Humber Haddock
Keeps its eyes open for news and gossip
Wednesday, 14 November 2001
Literature Festival audiences make a fascinating study. The success of the Humber Mouth Festival can be measured partly by the variety of audiences it attracts. Few events attract the same audience, which indicates that, although audience size for individual events may vary, there are a lot of people out there who are interested in the range of opportunities provided by the Festival programme. David Porter, promoter of the J night series of jazz events, has been successful in developing new audiences for contemporary jazz. This was evident on Sunday night, when the audience for The African All Stars seemed significantly different from the established contemporary jazz audience in Hull.
As a result of a New Audiences grant, Porter has been developing strategies for encouraging a new generation of jazz lovers. These strategies include offering cheap stand-by tickets for jazz events, as well as running workshops at the Albemarle Centre, in collaboration with the Hull Music Support Service. The outcomes are tangible and should help to breathe new life into the appetite for contemporary jazz in Hull.
Thursday, 8 November 2001
LAUNCH OF THE HULL LITERATURE FESTIVAL 2001
Recipe for Lit. Launch
White wine (lots )
Red wine ( lots )
One City Arts Officer
One well known local author
A sprinkling of local Arts practitioners
Music
Spice to be added as required.
Mix well then marinate for an hour and a half. Dust with snow.
Hull Connections
Writers Daphne Glazer, Valerie Woods and Jean Hartley. Daphne has been instrumental in developing the talents of many local writers. Valerie Wood's highly successful writing career began in Daphne's creative writing classes (as did the rather less high profile careers of the Double Vision critics!). Jean Hartley, who taught Val A level, is the author of 'Philip Larkin, The Marvell Press and Me' .
Playwright Barrie Wheatley and friends. Barrie's play about acclaimed local writer Dan Billany is performed on Wednesday 14 and Thursday 15 November at Wyke College (see Festival programme for details).
Rita's Big Idea!
By a triumph of organisational wizardry, Rita Muth's labours should produce a literature festival and a baby at about the same time. Could this become a performance piece? Presumably the baby's name will include the words Humber and Mouth!
Stand-up routine for Paul Holloway, City Arts Officer, introducing the Hull Literature Festival 2001
31 October 2001
Paul Burkitt, vicar of St. Mary's, Lowgate, came to chat to us at the African Visions reading at Hull Truck. St Mary's is hosting an installation by artist John Cooper for the duration of the festival. John had initially intended to make the installation in one of the cemeteries in the city, but, as permission was not forthcoming, arranged with Paul to use St. Mary's churchyard. The installation, called Sacred Text, will explore responses to grief, both on an individual and collective level and will grow 'organically' throughout the festival.
Open workshops will be held on Saturday 10th and Saturday 17th November between 2pm and 4pm (see Humber Mouth programme for more details). Paul Burkitt is the Arts Chaplain for East Yorkshire, serving an area which extends as far north as Scarborough. He organises events, facilitates workshops and generally explores the links between the arts, values, beliefs and theology. How many areas of the country have Arts Chaplains, we wonder?
28 October 2001
The first time I came across Peter Knaggs was at Tom Courtney's reading of 'Dear Tom' at Waterstones. This was a rather strange event anyway, as Tom got somewhat tired and emotional and had several sob breaks during the reading, mostly when he mentioned his mother. At the time, I thought Peter was irritatingly vague and ineffectual as a master of ceremonies. However, at the Dan Fante event at The Sailmakers, I realised I had probably been uncharitably hasty in my judgement. His endearingly hesitant introduction portrayed him as vulnerable and ingenuous, and I now suspect he may be a master of the constructed image. I bet that, at his own readings, he is Superman personified!