Do lyrics have literary value? The theme for our June members’ evening was ‘Do lyrics have literary value?’ That’s the question many asked after Bob Dylan was named the winner of the Nobel Prize in Literature in 2016. He was receiving the same award previously given to literary greats like T S Eliot, Gabriel Marquez and SamuelContinue reading “Members’ Evening-Do lyrics have literary value?”
Tag Archives: Poetry
Members’ Evening – All at sea
The theme for our March members’ evening was ‘All at sea.’ Whether it’s the inspiration for lyrical description, or dramatic encounters, whether purely literal, or also metaphorical, the sea in all its moods has always been a huge source of inspiration for writers and finds its way into all literary forms. Over the years LitSocContinue reading “Members’ Evening – All at sea”
Sylvia Plath – Selected Poems
My talk focussed on nine poems by Sylvia Plath, chosen to give some sense of her variety of theme, mood and poetic style. I mainly went for poems that I thought were somewhat more accessible than others – which isn’t to say that any of them are straightforward! The first poem of the evening wasContinue reading “Sylvia Plath – Selected Poems”
Food, Glorious Food
Food, Glorious Food: Christmas members’ evening Our usual Christmas members’ evening this year was on the theme of ‘Food, Glorious Food.’ Penny organised our Menu du Jour for the evening with a mix of prose and poetry, serious and light-hearted pieces – some delicious sounding, and others not! The full menu was as follows… AperitifContinue reading “Food, Glorious Food”
Humorous Poetry
Members’ Evening on Humorous Poetry following the AGM on 5/6/23. Humorous Poetry What I’ve discovered while preparing for this evening – unsurprisingly perhaps – is that not all ‘humorous’ or ‘comic’ poems are particularly funny! Humour is clearly in the ear of the beholder…. One man’s belly laugh is another man’s faint smirk. Can one assumeContinue reading “Humorous Poetry”
Christmas Members’ Evening, 2022
In December, we held our usual Christmas members’ evening. While we had expected to have this in the Hall (accompanied by light refreshments), heavy snow meant we unfortunately had to revert to Zoom. Nonetheless, we had a thoroughly enjoyable evening with nearly twenty of us joining in from the warmth and comfort of our homes.Continue reading “Christmas Members’ Evening, 2022”
The Sonnet
To kick off the 2022-23 season, we had an evening on The Sonnet. We started by listening to a BBC podcast in which Melvyn Bragg and others discussed ‘What is it about the Sonnet that has inspired poets to bind themselves by its strictures? (see: https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p00547gy). Several members had brought along their personal choice ofContinue reading “The Sonnet”
An evening with Glyn Maxwell
Celebrated local poet and playwright Glyn Maxwell gave a special presentation to the Welwyn Garden City Literary Society on 9 May. Glyn has said that ”It matters where you come from”. It was therefore fitting that he should be addressing a body that was founded in 1957 and is one of the Garden City’s longestContinue reading “An evening with Glyn Maxwell”
New Poetry
Members’ Evenings are an important component of our annual Literary Society seasons.They are usually organised around a specific theme and are curated by individual members. At the heart of the Literary Society is the desire to share reading experiences. We all want to find that new author, that title that we had overlooked. Above all,Continue reading “New Poetry”
Welwyn Garden Literary Society 