No Birds or Flowers

I never knew poetry could be so diverse.

With collages and darkness accompanying Simon Perril's poetry, Tom Raworth's quick-fire delivery and music box and John James' colloquial style, it was clear there would be no talk of birds and flowers or beautiful maidens at this event.

I always thought poetry was supposed to be pretty and say nothing much. However, throughout the week of Cultural eXchanges, I have realised that poetry can be about everything and anything - even the development of cameras or eating a slice of soda bread.

Leigh Connelly

Well worth their Salt

Wow! The Salt Night at DMU's Cultural eXchange week showcased three very diverse poets, their work available through Salt Publishing. The contrast between the poet's styles was fascinating, yet I really felt their mutual respect and camaraderie.

John James cut a debonair figure in black, and read predominantly from his Collected Poems. I enjoyed the conversational feel of his poetry, and wide-ranging subject matter.

Tom Raworth is known for the speed of his delivery. Well, that doesn't really do justice to the sheer power of long passages read as if firing wave upon wave of bullets. I particularly enjoyed the poem in response to the Iraq war. Shock and awe, indeed.

DMU's own Simon Perril lowered the lights, and soothed us with readings from his new collection Nitrate. Simon demonstrated his technological prowess (!) by reading selected poems against a backdrop of thought-provoking collage images, representing the transition from still photography to moving pictures in the early part of the 20th Century.

Tom's final poem was one of my highlights though, as he gently turned the punched-out phrase 'Nothing in Leicester' through a small, metal musical player. Such a simple yet beautiful sound, confirming my opinion poetry is not always just about the words.


Sally Jack

Salt of the Earth

Salt has historically been linked to money; past empires have been built on the back of the salt trade.

Salt Publishing needs our money. Co-founder, Chris Hamilton-Emery spoke candidly about the financial troubles of his company, yet he has lost none of his passion for publishing literature by both new and established writers.

The company enjoyed a boom period thanks to Arts Council funding, however, when they needed it most, the funds dried up. In 2009, just to rub salt in the wound, the company faced bankruptcy (I must stop making salt puns).

A campaign on Facebook rapidly spread the word, raising £30,000 and saving the company from ruin.

Chris told us some hard and sobering facts: out of every 1,000 books published by Bloomsbury, only 6 make money, more bookstores will disappear from the high street thanks to the recession, and the Arts Council's own funding has been cut.

However, the world will always need writers; it is how work is published that is changing. As technology develops, publishing must and will adapt, with more of a focus on self and community publishing projects.

I found this talk inspiring; times are hard yet Chris and his team work relentlessly to keep the company going, for the love of books and writing.

If we all buy Just One Book, we can help save them. Please visit their website.


Sally Jack

Don't Stop Believing

Attending Chris Hamilton-Emery’s talk about Salt Publishing’s 10 years in the business made me realise that I should never stop believing. Faith is what makes you carry on and the end result is all worth it.

Chris is a wonderful chirpy person, full of laughter and charisma. He talked candidly about the problems he faced with being a publisher which included a ton of financial difficulties such as being in debt and receiving no support.

His story was quite sad and, even though at times I felt that any person would have given up after being knocked down, he gave me a sense of belief that if you believe in something so passionately you should take the risks involved and keep on fighting as he did.

His story does not have a happy ending as he will encounter problems such as the internet taking over, eBooks and the closure of some major bookshops because of the recession. I don’t think it will worry him that much as he has overcome issues time after time. I know he will carry on battling.


M. Khalifa

Happy 10th Birthday, Salt ... I hope

I wasn’t sure what to expect when I turned up for the Salt 10th Anniversary Talk by Chris Hamilton-Emery. I thought he might talk about how wonderful his company is and why I should try to get published by them.

It was actually a heart-warming speech about all of the troubles his publishing house has gone through since its beginning. Chris Hamilton-Emery was a very emotive speaker and I felt quite honoured that he was being so truthful with us about how hard the profession is.

He drew on his valuable experience to point out both the good and bad points of the industry, such as the Internet taking over book distribution to the point where publishers are on the verge of extinction. That definitely made me think about where these careers are heading. It's definitely very worrying for a bookshop wanderer like myself.

I feel truly touched by the story of his struggles and I may just have to go buy a book to keep him afloat…


Rachel Robson