SUMMER EVENING OF POETRY IN RUSTHALL Friday, 4th July St Paul’s Church Centre
The Kent and Sussex Poetry Society had a fantastic line up of poets to read and speak about their work in a special free event held in the heart of the village.
The event, which was part of the celebrations of St Paul’s 175th anniversary, featured Rusthall’s very own acclaimed poet, Jess Mookherjee, along with writer, performer and poet David Smith from Tunbridge Wells, prize nominated poet Mims Sully, and Tunbridge Wells born Susan Wicks, who's first book "Singing Under Water", won the Aldeburgh Poetry Festival Prize.
Poetry is enjoying a real renaissance, with work regularly commissioned for national events and even used in mainstream advertising. The Kent and Sussex Poetry Society was founded in 1946 by Vita Sackville-West, the famous writer and gardener who created the beautiful grounds at Sissinghurst Castle in Kent and was twice winner of The Hawthornden Prize, one of Britain’s oldest literary awards.
The group is still going strong today with many published poets alongside others who simply enjoy poetry. They have members not only across the southeast but also have followers as far flung as a sheep farm in Australia!
The evening included Open Mic opportunities for members of the community to share their own poetry. You can read all about the evening and enjoy many of the poems featured in the September issue of our Parish Magazine.
Performers
Mims Sully is a Pushcart Prize and Best of the Net nominated poet. Her mother and partner both grew up in Tunbridge Wells, her grandfather taught English at Skinner's school and her parents retired here. Mims moved to the area to care for her mother who had dementia; an experience which has inspired much of her poetry. She is hoping to relocate to Toad Rock in Rusthall soon, to be closer to family.
Jessica Mookherjee is a poet of Bengali heritage. She was brought up in Mumbles, Wales. She spent many years London before moving to Rusthall. She has worked in Public Health for over 20 years and has a background in psychology and biological anthropology and socio-ecology. Her book Tigress (Nine Arches Press) was shortlisted as best second collection in the Ledbury Munthe Prize in 2021. Her book Notes from a Shipwreck was published by Nine Arches Press in 2022. In 2023 Broken Sleep Books published her long London poem, Desire Lines. Jessica is a board member of the Poetry Society and a Co-Editor of Against the Grain Poetry Press.
David Smith is a writer, poet and performer who, with the exception of a disastrous year in Australia has never wandered too far from his hometown of Tunbridge Wells. David writes serious poetry that is tinged with humour, and humorous poetry that can pack a serious punch. It is sometimes difficult to tell the difference. While largely shying away from publication in favour of live performance, he has been a regular contributor to the Kent and Sussex Poetry Society’s annual Folio for well over a decade. As a performer of spoken word and comedy he has graced the stages of festivals, fringe events, poetry slams and other community projects, including live and recorded appearances for BBC Radio. He also served on the committee of the Tunbridge Wells Poetry Festival throughout its active years, coordinating many of the festival’s live events with long-term collaborator Peppy Scott.
Susan Wicks was born in Tunbridge Wells and grew up in Kent. She has published eight collections of poetry, three novels and a short memoir, Driving My Father (Faber, 1997) and translated two books by the French poet, Valérie Rouzeau. Her first book, Singing Underwater (Faber, 1992) won the Aldeburgh Poetry Festival Prize. More recent awards have included a Cholmondeley in 2023. Her latest book, centred on the St. John’s area of Tunbridge Wells, is Dear Crane (Bloodaxe, 2021).