The Poet & The Echo Book Launch

We are thrilled to be celebrating the book launch of co-authored short story collection The Poet & the Echo with five of its contributors - Hannah Lavery, Leila Aboulela, Jessie Greengrass, Pippa Goldschmidt and PK Lynch! Each of the ten stories in this brilliant book has been written as a response from a contemporary writer to a favourite verse of theirs. In The Poet & The Echo, Jenni Fagan has composed a beautiful tale inspired by Anne Finch, Jessie Greengrass by Christopher Smart, Leila Aboulela by Rumi, David Almond by Robert Louis Stevenson…

From the majesty of the Scottish highlands to the lakeside gardens of an Italian palace, from a secondary school under inspection to a spa-break from care work, this array of lyrical stories convey us across ten fictional worlds, to ask the most intimate questions; how do we balance love and duty? How do we manage in the face of family secrets? When we change while others don’t? When loved ones are taken from us by old age, by mental illness and even by force?

Ranging across centuries and continents, these beautiful stories show the united wealth of our common humanity, a reminder that love and hope spring in the unlikeliest of places.

We hope you can join us for what promises to be a fascinating event celebrating old and new writing!