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Friday Poem – ‘The Butterfly House’ by Kathryn Bevis

Blue Morphos butterfly resting against a sunlit windowpane

This week’s Friday Poem is ‘The Butterfly House’ by Kathryn Bevis from her highly anticipated debut collection. We’re hosting an online launch for The Butterfly House on Zoom on the 10th April. Details of how to register for the event are below.

The Butterfly House i.m. Ray Holloway Yours is the only death I’ve ever known. We sat with you for hours and stroked your hands. And though it was January — the pond a frozen oval — though each blade of grass had etched itself against the ground and each frail thing had hidden from the stalking frost, a butterfly flew to your window, sudden and strange, with wings that throbbed like a heart. The day we buried you, we saw another: crimson sails unfurled, its body putting out to sea. Today’s a pilgrimage. I rest in mist and heat. Red lacewings gather their silk skirts as I trace a swallowtail’s trembling pulse. Together, apart, together: a pair of blue morphos shiver like black-fringed scraps of sky. Clear as leaded panes, glasswings feast on nectar. They close themselves like hands that meet in prayer, then open up to cup the tropic air. Since my diagnosis, I see them every time I close my eyes. Their flaming wings. Their too short lives.
Join us for the virtual launch of The Butterfly House. Kathryn Bevis. Wednesday 10th April 7-8pm. Celebration publication of Kathryn's debut collection with guest readsers Dillion Jaxx and Jonathan Edwards. Online via Zoom with captions by Otter.ai.
Register to attend
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Friday Poem – ‘Meryl Streep is my therapist’ by Kathryn Gray

An Oscar award hidden behind clouds of coloured smoke

Ahead of the Oscars Award Ceremony this weekend, this week’s Friday Poem is ‘Meryl Streep is my therapist’ by Kathryn Gray from her collection Hollywood or Home.

Meryl Streep is my therapist I met a married man once, on a train. He was handsome. He had the kind of face that made me think of clean, smooth hands. I should add that in the end nothing really happened. I have done terrible things I will not own. The dingo took my baby! Bear with me. Men have left me. No Vietnam. They simply went. You must hear this sort of thing all the time. But. I have stood, hooded, on the jetty; the sea—the sea turned over my mind, roughly. I have been very ‘tired and emotional’. I cannot afford a rehab facility. There are not enough Key lime pies in this world for all the people who deserve them. In the face. Yes, this is heartburn. You might be onto something. O Michael! O Michael! O Michael! I worry that I’m all cliché. I like to fake accents with strangers. I suppose that tells you a lot. I suffer from Imposter Syndrome. Or maybe not. I had a farm—

Join us on Saturday 9th March from 1pm for our John Ormond Centenary event, taking place at the Glynn Vivian Gallery in Swansea. Kathryn Gray will be appearing alongside Rian Evans, Patrick McGuinness, Jess Mookherjee, Professor M. Wynn Thomas and Kieron Smith to discuss the life and work of Welsh poet and documentary maker John Ormond. Buy tickets in advance via Eventbrite.

John Ormond Centenary Celebration. Saturday 9th March 1-4pm. Glynn Vivian Art Gallery, Alexandra Road, Swansea, SA1 5DZ. General admission £5.50, Concession £3.50.
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Friday Poem – ‘Animal Wall’ by Taz Rahman

Photo of the stone lioness from Cardiff's iconic Animal Wall

In honour of St David’s Day, this week’s Friday Poem is part 1 of the long poem ‘Animal Wall’ by Taz Rahman from his debut collection East of the Sun, West of the Moon.

Animal Wall. A whimsical heron, sometimes a songbird, sometimes, in human form dips in and out of tales old and new, around Cardiff Castle; one spring, for the first time, the wandering soul feels a sense of belonging. I After the pews are cold after morning service after the loiterers are gone St. John sniffs the city stalls. Sprat and turbot at market’s gate figs and fennel in autumn mist waft of Cornwall Ten Feet Tall. Evening falls on red-cheeked Adam, Jamie, Annmarie who drink dry the skull of Glyndwr clutching their little red books. Old Owain under the cover in a mass brawl gawks at an oval eighty thousand growl. Here, I saw Gareth Edwards hands in pocket sniffing cinnamon walk pass the Christmas stall. ...

Join us on Thursday 14th March at g39 Gallery in Cardiff for the launch of East of the Sun, West of the Moon where Taz Rahman will be reading alongside Abigail Parry and Nasia Sarwar-Skuse. Doors will open 7pm for 7:30pm start. All welcome. Free to attend.

Book Launch. East of the Sun, West of the Moon. Taz Rahman. Thursday 14th March. Doors open 7pm for 7:30pm start. g39 Cardiff, CF24 3DT