The Department of English and Creative Writing at the University of Chichester will be hosting the first event of Chichester Literati (Chic Lit) on National Poetry Day.
The new society offers a forum for everyone with an interest in literature, creative writing and the visual arts. Featuring writers and artists both past and present, it will highlight Chichester’s rich and diverse artistic heritage and its thriving contemporary culture.
To coincide with National Poetry Day on 7 October, Chic Lit presents its launch event, Chichester’s Best Kept Secret: An Evening with Ted Walker.
An award winning poet who died in 2004, Ted Walker was educated at Steyning Grammar School and Cambridge University. He became a major figure in the literary world of the 1960s and 1970s, his poetry regularly appearing alongside that of Ted Hughes, Sylvia Plath and Philip Larkin. With the publication of his two autobiographies and his travel guide to Spain, Walker was recognised as one of the outstanding writers of his generation. Born in Lancing, he lived for most of his professional life in the village of Eastergate before retiring to Spain in the 1990s. He is buried in the Parish Church of St George at Eastergate with his first wife, Lorna.
The evening of readings, talks and reminiscences on 7 October begins at 6.30pm at the University’s Bishop Otter Campus in Chichester. It will accompany the launch of a new selection of Walker’s poetry, Minting the Sun, edited and introduced by the University’s Head of English and Creative Writing, Dr Diana Barsham. The book features poems dealing with family life, the natural world and the land and seascapes of Walker’s native West Sussex.
Anyone who knew Ted Walker or has recollections of him and would like to contribute to this evening in any way is asked to contact Dr Diana Barsham on email at d.barsham@chi.ac.uk or on 01243 816456.
The event will be followed by a short business meeting to establish the constitution of Chic Lit. Forthcoming events include a one-day Shakespeare Conference (29 October), Michael Holroyd talking about writing family memoirs (17 November) and Prof Richard Coates on the Traditional Dialect of Sussex (26 November). Creative Writing workshops will also be available.
For all further information, please contact Lorna Sargent l.sargent@chi.ac.uk 01243 816163.
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