I went to a talk recently, organised by the Battersea Society, about an unlikely pair of spinster sisters, Ida and Louise Cook, who helped at least 29 Jewish people escape Nazi Germany before the outbreak of the Second World War. The invited speaker was Louise Carpenter. She'd researched the sisters for a potential biography but …
Author: Hilaire
I am a writer of poetry and prose. I was born and brought up in Melbourne but have lived in London most of my adult life.
2016 reading analysis
Nick and I often discuss what we're reading and I'll usually mention when I've finished a book. Recently I realised that he's been keeping a note of what we've read and the date each book was finished for several years (those innocent queries: When did you finish it? What's the name of the publisher?). As …
before dawn
I woke before dawn and couldn't get back to sleep. So I got up, made myself a cup of tea and sat on the window ledge in the studio with a blank sheet of paper and my pen. I wrote whatever came into my mind - which was mostly those things which were already in …
hip hip
Two of my poems appeared in print this week, a lovely boost as I'm in a bit of a writing lull at the moment. One poem is published in Brittle Star issue 39. I really like the mix of poetry, short fiction and articles in Brittle Star, and the magazine is nicely compact and handsomely …
writing ‘not yet Eden’
not yet Eden is the title of the poem I wrote for Lucy Cash's film A Song for Nine Elms. I explained how I got involved in Lucy's film in my last blog post. Lucy had asked me if I could write something that was, loosely, from the roof garden's point of view. I wanted …
reflecting on A Song for Nine Elms
We had a busy Saturday in the Doddington & Rollo Community Roof Garden recently. A shared harvest lunch, followed by an inspiring and practical workshop, Growing Edible Plants in the City, led by Sue Sheehan of Incredible Edible. And then, in the community centre downstairs, the first screening of the film A Song for Nine …
overdue debut
Last Saturday I braved the downpour and headed up to Kings Cross for a special evening at SLAM - the launch of four Green Bottle Press pamphlets. I'll declare my bias at the outset.* I was there for one poet - Claire Booker - and this post is mostly about her pamphlet Later there will be …
autumn makeover
Don't panic!* I've finally bitten the bullet and revamped the look of my blog. It's been on my mental 'to do' list for ages. My top 'want' was a larger and more readable font. I've gone for a similar layout and taken the opportunity to change the header image - something I may do more …
strung
On Wednesday afternoon I witnessed a thought-provoking performance, strung. It took place in the grounds of Bethlem Royal Hospital, and tied in with the opening of the Bethlem Gallery's Reclaiming Asylum exhibition. strung was devised by artists Jane Fradgley and Shane Waltener and performed by dancer Laura Glaser and sound artist Zoë Gilmour. A video …
Hilaire 