birch Press.

Review of 'Brand New Beat: Inspired by the Sixties' - a reading by Deborah Tyler-Bennett

Deborah Tyler-Bennett read from Brand New Beat, a collection of short stories. The characters she created in Turned Out Nice Again and Mice That Roared are followed into the 1960s with Brand New Beat but the book can be read as a stand-alone collection.

Within a few lines of ‘Mr Stringer’s Favourite Dance’, we are whisked back to the sixties with a description of the characters dancing to ‘Hoots Mon’. Tyler-Bennett’s extensive research is evident in the details of the setting: a formica table, a sunburst mirror and a Murano glass fish on the sideboard. 

The social issues of the 1960s form the backdrop of the stories. Beryl must deal with the stigma of being an unmarried mother and the loss of her career. Double act Cooper and Bean face a crisis with the closure of music halls and rise of new entertainers. 

The changes in fashions create clashes between the young women wearing mini-skirts and the older women who continue to dress as they had done during the 1940s. The white patent shoes and matching handbag belonging to one of the characters reinforce the spirit of the decade, as do the turban and rollers of the grandmother in ‘Dominoes’.

There is a lot of humour in the dialogue which makes use of the dialect of the time and place – 1960s Mansfield. We know exactly where we are with phrases such as ‘of a Saturday night’ and ‘the babby’. The line that stands out in ‘Mr Illuminator’ is ‘You could’ve heard a Spangle being sucked!’ - a wonderful reference to a sadly-missed brand of sweets.

The reading was clearly enjoyed by everyone in the audience, and I’m sure I wasn’t the only person to leave the event humming the tune to ‘Hoots Mon’!

About the reviewer

Karen Powell is studying for a PhD in Creative Writing at the University of Leicester. Her poetry has been published in various anthologies and magazines including Welcome to Leicester: poems about the city, The Interpreter’s House and Silver Birch Press.

Review of Pirates of New Walk Museum

Ruth Fraser

A band of pirates took over New Walk Museum at the weekend to present a great family event.

Armed with a skull and crossbones flag, we began by following the trail to Treasure Island. We solved clues about pirates around the world, and pirate-related fiction. My grandchildren, aged 9 and 7, were fascinated to learn about Mary Read and Anne Bonny - they'd previously believed that all pirates were men. On reaching Treasure Island we found our next challenge was to build a pirate ship to take home or to launch in the ‘sea’ around Treasure Island. Lots of experts were on hand to help with any construction problems. After all that hard work, we enjoyed some quiet time in the reading area where there were plenty of pirate books to share.  

A highlight of our visit was the storytelling session with Ruth Fraser. Ruth told stories about real-life pirate, Grace O’Malley. We heard how Grace, aged 9, dressed as a boy and secretly joined her father’s ship. Once her father realised how skilful and hardworking she was, he allowed her to continue to sail with his ship until she was sixteen. In later years, as queen of the O’Malley clan, Grace was granted a private meeting with Elizabeth I at the Palace of Greenwich. Grace successfully negotiated the release of her son and the return of her lands in return for supporting England in battles abroad.

This was a lovely family event, and has inspired my grandchildren to find out more about real-life pirates.

About the reviewer

Karen Powell is a grandmother of two, an ex-primary teacher, and is studying for a PhD in Creative Writing at the University of Leicester.

Review by Karen Powell of "Instructions for Making Me" by Maria Taylor

Instructions for Making Me is the intriguing title of Maria Taylor’s pamphlet which has been beautifully published by HappenStance. Her poems skip across times, places, emotions, and the reader is quickly immersed in each one. A few of her poems have a dreamlike quality and give rise to a sense of uncertainty, whilst others have more familiar themes. My particular favourites are ‘Not about Hollywood’, ‘The Pavilion’ and ‘The Vale’.


In ‘Not about Hollywood’ the tension in the waiting room is almost tangible as the focus moves between illness, life savings, and film premieres. There is also a sense of acceptance: ‘ My mother’s seen it all. I was born / into melodrama.’ The reality of the situation reappears as ‘His step falters. We tell him not to worry / as his name flashes in blood-red lights.’


Maria Taylor’s skill in creating an atmosphere in each poem continues in ‘The Pavilion’ where we can watch the bowls ‘bumping politely into another’, and hear ‘the soft ceramic chink’. The poem ends with the poignant image of her widowed grandmother (yiayia) who ‘rounded up chaos like a sheepdog / and raised six children.’


‘The Vale’ evokes teenage memories of feeling invincible with that it’ll-never-happen-to-me naivety until the sudden realisation of vulnerability: ‘It’s always like this, till one day’ even though ‘You’ve done nothing wrong.’ The simplicity of the final lines perfectly captures that breathless blend of fear and relief: ‘and you’re walking / you just keep walking’.


Maria Taylor blogs at http://miskinataylor.blogspot.co.uk/


About the reviewer
Karen Powell lives and works in Leicester. Her poetry has been published in Welcome to Leicester, soundswrite 2015, and various magazines including The Interpreter’s House, Ink Sweat & Tears and The Lake. http://karenpowellnotebook.wordpress.com/