UNESCO WORLD BOOK DAY IN DURHAM - AND SHAKESPEARE'S BIRTHDAY!
THERE
WILL BE A SPECIAL UNESCO WORLD BOOK DAY EVENT IN THE LAKESIDE ROOM, VAN
MILDERT COLLEGE, DURHAM UNIVERSITY ON MONDAY 23RD APRIL AT 7PM TO
PROMOTE 'WORD SHARING', THE LITERARY ANTHOLOGY CELEBRATING THE 30TH
ANNIVERSARY OF THE LITERARY TWINNING BETWEEN DURHAM AND TUEBINGEN. THE
ANTHOLOGY HAS BEEN EDITED IN TUEBINGEN BY CAROLYN MURPHEY MELCHERS AND
MICHAEL RAFFEL AND IN DURHAM BY DOCTOR KEITH ARMSTRONG.
POETS FROM
DURHAM AND THE NORTH EAST WILL READ FROM THEIR POEMS IN THE ANTHOLOGY.
IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO COME ALONG AND READ FROM YOUR OWN CONTRIBUTION TO
THE BOOK, PLEASE FEEL FREE. FAMILY OR FRIENDS MIGHT ALSO LIKE TO RENDER
SOMETHING BY THE LATE JULIA DARLING, MICHAEL STANDEN AND ALAN C. BROWN.
KEITH
ARMSTRONG WILL PERFORM THE INTRODUCTIONS ON THE NIGHT AND LEAD THE
READINGS, ALONG WITH FELLOW CONTRIBUTORS KATRINA PORTEOUS, GARY MILLER
AND PAUL SUMMERS.
POET ROB WALTON ALSO CONTRIBUTES SOME OF HIS POETRY FOR WORLD BOOK DAY.
SPECIAL GUESTS WILL BE ANDREA MITTAG AND MATTHIAS KAISER FROM TUEBINGEN WHO WILL READ FROM THEIR OWN WORK.
THEY
ALSO APPEAR AT SEMINARS IN THE ENGLISH AND GERMAN DEPARTMENTS OF DURHAM
UNIVERSITY DURING THEIR STAY - AND WILL CELEBRATE SHAKESPEARE'S
BIRTHDAY WITH A DRINK IN THE SHAKESPEARE PUB!
THANKS TO THE KULTURAMT
IN TUEBINGEN FOR SUPPORTING THE ANTHOLOGY AND IN BRINGING OUR GUESTS
FROM TUEBINGEN TO DURHAM. THANKS TO DURHAM COUNTY COUNCIL FOR THEIR
SUPPORT TO DOCTOR KEITH ARMSTRONG IN ESTABLISHING THE LITERARY LINK IN
1987 AND FOR CONTINUED HELP OVER THE THIRTY YEARS.WORD SHARING PREFACE
People
meet, get to know one another, exchange views – and each time something
is left behind: a memory, a thought, a connection, an idea which can go
on to have a significant impact even many years later.
Twinning, or
city partnering, harnesses the very power of meetings to constantly
open up new possibilities for citizens to break down barriers. This was
why County Durham and the university town of Tübingen first became
partner communities in 1969. Many individuals care for and promote this
link, which brings together schools, experts, artists, musi-cians as
well as politicians. This is what twinning relationships are all about;
strong commitment on the part of people and associations who enjoy
tak-ing part in exchanges and which leave an unforgettable and long
lasting effect on them and their communities.
One individual in
particular stands out in this ongoing exchange be-tween Durham and
Tübingen; someone who has connected both places on a literary level for
not just a few years, but more than three decades – author, poet and
literary activist, Dr Keith Armstrong. Thanks to his commitment over the
past 30 years, more than 30 authors have found their way to their
respective partner regions to seek inspiration for their work.
On
the 30th anniversary of Keith Armstrong’s first visit to Tübingen in
1987, this publication seeks to serve as a testament to the strength of
the partnership, as well as acknowledging those who have taken part in
the project and as a chronicle of all their achievements. Twenty-two
authors have contributed their texts, bringing together multiple
generations and styles in this anthology which offers a vivid insight
into the literary creativ-ity of the twinned communities.
County Durham and Tübingen, Autumn 2017 TUEBINGEN/DURHAM LITERARY/ARTS TWINNING
The partnership with County Durham and the City of Tuebingen in South Germany was established in 1969.
Poet
Doctor Keith Armstrong, who gained his doctorate at the University on
Durham in 2007, following on from Bachelor's and Master's degrees there,
first visited Tuebingen in November 1987, with the support of the
County Council and the Kulturamt in Tuebingen, to give readings and
talks for a period of a month. Since then he has travelled to the city
over 30 times and helped arrange for Durham poets, musicians and artists
and their counterparts in Tuebingen to visit their respective cultural
twins.
A special celebration of the literary/arts links between
the cultural partners was held on May 17th 2015 at Tuebingen’s Club
Voltaire as part of the Tuebingen Buecherfest. This was arranged by
poet Tibor Schneider, Michael Raffel of the Buecherfest and Doctor
Armstrong. Those featured included Gary Miller, singer/songwriter from
Durham band ‘The Whisky Priests’, poets Carolyn Murphey Melchers, Sara
Hauser, Anna Fedorova, Yannick Lengkeek and Tibor Schneider and rock
musician Juergen Sturm with Mary Jane.
Tuebingen poets Anna
Fedorova and Yannick Lengkeek came to Durham in November 2015 for
readings and discussions and Manuela Schmidt and Florian Neuner followed
suit in April 2017.
Keith Armstrong returned to Tuebingen in
September 2016 for readings of his many poems inspired by his visits to
Tuebingen over the years, including a literary promenade around the old
town and along the Neckar accompanied by accordionist Peter Weiss.
He
was also there in November 2017 with fellow poet Paul Summers and Gary
Miller to attend the launch of a new anthology, Word Share, published by
the Cultural Office in Tuebingen and edited by Carolyn Murphey Melchers
and Michael Raffel in Tuebingen and Keith Armstrong in Durham to mark
30 years of the literary twinning between Tuebingen and Durham and
featuring a selection of poetry by some 22 writers from Tuebingen and
Durham.
The anthlogy will have its Durham launch as part of a World
Book Day event on Monday 23rd April at the University of Durham. Special
guests at the event will be Andrea Midi and Matthias Kaiser visiting
writers from Tuebingen.
Looking back, Keith was in Tuebingen from
Tuesday 11th November 2014 to Saturday 15th when he performed his poetry
in the legendary Heckenhauer’s Bookshop, one of his favourite bars The
Boulanger, at the Carlo-Schmid-Gymnasium (school) and at Weinhaus Beck
for a poetry breakfast. He was joined by Tibor Schneider, Sara Hauser,
Yannick Lengkeek and Anna Fedorova with Peter Weiss on accordion and
Juergen Sturm on rock guitar and vocals.
Before this, he was in
Tuebingen from Wednesday 2nd to Saturday 5th April 2014 with
artist/photographer Peter Dixon for readings with Tuebingen writers Eva
Christina Zeller, Sara Hauser, Tibor Schneider and Florian Neuner at
Weinhaus Beck, a school visit and other networking initiatives. This
followed on from his visit from Monday 4th November to Thursday 7th 2013
when he took part in a major symposium on the theme of writer Hermann
Hesse who lived and worked in Tuebingen from 1895-1899. As well as
joining in with the discussions and giving a reading from his poems on
Hesse and Tuebingen, Keith met with poets, academics, teachers,
musicians, cultural and media workers.
Sara Hauser visited
Durham from Monday 12th to Thursday 15th May 2014 for sessions at the
University's English and German Departments and meetings with local
writers, artists and musicians.
So the twinning continues to go from
strength to strength. Looking back on things, Armstrong and folk rock
musician Gary Miller, lead singer of Durham band the Whisky Priests,
travelled to Tuebingen at the end of March 2012 for performances in
pubs, cabaret venues and schools where they performed with Tuebingen
poet Tibor Schneider who visited Durham in October of that year as part
of the ongoing exchange.
Tibor joined his Durham counterparts for
readings at Durham University and at the Half Moon Inn. He was also
interviewed on BBC Radio Tees concerning his Durham visit.
Keith
Armstrong and Gary Miller returned the compliment with a trip to
Tuebingen in March 2013 where they performed again in bars, cafes and
schools with poets Tibor Schneider, Sara Hauser and Tuebingen musicians.
In 2011, Tuebingen rock musician Juergen Sturm jetted in with his
music partner Mary Jane at the end of October for pub gigs, including a
twinning event in Durham on Monday 31st October featuring Juergen and
Mary Jane with Durham folk musicians and poets. That followed on from a
visit to Tuebingen in South Germany in early April 2011 by Keith
Armstrong and photographer/artist Peter Dixon. The intrepid pair worked
together on a touring display featuring Armstrong's poems and Dixon's
photographs documenting the unique link between Tuebingen and Durham
which was staged initially in the Durham Room at County Hall, Durham in
November. Armstrong performed his poetry in cafes, bars and schools and
met up with Tuebingen friends, old and new, with the multi-talented
Dixon capturing all of it on film.
This trip reciprocated a
visit to Durham in November 2010 by Tuebingen poets Henning Ziebritzki
and Carolyn Murphey Melchers, when Juergen Stuerm also took part in a
series of pub performances. There was a special event at Clayport
Library, Durham City on Monday November 1st with the Tuebingen poets and
special guests from Durham, followed by a rousing session in the Dun
Cow when Juergen, with Mary Jane, and his Durham counterparts, Gary
Miller and Marie Little belted out their lively songs.
Armstrong was
also in Tuebingen in May 2010 with Gary Miller for performances in his
favourite Tuebingen bar ‘The Boulanger’ and at a local school. This
followed a special guest appearance in 2009 at the biannual Book
Festival, a reading with Tuebingen counterpart Eva Christina Zeller and a
visit to local schools. Eva visited Durham for readings in schools and
at a special event on May 13th 2009 at Clayport Library which also
featured poets Katrina Porteous, Jackie Litherland, Cynthia Fuller, and
William Martin, as well as Doctor Armstrong and music from the Durham
Scratch Choir and Andy Jackson.
A highly successful series of
events were held in 2007 to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the
literary/arts twinning established by Keith Armstrong when he first
visited Tuebingen in 1987 for a month’s residency, supported by Durham
County Council and Tuebingen’s Kulturamt. Since then, there have been
readings and performances in pubs, universities and castles, schools,
libraries, book festivals, jazz and cabaret clubs, even in Hermann
Hesse’s old apartment, involving poets, writers, teachers and musicians
from the twin partnerships of Durham and Tuebingen.
Tuebingen’s music
duo Acoustic Storm, poet/translator Carolyn Murphey Melchers and
Cultural Officer visited Durham and the North East in October/November
2007. The musicians performed in Durham schools and pubs and there was a
special evening in Durham’s Clayport Library to celebrate the twinning,
with Keith Armstrong launching his new Tuebingen poetry booklet and
performances by poets Carolyn Murphey Melchers, Katrina Porteous,
William Martin, Michael Standen, Ian Horn, Cynthia Fuller, Hugh Doyle
and musicians Acoustic Storm, Marie Little and Gary Miller. Margit
Aldinger of the Kulturamt in Tuebingen and Brian Stobie of the
International Department, Durham County Council, also addressed the
audience.
For the record, here's a list of those who have made it happen so far:
Tuebingen visitors to Durham since 1987:
Carolyn
Murphey Melchers, Karin Miedler, Gerhard Oberlin, Uwe Kolbe, Johannes
Bauer, Eva Christina Zeller, Simone Mittmann, Florian Werner, Juergen
Sturm, Mary Jane, Wolf Abromeit, Christopher Harvie, Eberhard Bort,
Marcus Hammerschmitt, Henning Ziebritzki, Andy and Alessandra Fazion
Marx, Otto Buchegger, Tibor Schneider, Sara Hauser, Anna Fedorova,
Yannick Lengkeek, Manuela Schmidt, Florian Neuner, Andrea Midi, Matthias
Kaiser.
Durham visitors to Tuebingen since 1987:
Keith
Armstrong, the late Michael Standen (Colpitts Poetry), the late Julia
Darling, Andy Jackson, Fiona MacPherson, Katrina Porteous, Marie Little,
Ian Horn (Colpitts Poetry), the late Alan C. Brown, Linda France,
Jackie Litherland (Colpitts Poetry), Cynthia Fuller, Margaret Wilkinson,
Jez Lowe, the late Jack Routledge, Gary Miller, Matthew Burge, David
Stead, Hugh Doyle, Peter Dixon, Paul Summers.
The literary/arts exchange has been supported by Tuebingen’s Kulturamt and Durham County Council.
FURTHER INFORMATION: NORTHERN VOICES COMMUNITY PROJECTS TEL. 0191 2529531.
