Blake Morrison – Afterburn and On Memoir
22nd October @ 16:00 – 17:00
In Afterburn, Blake Morrison returns to poetry, his first calling, to offer scenes from his own life and the lives of others. In psychology, ‘afterburn’ refers to the time before a past event is assimilated – an idea that resonates through these poems (which themselves linger after reading) about memory and our attempts to articulate, shape or contain it.
Throughout the collection, not least in two extraordinary sequences – one about his sister, the other about Elizabeth Bishop – the poet sees with new eyes the turning points in a life’s accidental course. What holds his wise, touching, melancholy yet joyful poems together are the small intimacies that bind us to others, under time’s lengthening shadow: ‘you moved too fast for me to catch you / and so did the years.’
On Memoir is a gloriously freewheeling exploration of narrative non-fiction, its challenges, ethics and charms, and its power to move and change us. From AI to Ethics to Politics to Sex, there is something for every reader and writer in this gorgeous compendium. Gleaned from a lifetime as a passionate reader of others’ lives, as well as an unflinchingly honest chronicler of his own, Morrison’s A-Z is a treasure trove of thoughtful literary exploration, amusing observations, and fascinating finds.
Blake Morrison is a poet, novelist and journalist. His non-fiction books include And When Did You Last See Your Father?, which won the J. R. Ackerley Prize and the Esquire/Volvo/Waterstone’s Non-Fiction Book Award, As If , Things My Mother Never Told Me, and Two Sisters. His poetry includes the collections Dark Glasses, winner of a Somerset Maugham Award, and Shingle Street. He is a regular literary critic for the Guardian and the London Review of Books.
Tickets £14.00 (£10.00 Students)
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