A Leap in the Dark: Saturday 30th May

A Leap in the Dark 18    8pm Saturday 30th May 2020

A focus on fiction this evening, with book talk and readings from Claire Allen, whose debut novel The Blackbird is published by Henningham Family Press. We’ll hear from Kevin Boniface, Heidi James and Kevin Duffy. There will be some fine poetry from Phil Hancock, reading from his debut collection City Works Dept. And David Henningham will sing two songs from An Unknown Soldier, the Henninghams’ ambitious collaborative artwork commemorating the dead of the Great War. 

There's no charge for taking part in A Leap in the Dark, but please make a donation, no matter how large, to The Trussell Trust.

The Programme

1 The Pale Usher welcomes you

2 Claire Allen on her new novel ‘The Blackbird’ with the Henninghams

3 Letter from Huddersfield with Kevin Boniface 

4 Poetry from Philip Hancock

Interval 

5 David Henningham on ‘An Unknown Soldier’, with two songs: ‘Hymn for the 

  Two Boat Service’ and ‘At Roneo Works’

6 The Settee Salon with Heidi James and Kevin Duffy

7 Philip Hancock reads again

9 The Pale Usher signs off with news of an 'open mic' night

The Company

Claire Allen grew up in Liverpool and lives in London. She teaches English literature and creative writing at City Lit. Her first two novels, The Mountain of Light (2004) and Protection (2006), were published by Headline Review. Her books have been translated into French and Greek.

Kevin Boniface is an artist, writer and postman based in Huddersfield, West Yorkshire. Over the years his work has taken the form of zines, exhibitions, artists’ books, short films and live performances. He is the author of Round About Town, published by Uniformbooks. kevinboniface.co.uk 

Kevin Duffy runs Bluemoose Books is an independent publisher based in Hebden Bridge, West Yorkshire. Kevin and Hetha Duffy re-mortgaged their house to start Bluemoose in 2006 and are today among the leading indie publishers in Britain.  

http://bluemoosebooks.com

Philip Hancock’s collection City Works Dept. appeared from CB editions in 2018. His debut pamphlet Hearing Ourselves Think (Smiths Knoll, 2009) was a Guardian Book of the Year. A second pamphlet Just Help Yourself (Smiths Knoll) appeared in 2016. Jelly Baby, a film-poem, screened at various short film festivals and was published by Areté.

David and Ping Henningham are co-founders of Henningham Family Press, a microbrewery for books since 2006. They publish fiction and poetry. Their handmade editions can be found in the V&A, Tate, National Galleries Scotland and Stanford University. Their Performance Publishing shows compress the creation of printed matter into hectic live events.

Heidi James is the author of So the Doves, Wounding and The Mesmerist's Daughter. Her novel forthcoming novel, The Sound Mirror, will be published by Bluemoose Books in August 2020.

The Pale Usher is David Collard, who organises these gigs.

The pale Usher—threadbare in coat, heart, body, and brain; I see him now. He was ever dusting his old lexicons and grammars, with a queer handkerchief, mockingly embellished with all the gay flags of all the known nations of the world. He loved to dust his old grammars; it somehow mildly reminded him of his mortality.

                                                         Moby-Dick by Herman Melville

Our next Leap in the Dark on Friday 5th June features 

- Canto XII of Spring Journal by Jonathan Gibbs, read by Michael Hughes

- Letter from Dinan by Susanna Crossman

- Dust off your chakras for a Yoga session with David 'Guru Dave' Holzer

- Dirty martinis with the Pale Usher

Please remember to make a donation to The Trussell Trust (or your local equivalent)

Stay well!

The Pale Usher