If I'm honest, I only knew of Mike Gayle prior to last night. I listened to them all speak about books, their passion for reading as well as writing and about their lives generally. I was impressed by them all but RJ Ellory really struck a chord. Not backwards in coming forwards he commandeered the stage and not only talked about books and authors but also put across his ideas as to why the education system was failing. I have to say some of the things may have been controversial but on the whole I agreed with him entirely.
The session was just short of two hours and was entertaining, thought provoking and funny. As we left we had the chance to lay our hands on some of the free books. I had a copy of Seamus Heaney's poems and David Mitchell's Cloud Atlas.
We left the theatre and headed for the library proper for the second part of the evening. Storytelling, poetry and a book reading in front of Birmingham's Central Library. As it was chilly it was moved into the foyer.
First up was Katrice Horsley, a storyteller. She was very charismatic and completely absorbed you into the story. Next up was Matt Windle, former Birmingham Young Poet Laureate, who recited 3 or 4 poems. I really enjoyed his stuff and though he probably wouldn't thank me for it, his work reminded me of that of The Streets' Mike Skinner. Paul McDonald read a passage from his book, Kiss Me Softly Amy Turtle. Again, I really enjoyed this. The final act was Birmingham Poet Laureate, Roy McFarlane. He read 4 poems and although I could appreciate the verse I did not connect with the themes.
All in all a good night. I learnt a few things, met some nice people and came away with some free books.
Below are a couple of links to the sites of some of the people involved.
RJ Ellory
Matt Windle
Mike Gayle
