Dear Barnes....
December 2011 - March 2012
Dear Barnes… is a new and exciting community anthology, which will be written entirely by local people to capture the spirit, identity and culture of Barnes between its pages. And in order to do this, we are asking people to write to us with their memories, stories or observations….by hand! Any style of writing is welcome, whether poetry, stories, stream of consciousness, letters, ditty’s or monologues – although the subject must be about Barnes. So if you are an aspiring author, a potential poet or a latent lyricist we would love to hear from you.
And to kick the project off we are celebrating our call for submissions with a Literary Tail through Barnes High Street on Sunday 18th December. Between 12-4pm we would be delighted if you would join us! Children can let their imaginations run wild at the Barnes Old Sorting Office, where Poet and DJ Charlie Dark will be on hand to help them write individual stories, memories or fantastical creations inspired by where they live. Rose House will be home for the day to poet in residence Hannah Walker, who welcomes visitors for drop in poetry sessions. We hope after you have visited her you will be inspired to write us a poem of your own about Barnes! Finally why not head down to basement of The Barnes Bookshop, where you can join Rachel Newsome in creating a giant, collective community poem. Also at the bookshop, on the hour between 1 - 3pm, you can share in the tradition of oral history, by coming and telling your own stories about the Barnes you know. All events on the day are free and booking is not necessary.
On Saturday 24 March, Dear Barnes... will celebrate the lauch of the Barnes Literary Anthology. Join us between 2-4pm for tea, live spoken word performance and activities for children at the Barnes Old Sorting Office. Come and celebrate local creativity and enjoy an afternoon of literary fun!
Dear Barnes… and The Barnes Literary Trail have been made possible by the generous funding of the Mayor’s Outer London Fund, which is dedicated to strengthening the vibrancy and growth of high streets and their environs.
Download the event poster
(pdf, 874KB) and flyer.(pdf, 1158KB)