Standing on One Leg, Reading – 15 April 2023

As the hailstones hammer on the glass roof of the Arcade, sounding not unlike applause as another customer makes the great decision to buy the new Max Porter, as the sun pours through the window a moment later setting Atalanta alight, as the winds batter our A-boards and sweep magnolia leaves across Clifton and clouds gather over Birnam Wood, the weather appears to be in the sort of frenzy worthy of National Poetry Month. As are we:

I have been posting a poem on our social media every morning. Which means that the first thing I do on waking is reach for Ocean Vuong or Mary Jean Chan or Eavan Boland. Not a bad way to start the day.
Today at 5pm, the poets Nina Parmenter and Sarah Hemings will be performing in the shop – do come along.
Next Friday we will be at the Bristol Poetry Institute’s Annual Reading armed with stacks of Denise Riley’s stunning work.

But poetry is perennial, not just for April: more events here.

Back in the world of prose, may we strongly recommend:

Fiction

Small Joys by Elvin James Mensah – an uplifting love story about how people can inspire happiness in each other, even if they do listen to Oasis.

Enter Ghost by Isabella Hammad – in the West Bank, rehearsals for a performance of Hamlet explore the complexities of life for the Palestinian players, culminating in a climactic performance interrupted by Israeli soldiers.

A House for Alice by Diana Evans – in the follow up to Ordinary People, three sisters plan what their future could look like as their mother decides to leave London for Nigeria and question their personal ideas of home in the course of a novel framed by the Grenfell Tower tragedy and all that that laid bare.

Non-fiction

A Good Appetite by Jenny Chandler – not only a mouth-watering recipe book from a favourite local food writer but also a guide to shopping sustainably and avoiding food waste. Come and meet Jenny on Sunday morning at the shop (11-12.30) and enjoy a delicious taster made with ingredients from Clifton’s Reg the Veg and Smaller Footprints.

Arrangements in Blue by Amy Key – how do you come to terms with living alone and unattached when your ideas of romance were shaped by Joni Mitchell? A memoir for all those who love Blue and those yet to discover it.

Constructing a Nervous System by Margo Jefferson – this construction pulls everything apart; Jefferson challenges authority and identity, engaging with artists, writers and her readers, to build a portrait of her mind.

Are You Judging Me Yet? by Kim Moore – following her exceptional poetry collection All the Men I Never Married, this essay collection examines the realities of being a woman, being a woman in a public space, being a woman performing poetry and asks what change poetry can achieve.

Children’s

Standing On One Leg Is Hard by Erika McGann, illustrated by Clive McFarland – the grace of a heron must be learnt: a heron chick tries to grasp the secret of perfect balance from her mother, an otter and a swan.

The Fossil Hunter by Kate Winter – a beautifully illustrated history of Mary Anning and how the fossils she found paved the way for modern palaeontology.

Jamie by L. D. Lapinski – a story of kindness and protest: when a group of friends find out that they will be separated after primary school into one school for boys and one for girls, the children question why and ask where their non-binary friend Jamie fits into this.

We look forward to seeing many of you at some or all of the events and to talking about *all* of the books soon.