Dear Blogger
Message forwarded by Ingrid Knowles, Oswestry net
Farmotherlands – an evening of poetry, community, farming, nature and music
2nd April 2025, 7.00pm (doors 6.15pm) at The Holroyd Community Theatre, Oswestry, SY10 7SZ
With Julie for the evening are Ian and Stef from Treflach Farm, Casha and Barbara from Babbinswood Farm and Tom Adams, known locally as Tom the Apple man.
Accompanying them will be Vera Van Heeringen and Jock Tydesley with their unique blend of Cajun and Appalachian tunes.
Farmotherlands (Hedgehog Press) is Julie's debut poetry collection which has already won a number of awards: Winner of The Bournemouth Poetry Prize 2024, finalist in the London Independent Story and Poetry Prize, finalist in The Cinnamon Press Best New Voices of 2024 pamphlet and 2024 Best Pamphlet competitions, Shortlisted for the Bridport Poetry Prize and the Mslexia Poetry Prize and longlisted for the Canterbury Poetry Prize).
The collection draws on Julie's memories of time on her family's farms and spent wandering the tracks and fields of the Welsh Marches and beyond. The poems explore love, loss, the passing of time and the seasons of life, connecting our own impermanence with the larger cycles of nature. Farmotherlands invites us to rediscover our connection with nature so that we can stand as guardians in it.
'Inventive, vibrant and tender' - Dr Shanta Everington (Author and Creative Writing Researcher)
'At once autobiographically rooted in place, and acutely aware of the ecological crisis wrought by modernity, these poems challenge the reader as much as they celebrate rural life' - Sarah Law (editor of the Amethyst Review, poet)
'These compassionate poems sing of love for the land, and fierce respect for all flora and fauna.' - Clare Best (poet, memoirist, collaborative artist)
Treflach Farm (featured on the TV series Born Mucky), Babbinswood (farm and community benefit society) and Tom (featured on BBC's Gardener's World) will join Julie in conversation about everything from permaculture, regenerative and organic farming to soil and human health, local food production and the need for diversification.
Jock and Vera will be joining us on their guitars and banjos with folk and Cajun music.
Ticket price includes a signed copy of Farmotherlands, but does not include purchases from the farms, the musicians or the bar.
Event Timings
6.15pm – doors open for a chance to buy fresh produce from the local farms and to find out about some of the courses and events they offer.
7pm – Poetry reading with conversation including audience Q and A
8pm – book signing, music from Jock and Vera and another chance to connect with the local producers. Jock and Vera will also have tour details and CDs available
Tickets £18 including book, talks and music – bring extra money for the bar and to buy fresh local produce!
Or buy tickets at Booka Bookshop Oswestry
