Memoir
Renewal
We present an extract from RC Birchley’s Portsmouth-focused walks book Jagged Edges: A Search for Space in an Island City. Here Birchley focuses on walking in late winter, when new signs of life are starting [… read more ]
Portsmouth writing scene
Poetry
Poem: Mr and Mrs Portsmouth (after Mr and Mrs Scotland are Dead by Kathleen Jamie)
By Margaret Jennings Mr and Mrs Portsmouth are kirtled by the sea proud of their ironclad links to Nelson and Victory, Looking down on their sister, Gosport. Dismissive of the Scummers. Mr and [… read more ]
Culture
‘Ladies, Jellybeans and Non-Binary Sweets’: Inside Open Ya Mouth! by Trash Arts
On a cold and quiet Monday evening, Paul Beresford found himself in Portsmouth’s iconic Wedgewood Rooms, watching Open Ya Mouth, an open-mic event hosted by local creative group Trash Arts. He spoke with Omar Mahmood [… read more ]
Culture
Portsmouth Bookfest Interview with Helen Salsbury, author of Sometimes When I Sleep
Loree Westron interviews author and S&C Community Reporter Helen Salsbury about her debut novel, a contemporary coming-of-age story influenced by Victorian Gothic literature. Loree Westron (LW): I’ve known you for a number of years, Helen, [… read more ]
Fiction
Maybe Margate: A Story of Refugees and Humanity
In light of the recent tragedy in the English Channel, local novelist and S&C Community Reporter Helen Salsbury presents a short story reacting to the treatment of refugees and asylum seekers in this country. It [… read more ]
Culture
Coming out as an Author: Why Portsmouth’s Writing Community Rocks!
Helen Salsbury, whose debut novel Sometimes When I Sleep was recently launched, reflects on the publication journey and the joy of friends. I’m an introvert. These days, you’re allowed to stand up and say it [… read more ]
Poetry
Shades of You
By Philip Wilson Pencil sharpness Creates a likeness Of you, not by its pointed tip But by its story it brings to our lips Profile pictures Are now accepted fixtures In society They give [… read more ]
Fiction
The Entertaining Angel
By Sue Harper Sarah kept seeing something out of the corner of her eye. It was almost there when she looked aslant, and then it disappeared when she tried to look at it head-on. It [… read more ]
Culture
Lockdown Novelist: How I Finished My Book in a Pandemic
Christine Lawrence describes finishing her novel, which had not been touched for a year, while in lockdown, and how she managed to write over 87,000 words during the pandemic. I sit and stare into the [… read more ]
Culture
Words That Work: Using Poetry to Work With People
Maggie Sawkins writes about her experience of using poetry to work with a local group open to anyone battling with substance misuse, mental ill health and/or homelessness, which runs on Saturdays at Central Library. Biblio-Poetry [… read more ]