Events

“When I walked into Castle Books for the first time some 7 years ago, it was like coming ‘home’! Something about the warm welcome, attention to detail, beautiful books packed into a small space with great care and discernment, and the immediate encouragement. ‘Certainly you can put up your poster here! But would you like to offer writing workshops here too? The lady that was offering them has just decided to move on.’

Francis and Scott both happened to be in the shop that afternoon. A memorable moment of magic and synchronicity, and there have been many since!

So I began running a monthly evening writing workshop, temporarily clearing the central table of books so that we could gather round with our pens and notebooks and write in response to prompts I would prepare. We would then share what we’d written, and there would be expressions of great joy and surprise at what we’d been able to produce, even when only writing in short bursts of five or ten minutes. The shop never charged me for using the venue, and I felt part of a community, dedicated to creating a space where anyone and everyone was welcome to come and share their passion for literature, in all its forms. A powerful sense of belonging and inspiration.

I later proposed a Sunday afternoon Open (no)Mic, where people could come and share their poems with others. The first ever Word Stir! took place in October 2019, and is still going strong! These gatherings have invited profound moments of connection, with some people saying they’d never before felt so heard and understood at an open mic event. We provide hot drinks with biscuits and cake and invite a headliner, a local poet whose work we want to share with others, who is paid by the shop to deliver a fifteen minute set of their poetry. This has often been the first time the poets we’ve chosen have headlined, and it has helped them to develop greater confidence both in their work and in performing it. People come in number (often around 10 to 20 people) some from as far as Exeter and Plymouth to attend these events, and there is always an abundance of appreciation both in person and on Facebook and Instagram, where people share photos and thank yous.

The pandemic presented new challenges, and it was no longer possible to host events at the shop. What could I do, I wondered, to stay in touch with our community and continue to provide encouragement to local poets during this time? Another proposal – a weekly poem in the window! The first poem went up in September 2020, and it’s been such a joy! I often pass by and see people standing outside the shop to read the latest offering. I’ve been stopped in the street occasionally by those who have wanted to tell me that reading those poems (both in the window, and when I share them on Facebook too) has inspired them to take up writing again! Other times volunteers in the shop have themselves commented on how much they’ve enjoyed a particular poem, and have even occasionally shared one of their own in the window! The intention is to collate these poems (there are now around 75 that have been shared!) and publish a book, so watch this space!

I am very grateful to Castle Books for its commitment to supporting the local poetry scene through these projects, and personally for their support and encouragement of me myself as a writer and facilitator. It feels like a home for that tender part of me that wants to believe in a better world, a place where I know I can always go for an interesting conversation, a genuine belly laugh, to share ideas and dreams and to browse the very best collection of secondhand books you’ve ever seen!”

Harula Ladd, 2023