New Moon

Taha and Alice

Taha Muhammad Ali gave a formidable reading from his book So What just launched by Bloodaxe Books at Aldeburgh.

Alice Oswald.

Aldeburgh, Suffolk

Spent a weekend at the 19th Aldeburgh Poetry Festival and it is a highlight of the poetry year. Aldeburgh lies on the coast of Suffolk in East Anglia.
This year the weather was gorgeous. Warm clear autumn days to wander down the pebble beach on the way to and from events.
A cuppa and a fresh baked scone at the ultimate tea room Cragg Sisters which is still there since 1949 with the original simple wood tables and chairs. I love that place and every visit to Aldeburgh I will go just for a moment of sanity and peace in all the intensity. The lady who served me recommended this chestnut honey from Tesco, no less! That and coffee, French roast, is the only things she buys there.
You can buy fresh fish straight off the shore from boats that have come in from a night or early morning fishing. This year I got some herring and eel.
Maggi Hamblings Scallop adorns the beach further up and walks in the marshes are so serene in weather like this.
Alice Oswald gave a very strong reading and the highlight of this year was hearing Taha Muhammad Ali with his translator Peter Cole. He received a standing ovation!
I heard that Polly Clark and Anne Stevenson and Gerald Stern also gave fantastic readings.
Seeing friends and poetry affecionados was also very nice. Connie Bensley, Penelope Shuttle, Paul Martin, Matthew Hollis and Simon Thirsk were all there too.
As always Naomi Jaffa is everywhere to be seen and always looking her best and never letting off any stress vibes! How does she do it? Naomi is a natural at this poetry event business.