TICKETS are selling fast for a nationally-important Edward Thomas event this year being held in Petersfield in the centenary of the Steep poet’s death.
Annually, The Edward Thomas Fellowship holds a study day devoted to the life and work of Thomas, with lectures and readings from eminent poets, authors and experts.
And on Saturday, June 10, St Peter’s Church will host this special day, being organised with Petersfield Museum, with 170 Thomas enthusiasts already booked to attend.
Key note speakers include Petersfield-based children’s writer Michelle Magorian, and there are talks on ‘Edward Thomas and Early Twentieth-Century Print Culture’, ‘Edward Thomas and the Arts and Crafts Movement’, ‘Edward Thomas and Steep’, and ‘Thomas’ Path to Poetry, Frost, Steep, and His Path to War’, among others.
The day ends with, at 3.30pm, a few words from the family of Tim Wilton-Steer, whose collection of 1,800 books, letters and pictures of and about Thomas, allowed the new study centre dedicated to the poet to be set up at the revamped town museum.
The inauguration of the Edward Thomas Study Centre will follow at 3.45pm, followed by afternoon tea at St Peter’s Hall.
Tickets are £25 and £20 for non-members of The Edward Thomas Fellowship, and £15 and £10 for students and 18 to 25 year olds. This includes tea and coffee and a visit to the museum. For members, the cost is £20 to include a picnic lunch, and £15 without lunch.
The full programme and booking form can be found at www.edward-thomas-felllowship.org.uk, and at the museum.
A talk entitled ‘Writing for a living:?Edward Thomas’ Poetic Prose’ is to be given on Thursday, May 18, at 7pm, at Petersfield Museum.
Julia Mayo will give an insight into how marriage, fatherhood and the need to write in pursuit of a living tumbled in upon Thomas immediately after graduation, yet heart-felt attachment to the South Downs led to his earliest poetic writing.
Tickets £5, refreshments provided. Call 01730 262601.