The Waste Land community reading at Open Eye Gallery, 17 Nov 2022
This was a community performance of the modernist masterpiece, The Waste Land by T.S. Eliot in its hundredth year organised by Pauline Rowe with the permission of Faber and the support of Open Eye Gallery and all participants. All work was done on a voluntary basis or enabled through in-kind support.
Summary
Readers from across the Liverpool region came together to read Eliot’s masterpiece, to commemorate, and celebrate its centenary. This event was organised by Pauline Rowe, writer-associate with Open Eye Gallery. It was a beautiful evening with devised improvisational music from Graculus, aka Phil Hargreaves and Richard Harding, and a supportive audience.
Poets and local people shared their own work in response to Eliot’s themes in the first half of the evening; this included John Hughes reading R. L. Crawford’s scouse homage ‘The Scrap Heap.’ Other responsive readers were Elspeth McLean, Julia Price, Cristiana Steliana Mihailovici (who read work in Rumanian and English), Suzie S Wood, Brian Wharton, Liz Goodridge, Paula Frew, Flloyd Kennedy, Andrea Power, Ali Harwood, Margaret Ryan, Claire Beerjeraz, Cath Holland, Helen Tookey.
The Waste Land was read aloud by the following readers:
Claire Beerjeraz, Jack Bennett, Jane Eckford, Paula Frew, Liz Goodridge, Bronwen Harding, Ali Harwood, Cath Holland, Victoria Inyang-Talbot, Sheila Jones, Shirley Jones, Flloyd Kennedy, Barbara Murray, Anna Maria Parry, Andrea Power, Julia Price, Brenda Roberts, Pauline Rowe, Julie S, Cristiana Steliana Mihailovici, Helen Tookey, Brian Wharton, Suzie S Wood
Thanks to Wendy Smith, electro-acoustic composer, who carried out field-recordings of the rehearsal and event for research purposes.
The Waste Land by TS Eliot is © TS Eliot and was reused at this event with the permission of Faber & Faber Limited.
Music
Devised improvisational sets were provided by musicians Phil Hargreaves and Richard Harding to respond to the five sections of the poem. The whole event was recorded for research purposes by electro-acoustic composer Wendy Smith.
What Happened at the event?
The event opened at 4.30 pm and was finished by 8 pm.
We had 16 readers in the first part of the evening, and 25 readers of The Waste Land.
Before each part of the poem was read aloud Phil & Richard played a devised improvisational piece between 4 and 5 minutes in response to each part of the poem. The youngest reader was in her early 20s and the oldest reader was in her 80s. In addition to the readers, we had an audience of about 30.
Event Programme :The Waste Land, 17 Nov 2022
The Waste Land by TS Eliot is © TS Eliot and is reused at our event with the permission of Faber & Faber Limited.
4.30 pm Doors Open
4.45 pm Welcome: Pauline Rowe
4.55 pm Elspeth McLean
Instrumental
The Gramophone
5.00 pm Julia Price My Thoughts on T S Eliot
5.05 pm Cristiana Steliana Mihailovici
Ce te legeni? by Mihai Eminescu
Golden Vibes
Peace and Flowers
5.10 pm Suzie S Wood
5.15 pm Brian Wharton
5.20 pm Liz Goodridge
The Love Song of a Hard-Boiled Egg by Frank Goodridge
Waste Land Revisited by Gary Day
5.25 pm Paula Frew
The Fight
5.30 pm Flloyd Kennedy
5.40 pm Dave Ward & John Hughes
Selected readings from The Scrap Heap (The Waste Land in Scouse) by R.L. Crawford.
[Break]
6.00 pm Andrea Power Remains
6.05 pm Ali Harwood Ancient & Alive
6.10 pm Margaret Ryan
The Georgian Terrace
Healing Prayer
6.15 pm Claire Beerjeraz
6.25 pm Cath Holland Dance Where No One Watches
6.30 pm Helen Tookey
Reading from ‘In the Quaker Hotel’ (Carcanet, 2022)
6.50 pm
Part I: The Burial of the Dead Sermon
Music: Phil & Richard
Readers:
Paula Frew, Barbara Murray, Brenda Roberts,
Julia Price, Anna Maria Parry, Andrea Power,
Brian Wharton
Part II: A Game of Chess Sermon
Music: Phil & Richard
Readers:
Helen Tookey, Shirley Jones, Sheila Jones,
Suzie S Wood, Julia Price, Paula Frew,
Brian Wharton, Andrea Power
Part III: The Fire Sermon
Music: Phil & Richard
Readers:
Anna Maria Parry, Pauline Rowe, Cath Holland,
Claire Beerjeraz, Bronwen H, Flloyd Kennedy, Julie
Part IV: Death by Water
Music: Phil & Richard
Reader:
Jack Bennett
Part V: What the Thunder Said
Music: Phil & Richard
Readers:
Ali Harwood, Cristiana Steliana Mihailovici,
Jane Eckford, Liz Goodridge, Victoria Ekpo,
Anna Maria Parry, Brenda Roberts, Helen Tookey,
Claire Beerjeraz
8 pm Doors closed
Selected Biographies of Participants
Claire Beerjeraz is a Liverpool based free-lance Spoken Word Artist and Creative Psychotherapist. She has worked with the many local Liverpool organisations on multiple pieces of work, giving her the opportunity to perform at the Everyman Theatre, Hope Street Theatre and Tate Liverpool. Claire is passionate about combining therapy with expressive arts and works with a local charity as a Creative Children’s Psychological Therapist. She strives to use her creative mediums for activism, positive change, and healing. Socials: @Clairebeerjeraz
Jack Bennett is a Creative Writing MA student at Edge Hill University. He has work forthcoming with Broken Sleep Books.
Cath Holland has performed at, been published, or had work broadcast by: Chester Literature Festival, Liverpool Everyman, The Reader at Calderstones, Royal Society of Arts, Dead Ink Books, BBC Radio Merseyside, Mslexia Magazine, The Dark Outside, Bristol Flashwalk, Arachne Press, Fictive Dream, National Flash Fiction Day anthologies and more. She’s also appeared on BBC Radio 4 Woman’s Hour talking about her writing. Her work is concerned with class, feminism, grief, and the loneliness of the modern age.
Roger Crawford (author of The Scrap Heap) was a playwright for BBC Radio 4 and worked as a librarian for Liverpool City Libraries.
Jane Eckford has dedicated her career to public service and to the improvement of outcomes delivered by local government. She is now a charity trustee, leadership coach and carer. Jane is a newly published writer with Writing on The Wall and Smithdown Books and is currently working on her environmental poetry collection called ‘Trimlines’.
Paula Frew writes short stories and poetry and likes the writings of Flannery O’Connor and the poetry of Mary Oliver and Rumi. She dabbles with acrylic paints, walks, and swims when seeking inspiration. A bar of Green and Black’s chocolate helps too.
Elizabeth Goodridge studied English at Lancaster University; she is a student of Storytelling and organises a poetry group in Skelmersdale.
Bronwen H is a recent graduate of Liverpool John Moores University, with an MA in English Literature.
Richard Harding is a guitarist and composer. He has a PhD in composition from Liverpool Hope University, on the relationship of composers, performers, and the audience in the collaborative creation of musical meaning. His compositional interest is in the creation of loosely scored, semi-improvised pieces. Richard is part of the duo band Graculus with Phil Hargreaves. Recordings at: richardharding.bandcamp.com
Phil Hargreaves is a Liverpool-based instrumentalist and composer working in the field of improvised and experimental music. https://www.whi-music.co.uk/xphilharg.htm
Ali Harwood is an artist, poet, writer, and teacher. Ali’s poetry is published and performed widely. He enjoys being a guest poet and he hosts and organises Liver Bards – a popular monthly poetry night in Liverpool.
John Hughesis a poet and storyteller – undertaking nationwide performances for National Literary Trust.
Flloyd Kennedy is an Australian actor, singer-songwriter, poet and voice coach based in Liverpool. Her poetry collections Sunsets & Kites, Home is Where I Hang My Pot and It’s Only a Matter of Time are available from local and online booksellers, and her songs are available on Bandcamp. The podcast comedy-drama series Am I Old Yet? written and performed by Flloyd and friends is available on all major podcasting apps.
Elspeth McLean is a local poet, accordionist, and activist.
Barbara Murray is the Labour Councillor for Yew Tree Ward, Liverpool City Council.
Julia Price is a writer, artist and occasional actress and her written work has been published and art exhibited in various locations, including the Tate Gallery Liverpool. She’s a long-term sufferer with Endometriosis, crumbling bones, mental health problems and is currently in remission from cancer. She loves reading, writing, and creating.
Brenda Roberts is a member of the Red Brick Writers.
Pauline Rowe is a poet and writer. Her pamphlet – The Weight of Snow (Maytree Press) – won the 2021 Saboteur Award for best poetry pamphlet. She is a Royal Literary Fund Fellow at the University of Chester and Writer Associate with Open Eye Gallery. She her 2 poetry publications forthcoming with Maytree Press in 2023.
Wendy Smith is a sound artist and electroacoustic composer who specialises in acousmatic works and sound installations. Wendy’s work has been performed across the North West and has been featured on the radio, most recently on BBC Radio Merseyside’s ‘Folkscene’ programme. Wendy was a recent finalist for Liverpool City Region Culture & Creativity Impact Award for Health & Wellbeing (2021) for her immersive interactive audio-visual sound installation ‘dɪsˈlɛksɪə ˈɡeɪtweɪ (dyslexia gateway)’. Wendy will be making field recordings of ‘The Waste Land’ rehearsal and reading for research purposes and possible future use in an electroacoustic composition.
Recordings at: https://soundcloud.com/wendyeacomposer/tracks
Cristiana Steliana Mihailovici is a Doctor in Nautical Science and Engineering, passionate about shipping, nature, and the marine environment since her childhood. She was born in Romania. She is also an economist, a lecturer, a writer and a researcher, and advocate for education, culture, climate change and equal rights for everyone. She has written poems since she was 12 years old and was published in anthologies and cultural magazines, in three different languages around the world. Cristina also writes educational stories for children, her most recent is the educational story ‘Little Globy, the Recycling Superhero and the Plastic Ogre’, co-authored with her daughter Nicole Noelia Mihailovici.
Helen Tookey is a poet and writer based in Liverpool, where she teaches creative writing at Liverpool John Moores University. She has published three collections with Carcanet Press, most recently In the Quaker Hotel (2022).
Brian Wharton has crossed over to various genres over the years. Currently he is discovering the delights of poetry and enjoys reading it aloud.
Suzie S Wood contributes to anthologies and the local writing scene. She draws on experience in health and social work. She’s particularly interested in contributing to creative communities to change and reduce the stigma around mental health through poetry, prose; talking and challenging stereotyping. Suzie is currently working on projects to raise the profile of families journeying through dementia along with suicide and its prevention. For lighter relief she like to perform chucklesome work and usv
Burning Bright 